copyright http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattan
Located north-west of Srinagar and known as Parihaspora (“City of Pleasures”), this village in Kashmir’s Ganderbal district was once the capital city from where Lalitaditya Muktapida (724-761 CE?) ruled. It now stands isolated, or rather, populated with sheep that are blissfully unaware of the past glory of the land they are grazing on, and a few shepherds.
Surrounded by apple orchards, this delightfully green place is a visual treat.
Though my guide Nawaz told me these structures were incomplete ones and that for some reason the construction work stopped after the laying of the basement, it seems these indeed are ruins of fully-built temples, dedicated to Buddha and to Vishnu (The Parihaskesava Temple, see Warikoo 2004: 87). Very few sculptures are present there today.
Nawaz claims this is Aryan-style art
An article published on http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/others/030712157-parihaspora-the-forgotten-buddhist-capital.htm has this to say of Parihaspura: “He [Lalitaditya] constructed three historical monuments here viz. Chatiya, Rajbihari and Sootopa in 8th century BC. In Chatiya the assembly was held and matters of common interest were discussed. Rajbihari was the court of the kingdom. In Sootopa which was a seven storey building, matters related to religion were set and rituals were offered.” The author also claims that a war with another king led to the death of Lalitaditya and the looting of the capital. Another author mentions that the city lost its glory when Lalitaditya’s son decided to found a new capital in Shadipur (see Tikoo 2013, no page number)
As we were leaving, a tall man appeared in a pheran and spoke to Nawaz. According to the latter, he was the one in charge of taking care of the place, and he hoped guides would bring in more people to visit the ruins. Which indeed is a good suggestion. If you happen to be interested in ancient history and architecture, and also enjoy mesmerising landscape, then this is the place for you.
pathikaa 