Temples of the Above Gods
Martanda- Surya; Pandrethan, Avantipur- Avantiswamin, Avantiswara, Badrinath, Amarnath, Kedarnath
The snow-bound, mountainous regions of Kashmir, the northern-most, and now politically turbulent, state of India, have alwys held a mystical appeal for Indians. The Hinalayas were the abode of innumerable Hindu gods but most specially of the stern Siva, who resided on Mount Kailash with his wife. She too belonged to the Himalayas, as her name Parvati woman of the mountains) implies.
These steep peaks have been shrouded in sacred aura for eons. Partly because of their inaccessibility, they have always been a source of mystery and legend. Pilgrims, sages and saints have gone there in search of divine deliverance. The heroes of the mahabharata are said to have done penance in the region, ultimately rising up to heaven from these mountains. The 7th century philosopher Swami Shankaracharya, traveled here all the way from Kerala, over 3,000 miles, on a pilgrimage, The culture of Kashmir has always been self-sustaining. It has a different climate, topography, and way of life from the rest of the country. Due to the difficulties inherent in reaching the state, there was less commerce and interaction between Kashmir and the civlization father south in the Gangetic plains. Therefore less influence, whether in the fields of art, literature or architecture, filtered there from the cradle of Indian civilization.
It is thought that Kashmir belonged to the vast kingdom of king Asoka and that it was he who built the city of srinagar. Be that as it may, the Mauryan civilization made no lasting effects upon it. Kashmir came into its own, probably around the 7th century AD under king Lalitaditya’s reign, with the conquest of northern Punjab. At this time, the political situation also in the hilly territory had stabilized due to the availability of cultivable land, created by the construction of many dams and embankments, preventing migration into the southern valleys.
The civilization was at its peak from them on, for about three centuries more. It was around this time that its most well known temples, the Surya temple at Martanda, the Siva and Vishnu shrines at Avantipur and the better preserved but smaller Siva temple at Pandrethan were built. Kashmir’s temple architecture followed its own vernacualar pattern, with quasi-classical elements, but greatly determined by its climatic conditions and style of secular construction.
Today, unfortunately, very few ancient temples are intact in the area. Many were destroyed after the 10th century by Muslim invaders. Sites were then denuded and the materials reused for new construction. Any remains have suffered centuries of weathering. The few structures that exist, in varying stages of ruin, are homogeneous in a style that saw little innovation after its origin around the 6th 7th century. The Hindu religious architecture of Kashmir was mostly Saivite. However Vaishnava temples and Buddhist shrines were also constructed. A telling story about king Avantivarman, who built the temples at Avantipur, is recalled by the historian Kalhana in his renowned 12th century text, the Rajtarangini. It indicates the religious tolerance of the local people. Apparently, the sovereign was a devout Vaishnava. But his trusted general Sura, prayed to Siva. So, in deference to Sura’s choise, all his life Avantivarman also worshipped Sura’s god, only admitting on his deathbed "the attachment to the worship of Vishnu, which he had long hidden. The temples of Kashmir, reflect the climate of the region with their pitched (sloping) roofs designed to drain off rain or snow easily, and their wooden-style detail echoed in stone. They also stand testimony, through their temple sculpture, to the influence of the neighbouring province, Gandhara, where Byzantine and Greek artisans had employed a Mediterranean form. Visible too, in the horseshoe style windows, reminiscent of Chaitya-s, and the cells to accommodate priests, are elements of Buddhist architecture, brought to the region by earnest proselytizes. They, because of king Asoka’s missionary zeal, had traveled all over the continent spreading the world of the Buddha.
Generally constructed within city limits, temple were laid out in the middle of oblong countyards that were enclosed by ‘running cells’ or chapels with long, narrow, pillared verandahs in front of them. The temples were once topped by gabled roofs rather like those seen atop modern houses in the area. The sculptures at Martanda, Pandrethan and Avantipur, the delicacy of intricate embellishment details, and the features of the carved figures, bespeak the effect that early Greek invaders had on the art and architecture in Kashmir. At the same time, the sculpture is mort primal than in other parts of India, its ornateness contrasted by occasional rough-hewn figures that seem to be less stylized than the rest, asserting a oneness with nature.
