There are large number of temples in Kishtwar
district. But it is hard to describe all of these. I try to discuss
some of these which are in main Kishtwar town and not outside this.
1. Shri Gori Shanker Mandir Sarkoot:-
Gori Shanker temple is the most ancient temple of this area.This temple
holds a central place in Kishtwar.This temple is also known as
Sarkoot-Mandir. This temple is very attractive. There are different
types of idols of various Gods and Goddess namely Shiv Parvati, Shri
Raghunath Ji, Maa Sita, Shri Laxman Ji, Shri Hanuman Ji, Maa Durga, Shri
Ganesh Ji, and Shri DharamRaj Ji are placed there. There are also
placed various types of Shiv-Lings. In left of this temple there is a
big Hawn-Kund and beside this there was a Samadhi of Saint Shri Tulsi Giri Ji Maharaj.
In front of this, there is a beautiful pond locally called as Sarkoot
Dal which gives a fascinating view to this. In its back side, there
is a large Saray/Dharamshalla meant for piligrims. All types of
facility is available there for piligrims. This temple is maintained
by a social organization under the supervision of Acharya Shri RamSharan Dass Ji.
Masses of Kishtwar support this organization socially and
financially. There is a beautiful park in front of it. There is also a
parking place for vehicles. This temple is located on the western side
of the Chowgan. This is about 1km far from the main Bus stand of
Kishtwar. Daily Prayers, Kirtaan Celebrations, different festivals,
Yag-Hawn, and Bhandara are organized in this temple. The JanamAshtami
and Sarthal Devi processions start from this Gori Shanker temple. The
Kishtwar development authority has constructed a park beside the
temple and is a proposing to develop the near by lake so as to make
the place a center for tourists and pilgrim's attraction.
2. Aassht Bhuja Maa Durga Mandir Hatta:-
This temple is situated in the Hatta village of District Kishtwar.
Temple containing a stone idol of goddess having eight arms. This temple
is about one and half km away from main bus stand and 500mtrs approx.
from Gori Shanker Mandir Sarkoot.
3. Ganesh Mandir Poochal:-
This temple is situated in the Lower Pochhal Village of Kishtwar. In
this temple, idols of Lord Ganesha are placed. This temple is about 3km
away from the Bus Stand Kishtwar.
4. Shiv Mandir Poochal:-
There are two temples of Shiv Ji in Poochal village. These temples are
situated in the Upper Poochal in which the shiv-lings are placed in
both temples. Its distance is same as of Ganesh Mandir Poochal from the
Bus Stand Kishtwar.
5. Maa Aatharan Bhuja:-
This temple is also situated in poochal village. This temple
containing an idol of Maa Aatharan Bhuja which means a Goddess having
eighteen arms.
6. Neel Kanth Mandir:- This
temple held a unique place in Kishtwar. This is a double story temple
in which the statue of Shiv-Parvti's are placed. There is a Shiv Ling
also, besides this there are small idols of Nandi Gans. In the
outside room, there are the stone images of Maa Durga and Hanuman Ji
are placed. This temple is well for seen. This is situated in the
below market near Hidyal Chowk Kishtwar.The temple is situated in the
heart of Kishtwar town was detroyed by the forces of Raja Bhupat Paul
of Basholi, under the command of his wazir. He took away the preciuos
and rare lingam of the temple to Basholi where it was placed in a
temple, which is still there. The temple at KIshtwar has now been
constructed with the efforts put in by Shri Vinod Bhandari and others
and attracts devotees in large numbers. About Neel Kanth Mahadev
lingam, taken to Basholi, Hashmatullah Khan writes, 'It was the family
idol of the kings of Kishtwar, its color resembled Sapphire. Any one,
who would look at it would see the details of his previous life'. It
was due to this power of the lingam that under the orders of the king
of Basholi, the lingam was taken there and installed in a temple.
7. Shri RaghuNath Mandir:- Shri
Ram Mandir is one of the ancient temple of Kishtwar. There are
little-little idols on the walls of this temple. The idol placed in the
temple are very beautiful. The Janam Ashtami festivals are celebrated
in these temples.These temples are situated at the little distance on
the upper side of Kishtwar Bus stand.The Hindu consider these temples
very important. Beside this temple, there are other small temples in
which idols of different Gods like Shri Hanuman Ji, Shiv Ji and Shiv
Lings are placed. There is a small beautiful ground beside this
temple.
