Sharda Peeth Loccated at SHARDA in AZAD KASHMIR, at the de facto border of India and PAKISTAN (Line of Control) (LOC), was the famous TEMPLE of the Goddess Sarasvati (SHARDA) on the banks of Neelum River in Azad Kashmir.
Sri SHARDA TEMPLE is situated at a height of about 3400 meters. Surrounding by snow-capped mountains and dense forests, inhabitated by wild beasts the temple inspires travellers with a feeling of awe and strangeness.
'Sharda Peetham’ (Centre for Advanced studies) was the nerve center of learning and it was the Sharda script which was in use. The shrine did not have a deity but a very large plinth/slab and outside there was a Shivling (symbolic idol of Lord Shiva). Sharda Temple had the main girdle of 22 feet diameter. It had an entrance door on the west. The other entrances had arches over them, and these arches were 20 feet in height. The main entrance had footsteps. On both sides of the porch, there were two square shaped pillars, 16 feet high and 2'6" x 2'6" in sectional size carved out of a solid stone block. The construction inside the temple was very plain and unadorned. The temple is situated on a hillock, on the right bank of river Madhumati.
The Neelum Valley is one of the most sensitive sub sectors in the vicinity of the Line of Control (LoC). From Kel in the North via Athmuqam and Dudniyal to Tithwal (our side) the valley is under the complete domination of the Indian fortified positions along the LoC. There is a cartographic bulge on the eastern side called the Bugina Bulge which is a swathe of territory hugging the slopes of the Shamashabari. This is the sub sector of the Pakistan side which is used for launch pads to infiltrate terrorists into the Kupwara sector of Kashmir.
Sharda temple was constructed somewhere in mid 12th Century, during the reign of Jaisimha by an Aryan Saraswat Brahmin warlord of Kishanganga Valley. According to Al-Biruni, the famous historian of India, Sharada was an important site of pilgrimage. The earliest records in Sharada have been dated to 800 A.D and were found all over northwest India.
Nobody can imagine after visiting the ancient Sharda Peeth temple of Neelam Valley, Pakistan that it was once a center of the educational excellence. The Hindu Pundits and the scholars of Sanskrit used to pay their visit at the Sharda Peeth temple or Sharda University from the far and away places of the Indian Subcontinent. Kashmir was sometimes called Sharada Desh because of this temple and Sharada was called Kashmira Puravasini. The village, where the ancient Sharda Peeth temple of Neelam Valley, Pakistan is located is also named after this temple and is known as Sharda Village.
This is the History of SHARDA FORT or SHARDA UNIVERSITY. There is not complete history but I hope you like my little effort to give you this information.
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