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Sharda, Neelum Valley, Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK — under Pakistani occupation) · 34.7930°, 74.1910°
For a millennium one of the subcontinent's foremost seats of learning — the goddess of wisdom's own university, which gave the Sharada script its name and made 'Kashmir' and 'Sharada-desha' synonyms in scholarly memory. Kashmiri Pandit tradition holds that Adi Shankara ascended the Sarvajna Peetha (throne of omniscience) here. The roofless stone shell stands in Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir near the Line of Control, with recurring proposals for a pilgrimage corridor.
Sage Shandilya, granted a vision, was led by the goddess herself to this valley where she revealed her threefold form — Sharada, Narada, Saraswati; students entering old Kashmiri schools still invoke 'Namaste Sharada Devi, Kashmira-pura-vasini' — dweller in Kashmir.
coordinates: wikipedia-2026-08-26 · sources retrieved 2026-08-26 · dynasty page: Karkota/Utpala