Day Of Civilisational Significance As Devi Sharada Returns To Kashmir

In a civilisational achievement, the new Sharada Devi temple near Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir has been inaugurated today (22 March) after the Panchaloha (five metals) vigraha of Mata Sharada reached Teetwal in Kashmir, marking the return of the Goddess to the valley.

The newly built temple was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah today via video conferencing, on the occasion of the first Navratra of the Chaitra maas.

The temple, supported by the Sringeri Matt, replicates traditional Kashmiri architectural styles and will be accompanied by a ghat built on the banks of the Kishenganga which flows nearby.

The ghat, with proper steps, is being built with the intention of restoring pitra puja.

The temple has been built due to the efforts of Save Sharada Committee Kashmir.

The Save Sharada Committee Kashmir has been set up to revive the ancient Sharada temple, which used to be a major seat of learning in ancient India but now is in ruins in the Pakistan Occupied Kashmir after being plundered and ravaged by the invaders during the India-Pakistan war in 1947-48.

Save Sharada Committee founder Ravinder Pandita has long been trying to reopen the Sharada yatra across the Kishenganga river into Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) but his efforts have seen several starts and stops.

In 2022, a decisive moment came when Sringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya and Jagadguru Sri Vidhushekhara Bharati Sannidhanam blessed an effort initiated by Pandita’s Save Sharda Committee.

Teetwal, where the yatra’s base camp used to lie in the old days, was chosen as the place for consecrating a new temple for Maa Sharada. 

Jagadguru Sri Mahasannidhanam blessed Pandita and the Sringeri Matt announced its full support to the noble initiative of the temple construction at Teetwal, even commissioning a new panchaloha vigraha of Goddess Sharada for the installation at the temple. 

The panchloha (five metals) vigraha was received by the committee in January, after which the nearly 3,000 km long yatra to the newly built Sharada temple in Teetwal commenced.

On the way, the yatra passed through various cities including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Delhi, Gurugram and Jammu.

The yatra reached Teetwal on Monday (20 March), nearly two months after it had commenced.

The temple has been inaugurated today but the Pran Pratishtha ceremony will be performed by Shringeri Jagadguru Shankaracharya Sri Sri Bharati Tirtha Mahasannidhanam sometime in May, according to Pandita.

Alongside the temple, a small shrine has also been built to house the vigraha of Swami Nand Lal ji, one of the many great Kashmiri saints who was the last to sit on Sharda Sarvajna Peetha. 

The development gains significance as the Sharada Peetha has always been one of the three important teerthas besides Martand and Amarnath for the Kashmiri Hindu community, an overwhelming majority of which today is forced to stay out.

Further, the temple plans are not just restricted to pooja, it has also been designed to serve as a point to revive the civilisational legacy of Kashmiri Hindu community and its long jnana parampara.

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