Multan (Pakistan) and Temples (part 5)

There are signs of hinduism.There are number of temples in Multan.
One of the temples, known as Mandar , exist because the population of Multan followed Hinduism, Buddhism and tribal religions before the arrival of Islam and the subsequent military conquests by Muhammad bin Qasim and the Afghans.

The most important place of the Hindu period was the Sun Mandar. It was the most important place of worship throughout the South Asia as referred to in many books. It was situated on old Fort now called as Qilla Qasim near HAzrat Shah RUkn e alam shrine .It is destroyed by some peoples after the Shahadat of Babri Mosque in Faizabad Uttar Pradesh. But its ruins are still present.

Another place was Suraj Kund know as the pool of sun.. It is about five miles to the South of Multan on the Bahawalpur Road. It was a pond 132 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep when full of water. Sawan Mal the Sikh Diwan surrounded it with an octagonal wall. It was a place of pilgrimage till 1947 and two fairs were held here annually. One on the 7th of the Vanishing moon of Bhadon ( sanskrit calendar), and the other on the 7th of the rising moon of Magh, the numbers having references to the seven hours of the Sun’s Chariot, according to the Hindu belief of the seven Rishis.

The temple of Narasimha built by Prahlada, known as Prahladpur Temple..The temple of Narsinghpur dedicated to Narasimha was originally inside the Multan Fort. Later, due to restrictions of timings for going inside the main area of fort, a temple of same name was built in main Sabzi Mandi (Fruit Market) area of town.