KAUAI, HAWAII, January 7, 2023 (Hinduism Today, by Choodie Shivaram): Decades after the violent expulsion of the Kashmir Pandits from the Kashmir Valley, peace has largely been restored and the region’s historic tradition of interreligious harmony has reasserted itself, as witnessed by a new Sharda Temple opening just feet from the Line of Control. It was sponsored by Sringeri Shankaracharya Mutt in Karnataka and assisted by local Muslims. Sharda Peeth, a major Shakti temple, was one of the most prominent universities of Vedic knowledge and learning between the 6th and 12th centuries ce, when it was known as Sarvagna Peeth. Scholars from all over the subcontinent congregated here. It was a repository of invaluable Vedic texts and the source of the Sharada script. It housed the famed Sharda University and was the foundation of Sharda civilization.

Sharda Peeth is synonymous with Adi Shankara, the foremost proponent of Advaita Vedanta philosophy, who ascended the throne of knowledge here. Sringeri Mutt in Karnataka, closely tied to Sharda Peeth, is formally known as Dakshinamanaya Sri Sarada Pitham, the first and southernmost of the four main monastic centers established in India by Adi Shankara in the 7th century. Its two main temples are Vidyashankara to Siva and Sharda Amba temple to the Goddess. The ancient Sharda Peeth was desecrated and reduced to ruins by invaders. A powerful earthquake is said to have further damaged the structure. Still, enough of the temple remained that worship continued until late 1948. The last Hindu saint resident at Sharda Peeth was Swami Nandlal Maharaj, who is deeply revered by Kashmiri Pandits. Prakash Swami Bhat was the last priest. Despite raging atrocities inflicted on Hindus after Partition, the saint refused to leave the temple. In December 1948, Swami Nandlal and Prakash were forced to return to the Indian side of Kashmir. Thereafter, the temple was vandalized, leaving just a stone shell, and was no longer visited by Hindus.

Read more about the resurrection of this ancient Religious Center at source.
https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/january-february-march-2024/new-temple-signals-a-peaceful-turn-for-kashmir/

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