BADA MAHADEO GUFA
22.418100,78.420600
Description
A very popular and considerably modified, wet and natural cave is not only sacred to Shiva (temple cave) but also associated with the demon Bhasmansur (note 1) and said to give access to a fabulous tunnel (note 2). SITUATION: Marked on Survey of India sheet 55-J/07 (edition 1976), the cave entrance lies opposite of Chota Mahadeo Gufa in the dead end of the Mahadeo valley on the north-western flank of Mahadeo Pahar (also: Maha Deo / Mahadev Hill, 4360 ft = 1330 m), at a distance of about 9 km or 10 km (note 3) along the road with precarious hairpin bends in a fairly dense forest of Sal trees (Shorea robusta) from the seven way junction (note 4) Jaistambha / Jai Stambh (victory pillar) in Pachmarhi town south. CAVE DESCRIPTION 1828: »Puchmurry … The Deo Pahar cave, sacred to Shiva, is three miles [5 km or so] distant; and in its vicinity is a high mountain from whence devotees, to expiate their sins, precipitate themselves during a festival which takes place in February. From a crevice or cave in the rocks [–>Gupta Mahadeo Gufa?), about forty-four feet [13.4 m] deep, a stream of holy water issues in which Hindoo pilgrims perform their ablutions, and invoke the presiding deity (Shiva), but there are not any temples or sculptures to mark it as a place of religious celebrity« (HAMILTON 1828, 2: 422). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1887: »Among the many natural curiosities to be found at Puchmurree is an arched cave, sacred to Mahadeo. It is about one hundred feet in length, and twenty in height, and is a natural excavation at the bottom of an immense solid rock. It is situated in a deep dell, and the surrounding rocks are from 150 to 200 feet above the level of the cave. The floor of this cavity is covered with water about a knee deep, which is the effect of a constant dripping from the roof, but for which it is difficult to account, as the upper surface of the rock is perfectly dry, and as the is no water visible anywhere near it to supply the perpetual filtering« (CAREY, W H 1887, 3: 84). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1936: »The cave is a natural one with a fairly large opening, from which issues a small stream. The cave only extends for about 50 feet into the hill« (Glennie, E A circa 1948 s.a. Mss "Preliminary record" after GUIDE TO PACHMARHI 1936). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1996: »Mahadeo… [is] a shrine with an idol of Lord Shiva and an impressive Shivlinga« (PACHMARHI GUIDE MAP 1996). CAVE DESCRIPTION 1999: A published photograph shows a cave entrance modified with concrete, tridents, a lingam a dilapidating iron gate (IRANI 1999: 60-61). CAVE DESCRIPTION 2000: A neat and well kept access path of polished green and white marble ascends slightly to a spacious platform in front of the gated entrance (11 m wide, 5 m high). Immediately behind the iron gate, which holds two doors to allow two-way traffic, is a collection of trishulas / trisuls (tridents sacred to Shiva) and a statue of Nandi (sitting bull). The spacious solitary passage (6 to 9 m wide, 4 m high) runs straight into the hill for 45 m to end (walled up?) at a cemented arch spanning over a few idols and a money collecting priest, all put up on a raised platform. Water percolating through the layered sandstone drops from the vaulted ceiling. With the exception of Bhasmansur Kund, a sunken artificial pool (24 m long, 2 to 5 m wide, up to 1.5 m deep), the entire floor of the original cave is buried below a cover of concrete. This pool is fenced off by a hand polished iron tube railing from a surrounding concrete path which allows a clockwise perambulation of pilgrims and tourists. A trickle of water, some 0.1 to 0.2 l/s, issues from the cave (HDG 2000.12.30). CAVE CONTENTS: Secondary calcite deposits are absent but traces of tufa (travertine) are visible in the streambed below the cave entrance. CULTURAL HISTORY - Human use: Since many hundred years (FORSYTH 1871: 85) the religious show cave is a profitable business affair (note 5). »In many cases, such … the Mahadeo caves at Pachmarhi, the places of worship of the non-Aryan tribes have been adopted by Hinduism and the old mountain or river gods transformed into Hindu deities. At the same time it is not improbable that the tribal priests of the old shrines have been admitted into the Brahman caste« (RUSSELL & HIRA LAL 1916, 2 Brahman 4). The Waghya are an »… order of mendicant devotees of the god Khandoba [note 6], an incarnation of Siva [Shiva] … Murli, signifying 'a flute' is the name given to female devotees. … Another practice, formerly existing, was for the father and mother to vow that if a child was born they would be swung. They were then suspended from a wooden post on a rope by an iron hook inserted in the back and swung round four or five times. … Others would take a Waghya child to Mahadeo's cave in Pachmarhi and let it fall from the top of a high tree. If it lived it was considered to be a Raja of Mahadeo, and if it died happiness might confidently be anticipated for it in the next birth« (Pandit Pyare Lal Misra, in: RUSSELL & HIRA LAL (1916, 4). GLENNIE (1959) somehow had learned that a hermit dwelled at Mahadeo cave in the 1930ies. CAVE LIFE: Apart from trogloxene humans, obvious cave fauna appears to be absent.
NOTE 1: IRANI (1999: 62) narrates how Lord Shiva, terrified by the demon Bhasmansur »fled to Chauragarh hill. Today the peak is covered with tridents … According to the legend, when Shiva saw the raksha following him up to the summit, he turned himself into a snake and slithered away to safety through a crack in the mountain. His pursuer was furious and, in his rage, rent the mountain apart creating the valley below.« NOTE 2: HIRA LAL (1925: 33-35) reports a fabulous tunnel, which is reputed to connect Bada Mahadeo Gufa with the –>Shiva Cave at Salbardi, a village situated at a linear of about 175 km to the approximate south-west in Betul district, Madhya Pradesh. NOTE 3: In a direct line 6.5 km on bearing 194° ( SSE). NOTE 4: Jaistambha, also: Jai Stambh N22°28'26”: E78°26'10” (Everest 1830): 1060 m asl (Survey of India sheet 55-J/07 edition 1976) and H.D. Gebauer (2000.12.29, GPS Garmin 12, India/Bangladesh).NOTE 5: webindia123.com/tourism/scenic/hill/pachmarhi.htm (accessed 06.09.2004) claims »nearly two to three lakhs of visitors« (perhaps 200,000 or 300,000) during the fair (kirmis) on the occasion of Shiva Ratri (February / March). NOTE 6: Khandoba / Khanadoba is one of the most popular gods of the western Deccan and considered a form of Shiva. He is inextricably linked with the anthill, the legendary abode of the snakes, and is for this reason widely revered by forest tribes and pastoral groups as the fountainhead of wealth and material prosperity. He was in all probability a god of tribal food-gatherers and hunters in the forests and hills of the western Deccan. His sphere of influence corresponds more or less to the present states of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where Banai is generally recognised by the names Khandoba, Khanderaya (Maharashtra), Mallanna (Andhra Pradesh), Mailara, Mairala and Mallaya (Karnataka).
Documents
Bibliography 23/05/2016Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0.0 | PARVATI GUFA, Pachmarhi: Mahadeo Pahar | ||
| 0.1 | KALA DEO SARANG | ||
| 0.5 | MAHADEO SHELTER | ||
| 0.5 | GUPTA MAHADEO GUFA | ||
| 0.5 | GUPTA MAHADEO GUFA 2 | ||
| 0.5 | GUPTA MAHADEO GUFA 3 | ||
| 1.3 | Chauragarh (Cave at) | ||
| 1.7 | LEARN AND TEACH CAVE | ||
| 1.7 | HANDI KHOH |