Sun worship was prevalent in northern India extending as far south as Gujarat, then known as Saurashtra, till about the 12th century AD. The sun, Surya, also called Martanda, holds a special, if now obscure, place in Hindu mythology. The offspring of Aditi, he is the father or both Manu (man) and Yama (death). As his importabce declined in the rest of the country, in kashmir, which remained cut off and untouched by such changes, the Surya tradition endured.
Entering a large porch from the direction of the sunrise, one would come upon the temple constructed from huge blocks of stone, horizontally arranged, with two wings, and as many main apartments-the spacious naos (hall) and the oblong cella (sanctum)- supported by vaguely Doric pillars. Myths abound about the temple. According to one, Martanda had a wooden roof with ‘gilt’ copper sheets’ but this is not likely as stone roof tiles have Been found on the grounds. The lack of any roofs whatsoever today at Martanda emphasizes the feeling of loneliness about the isolated shrine, whose walls are crumbling and whose images lie scatted about the estate, hidden by debris, submerged in pools of water or just broken and piled up on the ground. Once these very same walls must have resounded with the chanting of holy verses, the ringing of bells and these spaces been filled with the fragrance of pooja floweres, burning incense and camphor sticks.
The statues of apsara-s, gandharva-s, and subsidiary gods and goddesses would have stood in place, adding to the sense ox exaltation the devotee experienced as he entered the shrine of the sun. Where today the visitor can spy only rock and snow, temple life must have hummed, in miniature imitation of the life in the city, with its vineyards, outside.
The high, arched doorways resemble those of a great church and the blank blocks of stone lend a sense of great age to the structure, which many other temples across India lack due to the very liveliness of their facades. One of the remarkable features of the shrine is a relief on an inner wall of the antarala (vestibule). It depicts the Ganga flowing down to the earth for the first time. The river gushes down the Himalayas mischievously and with mighty force, only to be stopped short by Lord Siva, who traps and controls her in his matted hair. Though obviously defaced by marauding hands, this panel is a study in realism. Water ‘course’ down the stone in what is an exquisite and rare example of the minor but well developed tradition of sculpture in ancient Kashmir. Even in decay, Martanda exudes a sense of pomp and circumstance as it lifts its arms up to the first rays of the rising sun.
Built between 906 and 921 AD, Pandrethan appears similar to western classical structures in design and treatment but is the best extant example of the Kashmit style. Its sanctum is square in shape, according to be the specific dictates of Hindu architectural tradition, unlike its ratha arrangement on the outside. The members that hold up the walls are in turn supported by caved elephants. The stark simplicity of the innermost shrine contrasts with the almost embroidery-like intricacy of the pattern on the nine slabbed ceiling above it. The ceiling is created by the ‘laying of diagonal and square stone courses to produce designs with roatating and diminishing squares.
The visually receding pattern is completed by central embellishment-the symbolic lotus spilling over from above. Used all over India, throughout the ages, in various parts of a temple, the lotus was preferred for ceiling decoration. It is surrounded by two tows of very Western-looking cherubs, the single ones with lit lamps, the pairs holding drapery or garlands. Hence the ceiling is an add mixture of Hindu symbolism and Gothic decoration.
With hardly any evidence, in terms of icons, remaining in the shrine, 19th and early 20th century explorers could only speculate that it may have been dedicated to a kesser-known god, Meruvardhanasvamin. Scholders now tell us it was almost certainly a Saivite place of worship. The layout of the floors and the arrangement of doors on the sides suggests that a Siva linga (phallic symbol, the male element, revered as the source of life) or a three-headed statue of Mahadeva (another name fro Siva), was meant to be worshipped there. Also supporting this theory is a panel above the entrance to the temple. Zit is the figure of a man seated cross-legged, wearing a dhoti ( a piece of cloth worn by men, tied across the waist and tucked between the legs forming trousers) and a jhanva (sacred thread traditionally worn across the chest by Bhahmin, and sometimes other ‘upper caste’ Hindu men), assumed to be Lakulisa, the teacher of pashupati (another name for Siva).
