GUPTA GODAVARI GUFA, Chitrakoot: Upper cave

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

A natural cave modified into temple cave, sacred to a range of goddesses and gods and containing speleothems, consists of two consecutive and somewhat meandering chambers. Developed is the predominantly horizontal cave in tectonically stressed arenaceous dolomite and calcareous sandstone of Vindhyan (Precambrian) age. SITUATION: In Chitrakoot (Chitrakut), Kamadgiri kshetra, Karwi tahsil, Banda district, lies the entrance 12 vertical metres above and some 25 m east of the Lower –>Gupta Godavari Gufa. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1994: Wide and spacious. (DUBEY & SINGH 1994). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1996: A natural wonder … In the heart of a dark cave is a tank, which is perpetually fed by a small stream of water. This tank which is known as Sitakund is not too deep (MADHYA PRADESH STATE, Tourism Development corporation 1996).CAVE DESCRIPTION 1999: Gupt-Godavari … [is a cave] high and wide with an entrance through which one can barely pass, and the other, long and narrow with a stream of water running alog its base. It is believed that Rama and his brother Lakshman held court … [in this] cave, which has two natural throne-like rocks (MADHYA PRADESH STATE, Tourism Development Corportation 1999a). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2000: Behind a fallen boulder at the base of a cliff steps descend 3 m from a slot (1 m wide) into the -First Chamber- (15 m wide, 4 m high, 20 m long), characterised by tidy concrete floor and raised concrete platforms connected by concrete steps. In addition to a parting fence of iron tubes along the length of the chamber (allowing pilgrim mass movement), there are several religious installations (e.g. linga, a statue of Ashtbhuja / Ashta-Bhuja Devi, etc.) illuminated by naked electrical bulbs and tubes dangling, precariously wired, from the ceiling. A lateral room on the left-hand side (east) ascends to massive collapse coinciding with the outside cliff face. On the right-hand side, the concrete floor, bordered by more iron tube railing, drops into sort of a 1 m deep ditch:A rainy season overflow channel with dirt and rubbish floor. Straight ahead a short tunnel (3 m large, 8 m long, concrete floor) connects to a -Second Chamber- (12 m wide, 4 m high, 20 m long) characterised by a concretefied mound (5 m high) rising from a concrete floor. Two concrete stairways up the mound lead to a small platform inside a semicircular aven (5 m diameter, 4 m high). Wedged into a top-most hole (2 by 3 m) in the ceiling are fallen boulders put up there -- according to wonderful stories -- by Bhimsen (the Schwarzeneggerish muscle-man of the legendary Pandava brothers, famed in the Mahabharata). Beyond (south) the concrete mound is the main feature of the cave: A concrete-lined pool (about 2 m square and 1 m deep) sacred to Sita (goddess of agriculture, married by Vedic Hindus to Ram) and fed by a small rivulet issuing from a low collapsed area. In the far end of the 2nd chamber leads a final passage (3 m long, 3 m wide and 10 m long) with a concrete floor to a couple ofsteps (constructed from: guess what?) descending to a natural pool of water (0.2 to more than 0.4 m deep, 2 m wide, more than 2 m long) below a rapidly descending ceiling. The passage continues obviously below the water (a duck? a diving spot?). High up in the south-western wall of the final passage a small crawl heading to the face of the cliff outside some 20 m away. Flow forms, stalagmites and stalactites are absent (Gebauer 2000 December). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2002: The two caves Gupt Godavari and Sota’ [see: Sota Cave] exist in the two hillocks which are within half a km distance from each other. In the [Lower] Gupt Godavari cave, a stream of water flows inside the cave gallery. The source of the stream is known to be the stored rain water in the nearby reservoirs [in Upper Gupta Godavari Gufa] consisting of soils and rocky terrain. However, as it [not the soils and rocky terrain but the cave] is frequented by devotees most of the speleothem deposits have been destroyed (Vadava 2002 ss: Thesis, page 110) CULTURAL HISTORY - religious folklore: It is believed that the Godavari river from South [i.e. Dakshin Ganga] India appeared to serve Lord Rama and disappeared after a short distance because she did not want to create a second course for herself. This spot is mentioned in the CtM 2.32. 13.40-42 [Chitrakoot / Chitrakut Mahatmya?] for the first time. The presiding deity there is Shiva; a linga was installed in the reign of king Aman Singh of Panna there according to the inscription referred to above (DUBEY & SINGH 1994). CAVE POTENTIAL: Considering the size of the accessible part of the cave, one can expect extensive and sizeable virgin passage beyond the sump. The pandas (explainers of sacred sightseeing spots, here: cave guides) gave the impression to be amazingly co-operative. A nasty, low and dirty crawl –obviously heading towards the edge of the cliff, some 20 m away, was said by the pandas (temple guides) to represent a fabulous tunnel connecting to Nashik (N0°05': E073°50', ca. 600 km SW). CAVE CLIMATE: Inside the cave, the thermometer read 27°C both in the air and in the water on 19th December 2000, around 14h p.m.CAVE LIFE: Apart from pigmented Crustacea (up to 3 cm long) and small pigmented fish (up to 5 cm long) there was -- considering the busy human traffic -- an amazing number of relatively small sized bats (Chiroptera indet.) in the higher part of the easternmost niche in the first chamber.