8. Kartik Swami Mandir Nagni:-
The place at a distance of 3kms. from Kishtwar and connected with a
road is another beauty spot, where from the view of Kishtwar town,
Dul-Hasti Project Colony, and its beautiful surroundings, Nagin Shiru
peak to its north and roaring Chenab to its South can be seen
conspicuously. The premises of the 'Kartik Swami' temple are situatd
at prominent place. "Kartik Swami' the eldest son of Lord Shiva is the
deity of the Hindus of Kishtwar. Before the start of a function or a
festival at home, the members of the family, first, pay their
obeisance to Kartik Swami and seek his blessings for the success of
the function. After Raksha Bandahan, people along with thir relatives
and friends hold functions here. It is a tradition in Kishtwar that
the families where male babies are born in a particular year visit tha
shrine of Kartik Swami after Raksha Bandhan, along with friends and
relatives for thanks giving and paying homage to their deity. At this
occasion rams are presented to the deity and sacrificed and the guests
entertained with feasts. There is a vast ground in front of the
temple, a two room suite, a kitchen and a toilet for the convenience
of the pilgrims.
9. Shiv Mandir Kishtwar:-
This temple held a auspicious place in the town. This temple is
108yrs. old and also known as "Waziroon ka Mandir".There are total
nine Shiv-Lings in which eight Shiv-Lings surrounds the big one. There
are also different small temples of Radha-Krishan, Hanuman Ji and
Shani Dev. This temple is situated in the Baaghwan Mohalla of
Kishtwar and nearly 10mtr. far from the main Bus Stand Kishtwar.
10. Maa Shitla Mandir Panditgaam:-
In Panditgaam village of Kishtwar, temple of Maa Shitla is very
historical and ancient. This temple is about 1500yrs. old. This temple
is situated in the sloppy area of this village. This is about 1.5km
away from the main Bus Stand Kishtwar and touches NH1B near Kokilla
Chowk Kishtwar which is 150mtr far from that place.
11. Laxmi Narayaan Mandir Shalimar:-
This is not a ancient temple in the town. This temple is constructed
in year 1986 when the project Dul Hasti starts in Kishtwar district.
There are beautiful idols of Laxmi Narayaan in this temple. Near this
temple, there is another Shiv temple in which the idols of Lord
Ganesha, Nandi Gaans and Shani Dev are placed. The hall of this temple
is so big in which daily prayers, Bhajan-Kirtaan etc. is done. This
temple is under-construction. This temple is situated in the
Shalimar-Colony of Kishtwar.
12. Shiv Mandir Simna Colony:-
This temple establishes in year 1977 at Simna Colony Kishtwar which
was constructed by Jai Prakash Associates. Foundation of this temple
is done by Shri Ashok Sharma, Camp In-charge and Field Coordinator in
JP Ltd. Entrance gate of the temple is from south side. Beside the
main gate of the temple, there is a beautiful little stone image of
NandiGan. Shiv Ling is placed in the middle of the temple. In this
temple idols of Shiv Ji, Maa Parvati , Shri Kartik Ji and Shri Ganesh
Ji are placed. In the back side of the temple there are two small
temples of Shri Shani Dev and Shri Annapurana Ji. In the right side of
the temple a big idol of Shri Hanuman Ji which is formed on white
marble. This temple is so beautiful, but on the occasions of different
festivals this is well decorated with electric lights all around it
which adds on its beauty.
13. Maa Durga Mandir Semina:- This
temple is about 5800ft. above from sea level. In 1975, this temple
was reconstructed by Late Sh. Amar Nath Thaattar and Late Sh. Bhagat
Ram Shan. There are no external (financial or social) help to
construct this temple. In these day, seven families including Shan and
Kapoor are living there. They collect money from every family and use
this in further construction of the temple. You can see whole
Kishtwar city from this temple. This is about 1km away from the main
Bus Stand Kishtwar.
