Martand Sun Temple - Revision history

JeffreyChallis6: updated page

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Destruction: clean up

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:01, 24 November 2023
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	=== Destruction ===		=== Destruction ===
	According to [[Jonaraja]] (fl. 1430) as well as Hasan Ali, the temple was destroyed by [[Sikandar Shah Miri]] (1389-1413) in a zeal to Islamise the society under the advice of Sufi preacher Mir Muhammad Hamadani;{{efn\|Son of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (1314-1384), a Sufi preacher of the [[Kubrawiya\|Kubrawiya order]] who had migrated from Huttalàn (present-day [[Tajikistan]]) in the wake of Timurid invasions to Shibu'd-Din's Kashmir.}}<ref name=":152"~~>{{Cite book \|last=Pandit \|first=Kashinath \|url=https:~~/~~/archive.org/details/AChronicleOfMedievalKashmirKashinathPandit \|title=Baharistan-i-shahi: A chronicle of mediaeval Kashmir \|publisher=Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1991 \|location=Kolkata}}</ref~~><ref name=":62"~~>{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.degruyter.com~~/view/title/543660 \|title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia \|date=19 August 2019 \|publisher=De Gruyter \|isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 \|location= \|pages=128–160 \|language=en \|chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors \|doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 \|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml \|s2cid=204477165}}</ref><ref name=":82">{{Cite journal \|last1=Salomon \|first1=Richard \|last2=Slaje \|first2=Walter \|date=2016 \|title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 \|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal \|volume=59 \|issue=4 \|pages=393–401 \|doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 \|issn=0019-7246 \|jstor=26546259}}</ref><ref name=":1322">{{Cite book \|last=Bhan \|first=Jawahar Lal \|title=Kashmir Sculptures: An Iconographical Study of Brāhmanical Sculptures \|publisher=Readworthy Publications \|year=2010 \|volume=1 \|location=Delhi, India \|pages=68–69}}</ref> Jonaraja pinned the blame on his chief-counsel Suhabhatta, a Brahman neo-convert who was held to have manifested a reign of intense persecution for the local Hindus whereas Ali particularly affirmed Sikandar's own convictions in these aspects.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.academia.edu/42710523 \|title=Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD 1148‒1459) From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-'Ābidīn \|publisher= \|year=2014 \|isbn=978-3869770888 \|series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 7 \|location=Germany \|pages=28–29, 36, 155–173, 185–189, 201–203, 213–215}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book \|last=Pandit \|first=Kashinath \|url=https://archive.org/details/AChronicleOfMedievalKashmirKashinathPandit \|title=Baharistan-i-shahi: A chronicle of mediaeval Kashmir \|publisher=Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. \|year=1991 \|location=Kolkata}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/543660 \|title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia \|date=19 August 2019 \|publisher=De Gruyter \|isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 \|location= \|pages= 128–160\|language=en \|chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors \|doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 \|s2cid=204477165 \|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml}}</ref>		According to [[Jonaraja]] (fl. 1430) as well as Hasan Ali, the temple was destroyed by [[Sikandar Shah Miri]] (1389-1413) in a zeal to Islamise the society under the advice of Sufi preacher Mir Muhammad Hamadani;{{efn\|Son of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (1314-1384), a Sufi preacher of the [[Kubrawiya\|Kubrawiya order]] who had migrated from Huttalàn (present-day [[Tajikistan]]) in the wake of Timurid invasions to Shibu'd-Din's Kashmir.}}<ref name=":152"/><ref name=":62"/><ref name=":82">{{Cite journal \|last1=Salomon \|first1=Richard \|last2=Slaje \|first2=Walter \|date=2016 \|title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 \|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal \|volume=59 \|issue=4 \|pages=393–401 \|doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 \|issn=0019-7246 \|jstor=26546259}}</ref><ref name=":1322">{{Cite book \|last=Bhan \|first=Jawahar Lal \|title=Kashmir Sculptures: An Iconographical Study of Brāhmanical Sculptures \|publisher=Readworthy Publications \|year=2010 \|volume=1 \|location=Delhi, India \|pages=68–69}}</ref> Jonaraja pinned the blame on his chief-counsel Suhabhatta, a Brahman neo-convert who was held to have manifested a reign of intense persecution for the local Hindus whereas Ali particularly affirmed Sikandar's own convictions in these aspects.<ref name=":152"/><ref name=":9">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.academia.edu/42710523 \|title=Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD 1148‒1459) From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-'Ābidīn \|publisher= \|year=2014 \|isbn=978-3869770888 \|series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 7 \|location=Germany \|pages=28–29, 36, 155–173, 185–189, 201–203, 213–215}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/543660 \|title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia \|date=19 August 2019 \|publisher=De Gruyter \|isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 \|location= \|pages= 128–160\|language=en \|chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors \|doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 \|s2cid=204477165 \|chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml}}</ref>

