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South Asian Studies

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A Short Survey of Hindu Temples in Peshawar

Ibrahim Shah Published online: 24 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Ibrahim Shah (2008) A Short Survey of Hindu Temples in Peshawar, South Asian Studies, 24:1, 119-132, DOI: 10.1080/02666030.2008.9628689 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2008.9628689

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A Short Survey of Hindu Temples in Peshawar

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The monumental glory of Peshawar encompasses historic mosques, mausolea, well-laid gardens, sara'is and Hindu temples. We confined the scope of this paper to a short survey of Hindu temples in the city of Peshawar, so that the rapidly-decaying ones erected in the nineteenth and twentieth enturies could be recorded. They were built in the architectural style then in vogue in the Peshawar valley. Constructed by ordinary Hindu communities, they may not necessarily be regarded as masterpieces of architecture, unlike the well-planned and ornamented medieval temples at Kafir Kot or in the Salt Range that could be the work of rulers or a wealthy social class. Temple construction has a long history in Northwest Pakistan, and more specifically in the Peshawar valley. Textual references to the existence of Brahmanical temples here take us back to the fifth century BCE through the second century BCE (Agrawala 1953, pp. 358-60; Paul et al, 1989, p.114). Inscriptional and archaeological evidence indicates the construction of Hindu temple in Abbottabad (third century CE) (Sircar 1987), Wanda Shahabkhel (Bannu) (third century CE) (Khan 1992; 1993; Farooq 1988; Rahman 1989; see Beal 1981, Pt. 2, pp. 281-2, who enumerates five Hindu temples in Bannu) and Kashmir Smast (district Mardan) (fourth/fifth century CE) (Nasim Khan 2001a; 2001b; 2002; 2005; Dani 1988, p. 82; Beal 1981, Pt. l,pp. 113ff). Recorded by Sang Yun (520 CE) (Beal 1981, Pt. 1, p. cii) and later confirmed by Xuanzang (630 CE) (Beal 1981, Pt. 1, p.109), a Hindu temple also existed in Charsada (ancient Pushkalavati). The latter enumerates about one hundred Hindu temples in Peshawar (Beal 1981, Pt. 1, p. 98). The location of the Svayambhumurti of Bhimadevi and the temple of Ishvaradeva at Shiva (district Swabi)(Beal 1981,pp. 113ff;Foucher 1974,pp.36f;Banerjea 1956, pp. 83f, 135; 1985) is now claimed at Kashmir Smast (Falk 2003). Epigraphic and archaeological evidence suggest that a number of Hindu temples were built under the direct patronage of the Odi (or Hindu) Shahis at their capital city of Hund (ancient Udabhandapura) (Rahman 1979a, pp. 309-40; 1979b, p. 73). Archaeological evidence at mound E in Sahri Bahlol suggests the conversion of some Buddhist viharas into Hindu temple in the time of the

Odi Shahis (Stein 1912, p. 15; 1915, pp. 116-7). There is some scanty evidence of temple construction in the succeeding centuries; this may have continued until 1834 CE, when the Peshawar valley came into the political control of the Sikhs (Shah 1998). The surviving Hindu temples in Peshawar are predominantly from the Sikh (1834 - 48 CE) and the British (1849-1947 CE) periods. It would be useful to work out the population ratio of the Hindus inhabiting different localities of the city as recorded since the British occupation in 1849. HG. Raverty

/. Western temple at Pancha Tirtha (1993).