14. Satya Narayaan Mandir Pohie:-
In 1990, the idol of Shri Satya Narayaan Ji were placed in the temple
at Pohie village of Kishtwar. This is about two and half kilometer
away from the Bus Stand Kishtwar. Metador and other private
vehicles(Auto) facilities are available there to reach this place.
15. Shiv Mandir Hidyal:- Construction
work of this temple starts on 17 Oct 1993, and completed on 23 Mar
2001. You can see the Black Marble Shiv Ling is placed in the temple
on which the image of Nag Devta is formed. In front of this, white
marble idols of Shiv Parvati looks so beautiful and very attractive.
This temple is situated in the Hidyal village of Kishtwar and near
about 700mtr far from Bus Stand Kishtwar.
16. Shiv Mandir Wasser:-
In 1990, construction work of this temple was completed. Shri Roshan
Lal, Shri Ranjit Singh and Shri Munshi Ram (Sarpanch) were donated
their land for temple. Shiv Ling is placed inside the temple. Machail
Yatra procession (Chaadi) stops here for some time. This temple is
just on the right side of the NH-1B and about 1.5km away from the main
Bus Stand Kishtwar.
17. Shiv Mandir Zewer:-
On the day of Raksha Bandhan in year 2004, this temple was
established. This temple is full with the idols of different Gods and
Goddess. This temple is situated in the Zewer village of Kishtwar
which joins the NH-1B with link road (Om Mehta Marg) at a distant of
200mtr. from Bus Stand Kishtwar.
18. Aap Shumbu Mandir Kulid:-
This temple was constructed in year 1838. This temple is situated in
the Bun-Kulid village of Kishtwar which is near to SSP office and
opposite to Helipad. It is locally known as "Jangam ka Mandir" where
the huge black colored Shiv Ling ( Aap Shumbu) is placed. This temple
includes other idols of different Gods and Goddess. This place is 2km
far from main Bus Stand.
19. Radha Krishan Mandir Zelna:- This
temple was constructed in 1975 under the supervision of Late Sh.
Nihal Chand Sen. In this temple, the beautiful idols of Radha Krishan
are placed. This temple is situated in the Zelna village of Kishtwar
which is connected through NH-1B to the rest of the City and near
about 2.5km away from main Bus Stand Kishtwar.
20. Shiv Mandir Zelna:-
This temple was constructed in the memory of Late Sh. Vinod Kumar
Shan in the year 1992 by his brother Sh. Tilak Raj Shan. This is a
small temple in which Shiv Ling is placed. This temple is on the right
side of the Radha Krishan Temple.
21. Laxmi Narayaan Mandir Brahamaan Mohalla:-
This temple is situated in the middle of the Brahamaan Mohalla
Kishtwar. This temple was constructed under the supervision of Pandit
Sh. Hari Lal Ji. In this temple, white marble idols of Laxmi Naryaan
Ji, one small Shiv Ling, statue of Nag Devta are placed both of these
are made up of black marble. This temple is very beautiful.
22. Hangpati Mandir Pohie:-
This temple is situated in the Pohie village of Kishtwar. This temple
is constructed by Maharaja Kahan Pal who came in Kishtwar with his
brave soldiers of different castes Rana and Sen. Members of Rana's
family works there as a priest. In these days, there is a very small
temple of Hangpati. This temple is situated in the sloppy hilly area
which is near about 200mtr far from the pohie village.
23. Shiv Saar Mandir Matta:-
This temple is situated in the Matta village of the district. One
small Shiv Ling is placed in this temple. Beside this, a huge tree
of Chinar is there which adds its beauty, drinking water facility is
also available there.
24. Maa Aathara Bhuja Mandir PDC Colony:-
This temple is situated in the PDC colony of Kishtwar which is
between the Wassar and Pohie village of Kishtwar. this is a newly
formed temple in which the idol of Maa Aathara Bhuja is placed.
25. Shiv Mandir Kuleed:- This temple is located in the middle of the village Kuleed, in which the Shiv Linga is placed.
There are big temples in Palmar, Dachhan, Thakrie
and other places also but only Sarthal Devi and Chandi Devi Machail are
more famous. It will not be out of place to call Paddar an area of temples.