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Up the Shankaracharya Hill - Reliving Memories

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Shankaracharya Temple (view from the steps)

The Shankaracharya Temple atop the Shankaracharya Hill is one of the most iconic and identifying images of Kashmir and in particular, of Srinagar City. It has a hoary past, going back almost 4500 years. The Hill itself is supposed to be of volcanic origin, located to the South-west of Srinagar City, separated from the Shalimar Range but a part of the Zabarwan Range of mountains. As per Pt. Samsar Chand Koul, the eminent historian, the hill was initially known as Jetha Larak and later renamed Gopadri Hill. The earliest historical reference to the hill comes from Kalhana who called it Gopadri. Kalhana says that King Gopaditya granted the land at the foot of the hill to the Brahmins that had come from the "Araya versh (India)". The land grant was called "GOPA AGRAHARAS” (now called Gupkar). Kalhana mentions another village in the vicinity of the hill, named Bhuksiravatika (Buch’vore of today). Kalhana also mentions that King Gopaditya built the temple on the top of the hill as a shrine to Jyesthesvara (Shiva Jyestharuda) around 371 BC.

According to Pandit Anand Koul Bamzai (1924), the doyen of Kashmiri historians, the temple was originally built by the Hindu king "Sandiman" (2629-2564 BC). It was repaired by King Gopaditya (426–365 BC) and by King Lalitaditya (697–734 A.D.).

The current temple structure dates back to the 9th century when Adi Shankaracharya is reported to have visited Kashmir. It is said that it was in Kashmir that Adi Shankaracharya acknowledged the power of Shakti after a debate/ discussion with the local sages and is said to have composed his immortal treatise ‘Saundarya Lahiri’ on this very hill. It was in his honor that the hill was renamed Shankaracharya Hill.

Adi Shankaracharya (788-820 AD)

A Vedanta theologian, author, poet, and scholar, Adi Shankar traveled across the Indian subcontinent, propagating his philosophy through debate and discourses. He visited Srinagar & Sharada Peeth in the early 9th century. The Hill and Temple are named after him! The Shiva temple rests on solid rock. A 20-foot-tall octagonal base supports a square building on top. The terrace around the square temple is reached by a stone staircase enclosed between two walls. A doorway on the opposite side of the staircase leads to the interior, which is a small dark chamber, circular in plan. The ceiling is supported by four octagonal columns, which surround a Basin containing a Lingam encircled by a snake.

Lingam in the sanctum sanctorum

Sikandar Bukshikan (1389-1413 AD), the iconoclast King who destroyed most of the Hindu temples in Kashmir valley did not, for some reason, touch Shankaracharya Temple. Zain-ul-Abidin, his son, repaired its roof which had tumbled down following an earthquake. Sheikh Ghulam Mohi-ud-din, a Muslim Governor during the Sikh Rule (1841–46), also repaired its dome. Maharaja Gulab Singh (1846-1857 AD), King of J&K constructed the steps to the hill from the Durga Naag temple side. The Maharaja of Mysore came to Kashmir in 1925 and he made the electrical installations at the temple. In 1961 Shankaracharya of Dwarkapeetham put the statue of Adi Shankaracharya in the temple. In 1974 the Government of J&K constructed the road that goes to the TV Station near the top of the hill from the Gupkar side, off the beautiful Boulevard Road along the Dal Lake. There are 243 steps leading up to the temple area from the road and another 30-odd step from there to the temple’s sanctum sanctorum.

Shankaracharya Temple View

My late grandfather, Pt Kesho Nath Munshi was a great devotee of Adi Shankaracharya, his philosophy and works like the ‘Soundarya Lahiri’. He had studied these scriptures under an able Guru and could recite its shlokas from memory:

शिवःशक्त्यायुक्तोयदिभवतिशक्तःप्रभवितुं
नचेदेवंदेवोनखलुकुशलःस्पन्दितुमपि।

अतस्त्वाम्आराध्यांहरि-हर-विरिन्चादिभिरपि
प्रणन्तुंस्तोतुंवाकथ-मक्र्तपुण्यःप्रभवति॥

“Shiva united with Shakti becomes able to manifest
If otherwise, this god knows not even how to pulsate.
How then could one of ungained merit be able to bow to, or even praise
One such as you, adored by Vishnu, Shiva, and Brahma. 

