Patal Bhuvaneshwar (Hindi : पाताल भुवनेश्वर) is a limestone

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

cave temple 14 km from

Gangolihat Gangolihat is a town in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, India. It is the headquarters of an eponymous tehsil ~ one of the 12 revenue subdivisions of the Pithorarh district. It is said that here Adi Shankaracharya did penance to please A ...

in the

Pithoragarh district Pithoragarh district is the easternmost district in the state of Uttarakhand. It is located in the Himalayas and has an area of and a population of 483,439 (as of 2011). The city of Pithoragarh, located in Saur Valley, is its headquarters. Th ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...

state in India. It is located in the village of Bhubneshwar. Legend and folklore have it that this cave enshrines Lord Shiva and thirty three koti demigods 3 Types, In hindu neumerology "Koti" means "Types" The cave is 160 m long and 90 feet deep from the point of entrance. Limestone rock formations have created various spectacular stalactite and stalagmite figures of various hues and forms. This cave has a narrow tunnel-like opening which leads to a number of caves. The cave is fully electrically illuminated. Built by the flow of water, Patal Bhuvaneshwar is not just one cave, rather a series of caves within caves.

Legend Of the Cave

The first human to discover this cave was Raja Ritupurna who was a king in the Surya Dynasty (''Surya Vansha'') who was ruling

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

(from the time of

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

) during the

Treta Yuga ''Treta Yuga'' (IAST: ''Tretā-yuga'') (Devanagari: त्रेतायुग), in Hinduism, is the second and second-best of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga Cycle'', preceded by '' Krita (Satya) Yuga'' and followed by '' Dvapara ...

. The story starts with Ritupurna and King Nal. It is said that once, King Nal was defeated by his wife, Queen Damayanti. In order to escape his wife’s prison Nala requested Ritupurna to hide him. Ritupurna took him to the forests of the Himalayas and asked him to stay there. While going back home he was fascinated by a deer which ran into woods and went after it. He could not find it and took rest under a tree. He had a dream where the deer was asking Ritupurna not to chase him. His sleep broke and as he woke up and went to a cave where a guard was standing. After enquiring about the cave he was allowed to go inside. Right at the entrance, Ritupurna met

Sheshnag Shesha (), also known by his epithets Sheshanaga () and Adishesha (), is a serpentine demigod ( naga) and king of the serpents (Nagaraja), as well as a primordial being of creation in Hinduism. In the Puranas, Shesha is said to hold all the p ...

who agreed to take him through the cave. It carried him on its hood. He saw the marvels of Gods taking place inside. He saw all the 33-koti 3 Types and not 33 Crores, in Hindu numerology "Koti" means "Types"gods and goddesses including Lord

Shiva Shiva (; , ), also known as Mahadeva (; , , Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐh and Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the God in Hinduism, Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions w ...

himself. It is said that after his visit, the cave was closed for ages with a slight prediction in the Skanda Purana that it will be reopened again in

Kali Yuga ''Kali Yuga'' (Devanagari: कलियुग), in Hinduism, is the fourth, shortest, and worst of the four '' yugas'' (world ages) in a '' Yuga cycle'', preceded by '' Dvapara Yuga'' and followed by the next cycle's '' Krita (Satya) Yuga''. I ...

. In the

Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedic scholar, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and his true impact lies in hi ...

, during his visit to Himalayas re-discovered this cave. Since then regular worship and offering are being done at this place.

History

According to belief, King Rituparna of the Sun dynasty (''Surya Vansha'') discovered the cave in the

. In the

visited this cave in 1191 AD. That was the beginning of the modern pilgrimage history, at Patal Bhuvaneshwar. The journey inside the cave has to be carried in feeble lights, holding protective iron chains. The stone formations of

can be seen, holding the earth, heaven and the underworld. ‘Havan’ (fire sacrifice) is performed in a dimly lit, solemn atmosphere, under the spell of holy chants. The cave, it is believed, is connected by an underground route to Mount Kailash.Uttarakhand ‘The abode of Gods’ Published by Nest and Wings Ed. A.P. Agarwala 2009-10 page 218

References

External links

* {{usurpe
"The cave shrine of Uttaranchal"
}, ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'', 23 May 2003 *
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