Kashmir: A Lost Landscape of Sages, Scholars, and Sacred Temples
Kashmir—the land of sages, saints, and scholars—was once celebrated for its intellect and pursuit of knowledge. For centuries, it stood at the heart of India’s civilisational life, contributing profoundly to philosophy, theology, and learning. Though its temples and shrines have fallen and its history has been pushed to the margins, neither has vanished entirely.
The valley gave rise to towering figures whose influence travelled far beyond its mountains. Rishi Kashyap remains tied to the land in legend, while Kalhana sought to preserve Kashmir’s past through the Rajatarangini. Thinkers such as Abhinavagupta, Somananda, and Kalleshwari shaped intellectual traditions that resonated across India and beyond.
We often see Kashmir only as it exists today, forgetting that it has endured—and evolved—for millennia.
From Sharda Peeth to the Shriya Devi shrine, from the grandeur of the Martand Sun Temple to Avantisvamin, Varahmool, and Meru Vardhana Swami—some now located in regions under Pakistan’s control—Kashmir’s sacred geography was gradually reduced to ruins. What was once a land of worship and learning became, over centuries, a landscape marked by loss.
Kashmir also played a crucial role in the spread of Buddhism, serving as a bridge to Tibet and China. The celebrated monk Kumarajiva (334–413 CE), who translated key Buddhist texts into Chinese, was the son of a Kashmiri. His work shaped East Asian Buddhism for centuries.
As worshipping communities disappeared, temples were left without ritual, repair, or guardianship. Roofs collapsed, carvings eroded, walls crumbled. Today, many sacred sites survive only as scattered stone and overgrown courtyards.
Among Kashmir’s most revered institutions was Sharda Peeth, located in the Kishanganga valley. Dedicated to Sharda Devi, the goddess of knowledge, it was once one of India’s foremost centres of learning. Scholars believed the goddess granted divine insight, and seekers travelled far to reach the village of Shardi, where the shrine stood.
Historian Meenakshi Jain, in Flight of Deities and Rebirth of Temples, recounts how the Sharda Mahatmya describes sage Shandilya’s penance to behold the goddess. Sharda Peeth was also where Adi Shankaracharya was recognised as a scholar of exceptional merit.
References to the shrine appear across cultures. The Arab scholar Al-Biruni described it as a highly venerated pilgrimage site, while British officials such as Major Charles Ellison Bates recorded Shardi’s importance. By the late 19th century, however, archaeologist Aurel Stein found the shrine largely forgotten, its structure crumbling. One account even notes that it was used to store gunpowder by a local ruler.
The Rajatarangini describes several temples rediscovered or built under Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty, including the famed Martand Sun Temple, celebrated for its scale and architectural grandeur. Other complexes, such as Parihasapura, once housed magnificent images of Vishnu crafted in silver and gold.
However, widespread destruction followed in later centuries. Historian Meenakshi Jain records that many temples in Srinagar were destroyed during the reign of Sultan Sikandar, remembered as Butshikan—the icon-breaker. Archaeologist Alexander Cunningham later found temple materials reused in new constructions, including royal tombs. Sites like Pandrethan revealed scattered lingas and remnants of vast temple complexes.
Temples built by King Avantivarman, including Avantisvamin and Avantisvara, were also destroyed during this period. ASI records place much of this devastation in the late 14th century, after which Muslim rule continued until the Dogra period.
As Meenakshi Jain writes:
“Ma Sharda, Martanda, Avantisvamin, Avantisvara, Varahmool, Meru Vardhana Swamin, and innumerable other deities were banished forever from their sacred abodes.”
Kashmir’s political geography was never static. For centuries, the region existed as loosely connected territories—Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and northern frontiers—each with distinct identities. Ladakh, shaped by Tibetan Buddhism and isolation, followed a separate historical path.
The Dogra unification in the 19th century, formalised by the Treaty of Amritsar (1846), brought these regions under one administration, though not one shared identity. British records make clear that this unity was administrative rather than cultural.
What remained of Kashmir’s sacred heritage survived precariously until modern times. After Independence, the situation worsened. External conflicts, neglect, and finally the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits severed a living civilisational link that had endured for thousands of years.
Today, Kashmir’s ancient temples and shrines stand as silent witnesses—ruined structures marking a once-flourishing intellectual and spiritual world. What has been lost may never fully return, but remembering it remains essential to understanding Kashmir’s true place in India’s civilisational story.
