Katas Raaj Temple IS FROM mHaaBHaart TIME MEANS MORE THAN 5102 YEARS OLD   Hinduism Today: & Southeast Asia Media Net: INDIA, NEW DELHI, 26 August, 2005: : The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is reaching across the border to lend a helping hand to preserve the ancient Katas Raj temple complex in Pakistan. Located some 40 km from the modern city of Chakwal in Pakistan, the Katas Raj temple complex dates back to the Mahabharata era. The focus of many stories about the Pandavas spending time there during their long exile, the lake in the complex -- which is believed to have magical powers -- is where Yudhishtar defeated the Yaksha with his wisdom to bring his brothers back to life. "After our visit to the temple complex we will be in a better position to understand the scope of our involvement in the project. It all depends on what our Pakistani counterparts want. In Cambodia, for example, we are also funding part of the Angkor Vat project apart from looking after its conservation. But in this project, we don't know what we will do or the extent of our involvement,'' the ASI Chief adds. ASI will send a senior officer to Pakistan on an exploratory visit next month to figure out what kind of support the Pakistan Government expects. Most parts of the temple, are in ruins. Mr Khan said that as many as 100 rare artifacts and sculptures had been kept in safe custody at a museum. The temple complex is also on the priority list of the Evacuee Trust Property Board for conservation, and the Board is likely to nominate it for World Heritage Site status. And may be the ultimate purpose of mHaaBHaart war to uphold DHARm will prevail to become an occasion that the Pakistan and Indian sides are bridging the historic divide to try and collaborate on a monument, it will be a big step if a concrete plan of action is finally drawn up involving experts from both countries. An important achievement for the conservation movement, it will certainly go a long way in preserving common legacy.   BACKGROUNDER ON mHaaBHaart WAR THAT KILLED 1.7 BILLION PEOPLE ABOUT 5102 YEARS AGO..... mHaabhaart - itihaas meaning historical record of creation is not only considered in vED as historical record but also it is considered: the fifth vED and the DHARm-shaasTR of vED vED is the sNskRUt language word meaning SCIENCES OF CREATION AND LIFE. vED contains all the sciences to create everything that exists in this universe we know and an infinite number of universes that exist as per vED. All creations procure sustenance for its life-journeys through DHARm which is part of vED and is also known as DHARm-shaasTR meaning SCIENCES OF DHARm. All creations after completing each of their life-journey are recreated through a process called ly in vED. ly means the life process by which aatmaa (soul) of every creation discards its body of embodiment and obtains a new body through the process of death-birth called sNsaar in vED. The life-journey of each aatmaa is eternal and infinite. Every creation that exists is an aatmaa who has an embodiment. The embodiment is of infinite number of  ruup (forms) and naam (names) which we experience as gods and goddesses, humans, demons, spirits, animals, vegetation, microbes, all the flora and fauna, all things we call inanimate such as mountains to stones to sand particles - anything that has ruup and naam in creation and which is visible or invisible to human eye. mHaabhaart war was created to lessen the unbearable burden on pRuthvi-lok (the domain of existence of mortal creations). pRUthvii Devii, is the aatmaa and presiding DEvii (deity) of pRUthvii-lok as per the above noted explanation of embodied aatmaa as any creation. The unbearable burden was all peoples who had become extremely paapi or sinful. And these 1.7 billion paapi peoples had to be removed from the general human population as per the complaint of pRUthvii DEvii to viSH`ANu-DEv. And to remove these paapi peoples from the pRUthvii-lok viSHANu-DEv took the 8th avtaar (incarnation) of SHRii kRUSH`AN. And HE did not that through the war of mHaaBHaart. And how that war came about is the itihaas called mHaaBHaart. In the history of mHaaBHaart we learn how people become paapi or sinful because they do not live by the rules and regulations of DHARm as is explained in greatest details in veD texts. That is why the itihaas of mHaabhaart is called DHARm-shaasTR meaning SCIENCE OF DHARm. Today's news posting is special interest to PVAF as the story reminds us of paaNdv clan in mHaaBHaart war who lived by DHARm only. And the paaNdv king and his brother princes visited the Katas Raj temple site some 5200 years ago during their time in history of this mortal domain we live in presently. It is prayed at PVAF that reading this news item will inspire us to read mHaaBHaart and live by DHARm every day TO MAKE TOMORROW HAPPIER THAN TODAY for all of us individually and collectively....as DHARm is the only science that empowers all creations to co-exist harmoniously and supporting each other rather than warring with each other...... (This column of this news item was contributed by SHRii Champaklal Dajibhai Mistry of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as vED sharing from his vED library)   Please click on the next line to read more details of the news story and of Katas Raaj Temples......

