Holy Pilgrimage - Hindu temples in Pakistan -2

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Holy Pilgrimage  - Hindu temples in Pakistan





Shiv Mandir, Umerkot, Pakistan



Shiv Mandir is a Hindu temple situated in Umerkot in Sindh, Pakistan. This temple is divine and sacred among the Hindus residing in lower Sindh. The temple has magnificent Shiv Lingam, which is indeed on of the best in the whole world. Lenged says that the Lingam kep growing itself until locals marked the height to literally observe the growth. Besides every year on Shiv Ratri there is a huge three day festival with several hundred thousand pilgrims from surrounding cities.



Shri Varun Dev Mandir, Pakistan



Shri Varun Dev Mandir is a Hindu temple located in Manora Island in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. The temple is devoted to Varuna, the god of the oceans in Hindu mythology.  The exact year of the temple's construction or foundation is not known (it may be thousands of years old) but it is widely believed that the current structure was built in around 1917–18.  Today, the temple is in a dilapidated state as humid winds are eating into the structure and the rich carvings on the walls of the temple are slowly eroding. At present, the building is not used for worship and the last ritual was held in the 1950s.
Like the rest of Karachi, its approach is scatological. Through a narrow lane leading up, wild flowers grow amidst the remains of human garbage. But from a distance, Shri Varun Dev Mandir lights up the skyline. Time itself becomes mysterious. Set against the Arabian Sea, this seemingly ancient sandstone temple gently commends its surrounding landscape. We are in an old country, one believes then, and the land has witnessed much.
Located at Manora Island, the mandir reveals itself in myth. “He comes, yes, sometimes he visits,” suggests the caretaker, looking out into the enormous blue distance. Gaunt-eyed and visionary, Kishan is speaking of Varuna, the Hindu god of oceans. For Kishan, as for many believers, Varuna is the same deity as Uderolal, the presiding spirit of rivers, of all water bodies in Sindh. “He” is beloved Jhule Lal, whose other incarnation we are to find at Sehwan. This inclusive narrative defines the visible temple — its stone form weathered by continual salt-laden winds.
Legend has it that in the 16th century a wealthy sailor by the name of Bhojomal Nancy Bhattia bought this island from the Khan of Kalat, who owned most of the land along the coastline at that time. His family commissioned a temple on the lay terrain. And what we see today — a complex of stone set upon stone skyward — originated perhaps some 500 years ago.
Leap in time, and a 1920s postcard describes the temple in whitewash. Set on a raised plinth, in the Nagara or North Indian style, a dazzling white sanctuary rises above the sea line. It appears as a living devotional site, bounded by a low wall and garlanded in paper streamers. At the time, Manora served as a British naval base, taken over from its Talpur rulers almost a century earlier. In this image one can almost feel the wind drift — and the mandir, as aesthetic form, caught in effulgent, spare, late afternoon shine.
Detractors of “deep-root mythology” argue that this is a colonial-period construction. No written records are available in Pakistan, but architects such as Murlidhar Dewani suggest that the local Hindu community became financially viable only during the time of the British. Dating is contentious, he infers, because it constructs social knowledge. He suggests that the temple “ruin” we see today in Manora is, in fact, a modern structure. It is the result of cultural neglect specifically and not age alone.
A present image: pillaged, eroded, impoverished and yet, the temple moves you. Despite its denuded stature, one can still perceive the building’s volume in sculptural terms. A symmetry of stone projections form the outer skein of the foundation, and these continue up along the height of the tower. They emphasise at once the temple’s vertical sweep, but within a rhythmic and curvilinear outline. Its poise is unmistakable.
The rough gold of Shri Varun Dev mandir suggests too a strange notion of fertility. The quality is there in its design, and in the motion of its stone. It is alluded to in the concluding finial, the disc-shaped amalaka, symbolic of healing fruit. And it is present in the generative mythology surrounding the temple. From multiple stories, or stages in its origin, to the heterodox nature of its presiding deity, a richly inclusive narrative stands up to contemporary religious piety. This proliferating sense also questions the idea of a continuous and homogenous temporality.
Here at Manora, we may still recover the dream of a cosmopolitan landscape. Through the solace of such a sight, its anachronism, find mystery, terrestrial meaning and reverence.
The temple currently belongs to the Hindu Council of Pakistan. The Council has publicly pledged renovation efforts.

Shri Laxmi Narayan Mandir, Pakistan



Shri Laxmi Narayan Mandir is a Hindu temple located in Karachi, Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, the temple was constructed around 200 years ago  and is an important worshiping site for the Hindus of the local community. The Mandir is one of the oldest operating temples and the only one situated at the banks of a creek in Karachi



Location

Narayan Mandir is located under the Native Jetty Bridge, a landmark in Karachi, in the Sindh province of Pakistan.[1] The temple overlooks the Arabian Sea which is an important place for many Hindu rituals.