	[[File:Restored Martand Sun temple India 1870.jpg\|thumb\|Restored impression by J. Duguid (1870–73)]]		[[File:Restored Martand Sun temple India 1870.jpg\|thumb\|Restored impression by J. Duguid (1870–73)]]
	Jonaraja was appointed by Sikandar's son, who sought to bring back the Brahminical elite into the royal fold while later Muslim chroniclers had their motives to fit the past into an idealist tale of orthodox Islamic morality. According to [[Chitralekha Zutshi]] and [[Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies)\|Richard G. Salomon]], Sikandar's policies were guided by [[realpolitik]]<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal \|last1=Salomon \|first1=Richard \|last2=Slaje \|first2=Walter \|date=2016 \|title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 \|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal \|volume=59 \|issue=4 \|pages=393–401 \|doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 \|jstor=26546259 \|issn=0019-7246}}</ref> and, like with the previous Hindu rulers, an attempt to secure political legitimacy by asserting state power over Brahmans and gaining access to wealth controlled by Brahminical institutions.<ref name=":3">{{cite news \|last1=Zutshi \|first1=Chitralekha \|title=This book claims to expose the myths behind Kashmir’s history. It exposes its own biases instead \|url=https://scroll.in/article/855050/this-book-claims-to-expose-the-myths-behind-kashmirs-history-it-exposes-its-own-biases-instead \|access-date=15 June 2023 \|work=Scroll.in \|date=24 October 2017}}</ref> J. L. Bhan notes a stone sculpture—a four-armed Brahma, sculpted by son of a Buddhist ''Sanghapati'' and dedicated to Sikandar—to challenge simplistic notions of religious persecution.<ref name=":~~132~~">{{Cite book \|last=Bhan \|first=Jawahar Lal \|title=Kashmir Sculptures: An Iconographical Study of Brāhmanical Sculptures \|publisher=Readworthy Publications \|year=2010 \|volume=1 \|location=Delhi, India \|pages=68–69}}</~~ref~~> Slaje disagrees about an absence of religious motivations but notes the aversion of Brahmin chroniclers to be, largely, the result of resistance to the gradual disintegration of Varna-system under Muslim rule and growth of islamic traditions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.academia.edu/42709412 \|title=Brahma's Curse : Facets of Political and Social Violence in Premodern Kashmir \|publisher= \|year=2019 \|isbn=978-3-86977-199-1 \|series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 13 \|location= \|pages=30–40 \|chapter=What Does it Mean to Smash an Idol? Iconoclasm in Medieval Kashmir as Reflected by Contemporaneous Sanskrit Sources}}</ref>		Jonaraja was appointed by Sikandar's son, who sought to bring back the Brahminical elite into the royal fold while later Muslim chroniclers had their motives to fit the past into an idealist tale of orthodox Islamic morality. According to [[Chitralekha Zutshi]] and [[Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies)\|Richard G. Salomon]], Sikandar's policies were guided by [[realpolitik]]<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal \|last1=Salomon \|first1=Richard \|last2=Slaje \|first2=Walter \|date=2016 \|title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 \|journal=Indo-Iranian Journal \|volume=59 \|issue=4 \|pages=393–401 \|doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 \|jstor=26546259 \|issn=0019-7246}}</ref> and, like with the previous Hindu rulers, an attempt to secure political legitimacy by asserting state power over Brahmans and gaining access to wealth controlled by Brahminical institutions.<ref name=":3">{{cite news \|last1=Zutshi \|first1=Chitralekha \|title=This book claims to expose the myths behind Kashmir’s history. It exposes its own biases instead \|url=https://scroll.in/article/855050/this-book-claims-to-expose-the-myths-behind-kashmirs-history-it-exposes-its-own-biases-instead \|access-date=15 June 2023 \|work=Scroll.in \|date=24 October 2017}}</ref> J. L. Bhan notes a stone sculpture—a four-armed Brahma, sculpted by son of a Buddhist ''Sanghapati'' and dedicated to Sikandar—to challenge simplistic notions of religious persecution.<ref name=":1322"/> Slaje disagrees about an absence of religious motivations but notes the aversion of Brahmin chroniclers to be, largely, the result of resistance to the gradual disintegration of Varna-system under Muslim rule and growth of islamic traditions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book \|last=Slaje \|first=Walter \|url=https://www.academia.edu/42709412 \|title=Brahma's Curse : Facets of Political and Social Violence in Premodern Kashmir \|publisher= \|year=2019 \|isbn=978-3-86977-199-1 \|series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 13 \|location= \|pages=30–40 \|chapter=What Does it Mean to Smash an Idol? Iconoclasm in Medieval Kashmir as Reflected by Contemporaneous Sanskrit Sources}}</ref>

