Union Home Minister Amit Shah assured on March 22 that the government will move forward to open Sharda peeth on the lines of the Kartarpur Corridor in 2019. Sharda Peeth, a revered site for the Hindu community, is located in Neelum Valley in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) across Teetwal village in Kupwara district of J&K. along the Line of Control.
Amit Shah was responding to a suggestion made by Save Sharda Committee Kashmir (SSCK) convener Ravindra Pandita who requested that the Sharda Peeth Corridor should be made operational on the lines of Nanaka Sahib Gurudwara and the Kartarpur Corridor in Pakistan.
The Home Minister said the site has been a historical centre of India’s cultural and religious and educational heritage and the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi will definitely move forward to open the Peeth for devotees on the lines of Kartapur Corridor. The Kartarpur Corridor, inaugurated in 2019, links two important Sikh shrines –Dera Baba Nanak in Gurudaspur district of Punjab and Gurudwara Darbar Sahibin in Kartapur,Pakistan and allows pilgrims to travel Visa-free.
“The reconstruction of Maa Sharda’s temple in Kupwara is a necessary and important step in the dirction of discovery of Sharda-Civilization and promotion of Sharda-script. One upon a time, Sharda Peeth was considered the centre of knowledge in the Indian subcontinent, scholars from all over the country used to come here in search of scripture and spiritual knowledge. Sharda script is the original script of our Kashmir, which has been named Maa Sharda,” Shah said.
Significance of Sharda Peeth POK
The Sharada Peeth now in ruins was an ancient centre of learning located in the Neelum Valley that lies in POK. It is believed that between the 6th and 12th centuries CE, it was among the most prominent temple universities in the Indian subcontinent.
The temple which is also spelled as Sharada or Sarada is one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas and is considered to be the abode of Goddess Saraswati, mainly revered by Kashimiri Pundits. The temple is located in a small village also called Shardi 150 km from Muzaffarabad, the capital of POK. Goddess Sharda was also referred to as Kashmira Puravasini. It is also belied among academics that the temple might have been constructed by Raja Lalitaditya since it resembles the Martanda temple in Anantanag closely in architecture, design and construction style. The construction of Martanda temple was commissioned by Lalitaditya.
Known in particular for its library, stories recount scholars travelling long distances to access its texts. It is considered to have played a key role in the development and popularisation of the Sharda script in North India. Because of this shrine, the land of Kashmir acquired acquire the moniker “Sharada Desh”, meaning “country of Sharada”.
Kashmiri Pundits have been demanding that a corridor similar to Kartapur for Sharda Peeth as well. In fact, the residents of the Titwal village, 500 metres from the LoC, have handed over a parcel of land to the Save Sharda Committee for the construction of the temple.
According to locals in the area, there used to be an annual pilgrimage to the ancient shrine till 1947. This practice came to an end once Pakistan had occupied the area.