The 200-year old Ganpatyar Temple in Srinagar is among the most important for Kashmiri Pandits. The temple is situated in the heart of Srinagar and is undoubtedly the most famous Ganesh temple of the valley. The temple finds mention in many ancient scripts including e-travel diaries of the famous Chinese traveller, Hsüan-tsang, the great Chinese Buddhist Monk who has lived in Ganpatyar’s Vihar. This temple was once the centre of all activity in the Hindu neighbourhood by the same name and the temple is now a shadow of its former self. Many crumbling houses and shops around the locality were once belonged to the Pandits, which is proven from the fact that still these shops and houses bear their nameplates. Some of these shops and houses were burnt down, their carved wooden beams and gables collapsed as if battered by a storm. Even the riverside Lal Ded Memorial Cultural Centre stands in silence—Lal Ded’s poetry combined Buddhist, Shaivite and Sufi precepts.
The vivid description of the temple clearly reflects its glory and the reverence, which Kashmiri Hindus pays to it. This description also affirms that the Ganpatyar must have remained very much popular religious centre for them. Like most of the temples in the valley, this temple also faced the brunt of fanatic Islamic rulers and their representatives. The Afghans during their rule in Kashmir wanted to break the original idol, but the Kashmiri Pandits threw the idol in River Vitasta (Jhelum) and idol was later retrieved during Dogra rule almost 90 years later.
Before the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the valley in 90s, the temple was thronged by large number of devotees. The temple has been attacked many times by the terrorists, even after 1990s and one can still see bullet marks on the walls and bunkers. But thanks to CRPF presence, the temple did not see a major damage. Very few people may remember that the Shivling at Zyestha Mata Madir (Zyethyar) is the Shivling that originally was at Ganpatyar temple and was relocated to Zyethyar in 1989.