	=== Degradation ===		=== Degradation ===

Kamal Guha at 11:15, 14 November 2023

2023-11-14T11:15:19Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:45, 14 November 2023
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	{{Navagraha}}		{{Navagraha}}
	{{Hindu ~~Temples~~ in Jammu and Kashmir}}		{{Hindu temples in Jammu and Kashmir}}
	{{Jammu and Kashmir topics}}		{{Jammu and Kashmir topics}}
	{{Sun temples}}		{{Sun temples}}

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-09-05T19:22:15Z

Created a new article

New page

{{short description|Hindu temple in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, India}}
{{about|a Hindu temple in India|a list of sun temples in the world|sun temple}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox Hindu temple
| name = Martand Sun Temple
| image = Martand Sun Temple Central shrine (6133772365).jpg
| caption = Central shrine of the temple ruins
| map_type = India Jammu and Kashmir#India
| map_caption = Location within Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir##Location within India
| coordinates = {{coord|33|44|44|N|75|13|13|E|type:landmark_region:IN|display=inline,title}}
| native_name =
| country = [[India]]
| state = [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]]
| district = [[Anantnag district]]
| location = [[Kashmir division]]
| elevation_m =
| deity = [[Mārtanda|Martand]] (''[[Surya]]'')
| temple_quantity =
| monument_quantity =
| inscriptions =
| year_completed = 8th century AD
| creator = [[Lalitaditya Muktapida]]
| website =
| native_name_lang = sa
| religious_affiliation = [[Hinduism]]
| date_demolished = 15th century CE
| architecture_type = [[Ancient Indian architecture|Ancient Indian]]}}
The '''Martand Sun Temple''' is an eighth century (CE) [[Hindu temple]] attributed to [[Lalitaditya Muktapida]] of the [[Karkota dynasty]]. The temple is located near the city of [[Anantnag]] in the [[Kashmir Valley]] of [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)]], India. It was dedicated to [[Surya]], the chief [[solar deity]] in [[Hinduism]]; Surya is also known by the [[Sanskrit]]-language synonym ''[[Mārtanda|Martand]]'' ({{Lang-sa|मार्तण्ड|translit=Mārtaṇḍa|label=none}}). The temple was destroyed by the [[Muslim]] ruler [[Sikandar Shah Miri]] in an effort to [[Islamise]] the [[Kashmir valley]].<ref name=":152">{{Cite book |last=Pandit |first=Kashinath |url=https://archive.org/details/AChronicleOfMedievalKashmirKashinathPandit |title=Baharistan-i-shahi: A chronicle of mediaeval Kashmir |publisher=Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. |year=1991 |location=Kolkata}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Slaje |first=Walter |url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/543660 |title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia |date=19 August 2019 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 |location= |pages=128–160 |language=en |chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors |doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml |s2cid=204477165}}</ref> Martand Sun Temple is one of the three holiest sites of pilgrimage for Kashmiri Pandits, alongside the [[Sharada Peeth]] and the Amarnath Temple.

==History==

=== Establishment ===
According to Kalhana, the Martand Sun Temple was commissioned by [[Lalitaditya Muktapida]] in the eighth century AD.

