Sharda Peeth

In News

• Recently, Home Minister e-inaugurated Mata Sharda Devi temple near LoC in J&K’s Kupwara.

About

• The Home Minister mentioned that the Indian government will make attempts to build a corridor to Sharda Peeth in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, like the Kartarpur corridor, so that devotees can participate in the Shardha Yatra.

Sharda Peeth temple

• Location: Sharda Peeth, a revered site for the Hindu community, is located in Neelum Valley in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) across Teetwal village in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, along the Line of Control (LoC).
  • It lies right across the Line of Control in a small village, Shardi or Sardi, where the river Neelam (Kishanganga) converges with the Madhumati and Sargun streams.
• Cultural Importance: The ancient temple of Sharda (also spelt Sharada or Sarada) is one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas and is considered to be the abode of Hindu Goddess Saraswati. 
  • The temple was also once regarded as one of the foremost centres of higher learning of Vedic works, scriptures and commentaries. It was considered to be at par with the ancient seats of learning at Nalanda and Takshila.
• Sharda University: Close to the temple, the ruins of one of the world’s oldest universities can be found. It is believed that Sharda University had its own script known as Sharada and it had over 5,000 scholars and the biggest library.
  • Once upon a time, Sharda Peeth was considered the centre of knowledge in the Indian subcontinent, scholars from all over the country used to come here in search of scriptures and spiritual knowledge. 

 Kartarpur corridor

• The Kartarpur Corridor was opened in November 2019, which allows Sikh devotees in India to visit Gurdwara Darbar Sahib near Lahore in Pakistan without requiring a visa. 
• Village Kartarpur is located at the west bank of river Ravi where Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji spent the last 18 years of his life. 
• Gurdwara Dera Baba Nanak is about 1 km from the Indo- Pakistan border and on the east bank of River Ravi. To the west side of the river is located the town of Kartarpur, Pakistan. 
• Gurdwara Sri Kartarpur Sahib falls in district Narowal of Pakistan, about 4.5 k.m. from the international border near the historic town of Dera Baba Nanak, District Gurdaspur, Punjab. 
• The Indian part of Dera Baba Nanak – Sri Kartarpur Sahib corridor involves a 4.1 k.m. long four lane highway from Dera Baba Nanak to international border and a state of the art Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) at the international border. 
• Dera Baba Nanak is a city situated in Gurdaspur district in the state of Punjab, India. Followers of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji built the town and named it Dera Baba Nanak after their great ancestor.

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