Exploring Kāfirkot: When is a Rose Apple not a Rose?
MICHAEL W. MEISTER
This article is the consequence of excavations by the Pakistan Heritage Society and University of Pennsylvania at Kāirkot North that resulted in the discovery and exploration of an undocumented temple (E) in that fort, and recovery of an important seventh-century cult image broken in two pieces. These were discussed in preliminary reports in The Pakistan Heritage Society Newslet- ter (Khan et al 1998), Expedition (Meister 2000), and the Lahore Museum Bulletin (Rehman 1998).
In following through an iconological investigation of the excavated image, I became fascinated with the sceptre held in his left hand, which terminated in a cluster of spear-pointed leaves. These could be matched with leaves framing a large textured ‘fruit’ used as one of the eight auspicious signs in reliefs from early Mathurā and as the base of one of Mathurā’s earliest liṅga pillars (Meister 2007). Following a long tangled process of deductive analysis, I came to a tentative conclusion that this sceptre was a ‘jambū-dhvaja’ and that ‘jambū’ in this period of early India was not ‘rose apple’ but rather the gigantic fruit of the jack tree. A note on the tangled web of this discovery was ofered to an issue of the Journal of Ancient Indian History issued at the time of D. C. Sircar’s birth centenary (Meister 2007-08). This note I would like to share along with a full portfolio of illustrations not possible to publish in the original journal. My purpose also has been to probe and question the relativity of our claims to knowledge.
Once populated with temples, only traces of Hinduism remain in Laki
This is a far cry from the past when the area was dotted with temples and Hindu monastic establishments.
Book review: Historic Temples in Pakistan by Reema Abbasi and Madiha Aijaz
Reema Abbasi and Madiha Aijaz’s magnificent photo-essay profiles the core of Pakistan’s millennia-old Hindu heritage – its temples – and makes a strong case for keeping pluralism alive in the ‘Fortres
For many Indians, especially those who are Hindu or Sikh, reading anything about Pakistan’s religious minorities can be a painful affair. As if Partition was not enough, subsequent events have brought death and destruction to these beleaguered people. More than 30 years after Mard-e-Momin Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq started his Islamisation programme, all of Pakistan is paying the price. There are regular attacks on the two biggest non-Muslim minorities, Hindus and Christians. There are also non-Sunni firqas, which are under siege — the Shias and the hapless Ahmadis, declared by the Ulema and the government to be Wajib-e-Qatl, to be killed by every ‘true Muslim’ as a religious duty. I picked up veteran journalist Reema Abbasi and photographer Madiha Aijaz’s Historic Temples in Pakistan: A Call to Conscience with trepidation. Poring over it reaffirmed what I had been hearing all along — of the country’s minorities being in a state of siege. Still, the book’s very publication is a reaffirmation of faith in humanity. There are still people in Pakistan who have the courage to examine and profile its pre-Islamic past, which is currently dying a slow death. The work, say its authors, is a call to Pakistanis to take charge of their destiny and make their society more pluralistic. Abbasi states in the preface: “At times like these, civilisations in denial can reinvent themselves through free expression of faith and ideas…the time is now ripe to put paid to divides that are like to cost an entire country its rationale….” The book has many layers. Not only does it profile Pakistan’s most ancient and important Hindu temples, but also details their histories, locales, architecture, the people whom they serve and the dangers they have faced and are facing. Five of the six sections in this book are on the temples in the four provinces that make up Pakistan. Abbasi does not include the temples of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir, like the hallowed Shardapeeth in the Neelum Valley on the Line of Control, or the Raghunath and Shivala Mandirs in the city of Mirpur. Balochistan has a single temple profiled — the Hinglaj Mata Mandir — one of the Shaktipeethas of the subcontinent. According to legend, Sati’s head fell at this spot when Vishnu whirled his chakra at her corpse and it smashed into pieces.
