The LOST Temples of Krimchi...

Located at a distance of about 12 km from Udampur and 65 kilometre from Jammu city, Krimchi temples tell a tale of Jammu and Kashmir which is now long forgotten. Built around the 8th-9th Century, the temples are located on the ancient route to Kashmir on the banks to Birunala and some of these are considered to be the oldest in the entire state.

This is a story of my unplanned visit to this architectural wonder...

krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
The Lost temples of Krimchi in Kashmir
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
The elaborate entrance to the temple

A long time back (well much before I started this blog), I used to travel just by myself a lot and one such trip took the to the state of Jammu and Kashmir for a project in the villages around Srinagar. This was still a time when was Kashmir was considered a hotbed for terrorism and tourists were rare, if not absent. I was also pretty aimless on the roads and jumped at anything new that came my way.

I had already spent a few days in Jammu and hadn't liked the town much due to the heat there. On a chance encounter in the bus from Jammu to Srinagar, I met someone who told me about some ancient temples in the area. I am a sucker for anything old, so I took some directions form him and made an impromptu stopover at Udhampur to visit these temples. I had set a daily expenditure limit for myself and hotel expense was capped at Rs 150/ night. So I took a room in a shady lodge where my bus driver also stayed with the cleaner and decided to explore these ancient temples the very next day.

krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
One of the few solitary temples at the complex...
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
The style is unique, yet closely resembles the temples in Uttarakhand
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
A few surviving carvings...


One of the places I visited was Krimchi temples, located about 12 kilometres from the city. There were no buses so I simply took a jeep and then hiked to the village. Interestingly there was simply no one that I met during the hike, except a few local men who waved and smiled. I guess my long hair made me stand out quite a lot then!

Legend of Krimchi temples

It is believed that Raja Kichak of Mahabharata was the creator of this town as well as all the temples. Later when the Pandavas were in exile, they spent many years living here.

This legend has also given these temples another name - Pandava temples.

So why were the temples destroyed/ abandoned? Well, I don't know the real answer but according to the legends it was the Pandavas themselves who destroyed the city. Why? Hmmm...I haven't dug so deep into scriptures yet :)

Architecture of Krimchi temples

The temples are extremely beautiful and even more so for me as I didn't expect this to come out of my chance encounter. In other words I was simply blown by the temples! They were pretty much in ruins, yet quite majestic.

krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
Another view of the temples
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
The very Roman columns
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
What's on top?
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
Lord Ganesha on top of the column...

The one thing that stuck me the most was the influence of Roman architecture in these temples. The perfectly carved columns certainly looked like a version of Doric style columns from ancient Rome. This was not so surprising as trade was common between the two civilisations back then (I wonder what happened now - I never a thing about Greece in India)., and the temples were located on a trade route so ideas must have traveled. Maybe a Roman architect himself came over and helped execute this ;)

While we are at it, I also found the temples quite close to the architectural style of temples in Uttarakhand. Since I come from the state, I have explored some very interesting and not-so-popular places there too, and also did a small series on Temples of Almora, which will give you a visual representation of what I am talking about.

The ASI description is a bit bland on architecture, but perhaps more accurate than some of my own conclusions.

'This group of temples consists of four large and three small Shiva temples and they are marked from one to seven. Five of these temples are raised on the common platform. All temples, except one, face east and are built on a similar plan comprising a Garbhagriha with curvilinear shikara and antarala with sukanasika. On eo the temples has pillared mandala in front of astarala which seems to be later. The garbhagriha is built on triratha and Pancharatha plan externally and square internally.'


krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
Detailed carvings
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
I can only imagine what this place would have looked like in its heydays...
krimchi lost hindu temples of kashmir udhampur jammu
Its mostly original stones, but some are new as the structure on the left

Planning a visit to Kashmir soon? Read these stories to get some more inspiration :)

An evening at Shah-e-Hamdam in Srinagar
Srinagar's Heritage walk through old city
Floating vegetables market of Srinagar
A brief history of Srinagar's houseboats

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This is a part of a new series called 'Lost temples of Jammu and Kashmir'. Long forgotten in history, I feel it's our responsibility to bring out stories of these architectural and cultural marvels, and keep them alive.

Comments

  1. Very Interesting. Thank you or sharing.

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  2. Beautiful place!! Looks interesting.

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  3. Such lovely architecture! Glad to know about these temples.

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    1. It's really beautiful and my pictures do no justice to these lovely temples...

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  4. Amazing Post Cudos.. : )

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  5. Beautiful indeed. And Unexplored. Would definitely like to visit these.

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  6. These temples are so interesting. The amalgamation of different architectural styles and not much is known about how they were influenced by these styles. Waiting for the other posts in your series. :)

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  7. I'm pleasantly surprised to learn that there is such a beautiful ancient temple in Kashmir. The architecture and relief carvings remind me a little bit of the temples in Pattadakal, but I've never been there myself though. Lovely photos, Sid!

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  8. Thanks for sharing this Siddharth coz a few know about this place in Udhampur, indeed an amazing architecture.

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  9. Very interesting & knowledgeable history about our temples located in J&K. Due to migration of HINDUS,all such temples in the state are in dipaliated conditions. But still glorious after passing thousand years.

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  10. I wonder why pandava distroyed the city

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  11. Firstly, what an amazing blog!!!! Increible that you actually go find & document all these "lost" temples. So much respect for that... Secondly; what if what you thought (and have been programmed) to recognise as Greco-Roman was actually Aryan/Vedic? The real history has been stolen and EVERYTHING is forced to be seen through the Roman-Catholic lens. Just peek a little behind the curtains and the stage starts to collapse. For eg. the renaissance was centered on Florence right? Florence was the capital of Tuscany. Which gets its name from Etruscan. Et-rusky. (Et=family/branch. Look into The Bock Saga). The Vedic Russians. Italy was even known as Etruria [or something close]. Originally perhaps the Hyperboreans/Atlanteans in Siberia? Russia btw is from Rishi. The source of much culture. And the source of the Vedas too. Every which way you look you will see the Vedic culture bleeding through. From South America. Indo-China. Northern India. Persia. Slavic. Baltic. Artic. etc. etc. etc. There are many blogs/channels that support this view that is gaining ground every day. Keep up the unbelievable work!!! Thank you

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