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.
Mr. Italiana: The beautiful tile work is a reflection of the local tradition. One sees similar tile work typically in Mosques. These are locally produced ceramic glazed tiles from Hala, Sindh and may be from Multan and Bahawalpur in Punjab. The art of glazed tiles and ceramics was introduced into various areas of Pakistan by the Persians and the Turkic Central Asians who took it from Chinese. However the structure is typical of the Hindu (or pre-Islamic) architectural design. You are simply thrown off by the use of tiles and marbles, not typical of a Hindu temple in Sindh or Baluchistan..
Yet another informative post!
I haven’t seen that kind of mandir architecture anywhere. The tilework seems unique (but by no means have I ever conducted a thorough and exhaustive survey of all mandirs, so it could very well be that there are architectural similarities between this mandir and others across the subcontinent.)
Does anybody know how many mandirs there are in Pakistan?
Also, where do most Hindus in Pakistan live? Or are they scattered communities?
And finally, what practices do Hindus in Pakistan generally engage in? Meaning, which sect, etc (I know it is difficult to neatly delineate and define given the fact that Hinduism is very diverse and highly regional).
I doubt if Pakistani government or Muslims will do any thing to preserve this structure. We come from a long line of ‘idol smashers’ and not ‘temple preservers’. It is part of our tradition. The best way to preserve this building is that effluent Hindus from West (not from India, that will not fly) join hands with the Hindu community in Karachi and do the job themselves. Muslims do not consider temples as their ‘heritage’ as Mahendra puts it. Those who want to save the building they have to do it themselves. Sorry to say that but these are the realities.
Thanks for the informative post,Somebody should inform the City gov’t to take care of these historical buildings.These are history somebody has said that without Past ( History ) there is no future.
Verry beautiful and something I haven’t seen anywhere in India - a temple to sea God Varun. I hope that Pakistan government and people do take care of their heritage and don’t let it fall to dilapidation. Thanks for the great tour.
Heritage must be preserved.
Very beautiful and interesting! Thanks for the tour.
thanks, I hope Pakistan govt. takes notice and helps restore this.