GANDGHAR (Cavern at)
33.948100,72.721900
Description
An unspecified »Cavern of Gandghar« (no name mentioned) is characterised by occasional bellowing (note 2) attributed to a disappointed demon (raksha) who renders this item a typhoon cave (note 1). CAVE LEGEND: Describing the archaeology of Sirkap (Taxila area, Rawalpindi district) MARSHALL (1951, 1: 112) recalls the legend of Rasalu killing the Rakshasas except one, who is still alive in »a cavern of Gandghar« where her / his bellowings are sometimes heaed: »The name 'Sirkap', like that of 'Sirsukh', is widely known in parts of the Punjab [note 2] in connection with the legend of the hero Rasalu and the seven demon Rakshasas, who fed on human flesh. The Rakshasas were a family of three brothers and four sisters living at Manikpur west of the Jhelum river, the names of the three brothers being Sirkap, Sirsukh and Aba, and of the four sisters, Kapi, Kalpi, Munda, and Mandehi [note 3].Rasalu was the son of Salivahana and raja of Sialkot (Sakala).« SITUATION: MARSHALL (1951, 1: 112) places the cave at an unspecified location somewhere in the vicinity of Gandhgarh (note 4), a town south-east of the Indus, north-west of the Marghalla Hills and the Panjal Fault (YEATS & HUSSAIN 1987).
NOTE 1: Keyword: Cave accoustics. LANE FOX, Robin (1987: Pagans and Christians.- New York: Alfred A. Knopf), page 41: »Near Seleukia, the monster Typhon rumbled in the torrent of an underground river.« NOTE 2: According to Alexander Cunningham (C.S.R. II [ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA 1872], pages 153, 205) the legend belongs essentially to the district of Putwar, between the Jhelum and the Indus, but is well known at Ambakapi, near Lahore, and also among the Gujars (goat grazers) of Buriya and Saharanpur, to whom its extension may have been due. NOTE 3: The raksha's names are descriptive epithets appropriate to ravening beasts, kap = trembling, sakh = emaciated, ama = raw, etc. NOTE 4: nima.mil/geonames (accessed 16.11.2003) positions both Gandgarh and Gandgarh Pi Than at N33°56'53”: E072°43'19” (WGS84). IMPERIAL GAZETTEER (1907-1909) does not list any place starting with Gandh… or Ghand…
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14.4 | HASAN ABDAL (Cave at) | ||
| 20.3 | HARIPUR, Tarbela (Cave at) | ||
| 20.3 | HARIPUR, Margela (Caves at) | ||
| 23.5 | AA CAVE, Taxila hillside | ||
| 23.7 | SAWABI, 1st (Cave near) | ||
| 23.7 | SAWABI, 2nd (Cave at) | ||
| 24.3 | INDRASALA GUHA, Peshawar Museum | ||
| 24.4 | MOHRA MURADU (Cave at) | ||
| 24.4 | KHANPUR (Wilson 1976) (Caves at) |