=== Destruction ===
According to [[Jonaraja]] (fl. 1430) as well as Hasan Ali, the temple was destroyed by [[Sikandar Shah Miri]] (1389-1413) in a zeal to Islamise the society under the advice of Sufi preacher Mir Muhammad Hamadani;{{efn|Son of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani (1314-1384), a Sufi preacher of the [[Kubrawiya|Kubrawiya order]] who had migrated from Huttalàn (present-day [[Tajikistan]]) in the wake of Timurid invasions to Shibu'd-Din's Kashmir.}}<ref name=":152">{{Cite book |last=Pandit |first=Kashinath |url=https://archive.org/details/AChronicleOfMedievalKashmirKashinathPandit |title=Baharistan-i-shahi: A chronicle of mediaeval Kashmir |publisher=Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. |year=1991 |location=Kolkata}}</ref><ref name=":62">{{Cite book |last=Slaje |first=Walter |url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/543660 |title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia |date=19 August 2019 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 |location= |pages=128–160 |language=en |chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors |doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml |s2cid=204477165}}</ref><ref name=":82">{{Cite journal |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |last2=Slaje |first2=Walter |date=2016 |title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=393–401 |doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 |issn=0019-7246 |jstor=26546259}}</ref><ref name=":1322">{{Cite book |last=Bhan |first=Jawahar Lal |title=Kashmir Sculptures: An Iconographical Study of Brāhmanical Sculptures |publisher=Readworthy Publications |year=2010 |volume=1 |location=Delhi, India |pages=68–69}}</ref> Jonaraja pinned the blame on his chief-counsel Suhabhatta, a Brahman neo-convert who was held to have manifested a reign of intense persecution for the local Hindus whereas Ali particularly affirmed Sikandar's own convictions in these aspects.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Slaje |first=Walter |url=https://www.academia.edu/42710523 |title=Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD 1148‒1459) From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-'Ābidīn |publisher= |year=2014 |isbn=978-3869770888 |series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 7 |location=Germany |pages=28–29, 36, 155–173, 185–189, 201–203, 213–215}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite book |last=Pandit |first=Kashinath |url=https://archive.org/details/AChronicleOfMedievalKashmirKashinathPandit |title=Baharistan-i-shahi: A chronicle of mediaeval Kashmir |publisher=Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd. |year=1991 |location=Kolkata}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last=Slaje |first=Walter |url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/title/543660 |title=Encountering Buddhism and Islam in Premodern Central and South Asia |date=19 August 2019 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-063168-5 |location= |pages= 128–160|language=en |chapter=Buddhism and Islam in Kashmir as Represented by Rājataraṅgiṇī Authors |doi=10.1515/9783110631685-006 |s2cid=204477165 |chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/view/book/9783110631685/10.1515/9783110631685-006.xml}}</ref>

[[File:Restored Martand Sun temple India 1870.jpg|thumb|Restored impression by J. Duguid (1870–73)]]
Jonaraja was appointed by Sikandar's son, who sought to bring back the Brahminical elite into the royal fold while later Muslim chroniclers had their motives to fit the past into an idealist tale of orthodox Islamic morality. According to [[Chitralekha Zutshi]] and [[Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies)|Richard G. Salomon]], Sikandar's policies were guided by [[realpolitik]]<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Salomon |first1=Richard |last2=Slaje |first2=Walter |date=2016 |title=Review of Kingship in Kaśmīr (AD1148–1459). From the Pen of Jonarāja, Court Paṇḍit to Sulṭān Zayn al-ʿĀbidīn. Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps. [Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis 7], SlajeWalter |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26546259 |journal=Indo-Iranian Journal |volume=59 |issue=4 |pages=393–401 |doi=10.1163/15728536-05903009 |jstor=26546259 |issn=0019-7246}}</ref> and, like with the previous Hindu rulers, an attempt to secure political legitimacy by asserting state power over Brahmans and gaining access to wealth controlled by Brahminical institutions.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last1=Zutshi |first1=Chitralekha |title=This book claims to expose the myths behind Kashmir’s history. It exposes its own biases instead |url=https://scroll.in/article/855050/this-book-claims-to-expose-the-myths-behind-kashmirs-history-it-exposes-its-own-biases-instead |access-date=15 June 2023 |work=Scroll.in |date=24 October 2017}}</ref> J. L. Bhan notes a stone sculpture—a four-armed Brahma, sculpted by son of a Buddhist ''Sanghapati'' and dedicated to Sikandar—to challenge simplistic notions of religious persecution.<ref name=":132">{{Cite book |last=Bhan |first=Jawahar Lal |title=Kashmir Sculptures: An Iconographical Study of Brāhmanical Sculptures |publisher=Readworthy Publications |year=2010 |volume=1 |location=Delhi, India |pages=68–69}}</ref> Slaje disagrees about an absence of religious motivations but notes the aversion of Brahmin chroniclers to be, largely, the result of resistance to the gradual disintegration of Varna-system under Muslim rule and growth of islamic traditions.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Slaje |first=Walter |url=https://www.academia.edu/42709412 |title=Brahma's Curse : Facets of Political and Social Violence in Premodern Kashmir |publisher= |year=2019 |isbn=978-3-86977-199-1 |series=Studia Indologica Universitatis Halensis - 13 |location= |pages=30–40 |chapter=What Does it Mean to Smash an Idol? Iconoclasm in Medieval Kashmir as Reflected by Contemporaneous Sanskrit Sources}}</ref>

