Largest saligram on kaligandaki bank: Local pride shrinks sans rock’s authenticity
Of innumerable ‘sacred’ stones said to represent Hindu deities, a boulder perched on Kaligandaki banks in Palpa district adjoining Syangja has made a name for itself.
Considered to be the main incarnation of Lord Vishnu, this rock located at the Saligram VDC is said to be the biggest Saligram (ammonite fossil) and is revered from both religious and scientific points of view. This is a type of valuable and rare stone, found only on the banks of the Kaligandaki, reportedly the biggest stone found so far in the form of Saligram.
Apart from the religious perspective, Saligram is also considered important from the geological point of view. Saligrams were found in the Jurassic period of evolution of the Earth some 70 to 80 million years ago. Spherical carvings all over the surface, which make Saligrams the special stones for geologists, are fossils of the aquatic insect named ammonite—now extinct. The insects are said to have existed only in a portion of the then Tethis Sea—now Kaligandaki River. Each piece of Saligram, according to geologists, contains a bit of Pyrite Sulphide, an extremely valuable rare metal.
The rock fossils with traces of natural-looking carvings are found only in Nepal on the way to Damodar Kunda from Muktinath Temple in Mustang. The spherical carvings, believed to be the chakra (weapon
of lord Vishnu), make Saligrams ‘sacred’ religiously.
However, the boulder at Saligram VDC does not have any clear carving on its surface. Surya Prakash Manandhar, a geologist at the Department of Mines and Geology, said the rock is yet to be proved officially whether or not it is the biggest Saligram. “We have visited the site and found very few traces and carvings of fossils over its surface.”
However, another geologist has a different take. Since the traces of carvings have been spotted on its outer surface, the rock can be the biggest Saligram with an enormous source of minerals and metals, according to Ashok Duwadi, senior divisional geologist at the department.
Local residents have no doubt about the stone being a Saligram. According to them, while other small Saligram stones are identical avatars of Vishnu, this particular boulder is his main incarnation after he was cursed to live as a stone by Brinda, a mythical character in Hinduism, the murder of whose husband Jalandhar was planned by Vishnu.
According to Hari Parajuli, a priest at the site, there exists another myth to prove the stone as a sacred one. After the death of a local king in times immemorial, all his property and jewellery took the shape of a calf, which pierced into the stone and never came back, he said.
“Our grandfathers used to tell us that while in deep midnight meditation outside the temple, they could hear the mowing of cow and sounds of temple bells tolling.” Parajuli also said that during the reign of King Mahendra, an American citizen had visited the site, who first recognised the stone as valuable from scientific point of view. “We were told that he had proposed King Mahendra to break the stone and extract metals out of it,” said Parajuli. “However realising the rock’s religious value, the King rejected his idea,” he added.
Posted on: 2011-12-06 07:58
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