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2. Western temple at Pancha Tirtha (2008). (1852, p. 17) counts 7306 houses in the city. Of these, Hindus, Khatris and Sikhs occupied 2317. Gopal Das (1874, p.148) recorded 9331 Hindu inhabitants out of the total urban population of 60947. By 1901 the number of Hindus had risen to 18552 in the city and to 40183 in the whole district (The Imperial Gazetteer, pp. 149, 164). Approximately 50% of the Hindus in the entire district lived in the city alone. They would naturally have required a fairly good number of temples, especially in the localities where they lived in large concentrations. Raverty (1852, 17ff, 47) provides further insight into their community; most of the Hindus were associated with trade and commerce, and ran shops; they were mainly money changer, chemists, confectioners, gold smiths and drapers who dwelt in Karimpura, Andarshahr, Gor Khatri and Sir Assia. They were also scattered throughout the whole province, mostly belonging to the Khatri and Paracha Hindu trading clans. A small number of Hindu families inhabited almost every village to conduct local trade. But the majority lived in Peshawar as the most influential traders on whom rested the prosperity of the city. Although residing amongst Muslims, they freely performed their religious rites and festivals (Gazetteer 18978, pp. 97, 145; see also Das 1874, pp. 175-203 for temples, dharmashalas and population statistics of the Hindus in the neighbouring villages). With the above facts and figures in mind, we find Hindu temples particularly in the cited localities of the city where they lived in concentrated numbers for occupational reasons. Some of these temples are briefly mentioned in a few historical accounts, while others were recorded during an archaeological survey of the Department of Archaeology, University of Peshawar, in July 1993. In order to update the information, the author again conducted short survey of the city temples in April 2005 and June 2008; these are discussed here individually. The temples 1. Pancha Tirtha Pancha Tirtha is one of the most important Hindu pilgrimage sites in Peshawar.1 The history of the site is described thus: there existed five "holy bathing places or the tirtha, pipal trees and a shmashand"; it is an elevated place with a crematorium for burning dead bodies; and it has been a

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3. Eastern temple at Pancha Tirtha. place of great reverence and celebrity (N-WFP Gazetteers 1931, p. 319). Das (1874, p. 151) refers to the construction of Hindu temples here beside the five sacred bathing ponds. These temples and sacred ponds were disfigured during the Durrani period (1747-1834 CE), and were reconstructed by the local Hindus during the period of Sikh rule (1834-48 CE) in Peshawar (Das, 1874, p. 151). Of all the original temples, only two now survive. They are located a few metres away from each other in eastwest orientation. The western temple (the larger of the two) (Fig. 1) was provided with an arched entrance on the east side which opened into a mandapa of small size with three arched openings and a vaulted roof. The western temple was found in a better state of preservation in 1993. But during our recent surveys in 2005 and 2008 (Fig. 2), flutes of its domed superstructure and other decorative designs originally executed in stucco were already badly mutilated. It was during this period (i.e. 1993-2005) that the temple at Rampura (see infra) was also destroyed. Building materials of both temples at Pancha Tirtha (Fig. 3) comprise burnt bricks of small size (locally called waziri bricks) thick set in lime mortar and plastered. The style of construction and

4. Western temple at Gor Khatri.

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decorative scheme - arched panel, slender pilasters of the dvarashakhas, ribbed dome, miniature niches and decorative half-dome wrought in stucco at the apex of arched panels on the northern wall - and other features of the western temple are comparable to the late-nineteenth century buildings scattered in different localities of Peshawar. 2. Gor Khatri temple The Gor Khatri temple is another important monument in Peshawar. The surviving architectural features of the temple indicate that it dates from the Sikh period. However, literary references to the site and its Hindu association suggest that it could go as far back as the medieval period. The earliest historical reference to this place of pilgrimage is preserved in the Babar Namah (1975, pp. 230,394; Talbot, 1909, p.153), to be followed by Akbar (Abul Fazl, 1939, III, p. 528) and Jahangir (Rogers, 1968, p. 102; Quddusi, 1968, p. 201) who all visited the spot after hearing about its sacred nature and marvelous narrow underground meditation cells. Abu al-Fazl's remarks "here is a temple called GorKatari" (Cunningham 1871, p. 89), perhaps referring to the place of pilgrimage, "[built] to perform the shraddha or funeral sacrifices in honour of their [presumably the builders'] ancestor...." (Jaffar 1946, p. 80). In 1640 CE, Jahan Ara Begum (daughter of Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor) selected this deserted site for the construction of a caravan sara 'i (that came to be known after her as the Sara 7 Jahanabad), which also contained a congregational mosque and bathrooms as part of its architectural scheme. Avitabile, the Sikh governor of Peshawar (1838-42 CE), used the lofty western gateway of the sara'i as his official residence (Shah, 1998). It was during his governorship that the mosque was pulled down, on which site was built a Hindu temple that survives today (Jaffar 1946, p. 103; cf. Das 1874, p. 153; Lai 1846, p. 53). The complex comprises two temples, a deep well, a few rooms, a gateway and an enclosure wall. The two temples are connected by an arcaded antarala (Fig 7). The western temple (Fig 4) is different in size and shape from the eastern one. According to SM Jaffar (1946, p. 82), the former was dedicated to worshipping Shiva, and contained shivalinga in red stone installed in the centre of the floor of its garbagriha. The eastern one is said to be that of Bhairava, another form of Shiva. Mural surfaces of both shrines were painted with the likenesses of Brahma, Ganesha, Shiva and Guru Gorakhnath. 2 Professor Dani (1969, p. 173), on the other hand, holds that the taller temple is that of Gorakhnath, and the subsidiary one is the Nandi shrine. Since the entire temple complex was for the worship of Shiva as the supreme god, the bigger temple should also be that of Shiva, as is evident from the shivalinga found there. Attached to the temple of Shiva to the north is a big well originally operated by a Persian wheel (Das 1874, p. 153; cf. Jaffar 1946, p. 82)3.

