Martand Sun Temple was dedicated to Surya(Sun-god) is now in ruins and the original site of temple is located near
Anantnag in
Jammu and
Kashmir,
India. Martand is another name for Hindu Sun-god in Sanskrit. The Martand Sun Temple was built by King of Karkota Dynasty - Lalitaditya Muktapida in 8th century AD.It is said to have been built during 725-756 AD.The foundation of the temple is said to have been around 370-500 AD., and also some attributed the construction of the temple began with Ranaditya.
The temple was completely destroyed by Sikandar Butshikan in early 15th century. It took one year for Sikander Butshikan to fully damage and destroy this Martand temple.
Architecture And Style
The temple was built on top of a plateau from where one can view whole of
Kashmir Valley. From the ruins and archeological findings, one can say it was an excellent specimen of Kashmir style of architecture, which had blended the Gandharan, Gupta, Chinese, Roman, Syrian-Byzantine and Greek forms of architecture. This beautiful Martand temple has a colonnaded courtyard, with the shrine in its center, which is 220 feet long and 142 feet broad. It was surrounded by 84 small shrines.
Present Status
The Martand temple is one of the important archaeological sites of the country. Even today one gets surprised over art and skill of the builders of this
World famous Martand temple by looking at its ruins.The government of India, after independence has developed the site as an important tourist site with facilities.
Site of National Importance
The archeological survey of India has declared the Martand Sun Temple as a site of national importance in Jammu and Kashmir. The temple appears in the list of centrally protected monuments as Kartanda (Sun Temple).
