THE PACAHI BABA MEGALITHS

by
Subhashis Das

Long: 85.34 deg East
Lat: 23.99 deg North.


THE MEGALITH.


This is a megalithic site in the periphery of my hometown, Hazaribagh and  thankfully the site has received protection from the villagers as they revere it as their Pacahi Baba. 
"Pacahi" as per Asko Parpola is a Dravidian term suggesting both the ripening of the produce and/or even the yellowish colour symbolic of the ripening of paddy, therefore "Pacahi Baba" is the harvest deity. The worship of the megalith as a deity is surely a very recent activity which should date back to a century or two and has nothing to do with the original maker of the monument.

The original makers of the megalith, possibly the proto austric Mundari tribals have long since left the land leaving behind their megaliths.

The entire complex is enclosed with a brick boundary on her three sides with the opening on the eastern side which is the entrance to this temple. The site has a tamarind tree grown near to the western wall of the temple below which is a three feet tall menhir with a pointed peak. This stone is identical to the tall reclined pointer stone of Rola (Chano) and is smeared with an orange coloured circular blot which perhaps is symbolic of the rising sun and is the deity of the temple.


THE TINY TRIANGLE IN THE FOREGROUND AND THE DEITY MENHIR AT THE BACK


A small triangle barely a few inches high peeps out of the earth pointing to the sky above. Triangles are typical to the region of Hazaribagh, found nowhere else. Why has this small stone been implanted here rather what purpose does this small stone serve, we may perhaps never know. 
Nevertheless, standing here one can see that he is right "on" the alignmental path between the Kanhari Hill about half a kilometer away to the left and the Bawanwey Hill about 2 kms away to the right of the triangle. 


THE BURIAL STONE IN THE FOREGROUND


THE TALLEST MENHIR. THIS STONE ALONG WITH THE DEITY MENHIR IS ORIENTED TOWARDS THE MID-WINTER SUNRISE.

The tallest menhir is about a four feet tall and is placed in alignment with the deity menhir and the tiny triangle to the Recumbent Mother Goddess figure of the Zulzul Hill at about 160 degrees SE.
The decumbent stone in the foreground is the possible cover of the burial.
The megalith faces the Winter Solstice sunrise, the unusuality of menhirs in the region.

©Subhahsis Das     






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