R C Ganjoo
The people in India, conspicuously Kashmiri Pandits are waiting since ages to visit Sharda temple, situated in Neelam valley in Pak Occupied Kashmir. After the opening of Kartarpur corridor for Sikh community to visit Darbar Sahib on November 9, 2019 , expectations have further exceeded when Prime Minister of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir Raja Farooq Haider Khan also submitted a proposal to the Pakistan government for opening the religious sites for Sikhs, Hindus and Buddhists in PoK on the pattern of the Kartarpur Corridor.
Known as Sharda Peeth has been established in 237 BC during the reign of Ashoka, the 5,000-year-old an ancient centre of learning is dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning. Between the 6th and 12th centuries CE, Sharada Peeth was one of the foremost temple university's of the Indian subcontinent.
Sharada Peeth close to the Line of control (LoC), in Sharda village of Neelum Valley in PoK (at a distance of around 140 km from Muzaffarabad and 30 km from Kupwara) has been cut off for Indian pilgrims since Partition. Sharada Peeth (also spelt as Sharda and translates to the seat of Hindu Goddess Saraswati') was once regarded as a major centre of higher learning of Vedic works, scriptures and commentaries. Sharada Peeth, one of the 18 highly revered temples across South Asia, was once at par with the ancient seats of learning at Nalanda and Takshila.
Here in PoK, a young lady research scholar Dr Rukhsana Khan has completed his dissertation in three years on Asian Studies on Cultural Heritage Resources of Neelam valley , challenges and opportunities, mainly focused on cultural heritage and management for social development through heritage tourism in the conflict zone of Neelam Valley. Dr Khan is also responsible to establish “Sharda Centre Of Learning Archaeology Cultural Heritage ” (SCLACH) at university of Azad Jammu Kashmir for promotion of cultural and natural resources. According to Dr Khan Sharda Excavation adjacent to Sharda temple in Neelum Kishen gaga was carried out in November 2013.During this salvage excavation researchers collected variety of cultural material, which helped to develop chronology of Kashmir through archaeological findings.
Under the guidance of renowned archaeologist Dr. Ashraf khan from Taxila Institute of Asian Civilization Quaid-i- Azam University Islamabad, she was also extended help by Prof Omkar Koul on lingui-cultural heritage of Kashmir, and cataloguing of rock inscription and it's linguistic mapping.
In an interview to this journalist, Dr Khan said ” the aim of my research study was to document the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of Neelam valley ( the study confined the antiquity of the area and determines archaeological order through archaeological discoveries which is noted to have begun from pre historic period 4th millennium BCE up to 18th CE.”
She gave her personal description of Sharda temple : –
“The Sharda temple is located on the left bank of river Neelum tehsil Sharda of District Neelum , facing south west with opening towards the river Neelum . The river is joined by a sacred stream named as Sarswati or Kankotri (surgan stream), Madhumati stream is flowing few meters down near the Sharda temple which presently known as Sharda sangam. The left bank of river follows towards Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir with the distance of 250 km. In the north Neelam valley road joint Sharda towards khel, Jaunvi, Phalvi, and Helmet & Taobat and in the south it's linked Dudnial Dawarian, Lawat, Naghdar, Kern & Athmaqam. There is a zig zag flow of crystal water stream all the way from the top most field trace towards Sharda temple and finally joins the Madhumati stream and then river Neelum.
The ancient temple of Sharda is situated on top of a plateau from where one can view whole of the Sharda valley as in the north the Narda Mountain with snowy covered peaks with a haziness or impression of Narda lake. The most notable structure of the site is the main northern entrance, where a huge slightly damage enclosure is standing. That is approached by 63 stone slabs stairs. The northern boundary wall of the Sharda temple is a complete structure of stone slabs, which resembles with the ancient stones structure of the main temple. In the middle of the northern wall there is a trefoil arch chamber or cell. The Chamber housed two moderate sizes of lingams during the visit of Ariel Stein in 1892.
The most striking feature of the main the temple is square in plan and standing on a high platform. The Pyramidal Shikaras of Kashmiri style of architectural design is present on the three sides i.e. northern, southern and the eastern walls of the temple. The interior of the temple is without any design or architectural detail, placing cult statues or for performing rituals. But there was evidence of a stone slab in the middle of the temple floor, which is now missing. There was no entrance gate of the temple during the time when Ellison Bates visited the site. He observed presence of an unpolished slab of the stone lies in the centre of the ground of the temple. The roof of the Sharda temple was missing since 1870, when Charles Bates visited the site as he mentioned that roof was missed and single roof was re- erected by the temporary material for its protection .There is a clear indication that different type of the material is used in the construction of Sharda temple. The material is the heavy dressed stone slabs river pebbles lime stone mud plaster. The carved head of elephant along mark of swastika and a bust of the female are found on the Ganesh Ghati near the Sericella fort. The carved head is now slightly damage, which occupies the Ganesh Ghati rock.
The Khel Patt site is mostly known as Shish pheri, which is an asymmetrical rock having natural caves, with engraved symbols. Stein mentioned in the Kalhana's Rajatrangini that during his visit to the place of Tehjian in valley of Neelum (Kishen Ganga) in 1892, he observed the place where the pilgrims perform the ritual of cleanings called Tejavana. From this point, a hill tributary emerging from the south-east and falls in to Kishen. In the ancient times pilgrims used to stay in Lithervana, presently Indian administrated Kashmir near the walnut trees and then came to Khel patt for the worship of sacred spot presently known as Shispari . ”
When asked about encouraging other research scholars ,Dr Khan said ” I do encourage more academic research to promote cultural and natural heritage towards peace and progress . Unfortunately ,the political situation does not allow much space for cross LoC interaction among researchers and academia for further collaborative research”. She said research study also identifies several other aspect of Sharda civilization. It was concluded the sites adjacent the Sharda temple of great potential for further research and exploration. “Discovering the traces of cultural heritage: A case study in Neelum- Kishen valley, was her topic of research in MPhil thesis in 2014. . Dr Khan has been struggling hard along with other scholars to restore traditional cross LoC religious and cultural tourism but after August 5, 2019, when Art 370 was scrapped from Jammu & Kashmir , that aspect have had set back, But her research has significantly helped the heritage of her area as important tourist destination. She said, ” since the china Pakistan economic corridor is on the same ancient silk route which would benefit this region immensely in terms of social and cultural evolution beside bringing ancient technology to this area . The ancient remains and documented cultural heritage sites has already been integrated as resources for creating socio-economic development opportunities.
