Hari Parbat Fort in Kashmir opens for public after 18 years

Srinagar, Apr 19 (UNI) The Hari Parbat or the Mughal Fort, situated on the banks of the world famous Dal Lake and positioned on top of a hill sacred to Goddess Sharika, has been thrown open for general public after remaining shut for visitors for about 18 years since the outbreak of violence in the Kashmir valley in 1989.

The Fort was declared open for tourists and the locals by Tourism Director Farooq Ahmad Shah on the World Heritage Day last evening.

During these 18 years, the Fort was occupied by the security forces and nobody allowed to visit the place.

The Fort was originally built by Mughal Emperor Akbar, but the present structure owes itself to the Afghan governor of Kashmir, Atta Mohammad Khan, in the 18th century in 1776.

The Fort has two gates - Kathi Darwaza and Sangin Darwaza. Kathi Darwaza is the main entrance with Persian commemorative inscriptions surrounding it while Sangin Darwaza is more ornate with sculptured windows on either side.

It has a Parvati temple on the western slope and the Muslim shrines of Khwaja Makhdoom Sahib and Akhund Mullah Shah on the southern side. Also on the southern side of the outer wall there is a Gurdwara, Chatti Padshahi, which commemorates the visit of Guru Hargobind Singh to Kashmir.

According to a local legend, the Hari Parbat hill was once a lake inhabited by a demon, Jalobhava. The residents sought the help of Goddess Sati in getting rid from the demon.

She took the form of a bird and dropped a pebble on the demon's head. The pebble kept on increasing in size until the demon was crushed by it. Hari Parbat is revered as that pebble and is said to have become the home for all 33 crore gods of the Hindu pantheon.

Another legend says that two demons -- Tsand and Mond -- occupied the Kashmir valley. Tsand conceded himself in water near the present location of Hari Parbat and Mond somewhere above Dalgate.

The demons were a menace to the people of the Valley, which could not be inhabited owing to their presence. The gods invoked Goddess Parvati who assumed the form of a Hor (myna) and flew to Sumer from where she got a pebble and threw that on Tsand to crush the demon.

The pebble grew into a mountain. She is worshipped as Sharika in Shri Tsakra (an emblem of cosmic energy pervading the universe) occupying the middle part of the western slope of the hill, also called Predemna Peet or Kohi Maran.

Akbar built the outer wall of the Fort in 1590 at a cost of Rs one crore and ten lakh. The inscription in Persian at the Kathi Darwaza commemorating the work could be read even today. Akbar intended to lay the foundation of a new capital inside the fort and call it Nagar Nagor. The ruins of certain terraces could still be seen on the side of the Pokhiri Bal.

According to Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH-Jammu and Kashmir chapter) convenor M Saleem Beigh, the the five-km-long Hari Parbat Fort is the longest surviving wall of any city in the sub-continent.

However, he said the fort was also one of the unprotected sites.

Mr Shah said no entry fee would be charged from the visitors. The restoration work on the Fort has been taken up, he said, adding that his department proposed to revive the Nagar Nagor area encompassing the Hari Parbat Fort.

''The entire area will be developed and restored. The Tourism Department has already completed the illumination of the Fort,'' Mr Shah said, adding the maximum thrust would be given to conserve the heritage sites in the Kashmir valley.

UNI