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It is known from the Topics that the hermitage
of sage Parasara was situated on the bank of the Trine Confluence of Shankh,
Koili and Saraswati. The sage use to go to the other side of the river to
worship Lord Siva every day. One day he saw the boatman’s young daughter. He
was enraptured by her beauty. He took her as his wife. A son named Krishna
Dwipayana was born to her. Later he was called Vedvyas. Vedvyas was the
famous author of Mahabharata and eighteen other epics. The birthplace of
Vedvyas has been commemorated as a sacred place of pilgrimage. A cave that
existed on a hill in the middle of the river of Shankh was called the
hermitage of Vyas. It was also called the Vyasa cave. As a result of erosion
the cave is now inaccessible. People believe that a tunnel connected the
cave with a river. It was called Vyasa Kund. It lies behind the Sankirtana
Mandap. The colour of the water of Shankh at the confluence is whitish. The
water of Koili’s is somewhat black but that of Saraswati is sweet and
transparent. The triangular plot of land lying between Shankh and Koili is
known as Yamuna Plateau (Dhipa). The original name of Vedvyas was Parasara Munda. Now it is buried in oblivion. As this area was surrounded by dense forests and inhabitated by wild beasts, very few brave devotees could go to the confluence to have a holy deep and to worship Lord Siva. There was a narrow road to the river. This road led to the small hill inside the river. With the construction of the bridge in 1972 pilgrims are able to go to the river easily. The hill adjacent to the river Brahmani is known as “Mahavir hill”. The hill lying to the east of the river is called the “Parasara hill”. The northern hill and north-eastern hills are called as the ‘Brahmani’ and ‘Gautami hill’ respectively. There is a cluster of small hills in Shankh. People believed that these are the wounds of Indra who was cursed for his evil deeds. The Vyas cave lies in the middle of these hills. There was a whirlpool by the side of these hills. This whirlpool with 200 feet in length and 200 feet in width used to kill people. The irrigation department has brought the dangerous place under control. The depth of the Vyas Kund is more than 40 feet and less than 50 feet. |
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