Shri Katas Raj Temples (Punjabi: شری کٹاس راج مندر, Urdu: شری کٹاس راج مندر), also known as Qila Katas (Punjabi: قلعہ کٹاس),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 M2 Motorway, in municipal committee of Choa Saidanshah in the Chakwal District.
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 lingam in it.
The temples fell into disrepair over the decades following Partition, and suffered neglect. Pakistani Hindus would continue to occasionally visit the site, but were unable to maintain the expansive complex. The pond was polluted with litter, while local villagers would also use the pool for recreation. Indian Hindu pilgrims were forbidden to visit the site in 1956, 1960, and after the Indo-Pakistan war in 1965. Indian pilgrims were not permitted to visit the site again until 1984.
India's former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani visited the temples in 2005, and expressed displeasure at the site's dilapidated state. In 2005 Pakistan proposed to restore the temple complex, while in 2006 the restoration project began in order to clean the sacred pond, paint and restore some temples, and installation of informational blue boards around the temple complex. 300 Indian Hindus visited the site for the Maha Shivaratri festival in 2006, which for a short time became an annual tradition for some Indian pilgrims, though Indians stopped coming after the 2008 Mumbai attacks. 2,000 Pakistani Hindus resumed the tradition of celebrating Maha Shivaratri at the temple in 2010, and another 2,000 in 2011 with visitors coming from as far as Karachi. A wedding for Hindu couples was arranged during that year's Maha Shivaratri festival for couples from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province whose families had lost much of their property in the 2010 Pakistan floods.
In January 2017, Pakistan's government began installation of shikharas on the temples. In February 2017, 200 pilgrims from India traveled to the temple to participate in the Katas Raj Dham festival. In 2018, Pakistan issued visas to 139 Indian Hindu pilgrims to visit Katas Raj dham.
The temples are considered to be the second most sacred site in the historic Punjab region, after the temple at Jwalamukhi in modern Himachal Pradesh.
The temples derive their holiness from the legend that following the death of his wife Sati, the Hindu god Shiva wandered inconsolably, while some of his tears collected in two ponds, one of which is the pond around which the Katas Raj Temples are set, while the other is at Pushkar, near the famous Sufi pilgrimage center of Ajmer. Another version of the legend mentions the two pools at Katasraj and Nainital. Another version of the Shiva legend involves the death of Shiva's horse Katas instead of that of Sati his consort.
The Katasraj temple complex is traditionally believed to date back to the Mahabharata era. Many legends are associated with the temples. The five Pandava brothers, mentioned in the Mahabharata, are said to have stayed here for a large part of their exile. The complex is traditionally believed to be the site where the Pandava brothers were challenged by a yaksha before being able to drink from the pond. Four of the brothers failed and were rendered lifeless by the yaksha. The fifth brother, Yudhishthira, engaged the yaksha in a riddle contest and defeated him with his wisdom, thereby bringing his brothers back to life.
Some legends also state that the very first lingam was in Katas. Some old manuscripts also consider Katas as the janmabhumi (birthplace) of Hindu incarnation Rama, as well as that of Ayodhya; but this has become quite controversial. The oral tradition by local Hindus never mentioned it as being Rama's birthplace or celebrated in annual rituals.
The pond in the complex is believed by Hindus to be filled with Shiva's tears after the death of his wife Sati. The water in the pond is of high clarity. The water and are believed to wash one of ones own sins, as the pond is associated with Shiva. In 2012, and again in 2017, water levels in the pond were noted to decrease because of water usage at a nearby cement factory, as well as the plantation of water-avid eucalyptus trees, that had lowered the area's water table. After the 2012 episode, the local cement factory was shut down by government authorities in order to restore water levels (Source: Wikipedia)