According to the Mahabharata the Pandavas had headed north from their Capital Hastinapuram. Archeological work has revealed ancient Hastinapuramto be located 106 km north-east of Delhi on Delhi-Meerut-Bijnore national highway. Pretty much close to modern day Hastinapur. Geographically Uttarakhand does lie north of Hastinapur and therefore the legend indeed is true that the Pandavas treaded off from their capital only to live in the forests of the Himalayan Foothills at Uttarakhand.
During an era of limited water storage and transport, it
must only have been imperative that the prince turned nomad camped around
natural water holes and lakes. It is only therefore fair that we believe the
legend of Bhim’s visit to a particular lake in Uttarakhand. It is further validated
by the fact that the locals named the lake after him ‘Bhim-taal’. The
Bhimeshwar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva on the banks of the lake is believed
to have been initially built by Bhim himself. However the structure that we see
today was built by Baz Bahadur (1638-78 AD), a King of the Chand
dynasty, and the Raja of Kumaon
in the 17th century.
Bhimtal lay undiscovered for almost 7000 years, untouched
& undisturbed till the British came. During their conquest of India they scouted
the landscape for plundering its wealth. They immediately developed a liking
for the cool climate of the foothills and planned a hill station at Nainital.
It was only after the development of Nainital in 1841AD that ‘humans’ (as we
know them today) influence started on the banks of Bhimtal. The inhabitants of
these area’s as per the epic were the Asura tribe of demonic people. Modern day
research suggests that the Asura’s were no mythical demons and were the
‘Tamizh’ speaking original inhabitants who were persecuted from their lands by
the early Aryans while they settled across the plains of north India.
Bhimtal town today is both quaint & serene. Located away
from the densely commercialized area of Nainital, it gives people a chance to
be back with nature. At CountryInn Bhimtal we have kept these very aspects of
the hills in mind when we designed both our resort and its services. From
Natural Pine Trees that have been left untouched to newly planted fruit bearing
trees, we have them all. Pears, Pomegranates, Plums, Guavas, Almonds and Mangoes
are some of the fruits we grow in our resort. If you are in during the harvest
season you get to have then right from the greens; an experience unmatchable in
the culinary world. Organic farming is much in demand the world over
particularly due to its nutritional benefits and at CountryInn Bhimtal you get
a first hand experience of how the same was done by our ancestors.
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