S. Shikhara details of the western temple at Cor Khatri.

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6. Details of the southern wall of the above shrine.

7. Arched antarala at Gor Khatri.

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The western shrine is square in plan, with a shikhara superstructure above (Fig 5) the boldly projecting eave of stone slabs. The outer corners of the shrine show engaged pilasters, a feature also found in the western temple at Panch Tirtha (see supra). Opening towards the east under the vaulted roof of a small mandapa (Fig 8), the northern and southern walls were pierced with windows to allow fresh air and light into the interior of the shrine (Fig 6). Externally these windows were decorated with frames and ornamental semi-domes within a tall arched panel, all done in stucco. The west wall merely shows an arched panel. The shikhara is relieved with small arched panels like devakoshtha, containing figural depiction of different Hindu themes. We could not get into the shrine as it was locked and the keys lost. The eastern temple is octagonal in plan and shorter in height than its western counterpart. It also opens into a small vaulted mandapa. Internally, the walls are relieved with five arched panels, the central one being in the form of a deep niche with semi-dome crown. Contextual evidence shows that figures of gods, which were originally standing, were installed within them. The chief deity of the shrine once occupied the central arched niche facing the doorway opening on the west side, as it is more prominent than the flanking panels (Fig 9). Signs of their removal from the original context are still visible on the walls of the central niche and the flanking panels. The building style of the two shrines is comparable to the other religious and secular structures of the Sikh and British periods in Peshawar. Textual references and architectural remains of the shrines at Gor Khatri help us to date them in the Sikh period at the earliest (see Jaffar 1946, p. 83). 3. Asama'i Mandir This beautiful and important temple complex is located inside the famous Asama'i gate, one of the 16 gates of the walled city of Peshawar. This locality is known to the people as Andarshahr ("inside the city"), and is still occupied by the shops of goldsmiths, money changers and antique dealers. Once there were as many as seven Hindu temples, of which four now survive. The central temple, which is the biggest of all, is believed to be that of the Devi (i.e. Asama'i), while the other three, two to the north and one to the south, are subsidiary shrines. The cluster of temples in this locality can be understood well from the fact that most of the wealthier Hindus lived here (Raverty 1852, p. 19). Jaffar (1946 p. 88) records the name of this temple as the asthana of Asa Devi (or Asama'i). Raverty (1852, p. 22) and others (Shah 1994) have used the Persian term 'Asa (literally "mace", "scepter" or "staff") in the sense of danda or gada. Its Vaishnava association may be strengthened further by the images of Krishna, Rama, Sita, Radha and Asama'i (cf. Jaffar 1946, p. 88). We therefore suggest that the Asama'i temple was originally

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8. Wooden door of the western shrine at Gor Khatri.

