Sharada Temple i is near the convergence of the Kishan Ganga and Madhumati Rivers. Kashmir is also known as Sharada Desh-abode of Goddess Sharada. Understandably, the presiding deity of the temple is Goddess Sharada. The deity, in her curious appearance is seen in her triple form-Sharada, Saraswati and Vagdevi. Flights of 63 daunting steps lead to this hillock temple. The masonry of this colossal staircase leading to the quadrangular court is most extraordinary to look at from far.
The entrance gate is built with a double porch of Kashmiri architecture. To the centre of the northern wall, there is a small indentation that opens by a trefoil-arched door towards the interior of the court. Two ancient `lingas` (of Lord Shiva) are installed here. There is a large slab measuring 6ft x 7ft and a thickness of 0.5 ft, which is assumed to cover a kunda, in which Goddess Sharada appeared to the sage Shandilya. From the hills one can have the breathtaking view of the Nanga Parbat and K2 Ranges that bow down to the Goddess from their lofty reaches. The view from the staircase of the Sharada Temple of the outer environment is just magnificent. The temple is in fact located in the Neelam valley, a few kilometres from the Line of Control in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and northwest of Bandipura. To reach the temple by road, one had to cross the Kishanganga, on the way to Muzzafarabad.
