Sharada Peeth – History
Sharada Peeth is an
abandoned Hindu Temple and ancient centre of
learning in the Pakistani administered territory of Azad
Kashmir.
Origins of Sharada Peeth:
There are competing theories of
when Sharada Peeth was built. Some historians believe that it was built under
the Kushan Empire (30 CE-230
CE), whereas some others hold that similarities between Sharada Peeth and
the Martand Sun Temple suggest that it was built by Lalitaditya.
There is an alternative school of thought suggesting that it was built not at
once, but in stages. It has also been suggested that Sharada Peeth is more
than 5,000 years old, but this may be a reference to the religious shrine
rather than the centre of learning.
Ancient Seat of Learning:
Sharada Peeth is said to be
where the texts written by Panini
and other grammarians were stored. It is said in the Prabhavakacarita that
when Jain scholar Hemachandra was commissioned by Jayasimha, King of Gurjara
Desa (present-day eastern Rajasthan and
northern Gujarat)
to write the Siddhahema. Hemachandra visited Sharada Peeth for access
to previous works on grammar, as it was the only place with a library known to
have all such works available in their complete form.
Kashmir was sometimes referred
to as the Sharada Desh, or "Sharada country", because of the
significance of the Sharada temple and the associated institution of learning. Between
the 6th and 12th centuries CE, Sharada Peeth was one of
the foremost temple universities of the Indian subcontinent, hosting scholars such
as Kalhana, Adi Shankara,
Vairotsana,
Kumarajiva, and Thonmi
Sambhota. As a religious institution, it is one of the three
famous tirthas, or holy sites, for Kashmiri
Pandits, the other two being the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath
Temple.
Historical facts reveal that a
Buddhist university existed near the temple which was established by Emperor
Ashoka in 273 BCE. The Sharda script was invented at this university by
scholars. Buddhist University established during the reign of Emperor Ashoka in
273BC. Fourth Buddhist council summoned at the Sharda Peeth by Emperor Kanishka
in 141 A.D.
Adi Sankaracharya:
It is at this temple that Sankaracharya received
the right to sit on the Sarvanjnanapeetham or Sarvajna Peetha (Throne
of Wisdom). The first verse of 'Prapanchsar' composed by Adi Shankaracharya is
devoted to the praise of the temple's goddess, Sri Sarada Devi. The Sarada image at Sringeri Saradhamba temple in
South India was once said to have been made of sandalwood, which is supposed to
have been taken by Sankaracharya from here.
References in Religious & Historical Texts:
Nilamata Purana:
The earliest available
references to Sharada Peeth are found in the Nilamata
Purana, an ancient text that detailed sacred places, rituals and
ceremonies in Kashmir.
Rajatarangini:
In Rajatarangini the
famous text describing Kashmir's history, composed by Kalhana in
the year 1148 CE, there is a mention of the temple and its geographic location.
Also, Kalhana describes
its importance to Hindus.
Prabhavakacarita:
According to the Prabhavakacarita,
a Jain historical work dated 1277–78, the Svetambara scholar Acharya Hemachandra requested
king Jaisimha Siddharaj to send a team to the Sharda institution in Kashmir to
bring back copies of the existing eight grammatical texts preserved here so he
could compile his own grammar, the Siddha-hema Shabdanushasan, named
jointly after the king and the author.
Grand Vizier Abu'l-Fazl
ibn Mubarak Notes:
During the reign of Akbar in
the 16th century, Grand Vizier Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak,
one of the famous Nava-Ratnas, wrote about the temple as being near the
banks of river Madhumati, now known as the Neelum
River, which is full of gold particles. Abu'l Fazl also wrote that
one can experience miracles on every eighth day of the bright fortnight of the
month here.
Visits:
Xuanzang Visit:
The Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuanzang,
visited this learning centre in 632 CE. He stayed there for two years and
appreciated the mental gifts of priests and students of this learning
centre.
Visit of followers of King of Gauda, Bengal:
Kalhana wrote
that during Lalitaditya's reign in the 8th century
CE, some followers of a king of Gauda
in Bengal came
to Kashmir under the pretext of visiting the shrine, highlighting the
significance of the temple throughout South Asia.
Al-Biruni Visit:
In the year 1030 CE, the Muslim
historian Al-Biruni visited Kashmir. According to
him, there was a wooden idol of Sri Sharada Devi in the temple. He
compared the temple to the Multan
Sun Temple, Vishnu Chakraswamin temple at Thanesar and Somnath temple.
