BHIMBARAK CAVE
26.295600,72.956900
Description
NOTE 1: hindunet.org/hindu_history/sarasvati/dictionary/61… (accessed 2005.11.09), paragraph 6402: Flash; to take fright: la_mbel-br.a_k lightning (Pas'.); bhar.ha flash (S.); bhar.kan.u to blaze (S.); bhar.k flash; bhar.kn.a_ to be angry (P.); bhar.a_k blow; bhar.kan.o to be angry (Ku.); bharkanu to take fright, start (N.); bharak boast, display (A.); bhar.ak display (B.); bhar.aka (Or.); bhar.ka_na to take fright (B.); bhar.akiba_ (Or.); bhar.ak flash, display (H.); bhar.akna_ to be excited, take fright (H.); bhar.ku~ blaze; bhar.a_ko crash, blaze; bhar.akvu~ to take fright, start (G.).
An impressive though short and generally daylight-lit arched passage (tunnel cave) between an upper and a lower cave entrance and a dark side passage to a Hindu guha, a sacred inner room. ETYMOLOGY: Little doubt remains that the cave called "Bhimbarak" is named after a strike with the club of the legendary Bhim, the strongman of the Pandava brothers of Mahabharata fame (note 1). SITUATION: The beautiful temple cave lies west of Jodhpur city in the attractive surroundings of Lake Kalyana which is enjoyed by the citizens as a recreational area offering calm picnic spots and temples, a noisy rifle range and a couple of upper class restaurants in the country side. It is marked "Cave Dwelling" on the Survey of India sheet 45-B/15 and easily accessible by a so-called MES road (probably something "Military"), which leads from beyond the Kalyana Water Works into a well advertised but officially "Prohibited Area" (nobody cares). This excellent road passes by the left of the temple cave (on the right hand side) just before it finally ascends to the fenced terrain enclosing a huge, ugly and widely visible radar station on the very top of the hill. CAVE DESCRIPTION: The main cave penetrates a ridge near its crest and forms an amazingly wide arch (30 to 50 m wide 3 to 6 m high, and 30 m 'long') which tapers towards the south-west and dips by some 15° to north-west. The entire cave is intensively used as a temple. It is almost entirely floored (sandstone, concrete, polished marble) but the ceiling and walls were gracefully left in their natural state. Several walls, steps, buildings, stairs, etc. have been constructed. A huge massive Shiva lingam / yoni of polished black granite must have been erected only recently. At about halfway down the main passage an inconspicuous door leads to the dark winding passage (2 m wide and high, 30 m long) to a door and the guha beyond, a sanctified "terminal room" which is actually walled off from a nearby former cave entrance. Some not exactly impressive calcite formations (speleothems) are worshipped as a stalagmitic embodiment of Shiva. The wall of this guha prevents access to a wild cave that can be got at by exiting from the lower cave entrance to the main cave and by keeping to the right (north-east). This cave remains entirely in its natural state, is strewn with guano covered boulders and might hide an unexplored crawl here and there for the prepared friend of extremely low passages. About 1000 bats (±200) lived here in January 1999 above a very dry bat guano mixed with sand and dust. CAVE LIFE: PRAKASH (1961: 152, 154-156) reports Chiroptera (bats): Rhinopoma kinneari and R. h. hardwickei (all the females had one young at each breasts in early July), from fissures and crevices of the rocks outside the cave Taphozous k. kachhensis, and from nearby ruins Rhinopoma sp. ADVANI (1982c) reports Rhinopoma microphyllum Kinneari from Bhimbarak Cave. ADVANI (1987: 273-274) reports a mixed bat population of 79.1% Rhinopoma microphyllum Kinneari, 1.1% Rhinopoma h. hardwickei , and 19.8% Taphozous kachhensis from the natural, 3 km long [sic!] natural cave at Bhimbarak (N26°19': E73°00'). Personally I observed earth wasps, pigeons (Columba var.), sparrows (Paser var.), monkeys (Primates var.), dogs (Canes var.) and at least two individuals of a priest race (homo religiosus), all of them relaxed, laid back and fed by visiting devotees (keyword: Phlegmatic's asylum).
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1953-1956: The chiropterologist Ishwar PRAKASH (1961) collected bats at various places in Rajasthan, including the natural cave of Bhimbharak near Jodhpur. 1987: The chiropterologist Ranjan ADVANI (1987: 274) reported »a natural cave (3 kilometres long) at Jodhpur« "in human settlement area" at Bhimbarak. 1988 to 1989: Letters by H. D. Gebauer remained without answer. 1991: Uwe Scherzer (Höhlenarbeitsgruppe Nürtingen, Germany) failed to locate the cave. 1999.01.07: H. D. Gebauer mapped solo to grade 3b.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.3 | SHIVA, Tolapuri Birek (Cave of) | ||
| 7.4 | SUFI Guinani, Jodhpur (Dargah ka) | ||
| 10.2 | MANDAR BAGH TUNNEL | ||
| 14.8 | DALJAR MATA MANDIR, JODHPUR | ||
| 86.1 | BORUNDA CAVITIES | ||
| 126.7 | NAGAUR (Cave at) | ||
| 161.9 | SHIVA, Pushkar (Cave of) | ||
| 162.2 | Backofenhöhle | ||
| 163.0 | PANCH KUND |