Sunday, October 14, 2018

1400 year old Temple at Narastan Tral

More than 1400 year old Temple at Narastan Tral
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Narastan Mandir, now in ruins, lies in the North-East of Avantipora, 16 km from Tral town towards famous Aripal. The place of Narastan is famous for its ancient temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu, standing against the backdrop of lofty mountains of the Brariaangan Range. The name Narastan is the deviation of the original Narayan Sthan (place of Narayan). Architecturally, the temple claims a place of pride among many ancient temples of Kashmir. Minor excavation work undertaken by Lawrence showed existence of specimens of old sculpture. This stone temple is distinguished for its architectural works; it is dissimilar from all the other temples in the Kashmir Valley. Dating back to more than 1400 years. The interior compound measures about 8.6 feet square. An interesting feature of the Narastan Temple is, it has no ceiling. The courtyard measures 70 feet square. From the outer wall, there is a small side entrance near the southwestern side. This circular shaped temple is wholly constructed with stones in Gandhara style of architecture. The temple is on a single base consisting of only four courses of stones. At the top of the pediment, there is a figure that resembles a Garuda, the king of birds, sacred vehicle to Lord Vishnu, who is half man and half eagle with the power to acquire any shape. The main draw of the temple is the trefoil arches on the peripheral of the shrine walls. Another remarkable feature is the absence of any circumambulatory path on top of the base. From the courtyard, a flight of four steps leads to the shrine of Narastan. There is a stream of water that gushes down near the front of the temple Tral , Jammu and Kashmir

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