Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
8th centuryMattan plateau, near Anantnag
The grandest temple of ancient Kashmir, now a ruin.
Built for Surya, the sun god, the temple stands in the middle of a large courtyard lined with small shrines under a colonnade. Its trefoil arches, fluted columns and triangular pediments are the high point of Kashmir's stone architecture. Earthquakes and deliberate damage over the centuries left it roofless.
Facts
- Kalhana credits its construction to Lalitaditya Muktapida.
- The courtyard is enclosed by a colonnade of fluted columns with small shrines behind it.
- It is a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India.
5 more photographs
Photo: Gaurav Kumar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Varun Shiv Kapur from New Delhi, India · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Ankur P · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Basavaraj K. Korkar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Aadil939 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