At the site called Visvaikasara, which procures final beatitude for those who die (there), the king founded the (town of) Avantipura, an abode of abundant enjoyments, writes Kalhana, the historian. He is talking about king Avantivarman, an educated, peace-loving man, a connoisseur of art. At what probably was already a religious centre on the Jhelum, he built a city, in the 9th century, renowened for its beauty and architecture, its runis indicative of this even today. Situated on a ridge of Mount Wastawan. Avamtipur was am important centre in ancient Kashmir for 600 years till the 15th century AD. Being on the road to the capital which was almost 17 miles away, it was used by kings and their armies as a halting place during journey. Its temples even provided residents with shelter when the city was under siege. The two important shrines that Avantivarman ordered built there were dedicated to Vishnu and Siva.
Although the Vaishnava Avantisvamin is smaller than the Martanda, it was elegantly built by the best artisans Avantivarman could obtain and is a treasure trove of carvings and refined, graceful figural sculptures. The shrine is panchayatana (a polygon) in style. The auxiliary shrines were devoted to either the vehicles of the main deity or to his attendant gods or goddesses. None of Avantisvamin’s five shrines remain intact but the wide entrance staircase to the central graba grha still exists. It rises up grandly past a high, two-tiered platform, leading from a Gothic-style grand gateway whose platform fans into an impressive colonnade running 69 pillars around the periphery of the estate.
The effect on the viewer standing before the ruins is one of both magnificence and peace. The serenity of the cool, clean air, the mountains clad in diaphanous mist, and the gray-white stones stacked high like giant dominoes and reflected sharply in the pool of water below, are enchanting and calming all at once. The mist clears and all that remains are tantalixing glimpses of a rich past.
In the temple are tableaux of King Avantivarman and his wife, surrounded by their subjects; Kamadeva, the god of love seated on a draped couch with his wives Rati and priti, the goddesses of desire and love; and a statue, of either Krishna or the king himself (it is unclear exactly who), before accession. The sanctum sanctorum must originally have held a large image of Vishnu bit for centuries it has been empty. The few images that were retrieved from the site are now housed, as are figures from pandrethan, at the Sri Pratap Singh Museum in the state capital. Of the Avantipur idols, only four have heads. They are made of well-polished black stone and represent Vishnu with three heads and four arms.
The present shrine dates back to the 7th century AD. The fmous south Indian philosopher Swami Shankaracharya, trekked up to Badrinath with his disciple, padmapadacharya, and eventually established a math (centre of learning) there. He had come to meet and talk with the renowned author of the Vedanta Sutra, Badrayan, upon whose work he had written a bhasya (commentary).
One night, as the learned man slept, Vishnu appeared to him in the form of Sri Narayan, whose idol had been installed at Badrinath centuries ago. The images, which had been thrown long ago into the Narad kund in the Alakananda, begged Shankaracharya to rescue him and rebuild his temple. This work the hermit delegated to padampadacharya, who carried out his wishes.
Badrinath is full of shrines and auxiliary structures, the town’s life being geared only towards catering to the droves of pilgrims who flock there each year from mid-April to the end of October. It is a place worth visiting more for its natural splendours and the atmosphere of devotion and sanctity rather than its architectural wonders. Five miles away, as the crow files, is the breathtaking Nilkantha temple. Not constructed by any man, it is optical illusion and one that must be seen to be believed. The ‘temple’ is actually the pyramidal peak of the 21,650 foot Nilkantha mountain.<
Fronting the temple is a hot sulphur spring, the Taptapani (boiling water), where the God of fire, Agni resides. Just below this marvel of nature flows the freezing Alakananda. Within the temple complex is the garba grha where the idol of the meditating Badrinarayan is placed, adorned with jewels and a diamond on his forehead. The image is shaded by a golden canopy. Nearby is asubsidiary shrine to his consort, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. There is also a bhog mandir (hall of offering), on the estate where rice is cooked as part of the daily care-taking ritual for the god.
