Heritage Site
One of the spectacular views in the Srinagar city, when looked at from several places especially from the Dal Lake, is a hill with a fort on top of it. It is popularly called the Hari Parbat but also very well known as the Koh e Maran. It continues to be the site of several important structures which includes an ancient temple of Parvati worshipped as Sharika Devi, the Shrine of a 16th century Sufi Saint, Hamza Makhdoom known as Makhdoom Sahab and the Mosque built by Dara Shiko for his mentor Akhund Mullah Shah known as Mala Shah Masjid in Kashmiri. Then at the foot hills is a historic Gurudwara built at a place where the first Sikh Guru Nanak Dev had sat down for some time during his visit to Kashmir. This Gurudwara was built by the 6th Guru, Guru Hargobind. It is known as the Chatti Patshahi. The hill thus is full of history and the top of it gives spectacular view of the Dal Lake.
The name Hari Parbat is derived from an ancient legend. There was a time when the valley was a huge lake, Sati Sar, and was full of demons. One such demon was Asura Jalodbhava. People at that time in the pre-Islamic era prayed to Parvati (Lord Shiva’s wife) for help. The Goddess took the form of a Myna (Haer in Kashmiri) a bird of the Starling family (Sturnidae) and dropped a pebble on the Asura’s head. This pebble started growing and became huge and ultimately crushed the demon. That legendary large stone now coated with vermilion is considered as a symbol of Parvati and is worshipped as Sharika (cosmic energy pervading the universe). It occupies middle part of the western slope of the hill where there is a temple of Jagdamba Sharika Bhagwati. She is depicted as having 18 arms and sitting in Shri Chakra (Chakreeshwar). This ancient temple is a very revered place for Kashmiri Pandits. In the days before 1990 before the unfortunate Pandit exodus, one could see a large number of devotees with vermilion teekas (Tyok in Kashmiri) on their foreheads going up and down the hill.
Following the Mughal conquest of Kashmir, Akbar carried out his first architectural project in Srinagar of creating a fortress atop Hari Parbat. This was a walled city called Nāgar Nagar (c. 1597), which acted as the centre of Mughal administration in Kashmir. He employed 200 stonemasons from outside Kashmir to build the fort, since stonemasonry was not the custom in Kashmir where the indigenous building tradition was woodworking. This fortification was built with grey limestones. Akbar is known to have laid a garden in this fort; it is the only palace-garden mentioned in the “Tuzuk I Jahangiri”. Jahangir ordered the completion of certain unfinished portions of the fort as well as renovations to Akbar’s garden and some of the fort’s palace buildings, on a visit to Srinagar in 1620. He named the renovated garden Nur Afza (light-increasing). These works were carried out by Mutamad Khan.
Of the walled city, only the rampart survives (as well as some religious structures). The rampart encloses a more recent fortification, built by Atta Mohammad Khan, the longest-serving governor of Kashmir under the Afghan Durrani Empire. Atta Mohammad Khan built the fort during his tenure between 1795-1806 CE, as part of a bid for independent rule. The Durrani fort structure utilizes the same construction method as the Akbar-era ramparts of Nāgar Nagar. The fort has two gates to enter and exit. The Kathi Darwaza near Rainawari and the other near Hawal through Sangeen Darwaza.
The fort later passed into the hands of the Sikh empire led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The defeat of the Sikhs by the British resulted in the 1846 Treaty of Lahore and one of its terms was that several Sikh holdings, including the Hari Parbat fort, would be ceded to Gulab Singh, who had aided the British victory. Gulab Singh’s forces occupied the fort, but the Sikh governor of Kashmir Sheikh Imamuddin, put up a resistance and besieged the fort. By 23 October 1846, Imamuddin lifted the siege and surrendered, allowing Gulab Singh to fully take possession of the fort and province. The Indian Tricolour was hoisted on it on 15th August 2021 to mark the 75th anniversary of independence of India. The fort is at present occupied by the CRP and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. After being inaccessible for several decades, the Hari Parbat is now open to visitors and tourists from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm on all days of the week, except Sundays with an entry fee.
Hari Parbat with its rich history from its inception to protect the valley from demons of pre-historic days has been a unifier of all religions and faiths. It is a living example of resilience and the enduring spirit of Kashmir also known as Kashmiriyat.
Prof Upendra Kaul, Founder Director Gauri Kaul Foundation
