Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India c8.s3.22

c8.s3.22

Kāśmīra (Kashmir) is described as the country lying between the Śāradā-maṭha and the Kuṅkum-ādri and extending over 50 yojanas. The Kuṅkuma hill cannot be satisfactorily identified; but it may refer to the Kuṅkuma (saffron)-growing plateau above Pampur near Srinagar, capital of Kashmir.¹ Śāradā-maṭha is evidently modern Sardi near the confluence of the Kishenganga and Kankatori rivers in Kashmir. The shrine of the goddess Śāradā is mentioned in Kalhaṇa's Rājatarangiṇī (VIII, 2556, 2706). According to Stein, the old shrine is in complete ruins and it is substituted by the late Śāradā temple at Guṣa (ancient Ghoṣa) which is now visited by the pilgrims.²