At a height of 11,753 feet, Kedarnath is strongly reminiscent of the Tibetan monasteries that are not so far away. Built of dressed stone, it is unembellished by traditional Indian temple sculpture. The entrance to the temple is, like Badrinath, inexplicably Islamic in character but here the blankness of the stonework is relieved by a moulded archway, flanked by pilastered niches meant for the images of attendant gods or dwarapala-s (doorkeepers). The mandapa possesses a sloping roof as does the sanctum. Its shikhara rises up from behind the hall, to meet a golden amrit ghata (pot of holy nectar).
The temple remains closed, perforce, during the winter. The Journey up to shrine is full enough of hardships even when there is no snow on the ground. Devotess therefore travel to Ukhimath between November and April to worship the image of Kedarnath there. The northern regions of India are dotted with innumerable pilgrimage centers but the one that probably ranks as high as Badrinath or Kedarnath is Vaisnodevi. Located en route from Jammu to Srinagar, the temple is yet another of Kashmir’s natural shrines. Devoted to three mother goddess, it is visited yearly by pilgrims who climb seven miles to reach it.
These steep peaks have been shrouded in sacred aura for eons. Partly because of their inaccessibility, they have always been a source of mystery and legend. Pilgrims, sages and saints have gone there in search of divine deliverance. The heroes of the mahabharata are said to have done penance in the region, ultimately rising up to heaven from these mountains. The 7th century philosopher Swami Shankaracharya, traveled here all the way from Kerala, over 3,000 miles, on a pilgrimage, The culture of Kashmir has always been self-sustaining. It has a different climate, topography, and way of life from the rest of the country. Due to the difficulties inherent in reaching the state, there was less commerce and interaction between Kashmir and the civlization father south in the Gangetic plains. Therefore less influence, whether in the fields of art, literature or architecture, filtered there from the cradle of Indian civilization.
It is thought that Kashmir belonged to the vast kingdom of king Asoka and that it was he who built the city of srinagar. Be that as it may, the Mauryan civilization made no lasting effects upon it. Kashmir came into its own, probably around the 7th century AD under king Lalitaditya’s reign, with the conquest of northern Punjab. At this time, the political situation also in the hilly territory had stabilized due to the availability of cultivable land, created by the construction of many dams and embankments, preventing migration into the southern valleys.
The civilization was at its peak from them on, for about three centuries more. It was around this time that its most well known temples, the Surya temple at Martanda, the Siva and Vishnu shrines at Avantipur and the better preserved but smaller Siva temple at Pandrethan were built. Kashmir’s temple architecture followed its own vernacualar pattern, with quasi-classical elements, but greatly determined by its climatic conditions and style of secular construction.
Today, unfortunately, very few ancient temples are intact in the area. Many were destroyed after the 10th century by Muslim invaders. Sites were then denuded and the materials reused for new construction. Any remains have suffered centuries of weathering. The few structures that exist, in varying stages of ruin, are homogeneous in a style that saw little innovation after its origin around the 6th 7th century. The Hindu religious architecture of Kashmir was mostly Saivite. However Vaishnava temples and Buddhist shrines were also constructed. A telling story about king Avantivarman, who built the temples at Avantipur, is recalled by the historian Kalhana in his renowned 12th century text, the Rajtarangini. It indicates the religious tolerance of the local people. Apparently, the sovereign was a devout Vaishnava. But his trusted general Sura, prayed to Siva. So, in deference to Sura’s choise, all his life Avantivarman also worshipped Sura’s god, only admitting on his deathbed "the attachment to the worship of Vishnu, which he had long hidden. The temples of Kashmir, reflect the climate of the region with their pitched (sloping) roofs designed to drain off rain or snow easily, and their wooden-style detail echoed in stone. They also stand testimony, through their temple sculpture, to the influence of the neighbouring province, Gandhara, where Byzantine and Greek artisans had employed a Mediterranean form. Visible too, in the horseshoe style windows, reminiscent of Chaitya-s, and the cells to accommodate priests, are elements of Buddhist architecture, brought to the region by earnest proselytizes. They, because of king Asoka’s missionary zeal, had traveled all over the continent spreading the world of the Buddha.
