Gopadri

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Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

Gopadri (गोपाद्रि) is the ancient name of Shankaracharya Hill in Srinagar, Kashmir. Gopadri (गोपाद्रि) is also ancient name of Gwalior.

Variants

Origin

  • Gopaditya (400-340 BC) was an emperor of the Kashmir.

Jat clans

Shankaracharya Hill

Shankaracharya Temple

Shankaracharya Temple Srinagar

One of the most revered Hindu pilgrimage destinations in Srinagar, the Shankaracharya Temple is located atop a hill known as Takht-e-Suleiman. The ancient temple stands at a height of about 1100 feet above the surface level of the main Srinagar city. A visit to this sacred temple involves a trek to the top of the hills.[2]

Devoted to the worship of Lord Shiva, Shankaracharya Temple is believed to have been built by Raja Gopaditya in 371 BC. During those times, the temple was known as Gopadri. The great saint Shankaracharya is supposed to have stayed here when he visited Kashmir in the early part of the ninth century with the primary aim of spreading the philosophy of Vedanta. This perhaps led to the renaming of the temple as Shankaracharya Temple. Shankaracharya was also instrumental in popularizing the worship of Lord Shiva in Jammu and Kashmir. [3]

Shankaracharya Temple is a monument of great significance, not only because of its religious importance, but also for its architectural beauty. A high octagonal platform supports the temple structure, reached by a flight of around hundred steps. The sidewalls of the steps are believed to have once bore valuable inscriptions.[4]

An inscription in Persian inside the Shankaracharya Temple dates back to the reign of Mughal Emperor Shahjahan. [5]

Shankaracharya temple, as it stands today, has undergone several renovations in its lifetime. The first of these is believed to have been done during the rule of Lalitaditya. Later, more repair work was done by Zain-ul-Abideen, after the temple got damaged in an earthquake. [6] The main surviving shrine of Shankaracharya Temple consists of a circular cell, providing a breathtaking view of the valley below. The inner chamber, after being renovated, is presently covered with a modern ceiling.[7]

The temple is also considered as a Buddhist icon, and with the hill which has had multiple names over the centuries, is connected to the Persian and Muslim faith as well.[8]

History

The structure is considered as the oldest temple in Kashmir, historically and traditionally.[9]

The earliest historical reference to the hill comes from Kalhana. He called the mountain 'Gopadri' or 'Gopa Hill'. Kalhana says that King Gopaditya granted the land at the foot of the hill to the Brahmins that had come from the "Aryadesa". The land grant, an agraharam, was called 'Gopa Agraharas'. This area at the base is now called Gupkar. Kalhana mentions another village in the vicinity of the hill where King Gopaditya housed some of the Brahmins to a village next door in present-day Galgate. Kalhana also mentions that King Gopaditya built the temple on the top of the hill as a shrine to Jyesthesvara (Shiva Jyestharuda) around 371 BCE.[10]

While the associated history dates to 371 BCE, K. Warikoo, a professor at a centre of JNU's School of International Studies, places the present re-constructed structure of temple to the 6th century CE.[11] In 1899 James Fergusson placed the temple construction to the 17th to 18th century. Fergusson disputes claims that structures on the basis of which he makes this claim are from repairs.[12] Aurel Stein while agreeing that the superstructures are from a more recent date, places the base and the stairs as much older.[13] Historical figures associated with the monument include Jaloka, one of the sons of Ashoka (Gonandiya), according to the Rajatarangini.[14][15]

Names associated with the hill include Sandhimana-parvata, Koh-e-Suleman, Takht-i-Sulaiman or simply Takht Hill, Gopadri or Gopa Hill.[16][17]

