Black hills of Kachchh
~The Upside Down Yogi
The great Dhoramnath, repentant after destroying the city of Mandvi, decided to do tapasya (penance) on a secluded hill. He climbed the highest hill he could see in the north, but weighed down by his sin, the hill shrank, becoming Nanao (small). The second hill he climbed couldn’t bear the burden of his guilt either and broke down, turned into Jhurio. Finally, he found a mountain that could bear him.Â
A mountain called Dhinodhar. Dhoramnath balanced himself upside down on a betel nut on Dhinodhar and meditated for 12 years. A Charan, a cow-herding woman, brought him milk all these years. The gods grew alarmed with the power of his penance and asked him to stop. Dhoramnath warned the gods that as he opens his eyes, his gaze will burn everything in front of it. The gods turned him to face the sea. The blaze from his opened eyes scorched the sea, leaving a lush grassland in its wake – called Banni. Imagine – a land born out of the power of meditation!
The moon so close to the hill-
What a wondrous sight!
As though a radiant Radha leans over
To whisper in her dark lover’s ear
Clouds cluster her moon-face
Like tousled locks
What a wondrous sight!
As though a radiant Radha leans over
To whisper in her dark lover’s ear
Clouds cluster her moon-face
Like tousled locks
The Black Hills of Kachchh -Aal
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