Ambassador Stefano Pontecorvo appreciates Katas Raj Temples

Islamabad: Italy’s ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo on Monday appreciated the historic Katas Raj Temples near Kallar Kahar.

“Another extraordinary historic sacred site in beautiful Pakistan, the complex of the Katas Raj Temples in Potohar. The pond is said to have been generated by Shiva’s tears and this site is quoted in the epic poem Mahabharata as the exile of the Pandava brothers. Breathtaking,” he said after a visit to the site with his wife Lidia Pontecorvo.

The envoy lauded the Pakistani authorities for preserving the historic temples. He said such sites promote tourism in any country.Shri Katas Raj Temples is a complex of several Hindu temples connected to one another by walkways. The temple complex surrounds a pond named Katas which is regarded as sacred by Hindus.

The complex is located in the Potohar Plateau region of Pakistan’s Punjab province. The temples are located near the town of Kallar Kahar, and are near the M2 Motorway.

The temples’ pond is said in the Puranas to have been created from the teardrops of Shiva, after he wandered the Earth inconsolable after the death of his wife Sati. The pond occupies an area of two kanals and 15 marlas, with a maximum depth of 20 feet.

The temples play a role in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahābhārata, where the temples are traditionally believed to have been the site where the Pandava brothers spent a significant portion of their exile.

It is also traditionally believed by Hindus to be the site where the brothers engaged in a riddle contest with the Yakshas, as described in the Yaksha Prashna. Another tradition states that the Hindu deity Krishna laid the foundation of the temple, and established a hand-made shivling in it.

In 2006, the Pakistani government began restoration works at the temples, with further improvements announced in 2017. In 2018, Pakistan issued visas to 139 Indian Hindu pilgrims to visit Katas Raj dham.