My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
“About the beginning of the year 1896, Mr. F. Fawcett, Superintendent of police, Malabar, discovered a very remarkable natural cave near Sultan’s Battery in the Wynaad. The walls of the cave are covered with rude, fanciful drawings and bear five short inscriptions.”
These are the words of the noted German Indologist and
epigraphist, Dr. Hultszch, in his first description of what we call today, the
Edakkal Caves.
The caves, in the Wayanad district of Kerala, are considered
an important link in our knowledge of our prehistoric ancestors. While they
were known for long by the locals before their ‘discovery’ by Superintendent
Fawcett, he must undoubtedly be given the credit of bringing them into the public
eye and given the recognition they deserve.
Edakkalmala, as the hill is called, first captured Fawcett’s
attention due to the annual pilgrimage made by people belonging to the local Chetty
caste, to the summit. The pilgrims scaled the peak by a flight of dangerous
steps cut into the rock to offer their respects to the goddess of the peak who
was believed to reside in the cave. Curious about local traditions, Fawcett
accompanied one such group of pilgrims and returned with a set of photographs
of the interior of the cave.
The floor of the cave was then covered with a soft green mould
to the depth of several feet. Noticing, in his photographs, some markings at
the floor level of the cave, Fawcett returned, this time with a group of
labourers, and set about clearing the mould, a process which took a long time,
and repeated visits. Eventually, they managed to excavate to a depth of about 7
ft of mould before they struck the rocky base of the cave and stopped work. The
presence of the mould on the floor is the best evidence of the age of the
carvings, since it must have evidently grown over a long period of time, thus
covering and preserving the carvings. It has since been estimated that the
caves were inhabited at several times during different periods of history, and
that the age of the carvings range over periods as early as 5000BC to 1000BC.
Walking over the well laid path on a hot summer day,
listening to the history of the cave, I ponder over how our ancestors from the Stone
Age arrived here. I am told that this mountain range falls on the trade route
between the Malabar and the sea, but the uphill trek, without benefit of roads
or steps, covered by dense jungles, would not have been easy, even for our
hardy ancestors. Centuries later, the rough steps would have posed a challenge
for the locals to brave each year for their annual pilgrimage, but what would
have been the nature of the Englishman who not only followed them, but also
unearthed the secrets of the cave? There is much we owe to him and those of his
ilk.
Clambering over the ancient steps which have been reinforced
with steel and stone...
I feel minute – diminished by the mountains and those who
came here before us.
Finally at the cave – which is not really a cave, but a
fissure, over which a rock has fallen, forming a roof ..
I stand by a
railing, speechless, partly by the
effort I have had to put in to reach here, and partly with awe at the sight.
The carvings seem to be clustered together. At first glance,
I can barely make out the details. It takes a while for me to start noticing
patterns. A book I have bought at the ticket counter helps... a bit.
A male figure with a head dress (or upright hair??) stands out amidst the rest. Is
this the leader?
Surrounding him are other figures, some of which may be
female. His harem? Or are they simply representations of the group?
There are animal figures too... but they require a much
closer and detailed look. All I can see are lines and circles. The circles look
like wheels, but it is doubtful that the wheel was invented then. They could be
the sun, I am told. Looks like our ancestors were sun worshippers too!
The cave also has a few inscriptions, such as this one....
Which brings us back to Dr. Hultzsch, who suggested that this
be read as “Sri-Vishnuvarmma(nah) kutumbiya-kula-var(d)dhansya li(kh)ita(m);
which means - the writing of the glorious Vishnuvarman, the propagator (i.e.
descendant) of the kutumbiya family – the word kutumbiya taken as the proper
name of Vishnuvardhan’s family. The second inscription is perhaps Tamil and
meant for ‘pal-puli tan=antakari’: he who himself has made an end of many
tigers”
Standing then, at the cave, I conjure up an image – of our
stone age ancestor trying to live his life, hunting tigers for sport as well as
food, and in his free time, or the time he was confined to the cave, probably
due to the weather, passing time by etching figures on the wall – doodling, so
to speak, and inadvertently leaving behind a memoir of his life for us,
centuries after his passing!
- Where to Stay: Kalpetta has the maximum options for staying, though the Edakkal Hermitage is located right on the hill, and has a great ambience. We only saw the resort from outside, so I can not comment on the facilities. Check their website for further details. http://www.edakkal.com/
Notes:
The walk was quite tiring for me, though there were older people who walked more briskly than I did! Samhith enjoyed it a whole lot more......
A special thanks to Nidhin Chandran, our guide from Muddy Boots. His patience with us, especially in light of our mood that day, speak volumes of his nature as well as his abilities to the make the most of any situation! Thanks Nidhin! I doubt I would have climbed Edakkal that day if it wasn't for you!
I had been there almost 8 years ago. Those engravings definitely take you many centuries back. Nice post!
ReplyDeletewww.rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
The Petroglyphs would make ones head spin. Enjoyed the trip with you.
ReplyDeleteNice Captures :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting post, Anu...
ReplyDeleteI did not even know there were rock engravings here. My first thought when I saw them is just how universal the pattern seems. Some Mayan engravings look almost exactly the same as this. I can't remember where I saw them, but will send the details across to you once I find them.
ReplyDeleteSuch similiarities makes me wonder if older pre-historic civilisations were really as isolated as we are led to believe. Or they did communicate similarly in spite of being divited by land and sea and no contact with one another?