Shankaragaurishvara Temple, Pattan

Shankaravarman succeeded Avantivarman, founder of the Utpala dynasty, in 883 CE. According to the British Library note and Outlook Traveller, he moved his capital from Avantipura to the new town of Shankarapattana and built two Shiva temples there. One, Shankaragaurishvara, was named after himself; the other, Sugandhesha, is said to be named after his queen.

An Outlook Traveller heritage feature reports the tradition that Shankaravarman took stone from the older capital of Parihaspora to build the Pattan temples. The same article notes the legend that his subjects later sought to erase his memory, which is why the town is now known simply as Pattan. These accounts are part of the site's lore and are not confirmed by excavation.

The ruins attracted early photographers and archaeologists. John Burke photographed the temple's west front in 1868, and the image was reproduced in Henry Hardy Cole's 1869 Archaeological Survey of India report, Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir. Cole wrote that the temple was elaborately carved and that some details looked as sharp as when first cut.

Architecture and sacred features

The British Library note says the temple follows much the same plan as earlier Kashmiri temples, and Wikipedia compares its style to the Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar. The plinth stands within a colonnade inside a walled enclosure, whose remnants are still visible. Wikipedia describes a finely carved porch with pediments stacked one above another, and elaborately sculpted columns. Cole saw the repeated pediments and decorated porch pillars as evidence of Kashmiri builders moving towards greater ornament over time.

The structure is now badly damaged. Outlook Traveller found the remains hard to read, with a large, mutilated relief on one wall that is probably of Shiva. The smaller Sugandhesha Temple nearby follows the same plan and is better preserved; fluted columns, bracket capitals and other fragments lie in its courtyard.