GUPT MAHADEV AND BADA MAHADEV

When Lord Shiva was being chased by the demon Bhasmasur he took refuge at various places in Satpura mountains. Wherever he is supposed to have taken respite stands a Shiv temple. Bada Mahadev is one of such places. The main shrine is inside a 70 ft deep cave that also harbours a pond fed by water seeping through the rocks. Walking distance from the Bada Mahadev is another temple called the Gupt Mahadev which again is inside a cave. The cave is wide enough to allow one person to walk in and the main chamber can hold not more than five people at a time excluding the purohit. The famous Bhimbetka caves, which is around 50 kms from Bhopal, is also on the way. The place is absolutely barren. They are also called the Shelter Caves. The rock formations, man made or natural are supposed to be more than 9000 yrs old.

ARKI SHIVA CAVES

A very interesting natural temple near Arki. Requires a 45 minute steep trek to reach this temple which was right on top of a hill. Very few people and very peaceful and calm. It is basically a cave into which light filters during the day. Most of the cave is in darkness. The people you see in this snap are having there food which is provided free to the devotees. The priest (baba) lives in the cave itself. Not more is know about this place but just that Arki is a place in Solan in Himachal Pradesh.

SUDHMAHADEV TEMPLE

Situated in the town of Chanhani in the western part of the Jammu, the Sacred Temple of Sudhmahadev was constructed by Chaudhari Ramdas of Chanhani and his son Chaudhari Parag Mahajan about 80 years ago. Shri Masu Shahane of Sudhmahadev is said to have constructed the entrance door of the temple of Sudhmahadev. The holy spot near Patnitop, it is situated at an altitude of 1225 m above sea level. Pilgrims visit the shrine on the full moon night of the rainy season to worship the famous Trident and a mace, which is said to belong to Lord Shiva. The Devak stream originating at this place disappears magically among the rocks a few kilometers down stream. The temple has a natural black marble 'lingam' and Goddess Parvati mounted on Nandi. The 'Dhooni' (sacred fire) commemorates the spiritual attainments of Baba Roop Nath who is said to have attained Samadhi there. It is said to have been burning constantly ever since Baba Roop Nath is said to be residing in the temple.According to a popular legend, it is believed that Lord Shiva who was in his Samadhi (deep meditation) shot his big Trishul (trident) to protect his consort Uma startled suddenly by her loud cry. However, it was Shiva's devotee, Sudheet who approached Uma to pay his respectful obeisance and since he was a demon in his previous birth, his demoniac looks frightened her and she made a loud shriek. The trident however killed Sudheet. Shiva realized his mistake and offered to resuscitate him but Sudheet preferred the death given by Lord Shiva Himself. Touched by his devotion, Lord Shiva prefixed his name to the place forever and the broken trident in three pieces, is still installed in the temple.

PEER KHO CAVES

Peer Kho cave shrine of Lord Shiva is also known as "Jamawant Cave" is said to be the oldest historic place in the Shivalik region. Located amongst igneous rocks and acacia jungle in North-East of Jammu city on the circular road above Tawi river, the cave traces its history from the legends and myths connected with epic age. Peer Kho presently constitutes of two caves located at a depth of about 20 to 30 ft. below the surface of the temple complex. After descending a flight of marble steps the cave starts. On the right side, the height of the tunnel cave starts. On the right side, the height of the tunnel cave is about 4.5 ft to 5.0 ft. A normal person has to walk on bending while crossing the cave. The length of this portion is about 15 ft and breadth about 3 ft. After this tunnel comes a broader cave with black colored natural Shivlingam in the center. This pentagonal cave is about 12 ft. in height and about 12 ft. wide.

GAVI GANGADHARESHWARA TEMPLE

This ancient temple was cut out of the rock probably in the 9th century. It is a natural monolith rock formation with the cave temple carved out of it. It is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The temple has four monolithic pillars and a rare idol of Agni, the God of fire. There are other idols inside including the idol of Agnimurthi, which has two heads, seven hands and three legs. Those worshipping this deity believe it will cure one of all eye defects. Thousands of devotees come in January every year on Makar sankranti Day to this cave temple. This is a special day when the sunrays fall on the Sivalinga for one hour as it passes between the horns of the Nandi. Such was the knowledge of architecture and astronomy that the ancient sculptors could craft the horns of the stone bull outside the temple so that the sun's rays would pass through its horns and light up the deity Shiva Linga inside the cave. The Gavi Gangadhareshwara temple in Bangalore is well known for a celestial event on 14 January every year, when the rays of the setting sun illuminate the idol of the deity inside a cave. The sun’s rays falling from the southwestern part of the temple pass through an arch and a couple of windows placed perpendicular to each other, and later through the horns of a ‘Nandi’, to fall on the idol of the temple for about 15 min (between 4:55 and 5:15 pm). For the astronomical construction of the temple check out this site.