From infanthood, I was weaned on Adi Shankaracharya’s immortal celestial song,” Bhaja Govindam”.

भज गोविन्दं भज गोविन्दं, गोविन्दं भज मूढमते ।
सम्प्राप्ते सन्निहिते काले नहि रक्षति डुकृङ्करणे ॥ १॥

“Worship Govinda, worship Govinda, worship Govinda, Oh fool!
Rules of grammar will not save you at the time of your death!”

It was natural for him to expose me to Adi Shankaracharya from a very early age. Visit the Hill and Temple were a part of my growing up. My earliest memory is going up the hill, perched on my grandfather’s shoulders, one fine Sunday afternoon! He would take me out on such excursions almost every Sunday, being his first grandchild! These visits were my first lessons in history, particularly Kashmir history. Though educated only up to Class X, my grandfather was a very well-read and well-traveled person. He inculcated in me a love for books and history.

Shankaracharya Hill offers a breathtaking all-around view of Srinagar city. Particularly mesmerizing is the view of Dal Lake from Shankaracharya with rows of House Boats. The route along Boulevard Road that skirts the Dal Lake was familiar territory as my school bus would travel this way every morning to pick up students. There was one signboard that I would see on various houseboats every morning but somehow could not understand till my grandpa explained that the ‘TO LET’ board on the houseboats meant that the said houseboat was available for rent!

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Thousands of tourists from the world over would visit Kashmir every year and several of those would like to have that ‘exotic’ experience of staying in a Houseboat. The idea of living in those lavishly furnished and well-decorated ‘floating hotels’, riding a boat(shikara) to reach the roadside, or even visiting the exotic locations including the Mogul Gardens, Char Chinar (Rup Lanke), Sone Lank, etc was too romantic for the city dwellers from the dusty plains of India! Further curiosity, no doubt, was generated by the Bollywood movies like Kashmir Ki Kali, Jab Jab Phool Khile, etc that showed Kashmir and, in particular, Dal Lake in its pristine glory. The lake also offered excellent adventure sports like boating, diving, and surf-riding for tourists.

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Char Chinar Island (Rup Lanke in Bod Dal), Dal Lake. Murad Shah, son of Emperor Shah Jahan is said to have developed this park with 4 majestic Chinar trees.

I remember going on several such solo expeditions with Dada Ji, to various Mogul Gardens & Nehru Park in the Dal Lake. Chasma- Shahi (Pari-Mahal, built by Dara Shikoh was still in ruins in the 1960s; it was restored in the 1970s by Prof KN Kaul, founder director of India’s National Botanical Research Institute and an uncle (Mama) of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. Nishat and Chashma Shahi were my grandfather’s favorite spots (besides, Shankaracharya Temple) and my Sunday excursions were laced with lessons about Kashmir and its history. Part of the deal with Dada Ji was a lovely bowl of hot milk + Jalebi at Sant Ram Sohal’s shop near the old Amira Kadal bridge. This was my favorite and gradually instilled in me a strange love for hot milk – a habit I retain today, at 65! Sant Ram was one of the famous Sweet Sellers of the city, a Punjabi by birth but settled in Srinagar. I can still recall the mouth-watering smells that would emanate from this blessed shop – sizzling Chana Bathura, Indian/ Punjabi sweets, a big cauldron of Milk, constantly on the boil in the front portion, delicious Ras Malai/ Rabdi. I am a diabetic now but given a chance/ choice, I would again say yes to the wonderful delicacies on offer at Sant Ram’s shop.

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Sweet-makers' and sellers' Bazaar; Street in Srinagar

My next strong memory of Shankaracharya Hill is the Annual Cross Country Race we used to have in our school. I was a student of one of the finest schools of Kashmir valley – CMS Tyndale Biscoe Memorial School, Amira Kadal, Srinagar. Established in 1880 CE, this wonderful school was known to be a pioneer in promoting sports and cocurricular activities including swimming, boating, mountaineering, athletics, etc. This was one school that had a dedicated swimming pool for its students and swimming was a part of the curriculum. It had its own Boat House at Dal Gate with almost 50 boats. Every year, all students would run a Cross country race from the school gates to the Shankaracharya Hill Top and back to the school – a distance of about 11-12 km, including 2 km of the uphill climb! Each runner had to collect a specific colored slip at various locations – this ensured that no runner took a shortcut and returned to school without visiting various touchpoints. Points were allocated as per the time slot taken to complete the journey; early arrivers obviously earned more points while stragglers like me could earn just a tiny-weeny single point for the House, that too if a participant could deliver all the ‘route slips’.