The temples of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are grouped into one section. The most prominent is the fabled Katas Raj near Chakwal in Punjab. One of South Asia’s better known Shiva temples, it is among the two spots (the other being Pushkar) where Shiva’s tears fell in his grief over Sati’s death and formed a pool. The spot is also the site where Yudhisthira, the eldest of the Pandava princes, was questioned by a Yaksha, who turned out to be Dharma in disguise, testing his son. There are other temples in the cities of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and one in the town of Mansehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. But it is Sindh, Hinduism’s last stronghold in Pakistan, that constitutes the lion’s share of the book. Three sections detail its temples — in the teeming metropolis of Karachi, in the districts of Umerkot and Tharparkar in the Thar Desert, and in riverine Sindh, along the course of the (once) mighty Indus. Pakistani temples are located in a variety of locations. Hinglaj is in a giant cavern on the desolate Makran coast. The Varun Dev Mandir is on Manora Island off Karachi. The famed Sadhu Bela temple is on an islet in the middle of the Indus in Upper Sindh, neat Sukkur. The temples of Umerkot and Tharparkar are in a hot, though strikingly beautiful desert. Katas is located in the Salt Range, a unique elevated geographical feature amidst the otherwise flat, Punjabi plains. And the Shivala Mandir in Mansehra is in the Himalayas. Pakistan’s Hindu temples are dedicated to all three of the faith’s main branches — Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism. Deities worshipped include Shiva, Vishnu and his avatars, Rama and Krishna, Ganesha and Hanuman and the Mother Goddess in all her forms. But there are others too. The temple at Manora, for instance, is dedicated to Varuna, lord of the oceans. In Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, sage Valmiki is worshipped. The book reminds us that most of the Hindus left in Pakistan are Dalits, as caste Hindus fled during Partition. In Punjabi cities like Lahore and Pindi, as well as Peshawar, the main temples are those of Balmikis, the Dalit community also found across North India. In Sindh, most Hindus are Dalit Meghwars or tribal Bhils. A permanent theme in the book is the Hindu-Muslim syncretism that still astonishingly survives in Pakistan, especially in Sindh. For instance, Varuna in Manora is the Hindu Jhule Lal/Udero Lal in interior Sindh, who is also worshipped by Muslims as Zinda Pir or Khidr, a revered figure in Islam, especially Sufi mysticism. The Ratneshwar Mahadev Mandir in Karachi’s posh Clifton sits alongside the dargah of Hazrat Abdullah Shah Ghazi, Karachi’s patron saint. Both, Shiva and the Pir are considered by Sindhi society as the city’s guardian protectors against the Arabian Sea’s fierce waters. But the dangers to Pakistan’s temples far outweigh such harmonious co-existence. Most temples profiled in the book were attacked by frenzied mobs when the Bahri Mosque came down in Ayodhya in 1992. That time saw the razing of 1,000 historic temples from Pakistan’s landscape, notes Abbasi. Since then, some temples have been reconstructed with funds from Hindus, Muslim feudals and sometimes, the government. But the picture is far from rosy, concedes the author. The last chapter in the section on riverine Sindh highlights an even more important issue: the declining murti makers of Pakistan. There are no Hindu craftsmen left. Inevitably, the task falls to Muslims like the subject of the chapter: Fakira. Even there, the numbers are declining. Most murtis are thus brought from India. In places like Punjab, however, you have to make do with images, so virulent is the sentiment against idol worship. The book’s most powerful appeal lies in Madiha Aijaz’s photographs. Colourful and vivid, they are a treat for the eyes. After reading the book, I was deeply depressed. Then I read a line on the back cover, which is the book’s main message, and my blues ebbed away. It read: ‘As long as life is infinite, faiths will be indestructible.’ Historic Temples in Pakistan: A call to conscience Author: Reema Abbasi Photographs by Madiha Aijaz Publisher: Niyogi Books Pages: 296 Price: Rs 1,250
Temples of Mari Indus (Hindu Shahi Period 8th to 10th Century AD)
The Temples along the Indus
(All pictures in this blog are photographed by the author, research references from different archaeological papers)
This magnificent ancient Hindu temple in Sialkot, in Pakistan’s Punjab province, was built by Sardar Teja Singh and has been closed for worship for 72 years, recently becoming a den of drug addicts. But under the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, and Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) Chairman Dr Amir Ahmed, Pakistani followers of Hinduism are again permitted access to worship in the Shawala Teja Singh Temple.
