Surya Temple

In the Kashmir region, a testimony to the medieval art is the well known early medieval temple, known as the Surya temple, standing on a high plateau overlooking the distant snow capped Himalayan peaks in Martand. Its hallmark architectural mode of pilaster and trefoil arches may owe their origin to the Gandhara models. This magnificient shrine was erected by Rajatarangini or the great Kashmiri king Lalitaditya Muktapeeda who reputedly conquered most of Northern India and the Deccan and even the famous and sought after city of Kannauj about AD 747. Decorated with the riches gathered from these conquests the Surya temple became an object of plunder and now stands only in the form of ruined remnants.