PANCHGANGA MANDIR SPRING

Herbert Daniel Gebauer - 06/01/2018

What could represent a karst spring in a natural sacred cave (but is none) at Mahabaleshwar has been reported (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 851, 2005: 755; LONELY PLANET, South India 2001: 212) as one of the two ancient temples (–>Mahabaleshwar Mandir) worth visiting: Krishnabai or Panchganga (Five Streams) Mandir [which is] said to contain the springs of five [sacred] rivers [note 1] Krishna River which issue from the mouth of a sculpted cow suckling a calf (note 2).SITUATION: North of Venna Lake (on Vena River) in Old Mahabaleshwar (suburb) and about 4 or 5 km along the road north of the Main Road (formally called -Dr. Sabane Road-) in Mahabaleshwar (town: N17°55': E073°40': 1370 m asl, Everest 1830, IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 16: 424). CULTURAL HISTORY: In case you feel like reconstructing what was meant to say, you are told that Mahabaleshwar is the source of the Krishna River that flows across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The legendary source of the river is a pout from the mouth of a statue of a cow [note 3] in the ancient temple of Mahadev in Old Mahabaleshwar. Legend has it that Krishna is Lord Vishnu himself as a result of a curse on the trimurtis by Savitri. Also, its tributaries Venna and Koyana are said to be Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma themselves. An interesting thing to notice is that four other rivers come out from the cow's mouth apart from Krishna and they all travel some distance before merging into Krishna. These rivers are the Koyana, Venna (Veni), Savitri, and Gayatri (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabaleshwar accessed 2012.03.30).What could represent a karst spring in a natural sacred cave (but is none) at Mahabaleshwar has been reported (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 851, 2005: 755; LONELY PLANET, South India 2001: 212) as one of the two ancient temples (–>Mahabaleshwar Mandir) worth visiting: Krishnabai or Panchganga (Five Streams) Mandir [which is] said to contain the springs of five [sacred] rivers [note 1] Krishna River which issue from the mouth of a sculpted cow suckling a calf (note 2).SITUATION: North of Venna Lake (on Vena River) in Old Mahabaleshwar (suburb) and about 4 or 5 km along the road north of the Main Road (formally called -Dr. Sabane Road-) in Mahabaleshwar (town: N17°55': E073°40': 1370 m asl, Everest 1830, IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 16: 424). CULTURAL HISTORY: In case you feel like reconstructing what was meant to say, you are told that Mahabaleshwar is the source of the Krishna River that flows across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The legendary source of the river is a What could represent a karst spring in a natural sacred cave (but is none) at Mahabaleshwar has been reported (LONELY PLANET, India 1997: 851, 2005: 755; LONELY PLANET, South India 2001: 212) as one of the two ancient temples (–>Mahabaleshwar Mandir) worth visiting: Krishnabai or Panchganga (Five Streams) Mandir [which is] said to contain the springs of five [sacred] rivers [note 1] Krishna River which issue from the mouth of a sculpted cow suckling a calf (note 2).SITUATION: North of Venna Lake (on Vena River) in Old Mahabaleshwar (suburb) and about 4 or 5 km along the road north of the Main Road (formally called -Dr. Sabane Road-) in Mahabaleshwar (town: N17°55': E073°40': 1370 m asl, Everest 1830, IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 16: 424). CULTURAL HISTORY: In case you feel like reconstructing what was meant to say, you are told that Mahabaleshwar is the source of the Krishna River that flows across Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The legendary source of the river is a pout from the mouth of a statue of a cow [note 3] in the ancient temple of Mahadev in Old Mahabaleshwar. Legend has it that Krishna is Lord Vishnu himself as a result of a curse on the trimurtis by Savitri. Also, its tributaries Venna and Koyana are said to be Lord Shiva and Lord Brahma themselves. An interesting thing to notice is that four other rivers come out from the cow's mouth apart from Krishna and they all travel some distance before merging into Krishna. These rivers are the Koyana, Venna (Veni), Savitri, and Gayatri (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahabaleshwar accessed 2012.03.30).