K N Pandita
The Legend
“Namastey Sharada Devi Kashmir Pur Vasini Tvam Ham Prartheye Nityam Vidya Danam Che De hi Mahi. (Salutations to you, O Sharada, O Goddess, O one who resides in Kashmir. I pray to you daily, please give me the charity of knowledge).”
This is a prayer that Kashmiri Pandits say as a part of their daily worship to pay obeisance to Goddess Sharada, commonly known as Saraswati – the goddess of knowledge. However, the revered shrine of their Kuldevi (principal deity) – Sharada Peeth – now lies abandoned in the Neelam (Krishnaganga) valley under Pakistan’s illegal occupation since 1947.
According to Mahatmaya (geographical narrative of ancient Kashmir social and religious sites) the sage Shandilya practiced austerities to obtain the sight of the Goddess Sharada, who is the embodiment of shakti (supreme energy). At Ghosha, (present village ‘Gushi), Goddess appeared, and promised to show herself in her true form (Shakti) in the Sharada’ forest. The Goddess vanishes from his sight at Hayasirsasasrama, (present day Hayhom), situated about 4 miles to the N.N.E of Gushi.
The Sage next proceeded to the Kishanganga (Neelam of Pakistanis) to take a bath. Thereupon, half his body becomes golden, emblematic of his approach to complete liberation from darkness. The Naga is situated above the village of Drang also known as Son-Drang. It is this appellation which the Mahatmaya wishes to reproduce by calling the place of Sage’s miraculous transformation ‘Suvarnardhangaka’.
From thence, Shandilya ascends the mountain range to the north, on which he sees a dance of Goddesses in a forest called Rangavati (Rangvor), immediately below the pass by which the route leading from Drang towards the Kishanganga crosses the watershed. He then passes the Gostambhana forest, i.e., the Marg Gthamman and arrives at Tejavana, the residence of Gautama, on the bank of the Kishanganga. The Mahatmaya describes at some length, the sacred character of the latter place which is identical with Tehjan (Thagain), a small hamlet on the left bank of the Kishanganga.
The mention of this confluence leaves no doubt as to where the Mahatmaya places the site sacred to Sharada. By Sindhu can be meant only the Kishanganga which, as in Kalhana’s days, is still locally known merely as ‘Sind’ , the river. Madhumati is the name which local tradition gives to this day to the stream that joins the Kishanganga at Shardi from the south. The temple at Sharada is believed to be one of the fifty-one Shakti-peethas in Kashmir. It is believed that the right hand of Shiva’s consort Sati had fallen here.
Fame
Besides being a famous temple, whose construction resembles that of Martand in Kashmir valley, Sharada Peeth, as can be understood from the name, became a great centre of ancient Hindu learning. Scholars from far and wide —- as far as Gandhara (Kandahar) to its west and Trigarta (Himachal) to its east — seekers of knowledge flocked to this great seat of learning of ancient Kashmir. Jonaraja, the early 15th century CE has said that Adi Shankaracharya and later Sultan Zainul Abidin (Bud Shah CE 1450) the ruler of Kashmir, both had visited Sharada to pay obeisance to the Goddess.
Locals of Shardi
Reports coming from various reliable sources say that even after conversion to Islamic faith, the local people of Shardi and its adjoining inhabited areas, have usually shown respect and regard to the shrine, which has collapsed owing to age and the vicissitudes or weather or human mind. However, as per the revenue records, it is reported that hardly 1.5 acres of land on which the ruins of the temple are still visible stand in the name of the shrine out of a total of about 75 acres.
The broad opinion is that after the ceasefire on the midnight of December 31, 1948, the shrine did not face much damage at the hands of the rogues because the locals would not allow that to happen owing to a strong sense of nostalgia.
But what was calamitous for this famous Hindu shrine or the great seat of learning, was the high-handedness of the terrorists raised by Pakistan’s ISI who were deeply indoctrinated with anti-Hindu hatred tried to make it a station in their clandestine march for infiltration into Kashmir. It is they who are reported to have induced the locals to garb the land and destroy the temple further.
We also received reports that the Muslim population of Shardi and adjoining villages often confronted the armed infiltrators and obstructed them using Shardi as the taking off site for crossing over to Kashmir valley. This is further proved by the deep-seated anti-Pakistan demonstrations that are rampant in the PoK called Azad Kashmir.
Nehru’s Himalayan blunder
The hindsight of Kashmir history tells us that had not the portfolio of Kashmir taken away by Nehru from his Home Minister, the history of J&K would have been very different. Under pressure from the then British Labour Prime Minister Clement Attlee, a “close friend of Nehru”, the Indian Prime Minister succumbed and agreed to sign the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan against the wishes of his cabinet member, army chief and local commander General Thimayya. The half-idealist and “half-baked socialist” (to borrow the phrase from my late guru Dr N N Raina), Nehru did not understand that Attlee and Mountbatten were busy bringing up the loose ends of Curzon’s “Great Game” in Central Asia. In Moscow, those who did not agree with Stalin’s characterization of Nehru (“the running dog of British imperialism”) had to eat the humble pie when they came to know that the day when Nehru signed the ceasefire agreement with Pakistan, was a day and a night of great revelry in 10 Downing Street in London. Why? Just think.
Reversing the phenomenon
In response to a question, the Home Minister recently said in the Parliament that Sharda Peetha, illegally occupied by Pakistan, will come back to Kashmiris. Hours after this statement, the Legislative Assembly of PoK in Muzaffarabad passed a unanimous resolution demanding that Sharda Corridor from Sharda to Kashmir Valley should be opened as it was the right of the PoK people to get connected to their brethren in the valley. Kashmiri Pandits, who have been demanding restoration of Sharada Peetha since long have welcomed both developments viz. the statement of the Home Minister and the resolution of the PoK Assembly. They argue that if it was found feasible to have the Kartarpur corridor, why not Sharada Peetha Corridor by the same token.
It has to be recollected that Pakistan regimes have normally recognized that Sharada is a holy shrine of Kashmiri Hindus and there should not be any obstruction to pilgrims desiring to visit it. Pakistan government even ordered some repairs to the shrine also. Pakistan polity is almost favourably disposed towards the idea of pilgrims have the least restrictions in visiting the shrine. But the matter has not been discussed by official delegations so far.
We are aware that serious obstruction to the creation of Shad Corridor comes from the Pakistani secret agency ISI and the rabid terrorist-jihadist the organization has created and patronized. These jihadists have even threatened the local population of Neelam valley for obstructing their search for secret crossing via NeelamValley.
Agreement of Pakistan for creating the Sharada Corridor would be a big step in the process of confidence building and people to people connectivity. We should forget the negative role which the people of PoK played in fomenting terrorism in Kashmir by raising organizations like KLF or JKLF. We must remember that the PoK Diaspora in London, especially in the towns of Yorkshire, Birmingham and Luton fell in the trap of ISI which told them that if they lend their financial and logistic support to Kashmir jihad, the valley will be captured and they (PoK) Diaspora in foreign countries would become the kings of Kashmir. All that we can say about them is “God forgive them for they do not understand what they are doing”.
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