So often it is said that religion divides nations, but in this case it seems to be mending disputes. In April this year the Pakistan government announced that they would “reclaim and restore 400 temples to the minority group in Pakistan”. According to a recent report by The Organization For World Peace (TOFWP) this “compliments a joint decision by Prime Minister Khan and the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to construct the Kartarpur corridor, allowing visa-free access to Hindi pilgrims from India”.
Signs Of Peace In The Hyper-Violence?
Is this move potentially an effort towards ending the brutal conflict that began during the Partition of India in 1947, that displaced between 10 and 12 million people, and has caused deaths varying between 200,000 and 2,000,000? Rajdeep Sardesai, Consulting Editor of Indiatoday, said that Fawad Chaudhry, Information Minister of Pakistan, “believed India and Pakistan had been fighting for too long” and he added “I think there’s a need for it. If India takes one step, Pakistan will take two steps”.
However, the TOFWP report says, “there are concerns that the peace agreement is not genuine” but rather and “attempt to win a perception war” and the corridor might be “a tool to gain territorial foothold by opposing separatists”. However, the repossession of ancient temples to the Hindu community in Pakistan suggests the effort is genuine and already the political decision is having glaringly positive effects.
Is the reopening of the ancient Shawala Teja Singh Hindu Temple a sign of the end of violence? (Junaid Syed / YouTube Screenshot)
Seeds Of Peace In The Destroyer’s Temple!
Temple remains contain not only the architectural prowess of a nation’s artisans, but they are also books in stone telling stories about a civilization’s culture. To access the Shawala Teja Singh Hindu temple pilgrims climb a steep staircase to reach the temple, which according to ‘History of Sialkot’ is about 1,000 years old. Here, at the center of the temple, at the apex of their sometimes hundreds of miles long pilgrimages, they connected directly with the creation energy of the Hindu deity Shiva.
Shiva was the destroyer of ignorance that had spread all across the universe and according to Axel Michael’s Hinduism: Past and Present, the Shaivism theology is broadly grouped into two: the popular theology influenced by Shiva-Rudra in the Vedas, Epics and the Puranas; and the esoteric theology influenced by the Shiva and Shakti-related Tantra texts. In Shaivism, the god is also worshipped by all other gods including the Devas Brahma and Vishnu, who with Shiva compose the Trimurti, the Hindu trinity.
The Hindu Trinity – Brahma, Siva, Vishnu. (Calvinkrishy~commonswiki / CC BY-SA 3.0)
Coming Back Online
SAMAA TV has interviewed several people connected with the reopening of the temple, including ‘one Hindu’, who said, “We are thankful to the government for opening our temple and we can come here whenever we want now”. Deputy Commissioner Bilal Haider said that they “collaborated with the Evacuee Trust Property Board to reopen the temple and “people are free to visit anytime”, and since then many tourists have already started coming to this almost forgotten heritage site.
Ancient Hindu temple now open to public. (Junaid Syed / YouTube Screenshot)
And most importantly, the government has stated that preservation work to restore the temple will start soon and this English News Track Live article says the government announced “Shivala will be kept open permanently while conservation work at this unique specimen of archaic Indian architecture” is undertaken. And, slapping down hard money, where their mouth is, and Pakistani government have vowed to spend “Rs 50 lakh” on the protection of Shivala, which is about $70,000 (57,250 GBP).
For 72 years the ‘Partition’ has given rise to continuing conflict between India and Pakistan which is now beginning to show signs of slowing down, a ‘hope’ that’s supported in the TOFWP report which states that in “2017 3,000 violations” of the peace agreement occurred, while in 2018 “this reduced to 1,000”. When we consider that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers, any de-escalation of ‘breaches’ in the peace agreement and military confrontation can only, surely, be a step in the right direction.
