The Saligramas are found only in the Gandaki River at Mukti Kshetra – also called Muktinath and Damodar Kunda, one of the most sacred pilgrimage places in north-west Nepal. Here the natural elements are displayed in a miraculous form. Flickering blue flames of natural methane gas burn on water, earth and stone – in an offering said to have been first lighted by Brahma, the Hindu Creator. Muktinath’s sanctity goes far back into antiquity. The Indian epic Mahabharat mentions it, calling the place Shaligram. The river Gandaki is a very ancient river; and the geologists say that it existed even before the formation of the Himalayan ranges. It rises beyond the Himalayan ranges, probably in Tibet, and flows (in the north-south direction) into Nepal, which is the southern valley of the Himalayas, and India. The situation of the birth of the river is given as North 27 27 and East 83 56’; it courses in the south-western direction, and joins Ganga in a place called Bhavatyapur in Bihar. It is an important tributary of the river Ganga. It is called Salagrami or Narayani in Uttar-pradesh. It was known to the Greek geographers as Kondochetts.
Read the story of the holy Gadaki river.
The glossy black fossils called shaligram are found in here. On the outside they look like small rounded rocks, but split open they reveal the imprint of ammonites formed 140 million years ago. Because of its wheel-like shape or chakra, the shaligram is associated with the Hindu god Vishnu. The chakras on the stones are formed by the river worms called Vajra-keeta. Its teeth/nails are said to be harder than granite stone. The Vajra keeta worms drill the stones, get inside and live there. During their stay inside the stones, they cause these chakras. Similarly outside chakras also are caused by the worms only. Saligrama are used as living place by the worms not used as shells. The chakra formation is found both on the outer and inner surface of the saligrama. Sometimes this can be seen through the holes on the Saligrama with the aid of torch light. The holes are termed as vadana or mouth.
