Katas Raj Temples- Pakistan

Address

Katas Raj Temples Kalar Kahar Road, Katas, Chakwal, Punjab, Pakistan

Diety

Shiva

Introduction

The Shri Katas Raj Temples also known as Qila Katas, is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways. The temple complex surrounds a pond named Katas which is regarded as sacred by Hindus. The complex is located in the Potohar Plateau region of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The temples play a role in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahābhārata, where the temples are traditionally believed to have been the site where the Pandava brothers spent a significant portion of their exile. It is also traditionally believed by Hindus to be the site where the brothers engaged in a riddle contest with the Yakshas, as described in the Yaksha Prashna. Another tradition states that the Hindu deity Krishna laid the foundation of the temple, and established a hand-made shivling in it.

Puranic Significance

With the Supreme Court taking interest in their renovation and protection, the Katas Raj temples, one of the oldest Hindu religious sites in Pakistan, are in the news again. Situated within embrace of the Salt Range near Kallar Kahar, Punjab, this splendid complex of temples dedicated to Ram, Hanuman and Shiva is laid around a natural pond. The pond, the faithful believe, was created from a teardrop of the weeping Shiva as he flew across the sky carrying the dead body of his wife Sati. He shed two tears, one creating this pond, the other falling and making a pond in Ajmer, Rajasthan. The Pandavas came to this place during their exile, the legend goes, and built some of the older temples. Historical records suggest many of the temples, constructed in the Kashmiri architectural tradition, came up in the 11th century CE, when this region, along with parts of Punjab, fell under a Kashmiri kingdom.Raj is not just a scared Hindu site, though. A little distance from the pond are the remains of a gurdwara which Guru Nanak is believed to have stayed in during his journey around the world, visiting shrines associated with different religions. Adjacent to Ram’s temple are the remains of the haveli of Hari Singh Nalwa, the most famous general in Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army. Behind the haveli are the partially excavated remains of a Buddhist stupa, originally a temple complex that was appropriated when the Subcontinent came under the sway of Buddhism during the reign of Emperor Ashoka. In the 11th century, Al-Biruni, the famed Muslim scholar who introduced Hinduism to the West, is believed to have spent time here, studying Hinduism. Yet, for much of Pakistan’s existence, Katas Raj was lost to obscurity. In 2005, former Indian deputy prime minister LK Advani visited the temple, prompting the government to renovate the shrine. Since then, it has been a barometer of India-Pakistan relations. As the Pervez Musharraf regime went about repairing ties with Delhi in the mid-2000s, Katas Raj was well looked after and Indian pilgrims were encouraged to visit for the Shivratri festival. The flow of the pilgrims dwindled as the India-Pakistan relationship deteriorated in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Then, early this year, then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Katas Raj and ordered its renovation, bringing the site back into public discourse. In many ways, Katas Raj’s history reflects Pakistan’s evolving attitude towards its Hindu heritage. After Partition, while ancient Buddhist sites were preserved, and promoted, as part of the country’s rich history, the Hindu heritage was ignored as the trauma of Partition and the quest for shaping an identity distinct from Hindu India animated the national narrative. During the wars of 1965 and 1971 with India, members of the Hindu and Sikh communities were attacked. In 1992, after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in India, many Hindu temples in Pakistan were destroyed