Fact Check: Underground passage to Kashi found at Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Telangana? Here’s the truth
A video claiming that an underground passage to Kashi was discovered after dewatering a temple tank at Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Nagarkurnool is going viral.
By M Ramesh Naik Published on 10 March 2025 4:33 PM IST
Claim: An underground tunnel leading to Kashi was discovered below a temple tank during a rescue operation at Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Nagarkurnool, Telangana.
Fact: The claim is false. The underground cave with a waterfall seen in the video is unrelated to Telangana.
Hyderabad: A tragic incident occurred at the Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Gundal, Nagarkurnool, Telangana, where a 16-year-old intermediate student, Omesh, from the Social Welfare Residential School in Kalwakurthy, drowned in a temple tank. A three-day rescue operation was carried out by NDRF teams, and his body was eventually recovered using a heavy crane.
Amid this, a video started circulating on social media claiming that an underground passage was discovered after the temple tank was dewatered. It was alleged that the passage led to Kashi, adding a mystical angle to the tragedy.
The video shows an underground cave with a stream of water falling from the top while a couple of people stand beneath it.
One of the viral Instagram posts sharing the video also featured an image on the bottom left: a photo of a young boy and a rescue operation at Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple. The post also had a text overlay in Telugu that read, “The body was found here under the ground under the Gundala temple, and Shiva himself took it away after admiring it. It is said that inside, it is all gold.” This added to the speculation that an underground passage had been discovered during the rescue operation.(Archive)
Another Instagram user shared the video with a text overlay that read, “It is true that the ancient ancestors believed that the sacred path from Shiva’s Mahagundam, known as Dakshin Kashi in Gundala village, to Kashi passed through this Koneru.” (Translated from Telugu)(Archive)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The viral video does not show a newly discovered underground passage at a temple in Telangana but an underground waterfall in a cave unrelated to Telangana.
A reverse image search of a keyframe from the viral video led us to a video of a priest talking on Instagram. Referring to the Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple, the priest said that the water flow to the temple’s tank is believed to originate from Kashi and mentioned an unfortunate incident that occurred during Maha Shivaratri. As he spoke, the video alternated between visuals of the temple premises, a queue of devotees and CCTV footage of a temple tank where people are seen taking a dip. It also showed rescue operations at the tank and later transitions to an underground waterfall.
A comparison with Google Maps images confirmed that the temple and its tank match the ones seen in the viral video.
However, the underground waterfall clip differs significantly from the temple’s surroundings, suggesting an unrelated video has been added to the video.
We also found an Instagram post by the account Science Discovery, uploaded on February 1, 2025. The caption described Ruby Falls as a natural wonder hidden in the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and credited the video to Instagram user @lowrange_outdoors.
Taking this as a clue, we found the original video posted by @lowrange_outdoors on January 30, 2025, with the caption, “The most majestic place on earth!!” A further scan of the page showed another similar video uploaded on November 10, 2024, with the caption, “One of the most majestic places on Earth!! #caving”
The Instagram bio of @lowrange_outdoors contained a YouTube link, which led us to a 20-minute video of a cave’s exploration uploaded on YouTube on February 3, 2024.
While we independently couldn’t verify the exact location, it is evident that the YouTube video showed the same place as the viral video. The same smooth rock formations under the stream of water can be seen in this video too. The extent of the cave, seen at the 6:20-minute mark in the video, is also in the viral video.
A comparison of both videos can be seen below.
Also, the entrance to the cave shown in the YouTube video is different from the images of the temple tank as seen on Google. This confirmed that the video of the cave is not from Telangana.
The viral claim that an underground passage leading to Kashi was discovered at Sri Amba Ramalingeswara Swamy Temple in Nagarkurnool is false.