=== Degradation ===
The ruins and the remnants of structure were further ruined by several earthquakes.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bilham |first1=Roger |last2=Bali |first2=Bikram Singh |last3=Bhat |first3=M. Ismail |last4=Hough |first4=Susan |title=Ancient Earthquakes |date=1 October 2010 |chapter=Historical earthquakes in Srinagar, Kashmir: Clues from the Shiva Temple at Pandrethan |chapter-url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.orghttps//pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/626/chapter/3805836/Historical-earthquakes-in-Srinagar-Kashmir-Clues |language=en |doi=10.1130/2010.2471(10)|isbn=9780813724713 }}</ref>

== Architecture ==
The Martand temple was built on top of a plateau from where one can view whole of the [[Kashmir Valley]]. From the ruins and related archaeological findings, it can be said it was an excellent specimen of Kashmiri architecture, which had blended the [[Gandhara]]n, [[Gupta Empire|Gupta]] and [[China|Chinese]] forms of architecture.<ref>{{cite book|title=Al-Hind, the Making of the Indo-Islamic World, Volume 1 By André Wink|year=1991|pages=250–51|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bCVyhH5VDjAC&q=martand+sun+temple&pg=PA250|isbn=9004095098|last1=Wink|first1=André}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Arts Of India By Krishna Chaitanya|pages=7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8EGUpX1O0hoC&q=martand+sun+temple&pg=PA7|isbn=9788170172093|last1=Chaitanya|first1=Krishna|year=1987}}</ref>

{{wide image|Martand Sun Temple enclosure (6134371538).jpg|750px|Panorama of the ruins from inside the main enclosure}}
The temple has a colonnaded courtyard, with its primary shrine in its center and surrounded by 84 smaller shrines, stretching to be 220 feet long and 142 feet broad total and incorporating a smaller temple that was previously built.<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica: a new survey of universal knowledge: Volume 12, pp:965</ref> The temple turns out to be the largest example of a [[peristyle]] in [[Kashmir]], and is complex due to its various chambers that are proportional in size and aligned with the overall perimeter of the temple. In accordance with [[Hindu temple architecture]], the primary entrance to the temple is situated in the western side of the quadrangle and is the same width as the temple itself, creating grandeur. The entrance is highly reflective of the temple as a whole due to its elaborate decoration and allusion to the deities worshiped inside. The primary shrine is located in a centralised structure (the temple proper) that is thought to have had a [[Pyramid|pyramidal top]] - a common feature of the [[:Category:Hindu temples in Jammu and Kashmir|temples in Kashmir]]. Various wall carvings in the [[antechamber]] of the temple proper depict other gods, such as [[Vishnu]], and [[List of water deities#Hindu|river goddesses]], such as [[Ganga]] and [[Yamuna]], in addition to the sun-god [[Surya]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.koausa.org/Monuments/Chapter5.html | title=Ancient Monuments of Kashmir | access-date=8 November 2014 | author=Kak, Ram Chandra | website=koausa.org | author-link=Ram Chandra Kak}}</ref>

