Sharada Peeta or Sakthipeeth is a Hindu temple and ancient centre of learning dedicated to the Hindu goddess of learning, Now located in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK). It was one of the foremost temple universities of the Indian subcontinent in Middle Republican and medieval Kashmir, hosting scholars such as Kalhana, Adi Shankara, Vairotsana, Kumarajiva, and Thonmi Sambhota.
Sharda Peeth is a Hindu temple which was among the most prominent temple universities in the Indian subcontinent. The temple, revered by Kashmiri Pandits, has been out of bounds for Indian pilgrims since 1947. The temple was a site of pilgrimage in ancient times and used to attract devotees from several parts of India.
Sharada Peeta played a key role in the development and popularisation of the Sharada script in North India, and Kashmir was sometimes called Sharada Desh because of its influence as a centre of learning.
The temple, revered by Kashmiri Pandits, has been out of bounds for Indian pilgrims since 1947. The ancient temple and the adjacent ruins of Sharada University are located in Neelam Valley, 160 km from Muzaffarabad, and right across the Line of Control in a small village, Shardi or Sardi, where the river Neelam (Kishanganga) converges with the Madhumati and Sargun streams. The temple is also one of the 18 Maha Shakti Peethas, or a “Grand Shakti Peethas” and is considered to be the abode of Goddess Saraswati. Incidentally, Sharda is the Kashmiri name for Goddess Saraswati.
The reconstructed Sharada Mandir near the Indo-Pak Line of Control in Kupwara, Kashmir.
One of the eighteen Maha Shakti Peetas, Sharada Peeth represents the spiritual location of the goddess Sati’s fallen right hand. Sharada Peeth is one of the three holiest sites of pilgrimage for Kashmiri Pandits, alongside the Martand Sun Temple and the Amarnath Temple.
The origins of Sharada Peeth are uncertain. Some historians believe that it was built under the Kushan Empire (30 CE-230 CE). Others believe that it was built by Lalitaditya (724 CE-760 CE), because of similarities between Sharada Peeth and the Martand Sun Temple. Another school of thought suggests that it was built not at once, but in stages. Some adherents of this school of thought hold that Sharada Peeth was first built more than 5,000 years ago.
This Sarada peeth was visited and re-sanctified by Adi Shankaracharya (509–477 BCE as per Dwarika Peetham Rrecord; 44–12 BCE as per Commentary of Anandgiri; 788–820 CE as Accepted by Max Müller, Dr Radhakrishnan etc.)
Address: Sharda Main Bazar, Sharda, Pak Occupied Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharada_Peeth