Close up of entrance of Shawala Teja Singh Hindu Temple. (Junaid Syed / YouTube Screenshot)
Top image: Ancient 1,000 year old Shawala Teja Singh Hindu Temple. Source: Junaid Syed / YouTube Screenshot
Michael W. Meister, W. Norman Brown Professor, Department of the History of Art, University of Pennsylvania, and Consulting Curator, Asian Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, has served as Chair, Departments of South Asia Studies and History of Art, and Director of Penn’s South Asia Center
In 1947, Pakistan emerged on the world map with a predominantly Muslim population. However, before partition, a number of other religions were practiced in the region, including Hinduism. Hinduism first established its roots, and was adopted by the Indus civilisation, between 2300 BC and 1500 BC. Some of the earliest Hindu temples once stood in what is now Pakistan; their traces can still be seen in the ruins that exist today, in varying degrees of dilapidation.
Hindu temples were dotted all around the region that is now Pakistan. The presence of these venerated sites is well documented in various historical narratives; primary among these are the chronicles of renowned Muslim scholar Al-Biruni who joined Mehmood Ghaznavi on his conquests of India in the 11th century and spent 20 years there. Al-Biruni in his encyclopaedic book Kitab-ul-Hind, talks extensively about Indian culture and religion, expressive in his wonderment at the religious sites.
In modern day India, centuries-old temples still stand in prime condition, receiving hundreds of devotees every day. One therefore has to ask, what happened to the Hindu temples that found themselves in Pakistani territory upon partition?
Largely overlooked in conversations around cultural heritage (though I argue that they still form an essential part of this cultural heritage landscape), they often fall victim to the political and religious debacles of the day. The 1992 riots that ensued in Pakistan as a result of the demolition of Babri Mosque in India, is one such example. The incident led to protests erupting throughout Pakistan, and Hindu temples were the obvious and easy target of this uproar. During these protests, thirty Hindu temples were attacked in different parts of Pakistan. These attacks ranged from vandalism to complete destruction.
The way temples are positioned, in both public consciousness and the administrative framework, in Pakistan is highly influenced by the tense relationship between India and Pakistan since partition. Although 1.6% of Pakistan’s population is Hindu, anything associated with Hinduism is usually (if not always), associated with India, thus immediately barring any constructive dialogue on the measures that could be taken to improve the state of Hindu temples. While Buddhist sites were preserved and promoted, Hindu cultural heritage, which has been equally responsible in shaping the historicity of Pakistan, was ignored.
Cultural heritage sites in Pakistan are protected under the Antiquities Act 1975. The sites listed under this act are declared protected monuments and special measures are taken for their preservation and promotion; most are Muslims sites. Out of 145 monuments in Punjab, only one is a Hindu temple, meaning that no measures for the conservation of other existing temples are in place.
There has, however, been some improvement. Post 2005, the new government took to the restoration of selected Hindu temples to help shape a ‘softer’ image of Pakistan on the international stage. Since then, Pakistan has seen an increased propensity for restoration and conservation of ancient Hindu temples, a monumental improvement considering that previously even the existence of such venerated sites was unknown. The current government has pledged to restore 400 Hindus temples for the Hindu population of Pakistan, beginning with a 1000 year old temple in Sialkot. Though not yet fully restored, the temple was reopened for the local Hindu community following a 72 year hiatus.
The Temples
Hindu temples can be found in several Pakistani cities, in various states of preservation. Some still receive devotees from within the country, as well as from across the border, while others have suffered extreme negligence and have thus been abandoned.
Temples of Rawalpindi
Before the British divided India, Rawalpindi had the largest Hindu and Sikh populations of the cities that were to become a part of Pakistan. The multi-religiosity of the city was diminished when most of its Hindu and Sikh residents relocated to the Indian side, leaving behind their rich religious and historical heritage. Most of their places of worship have been readapted to be used as living quarters, scrap yards and storage areas. These non-Muslim places of worship were once spread out all over the city; there are around 20 temples and Gurdwaras that are no longer in use, having fallen victim to administrative negligence, but some still exist in a well-preserved state. The skyline of the older areas of Rawalpindi boasts both mosques and temples, a reminder of the of multi-religiosity that the city once possessed.
