Yana - The Legend of the Yana Caves!

After the mesmerizing trip to Dandeli, we all got busy will our work, 6 months passed just like a blink of the eye, until we decided to meet and plan for another adventurous trek! Me and my friends came up with many new places, both within Karnataka and outside Karnataka, due to the popular demand we finalized a place – The Yana Caves!

Yana is a village located near the forests of Kumta, in Sirsi district. Though being a small village Yana is famous for its unique karst rock formations. Yana houses two enormous rocks composed of solid black limestone. These rocks are black in color, also the mud on the ground around these rocks is also completely black, very much unlike the ordinary brown mud.

So we started at 6 am from Hubli in our car and after multiple stops during the journey to click photos , we reached Yana at 11 am. Once we reached Yana caves we were astonished by its beauty!

Two huge rocks, made of crystalline limestone can be seen rising sharply above the lush green forest. Yana is famous for these two massive karst rocks known as the Bhairaveshwara Shikhara and the Mohini Shikhara (hill). The huge rocks are composed of solid black, crystalline karst limestone. Bhairaveshwara Shikhara is 120 metres (390 ft) in height, while the Mohini Shikhara, which is smaller, is 90 metres (300 ft) in height. The caves of Yana are worth a visit. They share a close proximity to the Sahyadri Range and are about 3 meters in depth. The caves contain a special element – a self-made Shiv Ling that is present in the Gangodbhava Temple. Yana caves can be accessed during the trek and showcase beautiful hills and waterfalls from the access points. After spending about 5-6 hours in yana , we headed for our next destination!

Legend

Hindu mythology links this place with an event in the life of the Asura, or demon king Bhasmasura. Bhasmasura, by austere penance, obtained a boon from lord Shiva. This boon made it so that when Bhasmasura placed his hand over any one's head, he would burn them up and turn them into ashes (bhasma). It is further narrated that, in order to test his powers, Bhasmasura wanted to place his hands on his patron Lord Shiva's head. He chased Shiva, which unnerved Shiva and prompted him to move from his heavenly abode to earth to seek the help of Lord Vishnu. Vishnu transformed himself to help Shiva, adopting the form of beautiful damsel named Mohini who enticed Bhasmasura with her beauty. Bhasmsura was quite infatuated by Mohini, and agreed to a challenge she issued for a dance competition.

During the dance competition, Mohini cleverly performed a dance pose with hand over head. Without realizing the gravity of this act, the demon king also placed his hand over his head and perished by the fire of his own hands, he was converted into ashes. It is believed that the fire that emanated during this act was so intense that the limestone formations in the Yana area were blackened. The loose black soil or ash seen around the two large rock formations in the area are cited as proof of the legend by devotees who see them as due to the fire and that ashes produced by Bhasmasura death. The two hillocks are also named for this event: the tall peak being Bhairaveshwara Shikhara ("Shiva's hill"), and the smaller peak, a few steps down below, being Mohini Shikhara where an idol of goddess Parvathi is installed. There are also several other small caves nearby. There is also a Ganesha temple in the vicinity.

How to reach Yana

The road distances on the NH 17 connecting Yana village are: Kumta - 25 kilometres, Sirsi - 40 kilometres, Gokarna - 52 kilometres and Hubli - 142 kilometres. The nearest rail head is at Kumta, and the nearest airport is Hubli. The road from Bangalore is via Sirsi – a distance of 410 kilometres by National Highway 4(NH-4). The best approach to Yana is from Kumta or Sirsi. A road deviation between these two towns on the highway is near the village of Kathagala. There is also an alternate route to reach Sirsi from Yana via Devanhalli and Mathighatta via Vaddi Ghat. A single lane road was constructed in the thick forest which reduces the trek-length 0.5 kilometres and drawing more number of tourists.