MARTAND SUN TEMPLE  

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Context

• Union Minister Piyush Goyal visited the Sun temple at Martand. Located atop a hillock, the temple is one of the earliest known sun temples much older than Konark and Modhera.

About

• The Martand Sun Temple also known as Pandou Laidan is a Hindu temple dedicated to Surya (the chief solar deity in Hinduism) and built during the 8th century CE. Martand is another Sanskrit synonym for Surya.
• The Martand Sun Temple was built by the third ruler of the Karkota Dynasty, Lalitaditya Muktapida, in the 8th century CE.
• It is now in ruins, as it was destroyed by the orders of Muslim ruler Sikandar Shah Miri.
• The temple is located five miles from Anantnag in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
• From the ruins and related archaeological findings, it can be said it was an excellent specimen of Kashmiri architecture, which had blended the Gandharan, Gupta and Chinese forms of architecture.
• 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).

https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1764969