The temples that are still functional are maintained and funded by affluent Hindu families and politicians in Pakistan. One of the best known temples among these is the Krishna Temple which lies in the middle of the bustling old part of Rawalpindi. The plaque on the entrance of the temple tells visitors it was built by Ujagar Mal Ram Richpal in 1897. His descendants relocated to the Indian side upon partition and became untraceable. Krishna Temple is the biggest in Rawalpindi and can accommodate almost 2500 people, and so all Hindu religious festivities, such as Holi and Diwali, are celebrated here by the Hindu population of the city and its adjoining areas. The temple building, although in a dilapidated state, is still an excellent example of Hindu temple architecture, flaunting an elaborately decorated spire that looms over its surrounding bazaar. Recently, as an effort to acknowledge the importance of the religious cultural heritage of the non-Muslim populations of Pakistan, the government has taken measures to renovate and extend Krishna temple so that it may house more devotees.
Apart from Krishna Temple, there are several other centuries old temples in old Rawalpindi that are in dire need of attention from the authorities, if they are to be saved from the unrelenting ravages of time that have threatened since partition.
Dating back to 615-950 CE, Katas Raj Temples exist on the outskirts of Chakwal in the province of Punjab. It is the only Hindu site that has made it to the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Pakistan. An extremely venerated site among Hindus from within and across the border, Katas Raj temples hold an elevated position in Hindu mythology. The pond in the middle of the temple is said to have been filled by the tears of Shiva due to his inconsolable grief at the loss of his wife. The teardrops that fell when he was carrying his wife whilst flying, are said to have fallen in two places, forming one pond in Katas Raj and another in Ajmer, Rajasthan in India.
It is not only the Hindu religion that has a historical association with the Katas Raj Temples; the site is believed to have been constructed on the ruins of a Buddhist Stupa which towered 61m high with streams running around it, as accounted by Alexander Cunningham, the first Director General of the Archaeological Survey of India. The remains of these Stupas can still be seen in the temple complex.
Next to the temples there also exist remnants of a Sikh gurdwara where Guru Nanak took residence while he was travelling the world. In the 11th century, Al-Biruni is also said to have lived in the temple complex while studying Hinduism. Katas Raj Temples narrate 1500 years of the religious history of Pakistan, and how different religions superseded one another at various times, creating a multi-layered picture of Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. These temples are an excellent testimony of the stratified nature of the historical religious sites of Pakistan.
The complex consists of seven old temples known as Satgarah. Among these, Shiva Temple is in the best state of conservation. The presence of the pond in the middle of the complex makes Katas Raj unique among all temple sites in Pakistan, but this body of water is also what makes this site comparatively hard to maintain and conserve. In recent times, the effect of negligence of several decades had begun to take shape in the form of structural failures, vandalism and the drying up of the sacred pond. The latter factor in particular drew international attention to the dilapidating site, causing outrage. Since that incident, special attention has been paid to the restoration and conservation of the temples and the issue of its condemnable state was raised in the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018. At the end of that year, after several decades of suffering negligence, a Hindu ritual was carried out in Katas Raj as pilgrims from India visited the revered site.
Sun Temple of Mulasthana (Multan)
Located in the historical city of Multan, the Sun temple was first mentioned in the accounts of the Greek admiral Skylax in 515 BC, during the invasion of northern India. Later in the 7th Century, a Chinese pilgrim called Hsuen Tsang also records details of an opulent temple in the famous city of Mulasthana, mentioning with awe its golden idol of the Sun God and its dancing girls. The city of Multan, now located in the province of Punjab, makes its appearance in historical chronicles under different names, including Mulasthana, which is derived from Sanskrit words Mula and Sthana, meaning ‘original-adobe‘. There are twelve Sun Temples located throughout the Indian subcontinent, believed by Hindus to have been constructed by Samba, son of Hindu God Krishna. The one in Multan is the oldest among them. The Sun Temple is said to have been the biggest temple of the city, attracting pilgrims from far off lands. The importance of this site is evident from the fact that Multan was given its name based on the presence of the Sun Temple and Sun God. It is also a reminder of the deep historical association the city had with Hinduism.
