Sankaragaurisvara Temple

The Rajatarangini mentions the erection of three temples at Patan, which in ancient days was called Sankarapurapattana, after the name of its founder. King Sankaravarman (a.d. 883-902). Perhaps it would be well to remark here that vandalism of a serious kind had already begun in pre-Muslim times, as some of the materials used in the construction of these temples were removed from the older site of Parihasapura described above. The three temples named by the Kashmir chronicle are (i) Sankaragaurisvara, (2) Sugandhesa, and (3) RatnavardhaneSa. The first, identified with the larger temple near Patan, was built by the king himself, the second, which is the one nearer Srinagar, is named after Sugandha, his queen, and the third, of which no trace has so far been found, if we exclude the architectural fragments near the spring outside the dak bangalow, was built by Ratnavardhana, his minister. All three were dedicated to Shiva.

Lower down is the larger temple built by the king himself called the Sankargaurisvara Temple. (Plate LVI). It is only an enlarged copy of the queen’s temple. On account of the lack of proper facilities for drainage of rain water it has not been deemed advisable to excavate its courtyard. The peristyle, the temple-plinth, and a smaller shrine in the north-east corner, are therefore still underground. The rectangular path around the temple marks the position of the peristyle, tops of some columns of which are seen peeping out of the earth in the south-west corner. The square flower-bed with a projection on one side in the north-east corner of the courtyard coincides with the small shrine below. The square space in the middle of the eastern path marks the position of the entrance.

The temple itself is an imposing pile, though a great deal of its grandeur has been taken away by the concealment of its plinth. The cella is 17' square and the central stone of the floor measures xz' 6" by 10'. It has nine circular holes arranged in three rows. It is possible that these were mortices of tenons which held in position the pedestal of the idol. The left wall of the portico has a trefoiled niche which is divided into two panels. The lower and larger one contains a number of figures, of which the principal seems to be Siva. Above it, in the upper foil, is the squatting figure of the elephant-headed god, Ganesa, whose presence here would conclusively prove, even if there were any doubt about it, that the temple was dedicated to Siva. The jambs of the recesses on the exterior of the temple have half-engaged columns which are decorated with well-executed geometrical and other patterns. Their capitals are surmounted by human-headed birds.

A few yards to the north of the Patan dak bangalow has recently been excavated an old baoli whose waters are confined in three rec- tangular reservoirs which are connected with each other. The one in the middle contains a miniature temple constructed originally of three stones (Plate LVII). The top-stone is missing. It is 8" square externally and is open on all four sides. The openings seem to have been closed originally with wooden doors. These little shrines belong to the time when the prosperity of the Hindus had waned, and they were not capable of devoting so much wealth to the glorification of their religion.