9. Eastern shrine at Gor Khatri, central arched niche with traces of the now removed statue.

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10. Main temple at Asamai complex. dedicated to Vaishnavi, the shakti of Vishnu, who should also hold the attributes of her male counterpart. 4 Das (1874, p. 150) informs us that the kaccha building of the main temple was renovated with burnt bricks set in lime mortar and coated with plaster. The temple in its present form is therefore a work of the nineteenth century and not earlier. Standing on a raised podium, the main temple is octagonal in plan externally and square internally (Fig. 10). Access to the temple is provided on the east side, and the remaining sides are relieved with tall arched panels. The boldly-projecting eave marks the springing point of shikhara decoration at the base, with an acanthus leaf motif, as at the other temples of this study. The pancarathi shikhara shows an arched devakoshtha marked at the apex by a ribbed semi-dome depiction, in the central offset. This ornamental motif is repeated on all projecting offsets. In 1897, a haradari mandapa was added to it on the east side, as confirmed by an inscription installed on its wall.5 Adam Hardy (personal communication, July 2005) "calls this a 'pseudo-shekhari' temple". The architect-mason, he says, has imitated the shekhari temple without understanding its complicated three-dimensional form. He adds that the niche takes the place of the lowest urah-shringa of a shekhari temple (Hardy 2002; 2007, pp. 115-8, 182-7). Of the subsidiary shrines, one each to the north (Fig. 11) and south (Fig. 12) of the main temple show a shikhara-type superstructure. Adjacent to the one to the north is the third subsidiary shrine, which has domed roof fronted with a curved eave. The domed superstructure can be compared with the western temple at Pancha Tirtha while the curved eave has its parallel in the old entrance (now totally renovated) of the mosque of Nasir Ahmad behind the famous Qissa Khwani Bazaar (built 1883 CE) (Rahman and Shah 1997). 4. Valmiki temple in Peshawar Cantonment In the 1860s the local Hindus constructed three temples here. The biggest among them is the Vishnu (also known as Valmiki) temple in the locality called Kali Bari. Later renovations include the present entrance, constructed in 1922 (Fig. 18), and marble flooring, completed in 1930 (Imran 2002, p. 259).

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//. Northern temple in the Asamai complex. The temple consists of a main central hall and two shrines - one each dedicated to shivalinga (Fig. 13) and Valmiki (Fig. 14). Each shrine is surmounted by a prominent shikhara above. Asthanas of other Hindu gods and goddesses are marked by arched niches hallowed by their images and print portraits. The shivalinga shrine houses a metallic linga set in pitha in the centre (Fig. 17), with two arched niches for the images of Shiva and Kali respectively on the west and north walls of the shrine. Wall paintings include different aspects of heavenly figures and vegetal motifs in variegated colours (Figs. 15,16) (see Raverty 1852, p. 22). The caretaker of the temple informed the author that the Hindus took away an image of Hanuman in 1947 (during the partition of Pakistan and India), while fragments of another one are kept under lock in the main hall. 6 The shikhara in each case shows trirathi offsetting and kalasha motif with acanthus leaf decoration at the springing point. Devakoshtha in the Valmiki asthana is like an arched niche with cornice and ornamental ribbed dome. The shikhara of the shivalinga shrine is octagonal in shape and slightly bulging in the middle. Elongated leaves and miniature kalasha mark each of the three rathas on all the four sides. Atop the shikhara

12. Southern shrine in the Asamai complex.

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13. Shivalinga shrine in the Valmiki temple.