Another memory of a visit to Shankaracharya is linked to the festival of Shravan Poornima – Kashmiri Pandits would assemble at the Shankaracharya temple on the night prior to the festival. It was a typical Mela with everybody trying to squeeze through the narrow temple doors simultaneously! What made the night special for us boys was that we had the tacit approval of Jigri( grandmother) to go to watch a movie( night show) at Broadway Cinema before going to the Temple! This was a great luxury in those good old days. After the movie, we would walk to Durga Naag( 2-3 km) from the cinema house, then up the Shankaracharya Hill, have darshan in the temple, and later bring home a small quantity of soil from the hill for Partheswar Pooja at home( Shivling made of the soil).

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Full Moon night view of Dal Lake with the backdrop of Shankaracharya Hill and the temple

The next memory is going up the hill on a Sunday with my Chacha Ji in the late 1970s. Chacha Ji was a devotee of Shiva and every Sunday would carry a pitcher full of water from Durganag to the temple as part of his obedience to Lord Shiva. He had a nice friend circle – all senior to me and all worldly-wise, though mostly struggling to find proper jobs! There was a great bit of camaraderie amongst the friends and I recall one gentleman in particular, having a wicked sense of humor plus a whiplash tongue! Sunday morning( around 10-11 am)was a great time to be on the hill during the summer months. One would see a true bouquet of devotees – local Kashmiri Pandits, army guys with families, Punjabi families settled in Kashmir, a smattering of tourists, and if you are lucky, some celebrities! I remember once seeing the late Balraj Sahni, a famous actor and theater personality who had come with Mr. Kedar Sharma of Radio Kashmir.

My last visit to Kashmir was in May 2007 – to attend the marriage of a colleague, Mr. Mirza Abdur Rauf. For me, the entire trip was nostalgia mingled with regret and a deep sense of loss. Since a visit to the Hill was mandatory for me, our taxi driver took us up the Hill from the Gupkar side up to the spot up where vehicles were allowed for visiting Shankaracharya. He advised us against carrying just about ANYTHING in our pockets, not even medicines or watches/ phones. The reason was paranoid security concerns of the forces positioned there to neutralize threats from terrorists. Srinagar TV Station transmission is located on Shankaracharya Hill and has remained on target of various terrorist outfits since 1990. Several attempts were made to attack both the temple as well as the TV station.

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Devotees thronging the temple - present day

After climbing the stairs, again, I was in for several shocks. The flat surface on the hilltop had been converted into a police barrack with rows of tents. This obviously hampered the panoramic view but I guess, is necessary due to security considerations. When I took my friend to give him a vantage point view of the Dal Lake, I had another shock waiting. The Dal Lake appeared to have shrunk by 25-30% because of blatant encroachment. New colonies have come up by landfilling and the poor Dal Lake is suffering - in fact choking because of the weeds and algae that have been allowed to grow unhindered. This is one of the most unfortunate fallouts of terrorism that has been the bane of Kashmir since 1987-88.

Shankaracharya Hill, the iconic site where Adi Shankaracharya is said to have meditated, experienced divine glory, and created Saundarya Lahiri remains a cherished spot in my mind and soul. True, the forced Exodus from Kashmir has taken away the privilege of going up the Hill to offer salutations to Lord Shiva every Sunday for us Kashmiri Pandits. My children have been unable to experience the joy of living in the city of their forefathers as ordinary citizens following the Exodus of 1990. They may go someday to Kashmir but only as visitors. My son was born in 1988 so he barely remembers anything about Kashmir. He cherishes the idea of returning to his roots – someday! Now, he has a wife who hails from Vizag and has no comprehension of life and places in Kashmir! I can only pray that both Akhilesh and Sirisha get to see their dream come true, someday!

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The mystique of the Shankaracharya Hill

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