Bumzuv is a small village situated one mile north of the sacred spring of Bavan (Mattan). It contains only a few important groups of artificial caves in Anantnag, Kashmir. They are very ostentatious unearthings, and only one of them retains its architectural features. It is carved out of a large number of limestone cliffs, offering a scene of pleasant attractiveness that accommodates the entire lower portion of the Lidder Valley. The stone in which this mining was done is of a very brittle character. The gateway’s cloak has, therefore, been manufactured with Ashlar in lime. It consists of a single trefoiled entrance, topped by a basement and side walls. One of the left side walls has a small rectangular nook measuring 2 meters 2 inches by 1 meter 1 inch. Its pillars are carved with Florida parchments of remarkable elegance. The plank is embellished with a chain of clasps, and the entablature with a row of hardly swollen dentils, the intervening spaces of which appear to have been filled with figures of frisking dwarfs, all of which are now vandalized. In its interior is a small temple, which is parallel in fashion to other temples in Kashmir. It is 9’5″ square, apparently, and stands on a base of 4’6″ in height. An impressive attribute that points to it being a debased illustration is its small portico. The cranny minaret has two rectangular books.
At the foot of the grotto were two temples in the Hamlet, which have been transformed into Muslim pilgrimages now. Both of them are now veiled with a thick coat of gravel, under which all the creative and architectonic qualities are concealed. The larger temple is now the pilgrimage and is called by the name of Baba Bamdin Sahib, who is said to have been a partisan of Sheikh Noor ud din Wali (The famous saint of Kashmir). The pyramidal roof is hearsed under a tuft of earth which overcomes the modern square double wooden roof. The interior measures 8 meters square. The canopy comprises crossing stones, like that of Pandrethan Temple. The topmost boulder is engraved with a fully blown lotus. The gateway is in the north wall. Unless the coat of plaster is detached, it is impractical to say whether the temple was open on other sides.
To the west of this temple are the debris of a smaller temple. The exterior of the roof is demolished, but the canopy inward is perfect and is similar to the canopy of the larger temple. Its porticos are exact replicas of those of the cave temple, a fact that leads to astonishment that all three were constructed at about the same time.
The larger temple has been identified with the Bhimakesava, a shrine constructed by Bhima Sahi of Gandhara, the maternal grandfather of Queen Didda, who ruled Kashmir as the wife of Kshemagupta from 950 AD-958 AD and as unique and independent from 980 AD-1003 AD.
The writer is a Class 9 student at Sabir Abdullah Public High School Wanihama, Anantnag. She has thanked Aijaz Sir and Azhar Sir for their guidance. Feedback at wi***********@***il.com
Bumzuv caves and temple: An ancient monument unveiling Kashmir’s architectural heritage