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are two kalasha motifs done in masonry. Above them are two miniature ones surmounted by a trishula; all are cast in brass and are certainly later additions. Behind the Valmiki temple another shrine dedicated to Kali Mata was constructed (Das 1874, p. 152). The neighbouring residential and trading area gained its reputation under the name Kali Bari, after this temple. A smaller temple still stands in the Chaurasi compound to the southeast. 7 5. The Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath The Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath (Das 1874, p.150) is located in the Jhanda (or "flag") bazaar of Karimpura in the city of Peshawar. Another dargah with the same name exists in the bazaar of Kabul, where a famous image of urdhvareta Ganesha originally brought from Gardez is worshipped (Kuwayama 1979; see Rahman 1979a, p. 338). Our dargah consists of samadhis, shrines and rooms for the boarding and lodging of pilgrims from distant places in the country who used to visit here on the occasion of festivals. The shrine of shivalinga is more interesting of all where a black stone shivalinga is fixed on an octagonal pitha of white marble. A kalasha (or water pitcher) is placed on a tripod above it (see Nasim Khan 2006, p. 74, Fig. 69 showing an illustration from Vikramacharita). Beside it is recumbent bull (or vrisha) (see Bhattacharya 1977) carved out of white marble gazing placidly at the shivalinga.8 6. Temple in Forward High School, Karimpura Used as a storehouse, this temple lies within the premises of Forward High School (for Boys) in the Karimpura bazaar of the Peshawar city (Fig. 19). A conical shikhara on a square garbhagriha, now hidden behind the lofty walls of the adjacent buildings, speaks of the existence of an old Hindu temple. Behind it is a dharmashala in the locality of Vangari Garan (or Bangari Garan, meaning "the banglemakers' quarter") (Das 1874, p. 151), which certainly dates from the British period (i.e. 1849-1947).9 7. Rampurva temples In 1993, we recorded two temples inside the Rampurva gate, one of the sixteen gates (mistakenly mentioned as thirteen in Raverty 1852, p. 14) of Peshawar. However, our survey in early 2005 failed to locate them. A senior shopkeeper of the locality curiously informed us that they had been dismantled a few years back. 8. Temple in Jagannathpura In 1993 we also recorded another temple in Jagannathpura, a locality between the Grand Trunk road and the railway track to its north. However, our latest survey could not find it in physical entirety; we only located its entrance. The building was raised in burnt bricks set in lime mortar. Traditionally, a large pipal tree was also found beside it. Now the site is occupied by a house recently constructed

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14. Valmiki shrine in the Valmiki temple.

15. Wall paintings in the Valmiki shrine.

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and rented out by the provincial Auqaf department. The building materials and style of construction of this temple suggest a date sometime in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century. 9. Jogan Shah temple Located inside the Dabgari gate (one of the sixteen gates of the city of Peshawar) and now used for residential purposes, this multi-storeyed building originally served as the temple of Jogan Shah, a certain Hindu yogi, also called Bhai Joga. The building, Das (1874, p. 150) estimates, was constructed at the cost often thousand rupees. Externally there survive remains of plinth from an old wall, which was embellished with leaf decoration on the stylobate of white marble. The wall below is revetted with red stone slabs carved with lions and elephants (Iqbal 2002, p. 82). The depiction of these animals is significant and, in conformity with the local information and the statement of Das himself (1874, p. 150), confirms the location of the temple. 10. Baba Kalu Ram Mandir Inside the Sar Assia gate in the southwestern quarter of the city of Peshawar, there once there stood a Hindu temple in a dilapidated condition, locally known as Baba Kalu Ram Mandir (Iqbal 2002, p. 83). Our survey of the area (in 2005) brought to light no remains whatsoever of that temple. However, we were told by a local resident that a multi-storeyed building had been constructed recently on the site of that temple. //. Sangi Garan temple Not far from the above site and now converted into a house, there once stood a temple in the locality of Sangi Garan ("the stone carvers"), hence its name. The walls of the temple were reportedly embellished with stone carvings like the murti of Ganesha and other Hindu divinities (Iqbal 2002, p. 83). 12. Hindu temple in the Civil Quarters Chaudhry Masood, a retired bank officer, states that there was a Hindu temple in the Civil Quarters, Peshawar, which was later converted into a school where he was educated in the 1950s. 13. Hanuman temple in Shaheen Bazaar Odi Ram (a local resident and member of the management committee of the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath of Peshawar) claims that there once stood a Hindu temple dedicated to Hanuman in the Shaheen cloth market (Karimpura), whose site was recently converted into a school. 14. Temples in Kakaran (Karimpura) There were once two grand temples in the locality of Kakaran (now Muhallah Haveli Shakur Khan). Now a house and a school occupy their sites.1

16. Mural paintings in the soffit of the dome of the Valmiki shrine.

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17. Abhisheka ritual being performed Shivalinga shrine.

