In the sixteenth century, a
sailor named Bhojomal Nancy Bhatia discovered Manora Island. He bought the
island from the Khan of Kalat who owned most of the land along the coastline.
Bhatia built the temple here with a lot of craft. This Temple is about 100 years
old and has been specifically designed as per Hindu architecture. It was
renovated in 1937-40 (tiles fixed). The Temple was abandoned & illegally
occupied by land grabbers after the 1947 partition. In 2007, Pakistan Hindu
Council brought back the sanctity of the Temple by taking a bold step to
renovate the same. The Station Commander, PNS Himalaya, Manora Cantt handed over
the control of this Temple to Pakistan Hindu Council in June, 2007
The Council plans to spend about Ten million rupees for uplift and to bring this
ancient temple to its original condition. Satsung will be held on every Saturday
and Parsad and Bhandara would also be managed every week free of cost. Lot of
devotes visit this picnic place and enjoy the waves of sea direcltly hitting the
temple. There is beautiful scene early in the morning at sun rise. The
atmosphere is marvelous and one feels great pleasure & peace of mind along with
glimpses of the temple and Darshan of Lord Shri Ram and Lord Shri Krishna.
Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Varuna, the god of rivers and oceans and all
water bodies it was observed that the rich etchings in Devanagari script on the
walls and the craftsmanship on the walls is no longer visible as the tiles
(forming the carvings) have been broken. Marble plaques commemorating the
donation of these tiles indicate how significant the donation was to the temple
and the persons making the donation
Lokram Dodeja, journalist from Shikarpur, have given reference in his book -1938
that he used to visit Monora Mandir every Sunday, (where) he got Saag & Dhodho
as parsad, (and) the well inside the temple had sweet water.
It was after the attack on the temple in 1992 in reaction to the Babri mosque
incident in India, that the temple had been abandoned. But despite not being
taken care of for so long and the fact that sea winds were slowly eroding the
walls, the rich architecture of the temple and its historic tiles continued to
attract the attention of visitors because of its historical significance. The
temple, named after Lord Varuna – the god of the ocean in Hindu mythology – is
believed to be a 1,000 years old
Most Hindus in Pakistan live in Sindh and are settled in almost all parts of it.
They constitute a sizable business community, especially in Ghotki, Kashmore,
Jacobabad and Khairpur. Most of them are involved in agriculture or are animal
traders. The religious practices of Hindus are diverse. The lower-caste has
their own rituals and practices. The upper-caste worships River Indus (Darya
Panthi) along with first Sikh Guru Baba Nanik. Some also worship Shiva and
goddess Shakti.
The mandir is unfortunately in a bad condition of disrepair and saline sea
breeze is eating away into the structure fast. When I visited the mandir in
2010, it appeared deserted. There were unfortunate signs of human vandalism also
where it looked like people took away with them any item salvageable. The
structure still appeared grand and from left over tile work and decorations it
showed its glorious past. In the final analysis, the temple was not destroyed by
fanatical Muslims of by time or nature, its biggest enemy seems to have been the
Hindu community itself which pledged to protect and preserve it.
The historic monuments are standing monuments or ruins which are found all over
Pakistan. They represent various periods of our history and demonstrate the rich
cultural milieu of the land. Thus, we can find historic Hindu temples in
Tharparkar (Sindh) and Punjab, Sultanante period monuments in Makli Tombs,
Thatta, in Multan and Ucch Sharif, and Mughal monuments in Thatta, Multan,
Lahore and Temples of Sindh etc. Many monuments are protected under the Federal
Antiquities Act; however, there are thousands of others which still need to be
provided protection.
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.
Muhammad Adeel Qureshi
Visiting Lecturer &
PhD Research Fellow
Karachi University