DETAILS OF Katas Raj Random Rumblings: Thursday, June 23, 2005 Katas Raj is the name of a Hindu site of pilgrimage. It is now in Pakistan. Though this place has many references to it in the purAnAs and the mahAbhArata, I got to know of this place only recently - after Advani's controversial trip to Pakistan. It is known in Pakistan as Katas (no Raj after the name) Apparently the name kaTAs rAj is derived from kaTAkSha (meaning glance). This place is supposed to be one of the places where Lord Shiva wept out of grief on His wife's (Sati) death. The profuse tears from Shiva's eyes filled two lakes. One is the present Katas and other is a site in Ajmer. The more interesting aspect of this lake is that the Pandavas spent four out of their twelve years of exile here. A note of clarification here - it was Lord Rama of the rAmAyaNa who was exiled for fourteen years. The Pandavas were asked to spend twelve years in exile and an additional year incognito (which they spent at virATa's kingdom). Back to Katas, yudhiShThira, the eldest of the pANDavas, exhibited his wisdom in answering the questions of an invisible yakSha. This wise act essentially gave life to the other pANDavas who were lying dead after drinking the water of this pool. This is a fascinating story in the mahAbhArata and is wonderfully thought-provoking. For details, go here The temple and lake constituted a great pilgrimage centre till the Partition of India. The temple was hopelessly defaced during Muslim invasions and mainly after the partition and its picture below (from the BBC) speaks volumes about the defacement and destruction wrought upon this temple.       A picture of the deity (from Outlook India) at the Katas temple Pakistan Punjab Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi (left) presents painting of Katas Raj temple to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh at Katas Raj.— PTI photo   Reviving Katas Raj Temple International The News: Monday September 05, 2005: One positive effect of the visit of Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani was that the Government of Pakistan decided to start preservation and restoration work on the Katas Raj temples near Chakwal. Though the fact remains that Mr Advani had made no such request or proposal and the decision was entirely that of the government in the interest of Indo-Pakistan goodwill and amicable relations between the two countries. An amount of ten million rupees will be spent on the project and it might take four years to complete. This should give one an idea of the immensity of the complex. An official of the Directorate General of Museums and Archaeology told the media that the 17th century complex was designed in a style different from ordinary temples; therefore special attention will have to be paid to the restoration work to make it look authentic.               AGELESS WONDER: The ancient Katas Raj temple complex was one of the highlights of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L. K. Advani's visit to Pakistan not long ago. There are numerous other Hindu temples in Pakistan but Katas Raj is more of a shrine because it is constructed on a site that is said to have been visited by the Pandava brothers in the story of the Mahabharat. Ever since the Partition pilgrims have been visiting it, even from India and other countries outside the subcontinent. It is known as the Shiva temple complex. Apart from the temples proper, there is a pool that is always full of mountain water and it is considered by Hindus as a sacred duty to bathe in it. The pool has never been known to dry up. In local dialect the complex is called the Satghara, perhaps because it consists of seven structures. These temples are built on a higher flat stretch of land west of the sacred pool, while all along the northern and eastern sides there is a series of two groups of minor temples, shrines and chilla-gahs, i.e. places for meditation. Nobody can say why the Hindus deserted this so-called sacred place to go to rack and ruin. Originally there were 12 temples here but now only four are left whose ruins show what they were supposed to be. However, they still bear signs of their old grandeur and beauty and at places are highly decorated architecturally, bearing a strong resemblance to Kashmiri temple models found elsewhere in the northern parts of the subcontinent. As presently constituted, the most important structures, of architectural interest that is, are these Satghara temples comprising smaller temples placed in pairs. In front of these lies the main gateway of the complex, which must have been an imposing structure in its time. There are many stories and legends connected with Katas Raj. The Urdu version of the Mahabharat has described it as Chashma-e-Alam. That is, Spring of the Universe. As one legend goes, when the dear wife of the Hindu god Shiva died, two large tears dropped from his eyes. One formed the pool at Katas Raj and the other at Pushkar near Ajmer. There are not many Hindus in Pakistan, except for numbers in Sindh, and arguably no organisation that could represent their religious interest. Otherwise they would certainly have requested the government to have a list of important temples prepared from all over the country, in order to see which of these could be profitably repaired and restored. However, the community is represented both in the National Assembly and the provincial assemblies and these members are active in social life and sometimes also in politics. In fact nowadays the acting Chief Justice of Pakistan, Mr Justice Bhagwan Das, is an eminent Hindu from Karachi. One wonders why these influential gentlemen do not take a more lively interest in the preservation and upkeep of their temples in the country.-By a Pothohari   Preneet inaugurates ‘Kalash Yatra’ Punjab Govt Web Site: Mohali 29-3-2005 Patiala MP Preneet Kaur today inaugurated “Kalash Yatra” containing the holy water from the Katas Raj temple in Pakistan even as she claimed her husband, Capt Amarinder Singh, was the only Chief Minister who had taken special interest in conserving dilapidated temples in Pakistan. Addressing a gathering on the premises of Quila Mubarak, she said it was only after the interest shown by Capt Amarinder Singh that a scheme had been prepared to restore the Katas Raj temple. She said besides donating Rs 11 lakh for the conservation effort at the spot, her husband would give another Rs 2 crore for the restoration of the temple. The MP said besides paying attention to temples, the Punjab Government had also taken the initiative to lobby for and eventually get the nod for starting a regular bus service to holy Sikh shrines in Pakistan. She said with the start of this service, devotees would be able to get easy access to prominent gurdwaras in Pakistan.   Earlier, Ms Preneet Kaur, after performing religious rites, took the “kalash” from Shiv Mandir in Quila Chowk to the premises of Quila Mubarak where it was installed on a chariot. She accompanied the chariot through the old city along with the Mayor, Mr Vishnu Sharma, and other senior Congress leaders. The yatra wound its way from Quila Chowk to Purani Kotwali, Top Khana Mor, Adalat Bazaar, Anardana Chowk, Jauhrian Bhattian, Arna Barna Chowk, Arya Samaj, Lahori Gate and finally to the Kali Mata temple. Mr Sharma said after a halt at Kali Mata temple for the night the yatra would leave for Fatehgarh Sahib tomorrow. The Mayor said from Fatehgarh the yatra would travel to Khanna, Doraha, Ludhiana. Jalandhar and Amritsar. He said the yatra would end at Amritsar with the holy water being immersed in the pond of Durgiana Mandir.

