MARTAND TEMPLE | IAS GYAN

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Recently, some pilgrims offered prayers inside the Martand Temple in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir.
- It is an Archaeological Survey of India-protected (ASI) monument.
Recently, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor participated in a ‘Navgrah Ashtamangalam Puja’ inside the Martand Temple.
- The ASI objected and highlighted that no permission was granted for the ceremony.

About

The Temple was built by the Karkota dynasty king Lalitaditya Muktapida, who ruled Kashmir from 725 AD to 753 AD.
- The temple is dedicated to Martand, the Sun god.
The temple had mighty grey stone walls, and its courtyard was filled with river water.
- The central courtyard was initially filled with water supplied by a canal from the river Lidar.
- The temple walls are built of “huge blocks of evenly dressed grey limestone by making use of lime mortar.”
The Temple has three distinct chambers: The mandapa, the garbhagriha, and the antralaya—probably the only three-chambered temple in Kashmir.
The temple is built in a unique Kashmiri style, but the temple is also influenced by Classical Greco-Roman, Buddhist-Gandharan, and North Indian styles.
Some of the walls bear clear carvings of deities.
The temple is ringed by a row of pillars—the peristyle common in Kashmiri temple architecture.
Some historians believe that the Temple is believed to be demolished by Sultan Sikandar Shah Miri, who ruled Kashmir from 1389 to 1413, although several historians hold a different opinion.
- Many historians blame earthquakes, faults in the temple’s masonry, and the simple passage of time in an area prone to weather excesses.