Raghunath Temple
| Raghunath Temple | |
|---|---|
Raghunath Mandir | |
Ranbir Singh | |
| Completed | 1851–1857 |
| Specifications | |
| Temple(s) | 7 |
| Monument(s) | 7 |
| Elevation | 350 m (1,148 ft) |
| Website | |
| jammu | |
Raghunath Temple is a
The temple witnessed two terrorist attacks in the year 2002, when militants attacked it in March and November, with grenades and indulged in indiscriminate firing which resulted in the death of 20 devotees and also in injuries to over 40 people.[2]
Location
The temple complex is located in the old part of the
History
During the reign of the rulers of
Library and religious school
During the reign of Ranbir Singh, the temple complex started a pathshala (school) which welcomed students from all castes and classes. The temple housed a library with some 6,000 manuscripts. These are mostly copies made from manuscripts not available for sale, in Devanagari from Sarada originals, by scribes employed by the library in the nineteenth century.
Singh funded a translation centre and included an effort to translate texts in Arabic and Persian languages into Sanskrit.[9] According to Zutshi, this inter-religious initiative was praised by his contemporaries.[10]
The Raghunath temple remains a significant scholarly source of Sarada script manuscripts and one of the largest collection of Hindu and Buddhist texts of the Kashmir tradition.[11] The Raghunath temple has been an early promoter of digitization initiative of the manuscripts it houses, and has started the eGangotri initiative to digitize ancient manuscripts from other parts of India.[12]
Features
The Raghunath temple has seven shrines.
In the main shrine, the idol of Rama, which is the family deity of the then king and the Dogra people, is deified in the
A distinct feature noted in the entire temple complex is the stucco style embellishments built with brick masonry and finished with plaster.[6] The motifs crafted are of floral (lotuses) and geometric designs, on the walls, in the niches and on arches.[6] Apart from paintings on the walls, the niches in the interior parts of the shrines have 300 well crafted images of deities. The profusion of paintings and images on the internal and external faces of the temple was considered an auspicious feature, instead of leaving the wall surfaces blank. However, the images and murals on the outer walls of the temple have since been demolished.[15]
Terrorist attacks
On 30 March 2002, a terrorist outfit first attacked in the market area by lobbing grenades and then entered the temple where they started firing. The security forces surrounded them. Ten persons, including four security forces personnel and two militants were killed and many more were injured.
References
- ISBN 978-81-7017-310-6.
- ^ Amy Waldman (25 November 2002), 10 Killed in Attack on Temple in Kashmir, The New York Times
- ^ Robert W. Bradnock (1994). South Asian Handbook. Trade & Travel Publications. p. 465.
- ISBN 978-81-241-1063-8.
- ^ a b Harappa, p. 401.
- ^ a b c d e f Warikoo2009, p. 97.
- ^ OCLC 459043967.
- OCLC 459043967.
- ISBN 978-0-7914-2064-5.
- ^ Zutshi 2004, p. 172.
- ISBN 978-1-78308-578-1.
- ^ eGangotri Manuscript Digital Archive Initiative, Raghunath Temple, Dharmartha Trust Initiative; Sri Rambira Raghunatha Temple Manuscript Library, Jammu, University of Tokyo, Japan
- ^ a b Betts & McCulloch 2014, p. 226.
- ISBN 978-0-19-803071-3.
- ^ a b Charak & Billawaria 1998, p. 45.
- ^ a b c Charak & Billawaria 1998, p. 90.
- ^ Warikoo2009, p. 97-98.
- ^ Mukhtar Ahmad (30 March 2002). "10 killed, 14 injured in blast near Raghunath temple in Jammu". rediff.com. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
- ^ Asthana & Nirmal2009, p. 179.
- ^ S.P. Sharma and M.L. Kak (25 November 2002). "Raghunath Temple attacked, 12 dead". The Tribune.
- ^ "Terrorists attack Jammu temples, 12 dead". The Times of India. 24 November 2012.
Bibliography
- Asthana, N. C.; Nirmal, Anjali (1 January 2009). Urban Terrorism: Myths and Realities. Pointer Publishers. ISBN 978-81-7132-598-6.
- Betts, Vanessa; McCulloch, Victoria (10 February 2014). Indian Himalaya Footprint Handbook: Includes Corbett National Park, Darjeeling, Leh, Sikkim. Footprint Travel Guides. ISBN 978-1-907263-88-0.
- Charak, Sukh Dev Singh; Billawaria, Anita K. (1 January 1998). Pahāṛi Styles of Indian Murals. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-356-4.
- Harappa, Mohin Jadarro. India Divided Religion 'Then' (1947) (East-West): 'Now' What Languages ( North-South ) ?. PublishAmerica. ISBN 978-1-4626-5451-2.
- Warikoo, K. (1 January 2009). Cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir. Pentagon Press. ISBN 978-81-8274-376-2.
- Zutshi, Chitralekha (January 2004). Languages of Belonging: Islam, Regional Identity, and the Making of Kashmir. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. ISBN 978-1-85065-694-4.