Mama Bhagne Paharh is a rock formation near

Dubrajpur Dubrajpur is a city and a municipality in Suri Sadar subdivision of Birbhum district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Dubrajpur is located at . It has an average elevation of 77 metres (252 feet). Connectivi ...

town of

Birbhum district Birbhum district () is an District#India, administrative unit in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the northernmost district of Burdwan division—one of the five Divisions of West Bengal, administrative divisions of West Bengal. The distr ...

in the

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

The area

It is a pair of almost spherical natural boulders of granite rock, one balancing on the top of other. The balancing of the rocks are so surprising that it is a famous landmark in West Bengal, where it is known as Mama Bhagne (the maternal uncle and the nephew). The site has a number of boulders splintered across the place. It is the extreme eastern part of the

Chota Nagpur plateau The Chota Nagpur Plateau is a plateau in eastern India, which covers much of Jharkhand state as well as adjacent parts of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal and Bihar. The Indo-Gangetic plain lies to the north and east of the plateau, and the bas ...

where "the granite is gray and composed of glassy quartz pink, gray feldspar and black mica". Those rocks were formed due to the extension of the Chota Nagpur Plateau before many years. At the base of the rocks there is a temple of

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

entitled Pahareswar.O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, ''Birbhum'', Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 125-128, first published 1910, 1996 reprint, Government of West Bengal

Mythology

When

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

decided to attack

Ravana Ravana (; , , ) is a rakshasa king of the island of Lanka, and the chief antagonist of the Hindu epic ''Ramayana'' and its adaptations. In the ''Ramayana'', Ravana is described to be the eldest son of sage Vishrava and rakshasi Kaikesi. He a ...

, he found it necessary to throw a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

across the

straits A strait is an oceanic landform connecting two seas or two other large areas of water. The surface water generally flows at the same elevation on both sides and through the strait in either direction. Most commonly, it is a narrow ocean channe ...

for the conveyance of his troops, he drove in his aerial chariot to the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...

, picked up what stones he needed and drove back. As he was passing Dubrajpur his horses took fright and tilted up the chariot and so some stones fell out. These are the stones at Mama Bhagne. There is another legend to the effect that they were collected by

Viswakarma Vishvakarma or Vishvakarman ( sa, विश्वकर्मा, Viśvakarmā, all maker) is a craftsman deity and the divine architect of the devas in contemporary Hinduism. In the early texts, the craftsman deity was known as Tvastar and the ...

, at the command of

, to erect in one night a second

Kasi KASI (1430 AM, "News Talk 1430") is a radio station licensed to serve Ames, Iowa. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to iHM Licenses, LLC. It airs a News/Talk radio format. The station was assigned the KASI call letters b ...

. When he collected the rocks and was about to commence work day dawned and so he left. A temple named Pahareshwar is situated at the bottom of hills

In popular culture

The rock formation is a thematic motif of the movie '' Abhijan'' by

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of fil ...

, where the rocks are seen as symbols of human being carrying its sin accumulated over time. A

Feluda Feluda, or Prodosh Chandra Mitra itter'', is a fictional detective, Private investigator created by famous Indian director and writer Satyajit Ray. Feluda resides at 21 Rajani Sen Road, Ballygunge, Calcutta, West Bengal. Feluda first made his ap ...

story of Satyajit Ray, named Robertsoner Ruby spotted in Mama Bhagne hill area. It is also the title for Anup Sengupta's '' Mama Bhagne'' (2009), starring

Prasenjit Chatterjee Prosenjit Chatterjee (born 30 September 1962) is an Indian actor and producer. He is widely regarded as one of the leading actors in modern Bengali cinema. He predominantly works in Bengali cinema . He is the son of veteran Bollywood actor Bisw ...

and

Ananya Chatterjee Ananya Chatterjee is an Indian actress who works in Bengali films. Known for her role in '' Abahoman'' which won her a National Award. She started her career as a TV actress. She acted in several TV serials and films, including three directed b ...

Mama Bhagne picture gallery

File:Mama Bhagne Hills and Temple 06.jpg, Mama Bhagne Hills File:dubrajpur mama bhangne pahar.jpg, The area is dotted with such boulders File:Mama Bhagne Hills and Temple 01.jpg, Pahareshwar Temple File:Mama Bhagne Hills and Temple 22.jpg, Mama Bhagne rock

References

External links

Rock picture
* {{coord missing, West Bengal Hills of West Bengal Birbhum district