Pillars, from
which the architraves have been thus removed, have been thrown down
by earthquakes, ready to be set up again for the decoration of the
first Musjid that might be erected in the neighbourhood. Thus every
Mahomedan building in Kashmir is constructed either entirely or in
part of the ruins of Hindu temples.
Takt I Suliman.
The oldest temple in Kashmir, both in appearance and according to
tradition, is that upon the hill of "Takt i Suliman," or Solomon's
Throne. It stands 1,000 feet above the plain, and commands a view of
the greater part of Kashmir.
The situation is a noble one, and must have been amongst the first
throughout the whole valley which was selected as the position of
a temple. Its erection is ascribed to Jaloka, the son of Asoka,
who reigned about 220 B.C.
The plan of the temple is octagonal, each side being fifteen feet in
length. It is approached by a flight of eighteen steps, eight feet
in width, and inclosed between two sloping walls. Its height cannot
now be ascertained, as the present roof is a modern plastered dome,
which was probably built since the occupation of the country by the
Sikhs. The walls are eight feet thick, which I consider one of the
strongest proofs of the great antiquity of the building.
Pandrethan.
This name means the old capital, or ancient chief town. The name
has, however, been spelt by different travellers in many different
ways. "Moorcroft" calls it Pandenthan, "Vigne" Pandrenton, and
"Hugel" Pandriton.
The building of this temple is recorded between A.D. 913 and 921;
and it is afterwards mentioned between the years 958 and 972, as
having escaped destruction when the King Abhimanyu - Nero-like -
set fire to his own capital.
As this is the only temple situated in the old capital, there can be
very little, if any, doubt that it is the very same building which
now exists. For as it is surrounded by water, it was, of course,
quite safe amid the fire, which reduced the other buildings to mere
masses of quicklime.
Baron Hugel calls the Pandrethan edifice a "Buddhist temple," and
states that there are some well-preserved Buddhist figures in the
interior. But he is doubly mistaken, for the temple was dedicated to
Vishnu, and the figures in the inside have no connexion with Buddhism.
Trebeck swam into the interior, and could discover no figures of any
kind; but as the whole ceiling was formerly hidden by a coating of
plaster, his statement was, at that time, perfectly correct.
The object of erecting the temples in the midst of water must have
been to place them more immediately under the protection of the Nagas,
or human-bodied and snake-tailed gods, who were zealously worshipped
for ages through Kashmir.
