Drung Temple, Tangmarg, Jammu and Kashmir

Drung Temple, Tangmarg, Jammu and Kashmir

Drung Temple is a Hindu Temple located in Drung village near Tangmarg Town in Baramulla District in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. The Temple is situated on the banks of Firozpur River. Drung is situated close to Gulmarg, a famous hill station and a popular skiing destination. This place is also known as Veshvoke in Kashmiri language.

Legends

As per legend, the temple is believed to be built by Pandavas of Mahabharata fame.

History

Drung was called as Karkota Dranga during ancient times. The term “Dranga” was used in pre-Muslim times to indicate a frontier watch-station, established for the purpose of collecting custom duties and of generally safeguarding the frontier. Karkota Dranga controlled the Tosamaidan route to Poonch. The monument is protected and declared as ‘State Protected Monument’ as per the ‘Ancient Monument Preservation Act Samvat 1977’ in the year 1983 and since then the site is maintained by the SDA, state department of archaeology.

The Temple

The temple is facing towards north east. The temple might have been originally surrounded by a peristyle, no part of which, except the double-chambered gateway, is now extant above ground. The Sanctum is square internally. The roof has fallen, and the sanctum is filled with large boulders of the fallen roof. The portico was surmounted by a trefoil-arch and a pediment of the usual type. The corner pilasters have very slight projection and the trefoiled recesses on the sides are smaller than the arch of the portico. The long lines of walling between the temple and the village are regarded by tradition as the ruins of the old watch-station.

Connectivity

The temple is located at about 4 Kms from Tangmarg, 4 Kms from Tangmarg Bus Stand, 16 Kms from Gulmarg, 24 Kms from Mazhom Railway Station, 42 Kms from Srinagar, 49 Kms from Srinagar Airport, 52 Kms from Srinagar Railway Station and 306 Kms from Jammu. The temple is situated at about 4 Kms from Tangmarg off the Srinagar to Gulmarg route.

Location