Kashmir and Vedic Roots, the Destruction of Martand, the sun temple in Kashmir.

The Martand Sun Temple was a Kashmiri Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8th century CE. Martand is another Sanskrit name for the Hindu Sun-god. Now in ruins, the temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. This magnificent temple was built by a king from the Karkota Dynasty, King Laltadiya, during the 8th century.

Although, between 370 and 500 AD the foundation of this temple, is believed to have been built by Ranaditya. This temple was dedicated to Bhaskar, (Surya) the Sun god. There are only two other temples dedicated to this deity, the Sun, one is located in Orissa, the Konark Sun Temple, also in ruins, the second one, is the Modhera Temple located in Gujarat, sadly in ruins too. The architecture of the Martand Temple is greatly admired, and shows the incredible skills of the builders, comparable to other famous buildings, in Europe and other places.

This shrine is 220 feet long, and 142 feet wide. It has 84 columns, also is surrounded by 84 smaller shrines. Its amazing architecture is a skillful blend of not only Gupta, Gandharan, but also Greek, Roman, Chinese, and Syrian Byzantine styles. This amazing structure was built of strong square limestone, demonstrating the skills of ancient Kashmir builders, like previously mentioned this great temple complex, is the pride of India, admired all over the world, and is a protected monument.

During the 15th century, the Islamic invader Sikandar Butshikan decided to destroy this magnificent and it took a year to damage and destroy this architectural jewel of India. The Islamic invader's expertise has always been at destroying temples and assaulting women and children. It was a result of persecution by these rulers, that the Kashmir valley became predominantly desert people

Sikandar got the name Butshikan (Idol breaker) because of the destruction he made to Hindu temples and idols of Hindu gods. Many Brahmans rather than abandon their religion poisoned themselves and some fled away to other places. More than a lakh of our Hindu ancestors were brutally murdered and burnt at one spot near Rainawari.

The Archaeological Survey of India has declared the Martand Sun Temple as a site of national importance in Jammu and Kashmir. The temple appears in the list of centrally protected monuments as Kartanda (Sun Temple).