PMV_13
★★★★4.0Wrote on 21 Jul 2022
Worth a visit for the scenic beauty
Bada Mahadev Caves. As per the legend, Lord Shiva had blessed a demon giving him the power to incinerate/burn anyone by placing his hand over their head. After getting the boon the demon came to be known as “Bhasmasur”. Bhasm means ash, so Bhasmasur means an Asur who could reduce anyone to ash. The power went to his head and he wanted to try it out on Lord Shiv. To save himself Lord Shiv had to evade him eventually he entered a cave and vanished. That cave and temple is known as Gupt Mahadev cave. Eventually, Lord Vishnu took the form of a celestial Apsara, Mohini and tricked Bhasmasur to place his hand over his own head and reduce himself to ash. The place where Bhasmasur was killed became Bada Mahadev Cave. Near Bada Mahadev Cave little further up and higher on the hill there is a smaller cave with a red vermilion-coated idol of Hanuman which can be seen from Bada Mahadev cave. This way, there is a cluster of three caves in close proximity of each other and collectively the place is called Bada Mahadev ‘caves’ From Handi Khoh we proceeded to Bada Mahadev Caves. After about 8 KMs and half, an hour or so reached the parking lot of Bada Mahadev Caves. Last few miles the road is narrow and the condition is not too good. It descends quite sharply with steep winding road and hairpin bends. Both sides of the road and the hillsides are thickly forested, from the hairpin bends one can also have a panoramic view of the hill ranges. All in all, nature lovers, as well as others, can enjoy the scenic beauty along the route. From the parking, Bada Mahadev Cave is about 500 meters or so. The approach is paved and can be negotiated very easily. As is customary, A Nandi statue is installed right at the entrance of the cave. The floor of the cave is also paved. There is constant seepage of water from the cave ceiling and the walls. The seepage of water is substantial so as to dampen the whole cave and flow along the flooring, it also fills up a water “Kund” and eventually flows out of the cave. It seems on auspicious days devotees take a bath in this Kund. The cave is 60 feet deep. It is quite dark. Lone light installed near the main idols seems to be fighting a losing battle. However, the paved flooring and the railing are of great help to negotiate the dark, damp and wet flooring of the cave. At the end is the main deity. Along with a Shiv ling, there are idols of Lord Brahma, Lord Vishnu and Lord Ganesa. Looking closely one can spot a smaller shiv ling carved out of the cave rock. I feel it must have been the original Shiv ling when the temple was established and bier more prominent shiv ling was installed much later. This of course is just a conjecture on my part. After taking darshan of Bada Mahadev others were tired and in no mood to see the other two caves. Sadly, we did not see the smaller cave nor the Gupta Mahadev cave.