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/dec102008/1632.pdf

PATAL BHUVANESHWAR CAVE

Amidst of the beautiful mountains of Uttarakhand is this village in total silence, distinctively confronting the Himalayas. The earliest references of Patal Bhuvaneshwar temple can be seen in the Manaskhand 103rd Chapter of Skandpurana. Veda Vyasa, gave an elaborate description of this auspicious cave in the realms of earth where gods and goddesses rest. It is believed that at this place Gods visit Patal to worship Lord Shiva. This cave is a repository of various episodes of Hindu mythology. One has to bend and crawl, holding on to the supportive chains on the wall, to get inside the cave. In comparison to the narrow entrance, the inside of the cave is wide. As the original entrance was very narrow and dangerous an artificial entrance with some form of staircase was built, though many find even that is dangerous. Ringing the bell at the cave entrance( which is in the shape of Sheshnag’s hood ) one has to slide down the slimy moist throat of the great serpent (a slippery ladder of stony steps) with the help of ropes. Along the route, you can see many things like the claws and jaws of Lord Narsimha emerging out of the cave in natural rock. This was signifying the story Lord Narsimha and Hiranyakashipu. A heart-shaped rock referred to as Shiva’s wish-fulfilling kamandala (water pot),tree- shaped rock which was a representation of Kalpavriksha, which is supposed to grant wishes. The water drops coming out of them are whitish, it is a fine representation of milk. These drops fall over ‘Bharamkapali’. This is the representation of Brahma’s Skull. At the end of this staircase you see a spacious hall with some myriad rocks which the guide explains the mythology embedded in every piece of rock here. well-marked ribs of Sheshnag on the cave floor like steps for people to walk ( actually the back of Sheshnag). One can see the jaws of Shesnag on the roof. Each and every rock structure in the cave was narrating some or other tale of the Hindu mythology. The amazing part of these structures was that they all have been formed out of natural rock inside that dark cave. Excellent blog http://theemerald.wordpress.com/2009/03/31/patal-bhuvaneshwar/

PATALESHWAR CAVE TEMPLE

Pataleshwar temple defines every inch of what rock cut cave architecture is about. The circular mandapa is a treat to the eye, with pillars carved into a single bed rock that stands sculpted in the middle of the courtyard. This whole temple complex would have once been a sheer solid rock outcrop and carving into it would have been an ambitious task. Moving back to the era of the 8th century around which time this temple was planned, the initial landscape would have been that of a rocky boulder with probable thick vegetation surrounding it. Assuming the surface was flat, the initial ground plan would have been visualized to describe the form of a Shiva linga, with the current Nandi Mandapa forming the main linga circle of this temple in aerial view. Digging down into live rock, with acute sense of geometry and precision, this temple would have taken a few years to sculpt out of live rock. Situated on the river side, this temple has the perfect ambience of a Buddhist chaitya and vihara.

NELLITEERTHA CAVE

The Nellitheertha Somanatheshwara Cave temple which is situated in Dakshin Kannada district. The cave is about 300 to 400 meters long and one needs to move slowly on ones knees to reach the inside of the cave. Inside the cave, one can find a beautiful lake and a Shiva Linga. The history of the temple dates back to 1487. Inside the cave, water drops keep dripping down in the shape of gooseberries (amla) to form the lake and hence the name Nelli (Amla) Theertha (holy water).It is believed that Jabali Maharshi (Sage) use to perform penance in the cave to appease Goddess Durga Parameshwari. Goddess Durga Parameshwari appeared before Jabali Maharshi and assured that Lord Shiva, Lord Vishnu and Goddess Durga herself would grace the region and that there would be temples to worship all three of them in the locality.Another unique feature of this cave is that it is closed for nearly 6 months a year. The cave is open only between October and April. There are plenty of animals inside the cave. The cave houses snakes of all varieties, scorpions, porcupines and huge number of bats. Troubling or hurting the animals inside the cave is strictly prohibited.

BORRA CAVES

The Borra Caves are located on the East Coast of India, in the Ananthagiri hills of the Araku valley of the Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh. The Caves, one of the largest in the country, at an elevation of about 705 m (2,313.0 ft). On the discovery of the caves, there are several legends, which the tribals who inhabit the villages around the caves narrate. The popular legend is that a cow, grazing on the top of the caves, dropped 60 m (196.9 ft), through a hole in the roof. The cowherd while searching for the cow came across the caves. He found a stone inside the cave that resembled a Lingam, which he interpreted as the Lord Shiva who protected the cow. The village folk who heard the story believed it and since then they have built a small temple for Lord Shiva outside the cave. Worship of Stalagmite Lingam inside the Borra Caves
Another legend is that Lingam is found deep in the caves and above which is a stone formation of kamadhenu. It is surmised that the udder of this cow is the source of the Gosthani River which originates from here, flows through Orissa.

GUPTESWAR GUFA

85 km west of Koraput in southern Orissa Gupteswar is a cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is located near Jeypore, India, at the top of a limestone hill which is about 500 metres above sea level. Surrounded by a dense forest of sal trees and flanked by Kolab river, a 2m high lingam stands in the cave. The shrine is called "Gupteswar" which means the "Hidden God". It is so named because it was lying hidden in the cave for a very long period. One can reach it by climbing the 1000 steps flanked with rows of champak trees. The entrance of the cave is about 3 m wide and 2 m in height. There are also several other caves nearby. Inside the second cave there is a large stalactite. People worship it as the udder of God Kamadhenu (the divine cow) and wait under it with outstretched palms to collect drops of water which fall only at long intervals.
Popularly known as "Gupta Kedar" in the vicinity, this sacred place, endowed with unusual natural beauty, is associated with Shri Rama of the epic Ramayana. The nearby hill has been named "Ramagiri". According to mythology, the lingam was first discovered by Lord Rama when he was roaming in the then Dandakaryana forest with wife Sita and brother Laxman and later worshipped it calling it "Gupteswar". The poet Kalidas too, described the scenic beauty of Ramgiri forest where the cave temple is referred to in his famous Meghadutam.
However, with the passing of time, the temple was abandoned. Later, in the last part of the 19th century, a hunter of the Ramgiri area found the lingam. Since then the lingam has been worshipped by the tribes of Koraput region. In Shivaratri (a Hindu festival) Gupteswar Temple draws over 200,000 devotees from Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Chattisgarh. People suffering from incurable diseases come here to worship the God and remain here for months in the hope of getting cured.