Katās Rāj

Śiva’s sacred pond · Chakwal district, Punjab, Pakistan

Katās Rāj is a group of old Hindu temples around a sacred pond in the Salt Range of Pakistan’s Punjab. The temples, built over many centuries, have been restored in recent years, and Hindu pilgrims, including groups from India under bilateral arrangements, visit especially around Mahāśivarātri.

Pakistan also holds Hiṅglāj Mātā in Balochistan, one of the most revered Śakti Pīṭhas — see the Śakti Pīṭha section. Visits to both require proper permits and up-to-date travel advice.

Tradition says that when Satī died, Śiva wept so deeply that his tears formed two pools — one at Katās and another in India, identified in one version with Puṣkar. Another tradition places here the Mahābhārata episode in which Yudhiṣṭhira answered the questions of a yakṣa at a lake to save his brothers.

Punjab, Pakistan · Śiva · Mahāśivarātri · See also: Hiṅglāj

Holy Places and Pilgrimage · Ask a Jyotishi your own question