Places
of Worship / Shrines
Sharada
Sharada
has been a famous Tirth of Kashmir since ancient
times. It is situated on the left bank of Kishen
Ganga river, at the confluence of Madhumati.
Presently, the place is under the occupation of
Pakistan. In olden days, a fair was held annually on
8th day of the lunar fortnight of Bhadun where
Shraadh of deceased was also perf.mp3ed.
In Rajatarangini, Sharada has been mentioned during the
King Lalitaditya’s times, when followers of the
king of Godh (Bengal) came to Kashmir under the
pretext of visiting Sharada, in order to kill
Lalitaditya. Alberuni has clubbed Sharada with the
famous Hindu Tirthas of India and ranked it second
only to grand Surya Temple at Multan. People from
far flung areas used to visit this Tirth in
good numbers to perf.mp3 Devi’s puja. This proves
that Sharada was famous as a Tirth throughout India.
Hem Chandra, a Jain scholar refers to Sharada as a
temple dedicated to Saraswati. Sultan Zain-Ul-Abidin,
the great king of Kashmir popularly known as Budshah
(1420 -1470 A.D.) is said to have visited this place
in the early years of his reign.
Sharada
temple is situated on a hillock. There was a 9 feet
wide staircase, consisting of 63 steps, leading from
river to the temple. In olden days, the temple
had a wall all around it, which was eleven feet high
from inside and much more higher from outside. On
south-west side, was a large entrance gate leading
into the temple premises. Main temple was situated
in the centre of the compound.
The
Temple was based on a 24 feet by 24 feet plinth,
5.25 feet above ground. Entrance to the temple was
on the west side with a 5.5 feet wide staircase
leading upto the Sanctum Sanctorum. There was a 4
feet wide landing at the entrance gate, supported by
two pillars. The pillars were 2.25 feet by 2.25 feet
square in section and 16 feet high. The Sanctum
Sanctorum was 12.25 feet by 12.25 feet square
without any decoration. At the centre, is a stone
slab 7 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 inches thick,
about which it is said that it covers the Kund, from
which Devi appeared to pay a darshan to the
hill. Devotees used to worship this stone slab as
well.
Stein
compares the architecture of Sharada temple with
that of the Kapteshwar temple of Kashmir. The simple
style of the architecture and absence of any
decoration in the temple makes it amply clear that
the temple has been constructed in the second half
of the tenth century.
Mattan
Tirath (Bhawan)
Mattan
is situated on the left bank of Liddar river, about
3.5 kms. away from Anantnaag on Anantnaag-Pahalgaam
road. It is also known as Martand. Martand in
Sankrit means Sun, so the Asthapan is dedicated to
Sun god. Mattan is also known as Vishnu Tirath,
because Surya is another f.mp3 of Vishnu.
Mattan
is also known as Matsh Bhavan (home of fish). It is
because the huge spring at the place breeds lot of
fish, which nobody is allowed to catch or eat. The
grand Sun temple, Martand, constructed by
Lalitaditya (695-731 A.D.) is just three kms. away
on a plateau. According to Nilamata Purana, the
image worshipped at Bhawan, was that of Kashyap
Swami. The image is no more now.
The
spring at Bhawan, is rectangular in shape, with its
banks pitched with devri stones. The stones look
very old, either due to weathering, or may be that
the stones were got from an old construction and
laid here. The stones are very big in volume and
resemble those used on other ancient temples. There
is a rectangular temple at the centre of the spring
which has a stone image placed inside. The temple is
open on all sides and its roof looks like a leaf of
Khaasi-Sotsal. A black stone image of Lord
Ganesha is also in the temple.
Just
above the spring, there are two small temples at the
foot of the plateau. The famous cave, which was
believed to be endless, also lies here. Vadgal,
however writes that he had himself entered into the
cave and it was not too long. The cave is very old
and it is presumed that some Bhikshu would have used
it for meditation. The temples however are not very
old. They carry the Shikhar pattern of architecture,
employed only during the Dogra rule.
Mattan
Tirath is visited by people even from outside
Kashmir, to perf.mp3 Shraadha of the deceased,
particularly during the Pitra Paksha. The local
purohits keep a record of their yajmans from all
parts of the country, who visit the place. Their
books can some times give chronological record of
entire clans.
Most
important thing about Mattan is that the temple, a
Gurdwara and an Iddgah are situated at one place.
Sikhs believe that Baba Nanak has also visited this
place. During Badshah’s time, Mattan was the
centre of administrative set-up of the region. It
was during this time that sugarcane was grown here
on experimental basis.
Vicharnaag
Vicharnaag
is a famous and sacred place, situated near
Nowshehra, 12 kms. away from Srinagar city. It is
said that Lord Shiva, at the time of creation of
Universe, counselled with other devis and davatas at
this place. ‘Counselling’ in Kashmiri is called
Vichar and this is how the place gets its name.
Annual fair was held at the place on every15th day
of the dark fortnight of Chaitra, when devotees
would take bath in the spring.
Vicharnaag
is also called Sath Ras Naag because, it is said,
there existed seven springs at this place, out of
which four are still active. The main spring is 54
feet x 54 feet square in shape. The banks of the
spring, are pitched with three feet long and 1.5
feet wide stones. The spring is 8 feet deep and
contains an Aasan made of white stones in the centre
at its bottom. On the north-east corner of this
spring, is embedded a black stone, 2 feet long and
one foot wide, engraved with Sharda text. The spring
is surrounded by a cement plastered brick fence.
Second
spring is on the south-east side of the main spring.
It is 15 feet long and 12 feet wide. It has Devri
stone steps on all the four sides. Third spring is
on the west side of the main spring and the fourth
one on its north.
There
are two temples at Vicharnaag. The bigger one is
located at the north side of the main spring. It has
been constructed during the rule of Maharaj Pratap
Singh (1885-1925). It is 54 feet long and 15 feet
wide, made of stones and Maharaji bricks. It is
cement plastered, both from inside and out side.
There are four stone images, four shivlings and an
image of Nandi.
Second
temple is located at the North-West side of the main
spring. It has been constructed during the rule of
Maharaja Ranbir Singh (1857-1885 A.D.). It is made
of Devri stones and has Shikhar pattern of
architecture. There is a stone Shivalinga inside.
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