Begin process of restoring temples in the Kashmir Valley

The civilisational history of the Kashmir Valley is reflected through its temples — those that stand magnificently today after thousands of years of their construction, and remnants of others that were destroyed by Islamic bigots. 

When I set out to make the documentary ‘Kashmir ki Virasaat’ or Heritage of Kashmir, I was astonished to discover that thousands of temples had been broken down at different periods of time in history by radical Islamists.

During my visit to various areas of the Valley, I was able to categorise the temples in four different segments. First are ancient temples, which still exist, saved from the hammers of the iconoclasts. Second, there are remnants of ancient temples that are present in forms of ruins, but can be restored like other ancient monuments in other countries. Third are temples that find elaborate mention in historical chronicles and were restored in the Sikh-Dogra reign. Fourth, there are an unaccounted number of temples that were razed, first during Islamic rule and again by jihadist forces post 1947. No attempt has been made so far to rebuild them.

About 1,000 years ago, Kalhan, one of the most celebrated historians of Kashmir, had chronicled in his masterpiece, Rajtarangini, the various dynasties that had ruled Kashmir and many places of worship built by these rulers. Many ancient temples find mention there. Today, not many of them can be found.

There are interesting tales behind those ancient temples, which survived the haters. For example, the Shankaracharya Temple standing atop the Gopadri hill and overlooking the city of Srinagar, was known as Jayeshtheshwara (another name of Lord Shiva) and according to Rajtarangini, was renovated in the 3rd century BC by the great King Gopaditya. The second renovation was undertaken during the reign of King Lalitaditya in the 7th century AD. 

The reign of Sikandar Butshikan, (1389-1413) saw most Hindu and Buddhist shrines demolished. Court historians bestowed upon him the epithet of butshikan or iconoclast. 

While other prominent temples were destroyed during his and his successors — Ali Shah and Shamsuddin Iraqi’s reign — the Shankaracharya temple was not destroyed, but a new script was written for it. It’s Shivlinga was broken and a story concocted that one of Islam’s prophet’s, Solomon, had visited the temple and it was rechristened ‘Takht-e-Suleiman’. Later, the during Sikh-Dogra rule, the Shivlinga was restored again. 

Another prominent temple within Srinagar that survived is the Pandrethan temple. It was built by King Partha in the 10th century AD. This temple was submerged in the waters of Jhelum during the reigns of rabid Islamic rulers and hence survived. Now, it is present in all its magnificence in the middle of the Badamibagh Army cantonment.

The most famous temple of Martand destroyed by Sultan Sikandar, is present in the form of ruins in Anantnag district, but still narrates the story of its ancient splendour and the science of astronomy. 

The ruins of Parihaspora temple complex, erected by King Lalitaditya in the 8th century AD, stands testimony to splendid architecture and the genius of Kashmiri artisans.

During the Sikh-Dogra rule, especially during the reign of second Dogra ruler Ranbir Singh, many Hindu shrines were restored. The Kheerbhawani temple in Tula Mula, the ancient temple of Anantnag, Durga Nag temple and the Jayestha Devi temple in Srinagar city, all were rebuilt during the Dogra rule.

Unfortunately, not all temples in the Kashmir Valley were desecrated only during medieval Islamic rule. Whenever, Kashmiri Muslims had any conflict with the rulers, they invariably damaged Hindu places of worship. 

After the exodus of the Hindus from the Valley in 1990, their temples were destroyed en masse by Muslim separatists. Almost every village in the Valley had scores of temples, remains of which have been completely wiped out by the fanatics. 

During the making of my documentary, I came across unaccounted number of such places. Today, when the government of India has announced that 50,000 temples in the Kashmir Valley will be rebuilt/restored, it can be confidently said that the process of reconnecting Kashmir with its magnificent past has started.

Author is a writer, and producer of documentary Kashmir ki Virasaat