King Rituparna of the Sun dynasty (Surya Vansha) discovered the cave in the Treta Yuga {{ keyword }} . In the Kali Yuga, Adi Shankaracharya visited this cave in 1191 AD. That was the beginning of the modern pilgrimage history, at Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
Patal Bhuvaneshwar is a limestone cave temple 14 km from Gangolihat in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state in India. It is located in the village Bhubneshwar. Legend and folklore have it that this underground cave enshrines Lord Shiva and thirty three koti Gods (33 type of gods in hindu culture) 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 awesome cave is believed to be as old as the earth itself. It has been mentioned in detail in the 103 chapter of Manaskhand of "Skanda Purana". The first human who entered this cave was king "Rituparna" of Suraya Dynasty during the "Tretayuga". It is said that during his visit, he had encountered several demons and "Sheshnaag" himself acted as his guide.One can see the gateway of the great ages in Patal Bhuvaneshwar. {{ keyword }}
There are four entrances inside the cave named as ‘Randwar’ ‘Paapdwar’, ‘Dharamdwar’ and ‘Mokshadwar’. The Paapdwar was closed soon after the death of Ravana and the Randwar, literally, the road to war, was closed down after the great Mahabharata war. At present only two gateways are opened. {{ keyword }} You can see the tongue of Kali Bhairav, Aravati of Indra, hairs of Lord Shiva and several other wonders inside the caves of Patal Bhuvaneshwar.In "Dwaparyuga" this cave was rediscovered by the Pandavas.