There are 18 additional comments.

#1 Posted by zeeshan shifa on 9/27/2005

this site is not 52000 years old. i think there is some editing errore in it. well when ever i visit katas raj i realy feel some thing magical. hey friends pls do some thing for its restoration.(abb tak jo hua hay mara khayal hay ke iss ke saath insaaf nahi hua).

#2 Posted by zeeshan shifa on 9/27/2005

this site is not 52000 years old. i think there is some editing errore in it. well when ever i visit katas raj i realy feel some thing magical. hey friends pls do some thing for its restoration.(abb tak jo hua hay mara khayal hay ke iss ke saath insaaf nahi hua).

#3 Posted by kamal on 4/6/2007

i like a patiala mandir plz

#4 Posted by Pukhraj Prajapati on 4/11/2007

ur website 'prajapati-samaj.ca', good work & nice web i m Editor in MARVAD MITRA (NEWS PAPER) IN AHMEDABAD E-mail : marwadmitranews@yahoo.com E-mail : marvadmitranews@yahoo.co.in

#5 Posted by Pukhraj Prajapati on 4/11/2007

ur website 'prajapati-samaj.ca', good work & nice web i m Editor in MARVAD MITRA (NEWS PAPER) IN AHMEDABAD E-mail : marwadmitranews@yahoo.com E-mail : marvadmitranews@yahoo.co.in

#6 Posted by Pukhraj Prajapati on 4/11/2007

ur website 'prajapati-samaj.ca', good work & nice web i m Editor in MARVAD MITRA (NEWS PAPER) IN AHMEDABAD E-mail : marwadmitranews@yahoo.com E-mail : marvadmitranews@yahoo.co.in

#7 Posted by Gunesh chand on 6/26/2007

this site is really magical and also we demand our government to enhance for tourism and make facilitate for hindu yatries

#8 Posted by Gunesh chand on 6/26/2007

this site is really magical and also we demand our government to enhance for tourism and make facilitate for Hindu ya tries

#9 Posted by Gunesh chand on 6/26/2007

this site is really magical and also we demand our government to enhance for tourism and make facilitate for Hindu ya tries

#10 Posted by Gunesh chand on 6/26/2007

this site is really magical and also we demand our government to enhance for tourism and make facilitate for Hindu ya tries

#11 Posted by Faisal on 7/7/2007

i m faisal from katas raj...we hope muslim well distroy all the these shit mandrs in our aria katas raj soon ia

#12 Posted by Faisal on 7/7/2007

i m faisal from katas raj...we hope muslim well distroy all the these shit mandrs in our aria katas raj soon ia

#13 Posted by Faisal on 7/7/2007

i m faisal from katas raj...we hope muslim well distroy all the these shit mandrs in our aria katas raj soon ia

#14 Posted by Faisal on 7/7/2007

i m faisal from katas raj...we hope muslim well distroy all the these shit mandrs in our aria katas raj soon ia

#15 Posted by Playa from himalayas on 9/28/2007

Zeeshan, U ll never be able to destroy wht the invaders could not destroy for thousands of years. But v hazve broken mosques in india. Now wht do u say??

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#18 Posted by surinderpal kaur on 10/19/2007

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