Today is Maha Shivratri, the most important date affiliated with the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati in the Hindu calendar. Unlike most other Hindu festivals, Maha Shivratri is not a birth anniversary, but a wedding anniversary.
According Hindu mythology, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati married each other on this day. They are considered an eternal couple and a symbol of a blissful married life, where they went through the struggles and celebrations as any other couple does. They also went on to have children. Hence, their family, known as ‘Shiv Parivar’ (Shiva’s family) is emblematic of a complete family, echoing the sentiments of most Hindu or even Indian people of other faiths.
On this occasion, people visit temples to offer their respects to these deities and the mood amongst those celebrating this festival is joyous.
Today, SBS Punjabi will take you to a lesser known Shiva temple. So get ready to embark on this journey with us to Katas Raj Temple. Now you’d ask where this temple is. And you might presume, it is in India, obviously! But the answer will excite: this temple is in Pakistan!
Located in the Pakistani state of Punjab, this ancient temple is situated at Choa Saidan Shah in district Chakwal. At a distance of roughly 300 km from Punjab’s capital, Lahore, Katas Raj temple sits on the Potohar plateau of Pakistan’s magnificent Kallar Kahar Salt Range, known for the famous Pakistani rock salt.
This ancient temple, according to legend, is said to be around 4,000 years old, aligning with the Hindu epic Mahabharat. It is believed that the shivling (an iconic idol of Shiva) inside the main temple was installed by Arjuna, the best known of the five Pandavas.
According to the Directorate General of Archaeology, Government of Punjab, Pakistan, Katas Raj temple is attributed to the era of Hindu Shahi kings who ruled the region between 650 and 915 AD, i.e, between the 7th and 10th centuries.
Legend has it that the Pandavas lived at this site in the last phase of their exile, just before the final year of agyatwaas (incognito exile).
The reason why the Pandavas are said to have installed the Shivling at Katas Raj was the significance the place is said to have according to Hindu mythology.
Katas is a distorted version of the Sanskrit word, ‘katiaksha’, meaning tearful eye. It is said that thetemple’s sacred sarovar (pool of water) was created by the incessant flow of tears from one of Shiva’s eyes, who was unconsolable after the death of his beloved wife, Parvati. The other eye wept away to form a similar pool at Pushkar, near Ajmer in Rajasthan. Geologically, this pool is fed by an aquifer, which is its natural, underground supply of water.
Katas Raj temple is a complex of seven temples, with the central temple dedicated to Shiva. This part of the sprawling temple complex is known as Satgraha meaning seven abodes. There are temples of other Hindu deities like Ram and Hanuman also within Satgraha.
Although, the temples and the sarovar is the main attraction for pilgrims, there are other places of historical interest also nearby. In the Ram Chandra temple in Katas Raj, there are references about the visit of Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru. An excavation site of a Buddhist stupa can also be seen in the same complex, which is fortified and is therefore known as Qila Katas (qila means fort). A fort is also associated with famous Hari Singh Nalwa, the commander in chief of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s army.
The temple, after the partition of India and Pakistan, no longer sees much celebration of worship, except for major occasions like Maha Shivratri. In 2005, L. K. Advani, then deputy prime minister of India visited the place, and seeing its dilapidated condition, expressed his displeasure. The place was thereafter restored by the government of Pakistan.
Controlled and managed by the Evacuee Trust Board of Pakistan, locally known as the Waqf Board, Katas raj temples houses an annual fair, popular as Maha Shivratri mela, in which hundreds of Hindu pilgrims primarily from India visit the temple.
In 2018, pilgrims couldn’t attend the annual Maha Shivratri fair due to weakening ties between India and Pakistan. This year, due to the current tensions between the neighbours, the ETBP has reportedly made all preparations for the annual Maha Shivratri fair but Indian pilgrims cancelled their plan owing to the prevailing tension. So now, the preparations will be enjoyed by Pakistan’s own Hindu pilgrims.
Click on the player at the top of the page to listen to this feature in Punjabi.