Generally constructed within city limits, temple were laid out in the middle of oblong countyards that were enclosed by ‘running cells’ or chapels with long, narrow, pillared verandahs in front of them. The temples were once topped by gabled roofs rather like those seen atop modern houses in the area. The sculptures at Martanda, Pandrethan and Avantipur, the delicacy of intricate embellishment details, and the features of the carved figures, bespeak the effect that early Greek invaders had on the art and architecture in Kashmir. At the same time, the sculpture is mort primal than in other parts of India, its ornateness contrasted by occasional rough-hewn figures that seem to be less stylized than the rest, asserting a oneness with nature.
Sun worship was prevalent in northern India extending as far south as Gujarat, then known as Saurashtra, till about the 12th century AD. The sun, Surya, also called Martanda, holds a special, if now obscure, place in Hindu mythology. The offspring of Aditi, he is the father or both Manu (man) and Yama (death). As his importabce declined in the rest of the country, in kashmir, which remained cut off and untouched by such changes, the Surya tradition endured.
Martanda
Situated on a high plateau, 60 miles south-east of the state capital, Srinagar, and about 3.5 miles east of Anntnag, is Martanda, where three structures devoted to thesun were built. Although some record date them as belonging to the 8th century, according to Kakhana they were erected from 370 to 500 AD, making this arguably the oldest temple site in Kashmir. The sun was worshipped here till the end of the 14th century when its image was destroyed. At the foot of the plateau is the tirtha of Matan (derived from Martanda) or Bavan, where there are some smaller modern temples, sacred springs and tanks worth visiting. A short distance away, at Bumagur, are rare rock-cut caves of some interest to tourists and two temples of note (though the larger of the two, Bhimakeshava, has been converted into a ziarat or Islamic pilgrimage centre/shrine).Surya
The Surya temple, with splendid views of both valley and mountain, is set within a paved court, 220 feet long and 142 feet wide, enclosed by the remains of 83 odd cell-like enclosures. These chapels have trefoiled or three-arched doors resembling a clover leaf, surmounted by triangular pediments. They were arranged 25 each on the northern and southern sides, 19 on the eastern and only 14 on the western boundary. The northern row of cells, in a severe state of ruin, appears like some ancient Greek temple with its classical pillars rising up to support the sky, and large urns can be seen embedded in the ground nearby.Entering a large porch from the direction of the sunrise, one would come upon the temple constructed from huge blocks of stone, horizontally arranged, with two wings, and as many main apartments-the spacious naos (hall) and the oblong cella (sanctum)- supported by vaguely Doric pillars. Myths abound about the temple. According to one, Martanda had a wooden roof with ‘gilt’ copper sheets’ but this is not likely as stone roof tiles have Been found on the grounds. The lack of any roofs whatsoever today at Martanda emphasizes the feeling of loneliness about the isolated shrine, whose walls are crumbling and whose images lie scatted about the estate, hidden by debris, submerged in pools of water or just broken and piled up on the ground. Once these very same walls must have resounded with the chanting of holy verses, the ringing of bells and these spaces been filled with the fragrance of pooja floweres, burning incense and camphor sticks.
The statues of apsara-s, gandharva-s, and subsidiary gods and goddesses would have stood in place, adding to the sense ox exaltation the devotee experienced as he entered the shrine of the sun. Where today the visitor can spy only rock and snow, temple life must have hummed, in miniature imitation of the life in the city, with its vineyards, outside.
The high, arched doorways resemble those of a great church and the blank blocks of stone lend a sense of great age to the structure, which many other temples across India lack due to the very liveliness of their facades. One of the remarkable features of the shrine is a relief on an inner wall of the antarala (vestibule). It depicts the Ganga flowing down to the earth for the first time. The river gushes down the Himalayas mischievously and with mighty force, only to be stopped short by Lord Siva, who traps and controls her in his matted hair. Though obviously defaced by marauding hands, this panel is a study in realism. Water ‘course’ down the stone in what is an exquisite and rare example of the minor but well developed tradition of sculpture in ancient Kashmir. Even in decay, Martanda exudes a sense of pomp and circumstance as it lifts its arms up to the first rays of the rising sun.
