Martand Sun Temple is an astonishing temple devoted to Surya (the Sun), which lies at a distance of 9.5 km from Anantnag in the heavenly state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. This edifice is a Kashmiri Hindu Temple and is recognized as one of the greatly gorgeous structures ever constructed in India.
Even in a ruined condition, the temple shares its tale with the ones who sincerely prefer to pay attention. The architecture is astonishing and the aura is rather nostalgic yet so captivating that it makes travellers wish to reach here.
A walk across the yard is a must for travellers to discover the brilliantly blended layouts and carvings on the edifice that regardless stand the tests of time and climate.
The Martand Sun Temple was built between the 7th and the 8th century. Martand, in Sanskrit, is another title for the Sun God in Hinduism. The temple structure was constructed by Lalitaditya who was the third emperor of the Karkota regime.
The edifice is built of limestone, and the whole complex has been constructed on top of a highland near Anantnag. The Administration of India has opened the ruined temple structure for travellers, and this location is assessed to be of National, Historical and Architectural significance and hence comes under The Archaeological Survey of India.
The Temple structure is so alluring that some celebrated operations have starred the location and the captivating ruins. The Bollywood blockbuster films Aandhi and Haider are a few of the ventures filmed here.
History
The Martand Sun Temple is constructed in the nagara technique of temple architecture. The temple is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India. Constructed in the 8th century AD, it is older than the Konark Sun Temple, Odisha, and Modera Sun Temple, Gujarat. "Martand" is a Sanskrit term for Sun.
Historical and medieval emperors would frequently call themselves as "son of Sun". The magnificent Temple was constructed during the empire of one of the greatest rulers of north India, Lalitaditya Muktapida.
Temple architecture was at a maximum during the medieval period of the Indian past. Emperors would often instruct constructing enormous temples to affirm military vigour and sacred connection.
Enormous temples were constructed during this period throughout India, for instance, the Kailasa Temple in Aurangabad, Maharashtra and Meenakshi Amman temple in Tamil Nadu.
Two individuals require to be focused upon one the creator of the Temple and the other one, the destroyer.
Lalitaditya Muktapida:
Ruler Lalitaditya Muktapida was the most powerful and greatly dominant emperor of the Karkota regime of Kashmir territory. His name Lalit Aditya implies "beautiful Sun God". His regime extended from Kabul in the west to current day Kolkata in the east.
A person of multiple interests, he has lived grandly celebrated by Kalhana, the popular poet and biographer in his ancient record of Kashmiri emperors "Rajatarangini". Lalitaditya Muktapida's military triumphs and his leaning towards religion and art makes him a character to be studied.
He maintained a similar appreciation for Buddhism and is associated with the construction of Buddhist temples and sculptures and motivating its craft and architecture. Lalitaditya had established a volume of villages and temples in the valley. The Martand Sun Temple exists as his greatly spectacular masterpiece.
Sikandar Butshikan:
Muslim emperor Sikandar Butshikan, the idol destroyer, in the early 15th century instructed extensive destruction of the Martand Sun Temple, a practice that is asserted to have persisted for a year.
It was performed in his endeavour to transform Hindus of the Valley to Islam, which he accomplished in achieving to a vast degree by oppressing Hindus on an enormous scale, demolishing the Hindu-Buddhist icons of culture, and ingraining fear in the senses of Hindus and Buddhists of the Valley.
He had furthermore demolished a vast number of Buddhist temples and creations. Though the Martand Sun Temple does not exist in its actual structure, the ruins speak abundances of ancient transformations that occurred over the years. It exists as a silent bystander of time and yearns to behold travellers.
The Architecture of Martand Sun Temple
The architecture of the Martand Sun temple is an excellent illustration of the skillful geniuses born in India over centuries. The structure is assessed as an extraordinary example of Hindu-Kashmiri architecture that comprises impacts of the Gupta, Gandharan, Syrian, Chinese, Roman, and Greek architectural patterns blended dazzlingly all over the temple structure.
The captivating structure extends over a region of 32,000 square feet and has its opening on the western side of the structure.
The elegant opening is decorated with detailed as well as intricate carvings of Hindu Deities. The ruined colonnaded courtyard of the temple directs to the major temple of Lord Surya which is situated in the center of the structure.
The middle of the structure has a tank-like structure with descending steps. The primary temple has a tinier antechamber that is illuminated with beautifully detailed carvings of Lord Vishnu, Ganga, and the Yamuna - the river deities, and the supreme Sun God, Surya.
Archaeologists have attempted to revive a notion of the edifice that the major temple must have possessed centuries ago before it was demolished. It is speculated that the primary temple had a pyramid-shaped exemplar which is generally observed on the temples in Kashmir.
There are nearly 83 tinier temples that encircle the primary temple of Lord Surya and are lined up along the perimeter of the structure that was likewise linked by the magnificent greek rooted limestone colonnades.
The ruins on the location presently exhibit rough Sanskrit inscriptions, destroyed sculptures, and carvings illustrating the conventional dance postures, musical incidents, and few additional divinities.
How to Reach Martand Sun Temple
By Road: One can rent out a taxi from Srinagar to reach the captivating ruins of Martand Sun Temple. It would take approximately one hour. The temple is easily reachable as it is situated at Kehribal, nearly 9 kilometres from Anantnag. One may select to take an hour-long cab ride from Pahalgam to arrive at the enchanting ruins in Kashmir.
By Rail: Anantnag railway station is linked with Kashmir Railway that operates from Baramulla to Qazigund. Anantnag is linked to many major towns by frequent trains.
By Air: The closest International Airport from Anantnag is Srinagar Airport. It is situated at a distance of 62 Kms and is recognized as Sheikh Ul Alam Airport. This airport is nicely linked to the different major towns like Jammu and New Delhi.
