Sharada Peeth

Sharada Peeth was the famous temple of goddess Sharada (Saraswati) in Kashmir on the banks of NeelumKishenganga river (known as Kishenganga in India). Its ruins are now in the Neelum District of Azad Kashmir, Pakistan near the Line of Control(LOC). Kashmir was sometimes called Sharada Desh because of this temple. It was a centre of Hinduism and eminent Sanskrit scholars of India. It is at this temple that Sri Sankaracharya received "Sarvanjyapeethom" chair.

It was once a celebrated center of learning. It was a centre of great Sanskrit scholars and was a famous centre of Hinduism. Sharda, Takri (from which gurmukhi is derived) and kharoshthi scripts are said to have originated at Sharda. The great Jain scholar Hemachandra requested grammar texts preserved here so that he could compile his
Siddhahemacandra grammar. The great Vaishnava saint Swami Ramanuja traveled all the way from Srirangam to refer to Bodhayana's vritti on Brahma Sutras preserved here, before commencing work on writing his commentary on the Brahma sutras, the Sri Bhasya. Gotheng Brahmins are the traditional priests of Sharda Peeth.

Kalhana mentions that in Lalitaditya's reign (8th century AD), some followers of a king of Gauda (Bengal), come to Kashmir. under the pretence of visiting the shrine of Sarada.

The temple was last repaired by Maharaja Gulab Singh of Kashmir.

The Sharada idol at Shringeri Sharadamba temple was once said to have been made of sandalwood, which is supposed to have been taken by the Sankaracharya from here.

ee also

* Sharada script
* Adi Shankara
* Martanda temple
* Avantipur
* Ramanuja
* Ancient Universities of Pakistan

External links

* [http://www.greaterkashmir.com/full_story.asp?Date=2_5_2007&ItemID=12&cat=12 THIS MAJESTIC MONUMENT]
* [http://flickr.com/photos/avtarkaul/128251437/ Photos of the ruins]
* [http://www.koausa.org/KoshSam/sharda1.html Sarada Temple in Kashmir]