JATASHANKAR, Bijawar

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

Not a cave (as the –>Jataskankar of Pachmarhi) but a sacred site where water issues from bedding planes and rift fissures in frequently layered quartzitic sandstone. SITUATION: At a travelling distance of about 15 km along the road approximately south-east of Bijawar town (N24°37'30-: E079°19'50-, Everest 1830, Survey of India sheet 54-P/07 edition 1977). CULTURAL HISTORY: The differentially weathered alternating layers of soft and hard sandstone layers are considered as the -Jatashankar- (dread locks of Shankar, the Hindu god Shiva as the creator) from where the holy river Ganga issues.