Festivals

The temple is primarily devoted to the Hindu goddess Lakshmi; however, it is also home to statues of Hanuman and Sai Baba of Shirdi.  Main festivals celebrated in the temple are Ganesh Chaturthi, the birthday of Ganesha, and Raksha Bandhan. Hindus come to the temple to make offerings to the gods and to perform death rituals of Karni.  The temple is a sacred place for offering Śrāddha and placing murtis of Goddess Durga (after performing garba for nine days)  and idols of Ganesha in the sea at the end of festivals of Nao Ratree and Ganesh Chaturthi respectively.  Hindus dip and take baths in the waters of the Arabian sea for ritual purification. During monsoon season, Hindu women come to the temple for fasting and to pray for the well-being of their husbands

Protection

Due to port development activities and construction work near the site, the temple's access to seawater and its integrity are threatened. In September 2012, after a petition was filed by the local Hindu community, the Sindh High Court issued an order restraining the Karachi Port Trust from demolishing the temple. The petitioner believed that Mukesh Chawala, a member of the Hindu panchayat and provincial minister of excise and taxation, was responsible for the construction near the temple site.  Hindu families in the region belonging to the scheduled caste believed they were being forcefully re-settled due to "corporate greed and a discriminatory caste system" by influential Hindu leaders and city authorities. The new developmental plan includes construction of an entertainment complex which will encroach upon the temple courtyard.  In 1993, the temple was desecrated as revenge after the demolition of Babri Masjid in India


 Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi, Pakistan



The Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Karachi (شری سوامی نارائن مندر) is a Hindu temple that belongs to the NarNarayan Dev Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday and is the only Swaminarayan temple in Pakistan.  The temple is notable for its size and frontage, over 32,306 square yards (27,012 m2) on the M. A. Jinnah Road in Karachi city.  The temple celebrated its anniversary of 150 years in April 2004  It is believed that not only Hindus but also adherents of Islam visit the temple, which adds to its notability. ] There is a sacred cowshed within the premises of this temple.  The temple is located at the centre of a Hindu neighborhood in Karachi.  The building that housed a dharmshala (Guest house) for visiting devotees has now been converted to the office of the City District Government

Partition of India and after

The temple became a refugee camp in 1948  The original images of Lord Swaminarayan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of partition  One murti that was originally at this temple is now located in Khan Village, Rajasthan.  People who wished to settle in India from all over Sindh (other than Muslims) awaited their departure to India by ship at this temple. The temple was visited by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan during this period  In 1989, for the first time since the independence in 1947, a group of sadhus from the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad visited the temple. Since then, small groups from the Ahmedabad temple pay this temple a visit every few years in a pilgrimage.

Festivals and events

According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, Swaminarayan Jayanti, Ram Navami, Janmastami, Dussehra, Diwali and almost all of the main religious festivals are celebrated by Hindus in this temple  Holi is celebrated with the holi bonfire lit at the centre of the temple grounds, followed by the play with colours. Janmashtami is celebrated with singing bhajans and sermons on Krishna, whiles on Diwali, devotees light lamps and candles to welcome Rama from his fourteen-year exile, at the end of which he defeated Ravana and young men burst crackers at the temple on the occasion.  The Holi festival celebrations that take place at this temple are the biggest in Karachi.
The temple also doubles up as a marriage venue. In 2008, a mass wedding arrangement was made for 20 poor couples.

Guru Nanak Temple

According to the Pakistan Hindu Council, there is a Guru Nanak temple within the Swaminarayan Temple complex. Here, every Moon Night and for the birthday of Guru Nanak, Baisakhi is celebrated

Hinglaj Yatra

The Hinglaj yatra starts from the Swaminarayan Temple complex here annually.

Gurdwara

In the Swami Narain Mandir complex in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan where a small Hindu community lives, a Gurdwara has been created for the small Sikh community.
The Gurdwara Sahib houses three sets of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in the Palki Sahib. There are pictures of the Gurus and a small shrine devoted to Guru Nanak Dev Ji. There is a Hindu bell in the Gurdwara Sahib as well.
The whole compound is protected by a security guard to protect the small number of Hindu families.



Other Temples

lamabad Capital Territory

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

  • Araya Temple, Nawanshehr area, Abbottabad (ruined/under illegal occupation)
  • Shiva Temple and Dusehra House (old)- Abbottabad (ruined/under illegal occupation)
  • Krishna Temple (old)--Abbottabad (destroyed/no building longer exists)
  • Shiva Temple (ancient)- Mansehra, Chitti Gatti/Gandian location (in use)
  • Shiva Temple (former, now a public library)-- Mansehra town (no longer a temple)
  • Bareri Mata/Durga Temple and Shrine, on Bareri hill--Mansehra (destroyed/no longer in regular use,location sometimes visited by pilgrims and tourists)
  • Nandi Mandir - Peshawar
  • Balmiki (Valmiki) Mandir - Peshawar
  • Shiv Mandir - Nowshera
  • Laxmi Narain Mandir - Mardan
  • Kali Mandir - Dera Ismail Khan (illegally occupied being used as a hotel)

Punjab

Sindh






Om Tat Sat
                                                        
(Continued...)                                                                                                                              



(My humble  salutations to the great devotees ,  wikisources  and Pilgrimage tourist guide for the collection )

Posted by gopalakrishna Thursday, May 9, 2013
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1 comments:

Anonymous said...

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November 23, 2021 at 3:33 AM

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