Pandrethan
The site of the ancient city Srinagari, founded by King Asoka in the 3rd century BC, came to be known as Puranadhisthana or the abbreviated Pandrethan, after the capital was shifted to its present location at the end of the 6th century AD. Approximately 50 years before this move, the city had witnessed a great boom in building but the Siva temple and other construction in the vicinity was disfigured in the 14th century by Sultan Sikander, infamous destroyer of many temples in Kashmir. The Siva shrine of Pandrethan stands on the banks of the Jhelum river, minuscule against the glory of the Himalayan ridges rising up behind it. It is within the present city limits of the Sringagar cantonment, about 3.5 miles outside the city proper, on the Srinagar-Anantnag highway. The shrine, made of dressed stone, now stands immersed in a pool of water but was originally constructed on a high, tri ratha (triangular) platform like the one seen beneath the sanctum sanctorum at Martanda. The style of construction would almost lead one to believe that the temple was made of wood, not stone. It resembles a tiny wooden cottage, with two tiered, tiled roof, dormer windows (in the chaitya style) and deep eaves. Pandrethan is far more understated than the archetypal Hindu temple of the Gangetic plains whose ornate carvings and shikhara rising high into the sky signal its presence to devotees.Built between 906 and 921 AD, Pandrethan appears similar to western classical structures in design and treatment but is the best extant example of the Kashmit style. Its sanctum is square in shape, according to be the specific dictates of Hindu architectural tradition, unlike its ratha arrangement on the outside. The members that hold up the walls are in turn supported by caved elephants. The stark simplicity of the innermost shrine contrasts with the almost embroidery-like intricacy of the pattern on the nine slabbed ceiling above it. The ceiling is created by the ‘laying of diagonal and square stone courses to produce designs with roatating and diminishing squares.
The visually receding pattern is completed by central embellishment-the symbolic lotus spilling over from above. Used all over India, throughout the ages, in various parts of a temple, the lotus was preferred for ceiling decoration. It is surrounded by two tows of very Western-looking cherubs, the single ones with lit lamps, the pairs holding drapery or garlands. Hence the ceiling is an add mixture of Hindu symbolism and Gothic decoration.
With hardly any evidence, in terms of icons, remaining in the shrine, 19th and early 20th century explorers could only speculate that it may have been dedicated to a kesser-known god, Meruvardhanasvamin. Scholders now tell us it was almost certainly a Saivite place of worship. The layout of the floors and the arrangement of doors on the sides suggests that a Siva linga (phallic symbol, the male element, revered as the source of life) or a three-headed statue of Mahadeva (another name fro Siva), was meant to be worshipped there. Also supporting this theory is a panel above the entrance to the temple. Zit is the figure of a man seated cross-legged, wearing a dhoti ( a piece of cloth worn by men, tied across the waist and tucked between the legs forming trousers) and a jhanva (sacred thread traditionally worn across the chest by Bhahmin, and sometimes other ‘upper caste’ Hindu men), assumed to be Lakulisa, the teacher of pashupati (another name for Siva).