14th Century:
The temple had periodically
fallen into disrepair by the 14th century. In the 14th century,
the temple was attacked for the first
time by Muslim invaders. After this attack, India started losing its contact
with Krishanganga and Sharada Peeth.
Swami Ramanuja
Visit:
The Vaishnava saint Swami
Ramanuja traveled all the way from Srirangam
to refer to Bodhayana's Vrithi on Brahma
Sutras preserved here, before commencing work on writing his
commentary on the Brahma sutras, the Sri
Bhashya.
Practices:
South Indian Brahmins:
There is believed to be an
ancient tradition among South
Indian Brahmins of prostrating in
the direction of Sharada Peeth before beginning their education.
Saraswat Brahmin:
Saraswat
Brahmin communities in Karnataka are
also said to move seven steps towards Kashmir and retrace their steps when
conducting the Yagnopavita ceremony.
Music:
This temple is referred to in
the Carnatic music song "kalavathi
kamalasana yuvathi" by the famous composer Sri. Muthusamy Dikshithar. The song
set in the raga yagapriya, in praise of Saraswathi,
describes her as "kashmira vihara, vara sharadha", meaning
"the one who resides in Kashmir, Sharada".
Dogra King:
During the Dogra rule, the
temple emerged as a regular pilgrimage site for the Kashmiri Pandits. In the 19th
century, Dogra king of Kashmir, Maharaja Gulab Singh, restored this
temple.
After Indian Independence:
In 1947, Swami Nand Lal Ji of
Tikker Kupwara moved the stone idols from Sharda to Tikker, some of which are
preserved in Devibal in Baramulla and in Tikker in Kupwara. Following the
brief 1947-1948 Kashmir war in
the region between Pakistan and India, the site came under control of Pashtun
tribesmen who invaded the region. Control was then passed to the newly formed
government of Pakistan's Azad
Kashmir. The site was heavily damaged in the 2005 Kashmir earthquake which
struck the region, and has not been repaired since.
After Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting
at Islamabad during SAARC conference from 4 to 6 January 2004, some CBMs
between the two parts of Kashmir were initiated to normalize the situation,
create friendly relations and encourage the peace process. These include the
cease-fire on LOC, opening of two roads across the LOC via Poonch-Rawalakote
and Uri-Srinagar, meeting of divided families, and the start of trade ventures
etc. Accordingly, Kashmiri Pandits and other religious organizations of J&K
demanded the opening of Sharda Shrine of POJK for religious tourism so that
they could have Darshan of this old temple and annual yatra of the Shrine could
be revived.
The then President of Pakistan
Pervez Musharraf accepted the demands of the minorities of J&K in principle
and sanctioned Rs. 8 crores in 2006 for the creation of infrastructural
facilities near the Shrine so that pilgrims could visit. Though POJK Government
constructed few tourist huts, community centers and cafeteria near the site, no
attention was paid towards the revival of the Shrine which is in a dilapidated
condition. The Muslim natives of the village Sharda and adjoining areas still
call the monument as Sharda Mai (Mother Sharda).
In 2007, a group of Kashmiri
Pandits who were permitted to visit Azad Kashmir were denied permission visit
the temple. In September 2009, the Institute of Peace and
Conflict Studies recommended increased cross-border religious
tourism between India and Pakistan, including allowing Kashmiri Pandits to
visit Sharada Peeth, and Pakistani Muslims to visit the Hazratbal
Shrine in Srinagar. Ruksana Khan, a Pakistan based
scholar, has undertaken an archaeological survey of the Sharda site. In 2015,
she and her team unearthed antiques which revealed the history of the site.
Since then they have started the Sharda Project which works to preserve the
culture.
In 2018, Pakistan government
opened the Kartarpur Corridor to allow Sikh
pilgrims in India to visit the Gurdwara Darbar Sahib Kartarpur across
the border. Pakistani Hindus rarely visit the temple, preferring to visit sites
farther south in Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab provinces. As such, restoration
of the temple is not considered a priority in the manner that Katasraj
Temple was regarded by the Pakistani government.
There is a demand from certain
section of Indian politicians that Pakistan should renovate this temple, in the
same manner that it renovated the Katasraj
Temple in Punjab. This has prompted calls by Kashmiri Pandits
to the Pakistan government to open a corridor to Sharada Peeth site (Neelum
valley, 30 Kms from Kupwara). The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) chief
and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, and Omar Abdullah
have requested PM Modi to pursue this request.
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