Panorama of the ruins of Martand Sun Temple in Kashmir from inside the main enclosure. Photo/Varun Shiv Kapur from New DelhiSRINAGAR: Some members of a little-known Hindu religious group forced their way into the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)-protected Martand Sun Temple, 64-kilometers from here, in Anantnag district, South Kashmir, on January 22 to hold prayers on the same day as the consecration of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
A report in Awaaz South Asia on January 25, 2024, said that the local ASI staff, who tried but failed to prevent their entry, did not allow them to squat anywhere inside the protected ruins of the 8th century temple attributed to Lalitaditya Muktapida of the Karkota dynasty. The temple is located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (Union Territory), India. It was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity in Hinduism; Surya is also known by the Sanskrit-language synonym Martand.
Before leaving the ruins of the temple spread over a sprawling complex, the group members left after unfurling a saffron flag and completing a parikrama (Circumamulation of the temple) while chanting the Hanuman Chalisa. The group had travelled from Bharatpur in Rajasthan to Martand Sun Temple.
This was the third consecutive year that the group, Rashtriya Anhad Mahayog Peeth, has made an attempt to hold prayers in this historic Temple complex.
This year, the group leader, Maharaj Rudranath Mahakal, said their visit was timed with the inauguration of the temple at Ayodhya, where consecration was held on January 22, 2024.
“Prime Minister Modi had said that all temples should hold prayers and mark the occasion like Deepavali, which is what we wanted to do in all the temples of Kashmir,” Rudranath said.
“After holding prayers in the nearby Shiv temple at Mattan, the group proceeded to Martand and entered despite efforts by several ASI staff present at the site to stop them,” Rudranath was quoted in the report as having said.
“An ASI staffer had tried to snatch the ‘Ramji ka dhwaj’ one member of the contingent was holding, but he was thwarted,” Maharaj Rudranath said.
“We made our way with determination to the garb graha (sanctum sanctorum), where we unfurled ‘Ramji ka dhwaj’ as well as sing two Ram stutis,” he said.
However, the group was not allowed to sit anywhere or stay on in the temple premises, and had to leave after a parikrama (circumambulation) of the temple. “We chanted the Hanuman Chalisa as we did the parikarama,” he said.
As per the guideline of the ASI and central government, temples, mosques or sites of any other religion under the protection of the ASI are not open for prayers unless these were functioning places of worship at the time they came under the central archaeological body’s protection.
As per rules, no prayers are allowed at any historic place of worship that was in ruins when the body took charge of its protection and maintenance.
Martand Sun Temple, where the main deity is Surya, or the sun, is worshipped by Hindus as the creator of life. It is believed to be the oldest Sun temple and was said to have been destroyed during the reign of Sikandar Shah Miri, who ruled from 1389 to 1413.
The ruins of temple have been protected by the ASI, including during the decade of militancy in the 1990s, as a “monument of national importance”. The monument attraction for tourists of all faiths, especially after it provided the imposing backdrop to some scenes of the Bollywood film ‘Haider.’
Restored impression by J. Duguid (1870–73) of Martand Sun Temple in 1870. This file is from the Mechanical Curator collection, a set of over 1 million images scanned from out-of-copyright books and released to Flickr Commons by the British Library.According to local Kashmiris, Hindu tourists often sit on the stone platforms on the grounds of the temple and offer prayers. But no one is allowed to pray in the inner areas of the ruins, the report said.
An organised attempt to overturn this rule started in 2022, when a 100-strong contingent of the same group, held prayers at the temple to commemorate the day of arrival of Adi Sankara in Kashmir. Conches were blown, and the group held aloft saffron flags as well as the Tircolour. The group spent a good part of the day inside the temple at that time.
The report said, “Two days later, J&K Lieutenant-Governor Manoj Sinha participated in a separate ‘Navgrah Ashtamangalam pooja’ at the temple, which according to a press release from his office, was ‘held in the presence of saints, members of Kashmiri Pandit community and local residents’. Priests from south India conducted the ceremonies at this elaborate puja which went on for over an hour.”
The ASI is reported to have later raised the issue with the district administration for violation of the central government body’s rules.
In 2023, when the Rajasthan-based Hindu outfit returned in April to perform pooja once again, it was disallowed from entering the Temple complex. The entire party was detained at a Shiva temple at Mattan, not far from Martand, a functioning place of worship, and not allowed to proceed further. The contingent dropped the plan, but not before shooting off letters of protest to various functionaries of the government.
The report in Awaaz South Asia said that the ASI officials in the Srinagar office did not respond to calls.
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