Sahrawat
Active Member
Think of devil and devil is there:
A 15 minute scramble would have taken me to my destination for the day but god had planned something better for me. As i was struggling to climb a narrow passage between the two boulders i heard some noises. My paranoid mind hinted me to run back for safety. But, there is no way back. So i decided to give a try to find out what it is, as i had almost reached my destination and i didn’t have the other option. So i moved forward cautiously, taking few steps at a time, to ascertain if my apprehensions are real. No surprise, i spotted two black figures some 20 yards away on my way to Shiva idol. One was rubbing his back with a boulder, and other standing nearby. I couldn’t make what that animal was, by looking at his size it could have been bear . The details were not clear but one thing i was sure was that i need to run for my life. But you can’t run at that gradient, one can’t even walk without using hands. Loosing balance at that place means coming tumbling down several feet before you are stopped by a bush or boulder. I stopped after coming down some 50 steps. Then i looked back and found no one was following me. Ahhh....took a sigh of relief...but now what! Where to go! Is there any alternate route to the peak! Even if there is an alternative route, it won’t be visible, there is no guarantee that i won’t find the wild animals near the Shiva idol again. So decided to descend to the point where i find this diversion. In half an hour, i was back to point where i started the uphill trek.
Now i had three choices :
· Stay put where i was and wait for morning.
Challange : There was no shelter, its hard to survive those bone penetrating winds.
· Go back to Teesri using the same route i came
Challange : I spotted some caves & pugmarks in this route as well, hiking during night has risk of encountering wild animals again.
· Go ahead on the trail which i thought to be of Sarahan ( this is different from Sarahan on NH22)
Solution: This seemed to be a only available option to me and i headed forward on the route , come what may.
The Trail is like a parikarma of churdhar from Teesri, you can start from it and end at it encircling the mountain. I was on the North east spur of the mountain, and you can’t see what lies ahead until you cross this spur. As soon as started on the trail i spotted a water pipe partially buried in the ground , it gave me a ray of hope and if followed the pipe which took me to a water tank. There i spotted the Temple complex. I was overjoyed, couldn’t thank god enough for being so kind to me. I rushed to the temple with brisk steps where i find Swami ji with few followers offering evening prayers to Shrigul Maharaj.
Post pooja rituals i stated the incident to Pandit ji, he offered me a room in the temple complex and asked his sewadaar to arrange for dinner and blankets. I got an opportunity to have dinner with Swami ji who told me that he stays at the temple throughout the winters. His Sewadaar and the few other people will go back to their villages soon and he’ll stay alone at the temple complex during the winters. He has got enough fire wood and ration to pass the winter. The winters are so harsh at the top that entire temple is submerged in snow. At times he has to shovel the snow from the roshandaan to get some fresh air.
Swami ji confirmed the presence of wild animal around the temple area and in the region above. He said, it’s safe when there is pilgrim season but once its Ekaant (Solitude), wild animal roams free as no human presence is observed. When i talked about my incident, he said it must have been a Bhaghera , (Black Panther) as it was also spotted by a local villager who was coming from the Sarahan side. As per him the Bhaghera is shy animal and don’t attack humans, but black bears when startled, chase humans and inflict serious injuries which can be fatal, though they are considered vegetarian.
A 15 minute scramble would have taken me to my destination for the day but god had planned something better for me. As i was struggling to climb a narrow passage between the two boulders i heard some noises. My paranoid mind hinted me to run back for safety. But, there is no way back. So i decided to give a try to find out what it is, as i had almost reached my destination and i didn’t have the other option. So i moved forward cautiously, taking few steps at a time, to ascertain if my apprehensions are real. No surprise, i spotted two black figures some 20 yards away on my way to Shiva idol. One was rubbing his back with a boulder, and other standing nearby. I couldn’t make what that animal was, by looking at his size it could have been bear . The details were not clear but one thing i was sure was that i need to run for my life. But you can’t run at that gradient, one can’t even walk without using hands. Loosing balance at that place means coming tumbling down several feet before you are stopped by a bush or boulder. I stopped after coming down some 50 steps. Then i looked back and found no one was following me. Ahhh....took a sigh of relief...but now what! Where to go! Is there any alternate route to the peak! Even if there is an alternative route, it won’t be visible, there is no guarantee that i won’t find the wild animals near the Shiva idol again. So decided to descend to the point where i find this diversion. In half an hour, i was back to point where i started the uphill trek.
Now i had three choices :
· Stay put where i was and wait for morning.
Challange : There was no shelter, its hard to survive those bone penetrating winds.
· Go back to Teesri using the same route i came
Challange : I spotted some caves & pugmarks in this route as well, hiking during night has risk of encountering wild animals again.
· Go ahead on the trail which i thought to be of Sarahan ( this is different from Sarahan on NH22)
Solution: This seemed to be a only available option to me and i headed forward on the route , come what may.
The Trail is like a parikarma of churdhar from Teesri, you can start from it and end at it encircling the mountain. I was on the North east spur of the mountain, and you can’t see what lies ahead until you cross this spur. As soon as started on the trail i spotted a water pipe partially buried in the ground , it gave me a ray of hope and if followed the pipe which took me to a water tank. There i spotted the Temple complex. I was overjoyed, couldn’t thank god enough for being so kind to me. I rushed to the temple with brisk steps where i find Swami ji with few followers offering evening prayers to Shrigul Maharaj.
Post pooja rituals i stated the incident to Pandit ji, he offered me a room in the temple complex and asked his sewadaar to arrange for dinner and blankets. I got an opportunity to have dinner with Swami ji who told me that he stays at the temple throughout the winters. His Sewadaar and the few other people will go back to their villages soon and he’ll stay alone at the temple complex during the winters. He has got enough fire wood and ration to pass the winter. The winters are so harsh at the top that entire temple is submerged in snow. At times he has to shovel the snow from the roshandaan to get some fresh air.
Swami ji confirmed the presence of wild animal around the temple area and in the region above. He said, it’s safe when there is pilgrim season but once its Ekaant (Solitude), wild animal roams free as no human presence is observed. When i talked about my incident, he said it must have been a Bhaghera , (Black Panther) as it was also spotted by a local villager who was coming from the Sarahan side. As per him the Bhaghera is shy animal and don’t attack humans, but black bears when startled, chase humans and inflict serious injuries which can be fatal, though they are considered vegetarian.
