GANPATYAR TEMPLE
The 200-year old Ganpatyar in Srinagar is the most revered Ganesha temple in the Kashmir Valley. Ganpatyar Temple is situated on the bank of sacred Vistasta, the place is known as Ganesh Vihar, Habba Kadal, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.
The temple finds mention in many ancient scripts including e-travel diaries of the famous Chinese traveller, Hsüan-tsang the great Chinese Buddhist Monk who has lived in Ganpatyar’s Vihar, this river bank in Kashmiri is known as Badiyar. This type of historical background clearly confirms that the Ganpatyar and also its neighbourhood Badiyar (ancient name Brihat Vihar) & the Buddhist Monastery must have remained very much popular religious centres. The Buddhist Monastery no longer exists now but the Siddhi Vinaayaka is still alive.
The mythology states that this is a place where Sage Kashyap was assured by Lord Ganesha about the settling of people from other races apart from Nagas, Pischas and Yakshas, who till then were the only inhabitants of the valley.
The historical event also confirms that this is the only temple in Kashmir where before February 1990, twenty five thousand Kashmiri Devotees used to visit and pay their respect. History reveals that during the Pathan Rule, the oldest idol of the Siddhi Vinaayaka was thrown into river Vitasta (commonly known as Jhelum), probably it was 1760-1765, after that the idol of Siddhi Vinaayaka was lifted out from the river in 1854-55 and was reinstalled again. It is considered the oldest Ganesh Idol. In early 18th Century AD, the History of Pilgrims, the text is known as “Teerath Sangrah” written by Suhib Kual, in his verses gives us the historical background of this temple as – “Those devotees, who used to visit for daily pilgrimage to Pridyamna-Peeth, the Sharika Parvat, known Known as Hari Parvat, the mountain temple placed in north of Srinagar, such devotees are bound to pay their respect to Siddhi Vinaayaka, situated at Ganpatyar in Srinagar.
Very few people may remember that the Shivling at Zyestha Mata Madir (Zyethyar) is the Shivling that originally was at Ganpatyar temple and was relocated to Zyethyar in 1989.
