Martand Sun temple :-

The Martand Sun temple is situated on top of a plateau, near the town of Anantnag located at about 5 miles from the town of Anantnag, {Kashmir, India}. The temple is dedicated to Bhaskar {surya}, the Sun God.

It dates back to the 7th - 8th century and was consecrated by King Laitaditya Muktapida. King Lalitaditya, a Kshatriya of Surya (Solar) dynasty, got the Martand Sun temple constructed to commemorate Surya. This beautiful Martand temple has a colonnaded courtyard, with the shrine in its center. There are two springs named Vimal & Kamal Kunds. {Naag in Kashmiri language}.

This temple has been built with strong and square limestones and exhibits the pillars of Greek pattern. Built with 84 columns, the temple offers a magnificent view of the Kashmir valley.  The temple has a height of about 40 ft. The central building is 63 ft in length by 36 in width. From the northern side of the temple, one can get the view of the beautiful mountains as the background. A striking feature of the temple is the large-scale use of wood rather than stone in its architecture

Martand temple of Kashmir counts amongst the best and most memorable works of King Lalitaditya and counts amongst the rare ones in the world.

It serves as a living proof of the skill and talent of the Hindu Kashmiris of the bygone era. Apart from the exquisite architecture, another attraction of the Martand temple is its picturesque surroundings. The temple, standing in a square field with the beautiful snow covered mountains serving as its backdrop, presents an awe-inspiring sight

Martand holds a very high place in the world's great architectural designs and is considered to be not only an example of the Kashmiri architectural skill but also has pride of having been set up at a prettier spot than those of Parthinan, Taj Mahal and St. Peters. A representative of all such great buildings and monuments or a combination and sum total of all the qualities. Martand temple is said to be a mirror of the art and skill of Kashmiri Hindus. This way Lalitaditya should not be considered only a founder of a vast empire but also a founder of art and skill of Kashmiri Hindus for six centuries

Though the cities, towns and the ruins belonging to the era of Lalitaditya are not to be found so easily, the remnants of the big Martand temple, which the emperor had built at the pilgrimage of the same name, is an example of unique building skill of ancient Hindus. They are praised for their design, beauty and art.

By road, Martand Temple can be approached easily from Anantnag, Mattan and Achabal. The nearest airport is at Srinagar.

Khrew is a town in Pulwama district in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir famous for an important temple of Kashmiri Pandits.

Shankaracharya Temple (Srinagar) :

Shankaracharya Temple is an ancient temple that finds its origin in the 4th century. Also Knows as the Jyesteshwara temple is located in Srinagar, Kashmir, India at 1100 feet above surface level of the main city on the Shankaracharya hill opposite to Dal-lake overlooking Srinagar Town.

The beautiful ancient temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, was constructed by Raja Gopadatya of the Maurya dynasty in 371 B.C. and, as such, is the oldest shrine in Kashmir, though it is not certain if the temple exists in the same form as it had been built more than two thousands years ago. The first repair of the temple is believed to have been undertaken during the reign of Lalitaditya in the eighth century A.D.

Dogra ruler, Maharaja Gulab Singh, constructed stone stairs up to the temple. In 1925,the temple was electrifed.

The earlier name of the temple was Gopadri. It is believed that Shankracharya, the great philosopher, lived here during his trip to Kashmir to revive the Sanatan Dharma. The legend left the place centuries ago, ever since, the temple came to be known as Shankaracharya Temple.  

The beautiful temple commands an equally beautiful view from the mountain top of the valley, the town of Srinagar, the nearby villages and the surrounding mountains and Dal Lake.

The temple, besides a prominent religious place of Hindus, is of great archaeological importance.The structure of the temple boasts about the architectural style of those times. However, many additions and changes have been made to the original structure. Erected on a high octagonal platform, the temple can be reached by a flight of steps.

Hari Parbat

Original Kashmiri Pandit refers to a person who belongs to a sect of Hindu Pandits who originate from the Kashmir region. We have a recorded history in Kashmir for thousands of years and have also been mentioned in the Mahabharata. Kashmiri Pandits have features like most high caste Indians. Many experts speculate that the Aryans originated in Kashmir.

During the Islamic period of the Kashmir valley, hundreds of temples in Kashmir were destroyed. As a result, Kashmiri Pandits gradually migrated to other parts of India to escape persecution, which resulted in Kashmir becoming predominantly Muslim. The devastation wrought by the Turkish general from Turkmenistan Zulju in 1320, during his conquest of many regions of Kashmir Valley was especially unfortunate. This could have a been a reaction to Lalitaditya's earlier conquest of Turkmenistan. Sultan Sikander (1389-1413), the seventh Muslim ruler in Kashmir, is known for his oppression of non-Muslim populations in his drive to establish Shariah-based rule, which caused many Kashmiri Pandits to leave the Kashmir valley. Historians call him an idol-breaker (or iconoclast) and he is said to have killed several thousand Kashmiri Pandits and forced them to convert to Islam or flee. Sultan Ali Shah and others followed suit. There have been few Muslim rulers who were tolerant towards the Pandits; however they were not able to ultimately alleviate the plight of the Pandits. This can be ascertained from the fact that the Pandits never rose to their pre-Islamic glory and that their population in the valley continued to decrease over time. It must be pointed out that no where in the history of Kashmir is there any mention of link to the caucasions.

British historians, such as Walter Lawrence, note that persecution of Kashmiri Hindus by zealous Muslim rulers resulted in as little as eleven original Kashmiri Hindu families remaining in Kashmir at one point. Walter Lawrence mentions that: More recently (1990), hundreds of thousands of Kashmiri Pandits had to flee the Kashmir valley because of being targeted by Kashmiri and foreign militants. As per the statement of US Congressman Joe Wilson, beginning in 1989, mosques in Kashmir declared jihad and blared warnings from loudspeakers to the Hindus that they were infidels and had to leave Kashmir. He further says that "From 1989-1990, Islamists began a terror campaign to drive Hindus from Kashmir. Some people have noted that some Kashmiri Muslims were tolerant of minorities, but since partition, most Kashmiri Muslims have adopted a more conservative approach to Islam, and since 1989, a more militant and fundamentalist approach. By the turn of the last century, only 6.4% of Kashmiris were Hindus. According to the Indian National Human Rights Commission, the Kashmiri Pandit population in Jammu and Kashmir dropped from 15 percent in 1941 to 0.1 percent as of 2006. This claim is however contradicted by official census reports. According to the 1901 census, "In the Kashmir province they [Hindus] represent only 524 in every 10,000 of population [or 5.24%]..." while the 1941 census estimated the Hindu population of the Kashmir valley to be 4%.

You Are Unique

Enjoy that uniqueness. You do not have to pretend in order to seem more like someone else. You weren't meant to be like someone else. You do not have to lie to conceal the parts of you that are not like what you see in anyone else. You were meant to be different. Nowhere ever in all of history will the same things be going on in anyone's mind, soul and spirit as are going on in yours right now. If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a gap in history, something missing from the plan for humankind. Treasure your uniqueness. It is a gift given only to you. Enjoy it and share it! No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can. No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can comfort with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding to another person. No one can be cheerful and lighthearted and joyous in your way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact of you to another human being. Share your uniqueness. Let it be free to flow out among your family and friends and people you meet in the rush and clutter of living wherever you are. That gift of yourself was given you to enjoy and share. Give yourself away! See it! Receive it! Let it tickle you! Let it form you and nudge you and inspire you!

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