| Temples & Legends Of Bihar |
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| Temples & Legends Of
India |
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SONEPUR |
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| Sonepur has the
legend that this was the actual place where, in pre-historic times, the fight ended
between the lords of the forest and the water, Gaj and Grah- the elephant and the
crocodile. According to the Srimad Bhagwat Purana, there was a vast lake round the Trikut
hill, which had, as the name implies three towering peaks, crowned with dense forest and
infested with wild animals. There lived a huge crocodile in this lake. An elephant came
with a herd to the tank to have a bath. The crocodile caught the elephant by the leg and
tried to drag him into deeper water. The elephant gave a stiff resistance. The struggle
continued for a thousand years and ultimately all the elephants and the crocodiles joined
in the contest. The elephant, beginning to weaken, prayed to the supreme god Hari, to help
him. His prayer was heard and Hari saved him from the grip of the crocodile in the
presence of Hara and other gods.
In Hindu mythology the crocodile is deemed to have been in its previous birth a
Gandharva chief named Huhu. Huhu went to bathe in this lake with a party of Gandharva
women and, it is said, in a truculent manner he caught a holy sage by the leg. |
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