Temple at Bhaniyar on the road between Uri and Naoshera. The temple probably dedicated to the goddess 'Bhawani,' the wife of 'Siva.' Probable date A.D. 500 to 600 (?)

Photograph of the temple at Buniyar, on the road between Uri and Naoshera, in Jammu and Kashmir, taken by John Burke in 1868. This view looks towards the entrance to the central shrine, with the enclosure colonnade in the background. This photograph is reproduced in Henry Hardy Cole's Archaeological Survey of India report, 'Illustrations of Ancient buildings in Kashmir' (1869), in which he wrote, 'This Temple is of great interest, as it shows at a glance what form all those of Kashmir took. It is the most perfect in the valley...Bhaniyar is on the left bank of the Jhelum, about 1¾ beyond Naoshera, and is on the road leading out of Kashmir towards Murree. At present the temple is occupied by an old Hindu Fakeer, who asserts that the building dates some thousands of years ago, and was the work of the Pandus, a race of giants...Some few years ago, this temple was completely embedded in the earth, which had been washed down from the mountains behind it. The Raja of Kashmir had it excavated, and at present, the colonnade is quite perfect.' Buniyar, on the banks of the Vitasta (Jhelum) has one of the best-preserved temple remnants in Kashmir. The cellular peristyle is intact with 53 cells and a pedimented gateway. The small main Vishnu temple stands on a two-tier plinth, it has an entrance on one side and recesses on the other three sides, all framed by pedimented trefoils. It dates from the late-9th to early 10th century.

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