Hinglaj Mata Temple, Balochistan, Pakistan

Hinglaj Mata Temple, Balochistan, Pakistan

Hinglaj Mata Temple is a Hindu Temple dedicated to Goddess Sati, located in Hinglaj, a town on the Makran coast in the Lasbela district of Balochistan in Pakistan. Hinglaj Mata is said to be very powerful deity who bestows good to all her devotees. While Hinglaj is her main temple, temples dedicated to her exist in neighbouring Indian states Gujarat and Rajasthan.  The Temple is also called as Nani Mandir. The name of Hinglaj lends itself to the Hingol river, the largest in Balochistan and the Hingol National Park which at 6,200 square Kms is the largest in Pakistan.

It is situated in the middle of the Hingol National Park in a mountain cavern on the banks of the Hingol River. It is one of the 51 Shakti Peethas of the Hindu goddess Sati. It is one of the two Shakti Peethas in Pakistan, other being Shivaharkaray. This place has become a unifying point of reference for Pakistan's many Hindu communities. Hinglaj Yatra is the largest Hindu pilgrimage in Pakistan. More than 250,000 people take part in the Hinglaj Yathra during the spring. 

Legends

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2020/01/hinglaj-mata-temple-balochistan-legends.html

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2020/01/hinglaj-mata-temple-balochistan-history.html

The Temple

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2020/01/hinglaj-mata-temple-balochistan-temple.html

Hinglaj Yatra

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2020/01/hinglaj-mata-temple-balochistan-hinglaj-yatra.html

Religious Significance

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2020/01/hinglaj-mata-temple-balochistan-religious-significance.html

Connectivity

The Temple is located at about 243 Kms from Karachi and 264 Kms from Karachi Airport. The cave temple of Hinglaj Mata is in a narrow gorge in the remote, hilly area of Lyari Tehsil in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It is 243 Kms to the northwest of Karachi, 20 Kms inland from the Arabian Sea and 130 Kms to the west of the mouth of the Indus. It is at the end of a range of Kirthar Mountains, in the Makran desert stretch, on the west bank of Hingol River. The area is under the Hingol National Park. The Makran Coastal Highway linking Karachi with Gwadar runs parallel to Balochistan's Arabian Sea coast. It was built by Frontier Works Organisation and follows the same path which Alexander the Great took when he ended his campaign. The highway has made the pilgrimage and visiting the shrine very convenient.

Location

Sharada Peeth, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Sharada Peeth, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan

Sharada Peeth is an abandoned Hindu temple and ancient centre of learning in the Pakistani administered territory of Azad Kashmir. It is dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning, Sharada. The Temple is situated at about 1,981 metres above sea level, along the Neelam River in the village of Sharda, in the valley of Mount Harmukh, which is believed by Kashmiri Pandits to be the abode of Shiva. The Temple is situated in the confluence of Kishen Ganga and Madhumati rivers.

It is situated in a picturesque location; the site is surrounded by snow clad peaks of Sharda and Narada hills of Nanga Parbat range. 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. Sharada Peeth is one of 18 Maha Shakti Peethas, or "Grand Shakti Peethas" – highly revered temples throughout South Asia that commemorate the location of fallen body parts of the Hindu deity Sati.

Legends

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/12/sharada-peeth-legends.html

History

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/12/sharada-peeth-history.html

The Temple

The Temple is situated at about 1,981 metres above sea level, along the Neelam River in the village of Sharda, in the valley of Mount Harmukh, which is believed by Kashmiri Pandits to be the abode of Shiva. This temple is currently not in worship. Only ruins are found in these places. Its ruins are situated near the Line of Control (LOC) between the Indian and Pakistani-controlled portions of the former princely state of Kashmir and Jammu.

The length of the temple in classical Kashmir style, is 142 feet and width is 94.6 feet. The outer walls of the temple are 6 ft. wide and 11 ft long. And there are arches with 8 ft. height. The structure is damaged, and it is likely that a significant part of the material has been reused in nearby residential buildings.

It is believed that image in the sanctum was a wooden image, later replaced by a stone statue that looked like the Sharada image brought to Sringeri, Karnataka, by Adi Shankaracharya. In this image, the goddess has four arms where she holds a parrot (symbol of Parvati), a pot (symbol of Lakshmi), a book (symbol of Saraswathi) and the gesture indicating transmission of knowledge in the fourth hand.

Religious Significance

For brief details, please refer below link;

https://hindutemples-india.blogspot.com/2019/12/sharada-peeth-religious-significance.html

Connectivity

Sharada Peeth is located at about 210 Kms from Muzaffarabad, 124 Kms from Muzaffarabad Airport, 333 Kms from Islamabad and 361 Kms from Islamabad Airport. Sharada Peeth is about 210 Kms from Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir and 130 Kms from Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. It is about 10 Kms from the Line of Control, which divides the Pakistani and Indian-controlled areas of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Sharada Peeth is accessible by Neelam road from Muzaffarabad. Buses run daily between Muzaffarabad and Sharda in good weather. The town has a rest house and a youth hostel of AJK Tourism and Archeology Department for tourists stay. Few private hotels are also located here.

Location