VASHISHT GUFA, Shivpuri
30.150000,78.383300
Description
Little has become known, if anything, about a relatively dry and sacred, modified natural Hindu temple cave, which is said to be »200 m« (note 1) or 200 feet long and attracts customers with an imported soiled shiva-lingam made from a polished, allochthonous (allogenic) rock (note 2). ETYMOLOGY: So far, I saw the name of this cave associated with Vashisht, the legendary saint (note 3) spelled Vashistgufa CRAVEN, S A (1969: 27, 28) Vasistha’s cave spiritualjourneysinindia.com (accessed 2006.09.15) Vishita Gufa LONELY PLANET, India (1999: 427). SITUATION: »At a place called Vashistgufa, about 14 miles [22.5 km] upstream from Rishikesh« (CRAVEN, S A 1969: 27 after an undated letter from »Mr. Ravi Prakash, the U.P. Director of Geology and Mining« in about 1969). Somewhere around here is the village of Shivpuri (N30°09': E78°23'), which is not only said to lie about 16 km along the road (note 4) but also 25 km (note 5) upstream from Rishikesh (N30°07': E78°19'). CAVE DESCRIPTION: »… , to visit the cave at Vashistgufa. He reported that it was like Robber's Cave (TL555927) [i.e. –>Guchhu Pani], north of Dehra Dun, and I suggest therefore, that it will be essentially a narrow gorge rather than a cave. The map reference is taken from the one inch map of 53 J/3 (1942 edition)« (CRAVEN, S A 1969: 28 after Ashish Chandola) CULTURAL HISTORY - human use, religious industry outlet: »… sage Vasistha’s ancient cave, near Rishikesh. The great sage used to perform his meditations in this cave thousands of years ago, and even nowadays, it’s worshipped as a holy place. When entering, you can still feel his timeless blessings touching you from within« (spiritualjourneysinindia.com accessed 2006.09.15).
NOTE 1: »Triveni Travels (Haridwar Road, Rishikesh) offers caving expeditions through the 200 m long Vishita Gufa near Shivpuri for Rs. 500« (LONELY PLANET, India 1999: 427; not mentioned in the 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2009, and 2011 editions). NOTE 2: spiritualjourneysinindia.com/photos.html (accessed 2006.09.15) provided a photograph showing a soiled »Shiva-lingam« littered with religious paraphernalia: Decaying, recently decapitated flower heads, spilled animal grease turning rancid, and a few relatively small sized, imported idols of venerable magicians, saints or gods along with wick lamps and containers for ritual fluids. NOTE 3: Vashishta was the family priest of King Dasaratha, father of Ramchandra. After death he became one of the stars in the constellation of the Great Bear (ursus maior).NOTE 4: LONELY PLANET, India (1999: 427). NOTE 5: »Vashishta Guha est à 25 km de Rishikesh« (DUCLUZAUX 1993d: 53). NOTE 6: Most of the pious litter shown consists of .
Documents
Bibliography 04/07/2016Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.1 | BRAHMAPURI (Eliade 1996: 343) (Cave at) | ||
| 7.4 | MAHARISHI DYANPITH CAVES | ||
| 7.4 | GANESH GUFA, Rishikesh | ||
| 7.4 | RISHIKESH (Eliade 1996: 347) (Caves at) | ||
| 7.4 | RAMTIRTHA SWAMI (Cave of Swami) | ||
| 7.4 | PANDAVA CAVE, Rishikesh | ||
| 22.4 | MARKANDEYA, Deoprayag (Cave of) | ||
| 22.4 | VAMANA, Deoprayag (Cave of) | ||
| 24.3 | HARDWAR (Eliade 1996: 317) (Cave at) |