with milk in the

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Conclusion From a brief analysis of the temples recorded during our surveys of the city of Peshawar in 1993, 2005 and 2008, it appears that they are built in burnt bricks of small size laid in lime mortar. They were plastered and (aside from figures of gods) the mural surfaces were decorated with panels of different sizes, engaged pilasters on the outer corners of the shrines, acanthus leaf at the springing point of the shikhara, small niches and half-dome designs. These patterns and designs are commonly found in the city buildings, irrespective of religious distinction, built during the Sikh (1834-1848) and British (1849-1947) periods. The superstructure of the temples of our concern is found in three types: domed in the case of shrines at Pancha Tirtha, the eastern shrine and the arcaded antarala of Gor Khatri and one of the subsidiary shrines at the Asama'i complex; vaulted in the case of the mandapas in front of the temples at Pancha Tirtha and the western temple at Gor Khatri. The western temple at Gor Khatri, three temples at the Asama'i complex, the one in the Forward High School and the shrines at the Valmiki complex are all provided with shikhara-type superstructure. Except for the main temple at the Asama'i complex, the remaining examples have a devakoshtha repeated on every plane of the temple projection. Shrines at the Valmiki temple and the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath still retain the shivatinga and evidence of its cultic rituals, while that from the western shrine of Gor Khatri has been removed. Painted decoration still survives in the shrines at Valmiki and Gor Khatri. In addition to the shivalinga, images of gods and goddess were originally installed in all these temples. The shrines at Valmiki and the Dargah of Pir Ratan Nath have sculptured decoration. The eastern shrine at Gor Khatri has procured evidence of the removal of godly statues from original context. These temples were erected and decorated in the building style of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries then in vogue in the Peshawar valley. The stucco decoration of the religious and secular buildings of the Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs in Peshawar is similar in terms of treatment and execution. Most of the mosques and tombs erected about this time show ribbed domes of the type which is also found in a few of the temples we explored. It may be noted that the architect-masons were adept in raising temples with a shikhara superstructure, sometimes imitating the shekhari temples of the medieval period. The temples under review are the only surviving vestiges of the tangible heritage of the Hindus in Peshawar. There is a dire need to save, restore and conserve their architectural and decorative beauty for proper study and analysis by students of the history of art and architecture. All photographs are by the author.

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18. Main entrance to the Valmiki temple.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My sincere gratitude is due to my teacher, Professor MF Swati, for partly correcting the draft of this paper and giving worthy suggestions to improve it. I must acknowledge the active support of my teacher, Professor Abdur Rahman, in academic matters. Asad Ali, Photographic Superintendent in the Department of Archaeology, Peshawar University, equally deserves to be thanked for making nice photographs of the monuments under review. I am also grateful to Dr Adam Hardy (Cardiff University, UK) and Professor Michael W. Meister (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA) for their generous help and active encouragement. I must thank all those individuals who helped me in one way or another during my surveys of the Peshawar temples in 1993, 2005 and 2008. NOTES

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Literally "five holy places", tirtha also means stairs for descending into a river, a bathing area, a place of pilgrimage on the bank of a sacred stream, a water body etc. (see Monier-Williams 1951, pp. 576, 448). The followers of Gorakhnath are called Gorakhnathi, Darshani or Kanphata yogis (Briggs 1973, p. 1). Some other saints of the Gorakhnathis are also associated with Peshawar, such as Pagalnath, Mannath and Ratannath (Briggs 1973, pp. 63, 65, 71). Gor Khatri (also called Gorakhshetra) is hallowed by Gorakhnath as he had lived here in the Satya yoga (Briggs 1973, p. 98). After Gorakhnath, Ratannath was the chief saint of this order of yogis in Peshawar. Their shrines are also scattered in Kohat, Jalalabad, Sargodha, Sialkot and Kabul. Mir Ziyarat (a Buddhist site) in Charsadda also has some association with the Gorakhnathis. It is sacred to them as Gorakhnath meditated here with his disciples (Marshall & Vogel 1904, p. 154). In his honour, a religious gathering (or mela) is held twice a year (N-W.F.Province Gazetteers 1931, p. 320). A legend says that Dharmanath, the founder of the Dharmanathis, was a disciple of Gorakhnath who went to Nepal from Peshawar sometime in the last quarter of the fourteenth century (Briggs 1973, pp. 116-8; Eliot 1957, p. 117 adds that these wandering ascetics called Nathas arose in the fourteenth century). Guru Nanak is also said to have visited Gor Khatri in his fifth retirement (Briggs 1973, pp. 236-8); that is why both temples here contain his effigies in paintings. Scattered in different parts of India, the Gorakhnathis had secured a firm base in the Punjab. The Jogi Tila near Jhelum is their most important and famous monastic establishment in the entire subcontinent. The local Hindus relate an interesting story about