When the Muslim conqueror Muhammad bin Qassim reached Multan in 712 AD, the Sun Temple had already existed for over a century. It was a famous and venerated pilgrimage site, forming an important link in the chain of twelve Sun Temples. Perhaps recognising the importance it held, the temple, although stripped of all its gold and valuables, was not destroyed by the invaders. In the 10th century, Al-Biruni also visited the building during his journey throughout India and gave a glowing description of it. In his book ‘Tarikhu’l-Hind’, which chronicles his journey, Al-Biruni writes:
“A famous idol of theirs was that of Multan, dedicated to the sun, and therefore called Aditya. It was of wood and covered with red Cordovan leather; in its two eyes were two red rubies. It is said to have been made in the last Kritayuga.the time which has since elapsed amounts to 216,432 years. When Muhammad Ibn Alkasim Ibn Alinunabbih conquered Multan, he in-quired how the town had become so very flourishing and so many treasures had there been accumulated, and then he found out that this idol was the cause, for there came pilgrims from all sides to visit it.” (Al Biruni’s India,Page 116, Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi, Tarikhu’l-Hind)
Towards the end of the 10th century, the temple was destroyed, and later rebuilt and restored. This rebuilt temple received thousands of worshippers until the 17th Century, when it was destroyed by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. After that, the building existed only in ruins, completely lost to obscurity until it was traced and marked on the map during British colonisation. In 1992, during a time of extreme religious tension between India and Pakistan, the temple was again attacked by a mob, inflicting even greater damage to a structure already in ruin.
The ruins of the temple are now located in the walled city of Multan, next to the shrine of the Muslim saint Bahauddin Zakariya. Multan is known as the ‘city of saints’ due to the hundreds of sufi Muslim shrines throughout the city. The Sun Temple now only exists in ruins, overshadowed by the well-preserved Muslim sites located in its vicinity. Evidence of the presence of an ancient grand temple at this location now only exists in history books.
The Sun Temple is a testament to how cultural heritage sites fall victim to religious conflicts. A centuries-old place of worship, that has been praised in several historical narratives,1 now exists as a ghost of the past, overlooked and completely neglected by the authorities and public alike. The site where the grand temple once existed now suffers from encroachment. It is put to use very rarely, for the purpose of pitching tents for the Muslim pilgrims that come to Multan for the Urs (death anniversary) of the saints in the surrounding shrines. Major portions of the temple have been demolished, the roof the temple has caved in, all the idols are gone, and nothing indicates presence of a majestic spiritual site that once existed here in all its glory. The centuries-old Sun Temple has been forever lost to posterity.
Hinglaj Mata Temple
Hinglaj Mata is a temple located in a small, naturally formed cave in the Kheerthar hills in the province of Baluchistan. It is one of the few sites that still receives thousands of pilgrims from within and across the border. The temple has existed for millennia and the rituals carried out at the temple during the four-day pilgrimage have been performed at the sites for generations. There is no man-made idol at the temple but rather a shapeless stone is worshipped during the rituals. In Hindu mythology, the temple is located here because the head of Shiva’s wife, Sati, fell on this location when she died. The temple is attributed to the goddess Hinglaj Mata, who is considered a powerful deity, believed to bestow her blessings on all her worshippers.
Although a revered Hindu site, Hinglaj Mata Temple is also revered by some Muslims of the region, who call the temple Nani Mandir (lit. “maternal grandmother’s temple”) and the goddess is called ‘Bibi Nani.’ Bibi Nani is believed to be the protector of region and Muslims from surrounding areas also participate in the annual pilgrimage to the site along with Hindu devotees. Muslim residents have been protecting the site against vandalisation and mob attacks, thus preventing the site from falling victim to the same fate as other temples in the country. The site exists in a good state of conservation because of the combined efforts of local Hindus and Muslims.
Lava Temple
Sitting inconspicuously next to the Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort is a small room which was once a Hindu Temple called Temple of Loh or Lava Temple. Now abandoned, the Temple of Loh is said to have been dedicated to the son of Hindu Lord Rama. Some historians have even claimed that the birth of Loh, the son of Lord Rama, took place in the very temple.
