हिंदीOn this day
Standing

Patal Bhuvaneshwar Cave Temple

You go down into the earth on chains, through a passage barely wide enough for a body, and come out into a hall where the rock has grown into the forms of Sheshnag, Ganesha’s head and the four doors of the yugas. The Skanda Purana says that whoever worships here worships at all the tirthas at once.

Built: Limestone cave about 160 m long, entered by a narrow shaft; worship described in the Manas Khand of the Skanda PuranaWhere: Uttarakhand (Pithoragarh district)Deity: Bhagwan Shiva as Bhuvaneshwar, with the devatas in the rock29.69° N, 80.07° E
Photo: ArmouredCyborg · CC BY-SA 4.0

01Rituparna in the cave

The Manas Khand of the Skanda Purana tells how Raja Rituparna of Ayodhya, the same king whom Nala served as charioteer, followed a deer into the forest here and was led by a guardian down into the cave. Sheshnag himself showed him the way, and inside he found Shiva and all the devatas. The cave was then forgotten through the yugas; the Pandavas, the priests say, came here in their exile, and Adi Shankaracharya re-established the worship. The Bhandari family of priests has served the cave for many generations.

02What the rock shows

The priest leads you with a lamp from form to form. The ribs of Sheshnag run along the roof. A stone like a severed head with water dripping on it is Shri Ganesha’s, cut off by Shiva and bathed from above by a lotus of rock. Four small openings are the doors of sin, war, dharma and moksha, two of them shut, according to the tradition, since the ages they stood for are past. There are rocks shown as Kedarnath, Badrinath and Amarnath, and the matted hair of Shiva spreading over the wall. Phones and cameras are not allowed.

Visiting

About 14 km from Gangolihat and 90 km from Almora. The descent is tight and slippery; it is not for those with knee or breathing trouble. Under ASI protection.

Nearby

Haat Kalika Temple, GangolihatStanding
Vedic Rishis and the Itihasa

Haat Kalika Temple, Gangolihat

In a deodar forest at Gangolihat, Kumaon worships Mahakali whom the Kumaon Regiment of the Indian Army calls its own. Soldiers going to war and coming back have climbed to her for generations.

Jageshwar TemplesStanding
The Age of Great Kingdoms

Jageshwar Temples

More than a hundred stone temples of Shiva crowded in a deodar valley in Kumaon. Some Kumaoni traditions count Jageshwar as the Nageshwar Jyotirlinga of Darukavana.

Bagnath Temple, BageshwarStanding
Sultanates, Vijayanagara and the kingdoms that stood

Bagnath Temple, Bageshwar

The Shiva temple at the meeting of the Sarayu and Gomti that gives Bageshwar its name. Its Uttarayani mela at Makar Sankranti is the great fair of Kumaon, and in January 1921 it was the scene of the end of coolie begar.

Golu Devta Temple, ChitaiStanding
Shungas, Satavahanas, Kharavela and the Sangam Kingdoms

Golu Devta Temple, Chitai

Kumaon brings its lawsuits to Golu Devta. Devotees write their grievance on paper, often on stamp paper as if filing in a court, tie it up at Chitai, and hang a bell when the matter is settled.