The Shital Nath Temple is located in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar. The temple was re-opened by devotees in 2021 on Basant Panchmi.
Notably, Kashmiri Pandits have deep devotion for the Shital Nath Temple. Festivals and annual hawan on Navreh and Shivratri have already been performed after a hiatus of 31 years and has been now drawing devotes and tourists alike from all over the country. But the temple has been in a dilapidated state due to its decades-long closure.
A document says that what the government has envisaged is a “comprehensive effort to reconstruct a new temple facility addressing the structural deficiencies of the old temple while incorporating modern amenities and traditional design elements.”
The foundation work of the temple and an adjoining ‘Hawan Shalla Building’ has already been completed as part of the project. Now, the works of superstructure of these buildings and other developmental works of the confined premises will take place in the next few months.
“By leveraging structural steel components, quality materials, and thoughtful design considerations, the project aims to create a sacred space that fulfills the spiritual and practical needs of devotees while preserving the cultural heritage of the temple,” says a document outlining the project.
A Parikarma floor level is being made in the temple, along with an RCC frame structure, doors and windows made in fine deodar wood, and the floor made in marble. Various ornamental features and flooring outside the temple will be done.
Significance Of Shital Nath Temple
The Shital Nath Temple is located in the Habba Kadal area of Srinagar. The temple was re-opened by devotees in 2021 on Basant Panchmi with a special pooja after it was closed for nearly 31 years due to terrorism and the Kashmiri Pandits exodus.
A group of 30 Kashmiri Pandits had led the prayers then, terming it a major confidence-building measure that the Kashmir Valley was safe for the Kashmiri Pandits now.
A peep into the history of this complex and you realise that the place has been a major hub of Kashmir’s socio-political life with an intellectual import that transcends religious borders.
“Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Patel, Vir Sawarkar and others came to galvanise the freedom struggle through their addresses from the Shital Nath complex before 1947.
“When late Sheikh Abdullah appealed for joint resistance to the tribal invasion in 1947, men and women from both communities took up weapons of whatever kind they could lay their hands on, at the temple complex to preserve the land of Sufis and saints from the tribal invasion”, Kaul said.