The silent ravages of
the destroyer, who carries away pillars and stone, for the erection
of other edifices, has been going on for centuries. 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.
Marttand.
Of all the existing remains of Kashmirian grandeur, the most striking
in size and situation is the noble ruin of Marttand.
This majestic temple stands at the northern end of the elevated
table-land of "Matan," about three miles to the eastward of Islamabad.
This is undoubtedly the finest position in Kashmir. The temple itself
is not now (1848) more than forty feet in height, but its solid walls
and bold outlines towering over the fluted pillars of the surrounding
colonnade give it a most imposing appearance.
There are no petty confused details; but all are distinct and massive,
and most admirably suited to the general character of the building.
Many vain speculations have been hazarded regarding the date of the
erection of this temple and the worship to which it was appropriated.
It is usually called the "House of the Pandus" by the Brahmins,
and by the people "Mattan."
The true appellation appears to be preserved in the latter, Matan being
only a corruption of the Sanscrit Marttand maartta.n.d, or the sun,
to which the temple was dedicated.
The true date of the erection of this temple - the wonder of Kashmir
- is a disputed point of chronology; but the period of its foundation
can be determined within the limits of one century, or between A.D. 370
and 500.
The mass of building now known by the name of Matan, or Marttand,
consists of one lofty central edifice, with a small detached wing on
each side of the entrance, the whole standing on a large quadrangle
surrounded by a colonnade of fluted pillars, with intervening
trefoil-headed recesses. The central building is sixty-three feet in
length, by thirty-six in width.
As the main building is at present entirely uncovered, the original
form of the roof can only be determined by a reference to other
temples, and to the general form and character of the various parts
of the Marttand temple itself.
The angle of the roof in the Temple of Pandrethan, and in other
instances, is obtained by making the sides of the pyramid which forms
it parallel to the sides of the doorway pediment, and in restoring
the Temples of Patrun and Marttand I have followed the same rule.
The height of the Pandrethan temple - of the cloistered recesses,
porch pediments, and niches of Marttand itself - were all just double
their respective widths. This agreement in the relative proportions of
my restored roof of Marttand with those deduced from other examples,
is a presumptive proof of the correctness of my restoration. The
entrance-chamber and the wings I suppose to have been also covered
by similar pyramidal roofs. There would thus have been four distinct
pyramids, of which that over the inner chamber must have been the
loftiest, the height of its pinnacle above the ground being about
seventy-five feet.