this well: when Gorakhnath, the founder of these temples (Jaffar 1946, p. 82), was persecuted by his religious opponents, he plunged into it. After a few days, he reappeared in a tank near Babugarhi (Raverty 1852, p. 23; see Das 1874, p. 153), two kos west of the Peshawar city (Jaffar 1946, p. 83). The tank now lay within the recently laid out Khushhal Bagh near Babugarhi, on the Warsak Road. During our survey of the district in 1993, we learnt from the local people about the existence of a shmashana (crematorium) and other Hindu attachments to this fountain-fed tank. In the Mahabharata, 'Asa is used for Sinivali or Devasena (i.e. Shashthi or the consort of Karttikeya, thus Kaumari). She is the daughter of Indra (Sinha 1979, pp. 756; Sumany 2002, p. 88; Hopkins 1968, p. 229). On the other hand, Joshi (1967, p. 223) records that Mayi refers to Punyagiri Mayi being the well-known place of Shakti worship in district Almora (UP). According to Professor AL Basham (1956, p. 312), the Ammai stands for Mata (or mother) in Tamil country. In common parlance, the word Ma 7 is spoken as a token of respect for aged women in the sense of mother and 'asa for mace or scepter. The local Hindus seem to have taken it for gadadhara Vaishnavi (the consort of Vishnu), one of the seven divine mothers, who also holds mace (or gada) (see Shah 2006). These temples, lying in a small locality of the Kashmiris, are approached by a big wooden door behind the Andarshahr bazar (which is still reputed for gold smiths, moneychangers and antique dealers). A local resident informed us that the fragmentary remains of a horse wrought in stucco still survive inside the main temple in addition to the feet of a male carved in white marble in different contexts. We could not get into the temple as junk from their households was piled up there. A deep water tank still lies adjacent to the haradari on the north side, a large pipal tree and the now-blocked underground chamber. Formerly, a festival of Kali used to be held here regularly in the month of Jyeshtha, attended by a large number of Hindus (Das 1874, p. 150). Interestingly, we visited the temple on Monday and took the opportunity to watch the abhisheka ritual of shivalinga (Fig. 17). We asked Ram Lai, caretaker of the temple, to have it repeated so that we could take pictures of all its stages. The author is especially grateful to him for his opening the temple for us and staying with us the whole time we remained there. He also showed us another temple located in the nearby Chaurasi compound. Ram Lai, custodian of both temples, informed the author that a shivalinga has been removed from here to the storehouse of the Valmiki temple (see supra).

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A SHORT SURVEY OF HINDU TEMPLES IN PESHAWAR

This temple is now closed for worship, as it is in dilapidated condition and awaits reconstruction. Moti Ram, custodian of the dargah, permitted us to visit, but without taking photographs. In the course of our discussion, he referred to the dargah of Pir Ratannath in Kabul, and also pointed out the relation of Pir Ratannath with Guru Gorakhnath of Gor Khatri. We find its confirmation in Briggs' work (1973, p. 98) where he mentions that Pir Ratannath of Peshawar was the chief saint of the Kanphata yogis. Unlike the orthodox Kanphatas, he adds, they do not pierce their ears to wear rings, as they believe they wear them in their hearts (Briggs 1973, p. 98). On Mondays, the pujaris perform the ritual of abhisheka of shivalinga with milk. The management of the dargah once again forbade the taking of pictures inside the shrines when we visited the city temples on Saturday, 28 June 2008. According to Monier-Williams (1951, p. 512), the word dharmashala means court of justice, tribunal, charitable asylum, religious asylum; while the mandira stands for any waiting or abiding place, habitation, dwelling, house or temple. Ayaz, an archaeology graduate, who is an influential person in the city of Peshawar, arranged for us to meet Wahid, a local councillor. The latter acquainted us with two other councillors, Khwaja Ayaz and Indra Prakash, of the Karimpura Union Council. All three helped in locating these two temples (and others). The author wishes to thank all of them for heir hospitality and cooperation during our survey in 2005. The site of one of these temples is reportedly occupied by a house and a school.