Gopadri in Rajatarangini

Rajatarangini[18] mentions that when Sussala became King of Kashmir second time in 1121 AD he faced difficulties. There happened a disaster on the bridge over the Sindhu, king was defeated but Renewal of war continued. It is mentioned that Ananda of the family of Kaka, Loshtasha, Nala and other renowned warriors in the Damara army were killed by the king's (Sussala) soldiers. Lamnā was not brought before the eyes of the severe king, but the king's servants, like Chandalas, killed many people. The remnant of Bhikshu's army ascended the hill of Gopadri in fear, but the king's soldiers surrounded them on all sides and their destruction became imminent. In order to save his horses, the proud Bhikshu sent them to a place beyond the reach of arrows. Prithvihara's neck was pierced by an arrow, and he with difficulty stood by the side of Bhikshu. There also stood two or three great warriors similarly distressed. Besieged, as a sea side rock by the waves, the army of Bhikshu left Gopāchala and ascended other hills. The king's army was led up the hill by Sussa. At this time Mallakoshta's infantry which had harassed many places arrived at the spot. The royal soldiers in their eagerness to follow up the enemy, left the king behind and never thought of him. The king -was attacked by Mallakoshta,

[p.95]: but at the very moment when he was unable to save himself any longer, Prajji and his younger brother entered the field of battle. On the eighth dark lunar day of Ashada, many horsemen arrived and the sound of their weapons told their worth. Mallakoshtaka, aided by his son, was checked by them, as the forest fire, aided by wind, is quenched by the rains of Shravana and Bhadra.

संधिमान पर्वत

Sandhiman Parvata (संधिमान पर्वत) (AS, p.929) = श्रीनगर के निकट शंकराचार्य पहाड़ी. [19]

गोपाचल - गोपाद्रि- गोपालकक्ष

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर[20] ने लेख किया है ...गोपालकक्ष (AS, p.300) नामक स्थान का उल्लेख महाभारत में हुआ है- 'ततो गोपालकक्ष च सोत्तरात्रपि कोसलान् मल्लानामधिपं चैव पार्थिवं चाजयत् प्रभु:।' महाभारत सभा. 30, 1. कुछ विद्वानों के मत में गोपालकक्ष ग्वालियर का ही प्राचीन नाम है। महाभारत 30, 3 में गोपालकक्ष नामक स्थान पर भीम की विजय का उल्लेख है। संभवतः यह गोपाद्रि और गोपाचल ग्वालियर दुर्ग की पहाड़ी के प्राचीन नाम हैं. (दे. ग्वालियर)

References

  1. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.929
  2. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  3. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  4. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  5. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  6. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  7. ↑ http://jktdc.in/contact-us/99.html
  8. ↑ https://www.cntraveller.in/story/trail-kashmirs-shrines/
  9. ↑ Cunningham, Alexander (1848). An Essay on the Arian Order of Architecture, as Exhibited in the Temples of Kashmir. Calcutta: J. Thomas, Baptist Mission Press.
  10. ↑ Stein, Aurel (1900). Kalhana's Rajatarangini, A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir. Vol. 2. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company, Rivington. pp. 453–454
  11. ↑ Warikoo, Kulbhushan (2009). Toshkhani, S. S.; Warikoo, K. (eds.). Cultural Heritage of Kashmiri Pandits. Pentagon Press. pp. 109–110. ISBN 978-81-8274-398-4.
  12. ↑ Fergusson, James (1899). History of Indian and Eastern Architecture. Vol. 1. Dodd, Mead. p. 282.
  13. ↑ Stein, Aurel (1900). Kalhana's Rajatarangini, A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir. Vol. 1. Archibald Constable and Company, Rivington. p. 1.345
  14. ↑ Cunningham, Alexander (1848). An Essay on the Arian Order of Architecture, as Exhibited in the Temples of Kashmir. Calcutta: J. Thomas, Baptist Mission Press. p.7
  15. ↑ Thapar, Romila (1961). Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas. Oxford University Press. pp. 30, 188.
  16. ↑ Stein, Aurel (1900). Kalhana's Rajatarangini, A Chronicle of the Kings of Kashmir. Vol. 2. Westminster: Archibald Constable and Company, Rivington. pp. 453–454
  17. ↑ Cunningham, Alexander (1848). An Essay on the Arian Order of Architecture, as Exhibited in the Temples of Kashmir. Calcutta: J. Thomas, Baptist Mission Press,p.9
  18. ↑ Kings of Kashmira Vol 2 (Rajatarangini of Kalhana)/Book VIII, p.94-95
  19. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.929
  20. ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.300
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