Avantipur
The Avantisvara temple, built some years after the Avantisvamin, is located about a kilometer away. This shrine has suffered more than its brother but appears to have been incomplete even originally. Devoted to Siva, as its statue of Lakulisa suggests, Avantisvara, set in the middle of a quadrangular array of chapels, faces west and is panchayatana ( a polygon) in style. Built on the typical tri ratha embellished platformof the region, there were two auxiliary temples on the lot, constructed at the north-eastern and north-western corners of the court. The whole complex must have been gigantic and breath-taking. Sadly, neither structure nor ornamentation remain in a condition to be much appreciated. Only a statue of Lakulisa, this time standing, supports a niche above the entrance. Faintly discernible is a tableau of Avantivarman and his queen dressed austerely in readiness to pray to Siva.At the site called Visvaikasara, which procures final beatitude for those who die (there), the king founded the (town of) Avantipura, an abode of abundant enjoyments, writes Kalhana, the historian. He is talking about king Avantivarman, an educated, peace-loving man, a connoisseur of art. At what probably was already a religious centre on the Jhelum, he built a city, in the 9th century, renowened for its beauty and architecture, its runis indicative of this even today. Situated on a ridge of Mount Wastawan. Avamtipur was am important centre in ancient Kashmir for 600 years till the 15th century AD. Being on the road to the capital which was almost 17 miles away, it was used by kings and their armies as a halting place during journey. Its temples even provided residents with shelter when the city was under siege. The two important shrines that Avantivarman ordered built there were dedicated to Vishnu and Siva.
Avantiswamin
The Vishnu temple, Avantisvamin, was constricted before the king was crowned; the Siva or Avantisvara, after his accession. The far-sighted ruler provided a purse for the maintenance of the tow complexes, ensuring that they were cared for after his death.Although the Vaishnava Avantisvamin is smaller than the Martanda, it was elegantly built by the best artisans Avantivarman could obtain and is a treasure trove of carvings and refined, graceful figural sculptures. The shrine is panchayatana (a polygon) in style. The auxiliary shrines were devoted to either the vehicles of the main deity or to his attendant gods or goddesses. None of Avantisvamin’s five shrines remain intact but the wide entrance staircase to the central graba grha still exists. It rises up grandly past a high, two-tiered platform, leading from a Gothic-style grand gateway whose platform fans into an impressive colonnade running 69 pillars around the periphery of the estate.
The effect on the viewer standing before the ruins is one of both magnificence and peace. The serenity of the cool, clean air, the mountains clad in diaphanous mist, and the gray-white stones stacked high like giant dominoes and reflected sharply in the pool of water below, are enchanting and calming all at once. The mist clears and all that remains are tantalixing glimpses of a rich past.
In the temple are tableaux of King Avantivarman and his wife, surrounded by their subjects; Kamadeva, the god of love seated on a draped couch with his wives Rati and priti, the goddesses of desire and love; and a statue, of either Krishna or the king himself (it is unclear exactly who), before accession. The sanctum sanctorum must originally have held a large image of Vishnu bit for centuries it has been empty. The few images that were retrieved from the site are now housed, as are figures from pandrethan, at the Sri Pratap Singh Museum in the state capital. Of the Avantipur idols, only four have heads. They are made of well-polished black stone and represent Vishnu with three heads and four arms.
Badrinath
Siva, as we know, is not the only god who resides in the Himalayas. Vishnu, the preserving element in the holy trinity, abides there too, beyond the vale of Flowers. Where Man and God have their meeting place is the shrine of Vishnu on the left bank of the Alakananda river at the holy tirtha of Badrinath. This northern centre of pilgrimage is regarded by some to be one of the four holiest places in the country. The others are Dwaraka in the west, Jagannath purl in the east, and Rameshwaram in the south. Many devout Hindus would not consider a pilgrimage complete unless Badrinath was on the itinerary. Called a ‘Supreme place of pilgrimage’ Badrinath is almost 180 miles north-east of Rishikesh. It is situated at a height of 10,000 feet above sea level, between two hills, the Nar Parvat (Mountain of Man), and the Narayan Parvat (Mountain of God), where the mortal and the immortal did penace. The tirtha sthana, where many sacred texts were said to have been written, apparently existed as early as the 6th century BC, Indeed, legend has it that its Vishnu temple was destroyed some 1,200 years ago.The present shrine dates back to the 7th century AD. The fmous south Indian philosopher Swami Shankaracharya, trekked up to Badrinath with his disciple, padmapadacharya, and eventually established a math (centre of learning) there. He had come to meet and talk with the renowned author of the Vedanta Sutra, Badrayan, upon whose work he had written a bhasya (commentary).