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BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Abul Fazl, 1939 (1973 reprint), The Akbar Nama (tr. H Beveridge), Vol. Ill, Delhi. Agrawala, VS, 1953, India as Known to Panini, (A Study of the Cultural Material in the Ashtadhyayi), University of Lucknow. Babar, Z, 1975 (reprint) Babur Nama (Memoirs of Babur) (tr. AS Beveridge), Lahore. Banerjea, JN, 1938 (1985 reprint), 'The Identification of Some Ancient Indian Place-Names: Deva SabhaDewas", The Indian Historical Quarterly XIV, pp. 747-56 Banerjea, JN, 1956 The Development of Hindu Iconography, Calcutta. Basham, AL, 1956, The Wonder that was India, London Beveridge, H (ed.), 1968, The Tuzuk-i Jahangiri (Memoirs of Janhangir) (2 Vols.) (tr. A Rogers), Delhi. Bhattacharya, G, 1977, "Nandin and Vrisabha", Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Geselleschaft, Supplement 3-2, pp. 1545-67

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Nasim Khan, M, 2002, "Lajja Gauri Seals and Related Antiquities from Kashmir Smast, Gandhara", South Asian Studies 18, pp. 83-90. Nasim Khan, M, 2005, "Kashmir Smast (Gandhara) and its Religious Significance: Study Based on Epigraphic and other Antiquities from the Site", in FrankeVogt, U and Weisshaar, H-J (eds.), South Asian Archaeology 2003, Aachen, pp. 247-52. N-W.F. Province Gazetteers, Peshawar District, 1931, 1984 (reprint), Lahore. Paul, PG, et al, 1989, "Brahmanical Imagery in the Kusana Art of Mathura", East and West 39/1-4, pp. 111-43. Quddusi, IH, (tr.), 1968-1970, Tuzuk-i Jahangiri (2 Vols.), Lahore. Rahman, A, 1979a, The Last Two Dynasties of the Sahis, Islamabad. Rahman, A, 1979b, "Hund Slab Inscription of the time of Jayapaladeva", Journal of Central Asia II/l, pp. 718. Rahman, A and Shah, I, 1997, "Mian Nasir Ahmad and his Mosque at Peshawar", Pharos (Research Journal of the Shaykh Zayed Islamic Centre, University of Peshawar) 3/13, pp. 82-96. Rahman, S, 1989, "A Varaha Figure from Wanda Shahab Khel", Journal of Central Asia XII/2, pp. 57-65. Raverty, HG, 1852, "Account of the City and Province of Peshawar", Transactions of the Bombay

Geographical Society X, pp. 1-47. Shah, I, 1994, "The Tomb of Asa-i Sakhi Shah-i Mardan at Peshawar", Lahore Museum Bulletin VII/1-2, pp. 233-9. Shah, 1,1998, "Governors of Peshawar: Post Mughul Period (1738-1997)", Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society XLVI/3, pp. 81-7. Shah, I, 2006, "An Iconographic Note on a Matrika Relief Sculpture in the National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi", South Asian Studies 22, pp. 37-42. Sinha, K, 1979, Karttikeya in Indian Art and Literature, 1979. Sircar, DC, 1987, "Abbottabad Inscription of the time of Kadambesvaradas; Year 25", Epigraphia Indica XXX, pp. 59-62. Stein, A, 1912, Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India, Frontier Circle, 1911-12, Peshawar. Stein, A, 1915, "Excavations at Sahri Bahlol", Annual Report of the Archaeological Survey of India 191112, pp. 95-119. Sumany, G, 2002, Shiva and Shakti: Mythology and Art, New Delhi. Talbot, FG, 1909, Memoirs of Baber: Emperor of India, London. The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Provincial Series, NorthWest Frontier Province, 1908 (1979 reprint), Lahore.

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