Katas Raj Temple

The Katas Raj Temple is a Hindu sanctuary in Pakistan .

location

The Katas Raj temple complex is located in the province of Punjab, west of the city of Jhelam, not far from the Motorway M-2 . The nearest larger town is Kallar Kahar.

History and architecture

According to tradition, the temple was founded at the time of the writing of the epic Mahabharata , and the Buddhist monk Faxian described it in his travel stories from the 4th century AD. Since 2006, the complex has been gradually restored.

The center of the complex is a pond, which according to tradition arose from the tears of the Hindu god Shiva , who mourned his deceased wife , and because of which the place quickly developed into an important Hindu pilgrimage site. Over the centuries, the complex was expanded to include numerous buildings in different architectural styles. The ruins of the temple dedicated to Hanuman show - as well as a pavilion above the pond - with their Corinthian columns unmistakably Greek influence, which is indicative of the conquest of northern Pakistan by Alexander the Great in 326 BC. Remembered. Not far from it rises the ruins of a Buddhist dagoba .