PANDAVA CAVE, Parnasala Konda - Tetagunta
17.283300,82.450000
Description
An unspecified, relatively »large cave about a hundred yards [90 m] in length and consistig of two compartments« (HEMINGWAY 1907: 256). SITUATION: At Tetagunta (note 1), a village that lies »seven and a half miles [12 km] south-west of Tuni« (note 2). CULTURAL HISTORY -- cave legend: »… A hill there, called the Parnasála konda [note 3] is supposed to have been inhabited by the Pándava brothers« (note 4).
NOTE 1: The tiny hamlet of Tetagunta is shown near N17°19': E82°27' on AMS sheet NE44-11 Samalkot (1963 edition) about 4 or 5 km west of the Hamsavara (Hamsavaram) railway station. NOTE 2. Tuni N17°22': E82°32' (IMPERIAL GAZETTEER 1907-1909, 24: 62) and at N17°21': E82°33' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003) in the India Road Atlas (Eicher Goodearth 2006: 104 B1). NOTE 3: Glennie, E A (s.a. circa 1948 Mss: Preliminary Record) and GLENNIE (1951c: 8), repeated by CRAVEN, S A (1969: 22) spells »Parnagala Konda« but "parnasala" means a (makeshift) leaf hut, shelter, hermitage, troglodyte retreat, rock shelter. »The word 'parna' signifies the leaf of a tree, a feather and a wing. Its derivative 'parnasa' signifies anything made of leaves, such as baskets, hats, penns, coops, huts, etc … In the north-west parts of India, in the Pastoo [Pashtu] language, it is pronounced 'panna' and 'pannai' in the plural. Hence … 'parna' or 'panna' … [is] the root of the Greek and Latin words 'pinna' and of the Saxon and English words pen, fin, pin, penn … 'Parnica' is another regular derivative, sometimes used in composition, as well as 'parnaca'; and, as in the first ages, mankind either lived in 'gobas', caves, or in huts built of branches and leaves … these huts were 'parnasas' or 'parnicas' and 'parnacas', 'fornaces' and 'fornices'. The Greek words 'porneion', 'porneia' and 'porno' seem to be derived from 'parneyam', a regular Sanskrit derivative … Prostitutes were thus called in Greek for the same reason that fornication is derived from fornix« (WILFORD 1801: 498). NOTE 4: The Pandavas are five sons of king Pandu and nephews of Dhritarashtras (blind king; father of the Kauravas): Yudhishtira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva; the "good" in the Mahabharata, the Hindu epic focussing on the exploits of Krishna and describing the battle of Kurukshethra between the Pandavas and Kauravas. The Mahabharata is thought to have been composed some time around the 1st millennium BC (before current). By about 400 BC the Mahabharata had evolved into a far more complex creation, with substantial narrative and instructive additions, of which the most important and famous is the Bhagavadgita (in short: Gita), probably dating to the 4th or 3rd century BC, where Krishna gives advise to Arjuna before a great battle). The story centers on conflict between the good Pandavas (heroic gods exiled to forest and sheltered in caves) and bad Kauravas (demons), the hundred sons of the blind king Dhritarashtra. Overseeing events is Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu), who has taken on human form. Krishna acts as charioteer for Arjuna, the Pandava's military expert for long-range missile tactics (bow and arrows), who eventually triumphs in a great battle with the Kauravas. The Mahabharata, at about one hundred thousand verses, is in fact mankind's longest work of literature; eight times longer than the Greek epics Iliad and Odyssey combined.
Cavités proche
| Distance (km) | Nom | Longueur (m) | Profondeur (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11.7 | TALUPULAMMA (Cave of) | ||
| 38.8 | MANDAVYA MAHAMUNI (Cave of) | ||
| 75.7 | SANKARAM CAVES | ||
| 90.3 | PUDIMADAKA - BHIMUNIPATNAM SEA CAVES | ||
| 99.7 | MATSYA GUNDAM POTHOLE | ||
| 114.2 | Borra Caves | ||
| 115.1 | NILGALGUNTA (Cave at) | ||
| 116.1 | REGA (Cave at) | ||
| 126.4 | KOTHIGUDA LIMESTONE OCCURRENCE |