One night, as the learned man slept, Vishnu appeared to him in the form of Sri Narayan, whose idol had been installed at Badrinath centuries ago. The images, which had been thrown long ago into the Narad kund in the Alakananda, begged Shankaracharya to rescue him and rebuild his temple. This work the hermit delegated to padampadacharya, who carried out his wishes.
Badrinath is full of shrines and auxiliary structures, the town’s life being geared only towards catering to the droves of pilgrims who flock there each year from mid-April to the end of October. It is a place worth visiting more for its natural splendours and the atmosphere of devotion and sanctity rather than its architectural wonders. Five miles away, as the crow files, is the breathtaking Nilkantha temple. Not constructed by any man, it is optical illusion and one that must be seen to be believed. The ‘temple’ is actually the pyramidal peak of the 21,650 foot Nilkantha mountain.<
Amarnath
Another natural temple in the region is the Amarnath cave temple, near Mount Kailash. The entrance to this well-known pilgrimage site, located at a height of 13,120 feet, is blocked much of the year. In the rainy season when the snow has thawed, then devout and hardy devotees worship at the place where it is believed Siva shared with Parvati the secrets of immortality. Pilgrims have been trekking here since before the 12th century when Kalhana recorded the fact in his Rajtarangini. In this snowy shrine, large icicles weld together to form a magnificent and glittering Siva linga. In comparison with these natural offerings to God, the 50 foot high shrine at Badrinath is rather unimpressive. The Buddhist influence on its construction is evident; this is only natural considering that when it was built, Buddhism was at its peak and its architectural style had spread far and wide, being absorbed into Hindu construction. However, the garish new paint takes away from any original architectural beauty the building may have possessed. The entrance to the Badrinarayan temple is through a tall arch in the middle of an oddly Indo-Saracenic façade.Fronting the temple is a hot sulphur spring, the Taptapani (boiling water), where the God of fire, Agni resides. Just below this marvel of nature flows the freezing Alakananda. Within the temple complex is the garba grha where the idol of the meditating Badrinarayan is placed, adorned with jewels and a diamond on his forehead. The image is shaded by a golden canopy. Nearby is asubsidiary shrine to his consort, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. There is also a bhog mandir (hall of offering), on the estate where rice is cooked as part of the daily care-taking ritual for the god.
Kedarnath
Not far from Badrinath is another holy tirtha where, it is said, ‘one finds oneself almost at the thereshold of eternity.’ This is Kedarnath, with its stark and austere 8th century temple devoted to a mendicant god, Siva. It is built, defying almost every law of construction, below Mahapatha mountain, on a ridge that juts out at right angles to the peak. Kedarnath has been renowned since time immemorial as hallowed ground. When the heroes of the Mahabharata, the Pandava-s were wending their way through the Himalayas on their last journey in life, they stopped at this spot. Here the fivw brothers rested, meditated and prayed to Siva. And here, the youngest of them, A Sahadeva, passed away.At a height of 11,753 feet, Kedarnath is strongly reminiscent of the Tibetan monasteries that are not so far away. Built of dressed stone, it is unembellished by traditional Indian temple sculpture. The entrance to the temple is, like Badrinath, inexplicably Islamic in character but here the blankness of the stonework is relieved by a moulded archway, flanked by pilastered niches meant for the images of attendant gods or dwarapala-s (doorkeepers). The mandapa possesses a sloping roof as does the sanctum. Its shikhara rises up from behind the hall, to meet a golden amrit ghata (pot of holy nectar).
The temple remains closed, perforce, during the winter. The Journey up to shrine is full enough of hardships even when there is no snow on the ground. Devotess therefore travel to Ukhimath between November and April to worship the image of Kedarnath there. The northern regions of India are dotted with innumerable pilgrimage centers but the one that probably ranks as high as Badrinath or Kedarnath is Vaisnodevi. Located en route from Jammu to Srinagar, the temple is yet another of Kashmir’s natural shrines. Devoted to three mother goddess, it is visited yearly by pilgrims who climb seven miles to reach it.
