Lava Temple

Lava Mandir, Lahore
Rama with his sons, Lava and Kusha
Location within Pakistan
Geography
Coordinates 31°32′59″N 74°20′37″E / 31.54972°N 74.34361°E / 31.54972; 74.34361Coordinates: 31°32′59″N 74°20′37″E / 31.54972°N 74.34361°E / 31.54972; 74.34361
Locale Lahore Fort
Location

Lahore, Punjab

Pakistan Pakistan
Culture
Sanctum Lava (Ramayana)
Architecture
Architecture Hindu temple
Number of temples 1
History
Governing body Pakistan Hindu Council
Website http://www.pakistanhinducouncil.org/

Lava Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Lava, the son of Rama. It is in Lahore Fort, Lahore, Pakistan. The city itself is named after him.

Etymology

In the Deshwa Bhaga, Lahore is called 'Lavpor', which points to its origin from Lav, the son of Rama,. In the ancient annals of Rajputana the name given is 'Loh Kot', meaning “the fort of Loh” which, again, has reference to its mythical founder, Rama’s son.[1]

History

A legend based on oral traditions holds that 'Lahore', known in ancient times as 'Lavapuri' (City of Lava in Sanskrit),[2] was founded by Prince Lava,[3] the son of Sita and Rama. Kasur was founded by his twin brother Prince Kusha.[4]

To this day, Lahore Fort has a vacant temple dedicated to Lava (also pronounced Loh, hence Loh-awar or "The Fort of Loh").[5]

The oldest authentic document about Lahore was written anonymously in 982. It is called Hudud-i-Alam (The Regions of the World).[6] In 1927 it was translated into English by Vladimir Fedorovich Minorsky and published in Lahore. In this document, Lahore is referred to as a small shehr (city) with "impressive temples, large markets and huge orchards." It refers to "two major markets around which dwellings exist," and it mentions "the mud walls that enclose these two dwellings to make it one." The original document is currently held in the British Museum.[7]

Lahore was called by different names throughout history. To date there is no conclusive evidence as to when it was founded. Some historians trace the history of the city as far back as 4000 years ago.[8] However, historically, it has been proved that Lahore is at least 2,000 years old. Lying on the main trade and invasion routes to South Asia, Lahore has been ruled and plundered by a number of dynasties and hordes.

See also

References

  1. ↑ History of Lahore
  2. ↑ Bombay Historical Society (1946). Annual bibliography of Indian history and Indology, Volume 4. p. 257. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  3. ↑ Baqir, Muhammad (1985). Lahore, past and present. B.R. Pub. Corp. pp. 19–20. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  4. ↑ Nadiem, Ihsan N (2005). Punjab: land, history, people. Al-Faisal Nashran. p. 111. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  5. ↑ Naqoosh, Lahore Number 1976
  6. ↑ HUDUD AL-'ALAM 'The Regions of the World' A Persian Geography Archived 2006-10-24 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. ↑ Dawn Pakistan - The 'shroud' over Lahore's antiquity
  8. ↑ "Glasgow gets a new twin in Lahore". Living in Glasgow. 14 September 2006. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-06.
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