The temple is comparatively smaller in scale compared to other famous Hindu sites, but is integral in highlighting the historical significance of Hinduism in the foundation of Lahore. The origins of Lahore are still unknown and have been a point of debate among historians for a long time, some of whom trace the city’s existence as far back as 4000 BC. The main religion of Lahore before the 10th Century was Hinduism, with Hindu temples present at various locations throughout the city as stated in chronicles of Al-Biruni. The city of Lahore was earlier called Lavpor or Loh Kot, meaning ‘Fort of Loh’, pointing to the deep association the city has with Loh, son of Lord Rama. That the foundation of the city and this temple are connected to the same Hindu entity, perhaps suggests the site is as old as the city itself. The Temple of Loh is one of the lesser known sites in the Lahore Fort, and although open to tourists, it receives few visitors. There are no religious rituals carried out at this temple.
Recent findings have indicated that the temple was once bigger than the current size of a few square metres that it has been reduced to. During the excavation of the nearby Royal Kitchen, the archaeological findings included a structure and fresco work that once had been part of the temple. Lahore Fort was commissioned by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and it is unclear what existed in its place before the fort was erected.
Concluding remarks
Now predominantly Muslim, the land that is now Pakistan has Hindu and Buddhist roots, going back thousands of years. As has been shown, the cultural heritage of both of these religions, and Hinduism in particular, still exist in Pakistan, though in various states of dilapidation, primarily due to administrative negligence and falling victim to religious or political debacles. Though there have been some sparks of hope for these sites, a more concerted effort will need to be made if they are to be saved from the sands of time.
References
1The Lost Sun Temple of Multan, Vikas Vaibhav) (Buddhist Records of the Western World (Ta-T’ang-Si-Yu-Ki) by Hieun Tsiang)(Tarikhu’l-Hind, Abu Rihan Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Biruni al-Khwarizmi)
The book under review presents the results of a joint inter-disciplinary University of Pennsylvania and Peshawar University research project carried out over a decade (from 1991 to 2001), which included both art historical and archaeological components. The project involved documentation and study of early medieval temples located in the Khisor range of hills on the west bank of the river Indus and those on the escarpments, and plateau of the Salt Range between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers. Two seasons of excavations were undertaken in the fort at north Kafirkot above the Indus on the west bank, and further fieldwork was done in the Salt Range from 1996 to 1998. Michael W. Meister has put together the present volume based on data generated on temples, while the report on the archaeological excavations is being compiled by Abdur Rehman of Peshawar University.
The Salt Range temples have been known since Alexander Cunningham visited them in 1875 during his first field tour of the region. He dated them to the latter half of the ninth century. Aurel Stein visited Kafirkot in 1903 and was able to conduct an extended survey as a result of which he discovered many new temples. They were placed on the List of Protected Monuments in 1904 and continued to be visited by officers of the Frontier Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. With their fluted pillars and peculiar trefoil arches, early scholars considered them as characteristic examples of the Kashmir style of temple architecture and were often assigned to the 9th- to 10th-century CE. In the 1960s and 1970s, F.A. Khan and Abdur Rehman contributed to a renewed interest in the temples of Pakistan. In addition, Abdur Rehman also documented a number of inscriptions and other evidence for the Shahi period of architecture in the Peshawar valley and Swat.
Michael W. Meister: Temples of the Indus: Studies in the Hindu Architecture of Ancient Pakistan.
(Brill’s Indological Library.) xv, 85 pp., 88 plates. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2010. €93. ISBN 978 9004 18617 0.
Michell G.
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 2011;74(3):506-508. doi:10.1017/S0041977X11000589
TEMPLES, RITUAL, AND COSMIC SYMBOLISM IN THE ANCIENT WORLD
edited by
DEENA RAGAVAN
with contributions by
Claus Ambos, John Baines, Gary Beckman, Matthew Canepa, Davíd Carrasco, Elizabeth Frood, Uri Gabbay, Susanne Görke, Ömür Harmanşah, Julia A. B. Hegewald, Clemente Marconi, Michael W. Meister, Tracy Miller, Richard Neer, Deena Ragavan, Betsey A. Robinson, Yorke M. Rowan, and Karl Taube
Papers from the Oriental Institute Seminar Heaven on Earth Held at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 2–3 March 2012
Oriental Institute Seminars 9 Chicago: The Oriental Institute, 2013 ISBN-13: 978-1-885923-96-7 Pp. viii+463; 174 illustrations
Viewpoints which Matter 