According to belief, King Rituparna of the Sun dynasty (Surya Vansha) discovered the cave in the Treta Yuga. In the Kali Yuga, Adi Shankaracharya visited this cave in 1191 AD. That was the beginning of the modern pilgrimage history, at Patal Bhuvaneshwar.
Let us begin with a brief about the Hindu age specifying the cycle of past, present, and future events. Chatur Yuga or a loop of four chief periods in the beliefs of Hindu cosmology is classified as Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga.
It was then during the Treta Yuga, king Rituparna of the Sun dynasty made the first human discovery of Patal Bhuvaneshwar. In his reign, king Nala came to seek his help to escape captivity from his wife, Queen Damayanti, resulting from a defeated fight. As Ritupurna took the distressed king to the forest of the Himalayas, he spotted a charming deer that disappeared into the woods.
A little while later, he had a dream of the deer not to hunt and harm it. In a quest to find it, he came across a guard patrolling a cave. He asked him to let him in, and the guard agreed. At the entrance, he was accepted by Sheshnaag, the snake king, and assisted. As they passed along the cavern, he was appalled by what he saw – all 33 Koti or 33 types of demigods, gods, and goddesses in their majestic forms and more dazed by the presence of Lord Shiva in his imperial manifestation.
