Sharada Peeth - The abandoned Hindu temple and ancient
centre of learning.
Sharada Peeth – It is
an ancient Hindu temple located in the Pakistani administered territory of Azad
Kashmir. Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK).
Kashmir always belong to Hindus for thousands
of years, it is said to be an abode of Devi Saraswati.There is an ancient
Sanskrit prayer to Saraswati as follows:
नमस्ते शारदे देवि काश्मीरपुर-वासिनि ।
त्वामहं प्रार्थये नित्यं विद्यादानं च देहि मे ॥
namaste śhārade devi kāśhmīra-pura-vāsini ।
tvāmaham prārthaye nityam vidyādānam cha déhi
mé ॥
"Obeisance to Thee, O effulgent Sarada,
worshipped in the City of Kashmir, I always be seech Thee to vouchsafe to me
Pure Knowledge".
Heart breaking to see such a powerful place in pitiful
condition. These are human heritage. Pakistan government should at least look
after this.
Sharada Peeth – a temple of Goddess Sharada – was
one of the three principal shrines of J&K before the Partition.
Namastey
Sharada Devi Kashmir Pur Vasini Tvam Ham Prartheye Nityam Vidya Danam Che De hi Mahi. (Salutations to you, O Sharada, O Goddess, O one
who resides in Kashmir. I pray to you daily, please give me the
charity of knowledge.
On 25th March,
2019 the Pakistan government approved proposal to establish a corridor that
will allow Hindu pilgrims from India to visit Sharada Peeth.
The Sharada Peeth corridor, when opened, will be
the second religious tract after Kartarpur corridor in Pakistan-controlled land
that will connect the two neighbouring countries.
Sharada Peeth is
situated in the Neelum river valley of Mount Harmukh in Azad JK , Pakistan
Occupied Kashmir (PoK). The temple is at a height of 1,981 meters above sea
level. It is located 150 kilometres from Muzaffarabad, which is the capital of
PoK.
Sharada Peeth was one of
the three top shrines of the region, along with the Martand Sun Temple and the
Amarnath Temple, before the Partition of India and Pakistan. After the 1947- 48
war between the two countries over Jammu & Kashmir, the sanctum was
abandoned as it fell into PoK.
The temple complex formerly housed the Sharada University, one of India’s oldest universities with over 5,000 scholars and a library.
As per Ravinder Pandita, it was one of the most remarkable centres of learning till the 12th century with sages like Adi Shankara, Kalhana and Virotsana.
The shrine, religiously and politically significant, lies nearby to the LoC in Sharda hamlet atop Mount Harmukh.
In a noteworthy step, the inhabitants of Teetwal Village in north Kashmir’s Kupwara district have returned back a patch of land to Kashmiri Pandits to construct a temple and Sharda Peeth Yatra base camp.
Until now the land was with a Muslim family who were doing crop cultivation. Now when Kashmiri Pandits decided to construct a temple here, the residents welcomed them and returned this patch of land.
Ravinder Pandita, the head of “Save Sharada Committee Kashmir” said that the villagers supported and encouraged them to jump start the construction of Sharda temple. Support of the locals was very vital. Without their support the construction of temple will be impossible. The construction of a Gurdwara and temple will be done simultaneously on this land on the same lines both religious places existed before 1947.
Ravinder Pandita termed the construction of the temple and Sharda Peeth Yatra base camp as the first step towards achieving their goal which he said was re-starting decades old Sharda Peeth Yatra.
Till 1947, as per Pandita the Kashmiri Hindus would undertake Sharda Peeth Yatra and visit the shrine in Neelam Valley (Now in PoK); however, after partition and tribal invasion of Jammu and Kashmir, this Yatra was stopped. No yatra has taken place to this peeth since 1948 when Swami Nand Lal Ji along with his followers migrated to Tikker in Kupwara following tribal raised.
Last year, Sharda Puja was performed on the banks of the Kishanganga river right on LoC in Teetwal village of Kupwara. A group of 20 pilgrims including a few locals took part in the annual Puja that used to be held at Sharda Peeth (now in PoK) prior to partition.
The dilapidated condition of Sharda Peeth in PoK was hurting Kashmiri Pandits who were demanding access to this shrine for the last two decades so that they can visit this holy place and also reconstruct the temple.
Sharda Peeth is to Hindus what Mecca is for Muslims. Pandita said that the Supreme Court of PoK had ordered in favour of Hindus in 2018.
DG Archaeology & Tourism in POK govt too had issued an order for maintaining the sanctity of the peeth.
