Owais Mughal
In the past we have shared with you some photos of Manora Island under the title views of Manora. Today we will go on an exclusive tour of Shri Varun Dev mandir located at the Manora beach.
(Above photo is the view of the mandir facing Arabian Sea.)
The mandir is unfortunately in a bad condition of disrepair and salty-rusty sea breeze is eating away into the structure fast. When I visited the mandir on Jan 7, 2007, it appeared deserted. There were unfortunate signs of human vandalism also where it looked like people took away with them any item salvagable. The structure still appeared grand and from left over tile work and decorations it showed its glorious past.
(2) Here is a memorial tablet in Sindhi on one of the mandir gates.
Our avid reader Khair Soomro saheb helped me in translating this tablet. It reads:
“dedication from sons in the sacred memory of Seth Harchand Mal Dayal Das of Bhriya”
or in other words: “An offering from sons in the loving memory of their father Seth Harchand Mal Dayal Das of Bhriya”. (Bhriya is a town near Khairpur Sindh.)
(3) View of the mandir from West side
(4) This tablet tells us about the sponsors of colorful tile work in two languages.
Top script is Sindhi.
(5) The tile work of mandir floor
(6) Following is the tile work on mandir’s exterior wall
(7) Looking at the mandir from east
(8) The outer gate of the mandir
I asked my good friend Sridhar to translate the devnagri script for us and here was his reply:
“The top line has the character ‘Om’. It is just an auspicious syllable that is there in most prayers and is also present in most places of worship. The second line has the name of the temple (and presumably the chief deity worshipped there). It says ‘Shri Varun Dev Mandir’. The name also looks like ‘Shri Arun Dev Mandir’ (the ancient way of writing ‘A’ in Arun could well be imagined in that character, which is not that clear. But I think, on balance that it is Varun Dev and not Arun. According to Hindu mythology Varuna is the God of the oceans. There is no worship of Varuna that I have come across personally in India, though I would not be completely surprised at the existence of this temple in Karachi because of the enormous diversity in the Hinduism practiced in different parts of the subcontinent. Also, people who have livelihoods related to the ocean, for instance, fishermen, might worship Varuna. If this temple is on the beach in Karachi this could well be an explanation - it might have been built by fishermen who worshipped Varuna.”
(9) View from the outer most gate of the mandir compound
I have a sincere hope that Government of Pakistan takes care of these places of worship. If nothing else then atleast the structure should be saved from the people who take away tiles and anything salvagable for petty profits. Many people visit the mandir as it is the largest and most prominent attraction at Manora beach. A little bit of official or non-official help will go a long way in preserving our heritage.
Great to read all the valuable information provided with the site and feel found something as remembering by our elders that we belongs to khairpur riyasat and our nukh is tundramasti in pakistan.
we are sindhi well settled & literate family of kota rajasthan in India.
I am an indian citizen living in US as permanenet resident. I am an hindu by faith and do believe that all religions teach the same principles of brotherhood and humanity. One of the fundamental principles of hinduism is respecting other religions or faiths. I want to contribute towards maintaining temples in pakistan and wish i could visit them one day but there is lack of information on them. If someone can help me to on how I can contribute towards temples in pakistan please email me at kbhupen@gmail.com
March 31, 2008’s Dawn reports that Pakistan Hindu Council (PHC) has asked for Government’s help in restoring the Manora temple. The mews item also gives some history of the temple. Details here