Opinion | Bijbehara: The untold story of historic town

“Where chinar leaves whisper histories that never made it to textbooks”.

Tucked into the verdant arms of South Kashmir lies Bijbehara, where the chinar leaves whisper history and the Jhelum (Vyeth) glides like a living manuscript. Resting at an elevation of 1591 meters, the “town of chinars” in Anantnag is far from ordinary. Across time, it has carried many names — Vijayeshwar, Bijbiara, Vejbror, Vijavihara etc— each one a fossil of a past empire, a layered memory of belief, beauty, and transformation.

In his evocative book Bijbehara: Kashmir, Mufti Zia-ul-Haq traces the town’s origins to Raja Vijay, who christened it Vijayeshwar, the “City of Victory.” This was not merely a geographic settlement, but a spiritual vision rooted in governance and sanctity. The ancient Rajatarangini by Kalhana further describes Bijbehara as a vibrant Shaivite centre, rich with temples, rituals, and river-bound devotion.

According to the Archaeological Survey of India , the excavations at Semthan (once known as Simhastana) have unearthed Brahmi inscriptions, terracotta seals, and remnants of temple complexes — all pointing to Bijbehara’s stature as a religio-educational hub . In one of his scholarly articles, Dr. Chandra M. Bhatt writes that Bijbehara once hosted a temple-university complex, so monumental that its shadows spanned across the valley like a divine mark upon the land, where learning and worship coexisted under stone spires.

Its significance goes beyond Kashmir. According to the International Journal of Humanities and Social Studies(ISSN 2321-9203) , Semthan offers early Indo-Greek archaeological traces, revealing a cosmopolitan past. Baron Charles von Hügel, who visited in the 1830s, noted the town’s ruins as holding “great religious and civic importance.” Later, Alexander Cunningham, father of Indian archaeology, confirmed Bijbehara as a confluence of Hindu, Buddhist, and Hellenistic traditions.

By script, soil, and soul, Bijbehara emerges not merely as a town, but as an ancient spiritual capital — where faiths met, empires paused, and Kashmir dreamed.

Yet history is never still. Like the Jhelum’s changing tide, faith in Bijbehara flowed through many forms — from Shaivite temples to Sufi shrines, from fire altars to whispered zikr.

With the advent of Islamic rule in Kashmir, the spiritual landscape began to shift. During the reign of Sultan Sikandar (Butshikan) in the 14th century, many temples across the Valley, including those in Bijbehara, were razed, their idols defaced, and their sanctuaries silenced. But as the old structures crumbled, the soul of Bijbehara resisted disappearance.

It was in this spiritual vacuum that Sufism quietly took root. One of the earliest Sufi saints of the region, Hazrat Baba Nasibuddin Ghazi (RA), made Bijbehara his home. Oral histories recall that the first mosque here rose near the remains of a temple — not in conquest, but as a continuation of sanctity. Here, the zikr replaced mantra, and the sacred space remained — transformed, not erased.

Later, in the Mughal era, Prince Dara Shikoh, a philosopher-prince known for seeking unity between Islam and Hinduism, was drawn to Bijbehara’s spiritual calm. He commissioned a Charbagh-style garden, where Persian symmetry met Kashmiri earth — a symbolic act, as if even the gardens were trying to reconcile faiths.

Alongside its spiritual legacy, Bijbehara thrived as an economic artery. Its location on the Jhelum trade route made it a hub of pilgrimage and commerce. Temples and shrines became market grounds. Traders brought shawls, woodcraft, saffron, and texts, weaving Bijbehara into Kashmir’s cultural and economic fabric.

But the most enduring scars are not always ancient. On October 22, 1993, as reported by The Hindu’s Shujaat Bukhari and documented by Human Rights Watch, 43 unarmed civilians were killed by security forces during a peaceful protest near Bijbehara’s main mosque. The protest was against the siege of the Hazratbal Shrine, and the firing was later termed “absolutely unprovoked” by a government inquiry.

This massacre did not just mark a single day — it etched itself into the soul of the town. Bijbehara is a place that reflects both the pain and resilience of the Kashmiri people.

In Bijbehara, time does not pass — it lingers. From stone temples to Sufi shrines, from ancient trade chants to modern silences, the town continues to breathe through its layered history. As Alexander Cunningham once noted, “Where there is worship, there is wealth” — and Bijbehara wore both on its sleeves – faith and fortune – as a testament to Kashmir’s enduring spirit.

Laiba Khan – A young voice from Bijbehara ( Writer can be reached on laibaakhan485@gmail.com )