Incerdible world - hidden underworld ( छुपा अंडरवर्ल्ड )

hidden underworld

Hekla
ICELAND
Our next location, the imposing stratovolcano known as Hekla, can be found in the southern mountains of Iceland… a fiery pit of lava that has long been associated with the fiery pit of Christian tradition. In the Middle Ages, Cistercian monks travelled far and wide across Europe carrying tales of “Hekla Fell.”

In 1180, the monk Herbert de Clairvaux named the volcano in his book, Liber De Miraculis. He wrote: “The renowned fiery cauldron of Sicily, which men call Hell’s chimney […] that cauldron is affirmed to be like a small furnace compared to this enormous inferno.”

The monk Benedict named Hekla as the “eternal prison of Judas” in his poem about the voyages of Saint Brendan from 1120. Later, in 1341, the medieval Icelandic manuscript Flatey Book Annal described large birds that were reportedly seen flying inside the fiery crater; these were believed to be the souls of the damned.

There have been more than 20 serious eruptions recorded since 874 AD, although in recent years Hekla has been somewhat more peaceful. Most superstitions regarding the volcano died out by the 19th century; nevertheless, local folklore still tells of witches who gather around the volcano’s peak each Easter

 

 St. Patrick’s Purgatory
LOUGH DERG, IRELAND
Along with Iceland’s Hekla, this next site serves as an entrance to the Hell of Christian scripture. Founded in the 15th century, St Patrick’s Purgatory is a small monastery located on Ireland’s Station Island. According to the story, St. Patrick himself once visited the island—whereupon Jesus sent him visions of the torments of hell. The cave where the saint received these diabolical hallucinations was later confirmed to be an entrance to Satan’s pit, and a monastery was duly built to plug the hole.

The cave itself has been sealed ever since October 25, 1632. According to the accounts of pilgrims prior to that date, it takes the form of an enclosed pit, reached at the end of a long, narrow, and slowly descending cave. Experts have suggested that even before the believed arrival of St. Patrick, the cave may have been used as a site for prayer and spiritual healing.

Many believers travel to Station Island annually, to undertake a three-day contemplation on the nature of Hell. With pilgrims expected to make the entire trip barefoot, a local website describes the pilgrimage as, “the toughest in all of Europe, perhaps even in the whole Christian world.