Lime mortar was used with huge blocks of grey limestones. As lime mortar was used on a wider scale in North India only after the rise of Delhi Sultans in 13th century, the use of the material in this grand temple suggests that Lalitaditya employed immigrant Byzantine architects.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=4 September 2022 |title=Martand Temple in Kashmir: Its grandeur survives, and so do its controversies |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/martand-temple-kashmir-history-controversies-explained-8129852/ |access-date=4 September 2022 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

== Conservation ==
The [[Archaeological Survey of India]] has declared the Martand Sun Temple as a site of national importance in [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Jammu and Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Archaeological Survey of India protected monuments |url=http://www.heritageofkashmir.org/heritage-tourism/asi-protected-monuments.html |publisher=heritageofkashmir.org |access-date=11 August 2012}}</ref> The temple appears in the list of centrally protected monuments as ''Kartanda (Sun Temple)''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Protected monuments in Jammu & Kashmir |url=http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_jk.asp |publisher=asi.nic.in, Archaeological Survey of India |access-date=29 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120507130954/http://asi.nic.in/asi_monu_alphalist_jk.asp |archive-date=7 May 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
[[File:Details - Martand Temple.JPG|thumb|Details sign — ASI]]

==In popular culture==
*1970: The Hindi film ''[[Man Ki Aankhen]]'' starring [[Dharmendra]] and [[Waheeda Rahman]] has Martand Temple as background for the [[Mohammed Rafi|Rafi]]-[[Lata Mangeshkar|Lata]] song ''Chala Bhi Aa Aaja Rasiya''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul3wufPJ4UE|title=Chala Bhi Aa Aaja Rasiya | Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi | Man Ki Aankhen 1970 Songs | Dharmendra|access-date=4 February 2020|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
*1975: The Hindi film ''[[Aandhi]]'' starring [[Sanjeev Kumar]] and [[Suchitra Sen]] has Martand Temple as background for the [[Kishore Kumar|Kishore]]-[[Lata Mangeshkar|Lata]] song "Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Shikwa Nahiin".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-HnmVg0-O8|title=Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi Shikwa To Nahin | Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar | Aandhi 1975 Songs|access-date=4 February 2020|via=www.youtube.com}}</ref>
*2014: The temple was selected as the background for the song "Bismil", in the Hindi film ''[[Haider (film)|Haider]]'', modelled on [[Hamlet]] in the backdrop of [[Kashmir conflict]]. Certain [[Kashmiri Pandits]] claimed that the site was depicted as a "den of evil"—hurting their sentiments in the process—and sought a ban.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 October 2014 |title=Kashmiri Pandits seek ban on film Haider for misrepresenting ancient temple |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/kashmiri-pandits-seek-ban-on-film-haider-for-misrepresenting-ancient-temple/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=The Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="100" caption="Martand Sun Temple">
File:KITLV 100455 - Unknown - Martand Temple on the plateau above the Kashmir Valley in British India - Around 1870.tif|Ruins in c. 1870
File:Martand Sun Temple in the Winter (6741284235).jpg|Ruins in winter of 2012
File:Martand Ruins.JPG|Inscriptions within the temple [[ruins]]
File:Martand - Sun Temple Panorama.jpg|Temple ruins as seen from the entrance to the main temple structure
</gallery>
{{clear}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Sun Temple, Martand}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20161030091809/http://ignca.nic.in/asp/showbig.asp?projid=mst0005 Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts] - Martand Sun Temple Site Photos
* [http://sarsonkekhet.in/2012/01/23/martand-sun-temple-in-the-winter/ Martand Sun Temple in winter] - Pics of Surya Sun Temple under snow
* [http://www.trodly.com/destination/4892/martand-sun-temple Martand Sun Temple and around]

{{Navagraha}}
{{Hindu Temples in Jammu and Kashmir}}
{{Jammu and Kashmir topics}}
{{Sun temples}}

a)A History of Kashmir by Pandit Prithvi Nath Kaul Bamzai, pp. 140

[[Category:8th-century Hindu temples]]
[[Category:Hindu temples in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Destroyed temples]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Jammu and Kashmir]]
[[Category:Surya temples]]
[[Category:Anantnag district]]
[[Category:Religious buildings and structures completed in 756]]