Author: Rohit Parihar
Publication: India Today
Date: August 21, 2006
Introduction: Built around a tragic tale and
founded on belief, this 'invisible' temple has no dearth of worshippers
Faith, they say, can move mountains. In Rajasthan's
Chittorgarh district, it has found its moorings in a temple believed to be
submerged under a lake. On every religious and social occasion, be it Akha
Teej or a wedding, worshippers from the village of Pangarh, bordering Madhya
Pradesh, head for the Joonji Bauji temple and wade into the water to perform
a puja.
Interestingly, nobody can say for certain
that a temple actually exists under the murky waters of what's popularly called
the Lotus lake at the foothills of the Vindyachal range. An erect bamboo shaft
protruding from under the water is all there is by way of evidence. "This
pole, perhaps perched on a dome, symbolises the temple," says Dhanjay
Singh, scion of the neighbouring Bijaipur Castle.
Reaching the temple entails a half-kilometre
trek through a picturesque but arduous rocky slope followed by a boat ride.
The boats are just big enough to seat one passenger besides the boatman. Long
and sturdy bamboo poles are used to navigate the rather precarious vessels
through a dense growth of lotus and water chestnut plants which make oars
or paddles redundant. Sometimes even hands suffice for oars.
Once close to the shaft that's covered with
flags right down to as far below as the eye can see, the boatman stretches
his bamboo pole into the water to touch what's presumably a stone surface
indicating the presence of the temple.
Armed with a flag, a worshipper then enters
the water to tie it to the shaft. Coconuts, together with lotus, are also
offered in obeisance.
The temple-which some say is not visible even
when the lake turns dry during drought-may have been altogether swamped by
the swirling waters and destroyed, but it has a tragic story behind it.
Basi Dada, a village elder, narrates the tale
of how a Kshatriya chieftain of Pangarh had apparently sacrificed his son,
daughter-in-law and grandson to end a prolonged period of drought. A pandit
had advised the chief to make his son pray on the dry bed of the lake for
six months before sacrificing him. The prince, Joonji Bauji, was joined by
his wife and son in death.
Since then, goes the legend, the lake has
never turned absolutely dry.
