A temple dedicated to the Hindu deity Varuna on Karachi’s Manora Peninsula reopened in 2022 after being closed for decades following the partition of India, drawing large numbers of Hindus from across Pakistan to worship, according to the temple’s priest.
Speaking to Independent Urdu, temple priest Sham Sunder said: ‘According to Hindu belief, Varna is the god of water. In Sindhi language, this deity is known as ‘Jholelal’.
Manora was once an island and the Hindus settled here used to trade by sea.
A merchant here built a temple for Varuna, the god of water and the sea, in 1622. At that time a large number of Hindus speaking Marwari, Gujarati, Marathi and Sindhi languages were living on this island.’
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A few years ago, the Sindh government connected Manora Island with Hawke’s Bay through a road, and now Manora Peninsula has become a peninsula. This temple can be reached by road as well as by boat from Karachi port.
According to Sham Sundar: ’10 years before the partition of India, this temple was repaired and the roof of the temple porch was constructed. After partition in 1947, very few Hindus remained on Mahnora. That is why this temple was closed.’
Shaam Sunder said that ‘in 2012, this temple was handed over to the Hindus of Karachi, after which it was re-opened in 2022. Hindus come to Pakistan again in large numbers to worship.
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2024-08-22 08:45:07
