Roza Bal, Srinagar

History

Buddhist and Hindu period

There is no record of the shrine during Kashmir's Buddhist period, nor during the Kashmir Sultanate (1346–1586) when many Buddhist temples were converted into mosques, such as the Shankaracharya Temple or "Throne of Solomon."

Muhammad Dedamari, 1747

The shrine is first mentioned in the Waqi'at-i-Kashmir (Story of Kashmir, published 1747), also known as the Tarikh Azami (History by Azam) by the Khwaja Muhammad Azam Didamari, a local Srinagar Sufi writer. Muhammed Azam states that the tomb is of a foreign prophet and prince, Yuzasuf, or in modern local Kashimiri transcription Youza Asouph. The name may derive from the Urdu "Yuzasaf" in the legend of Balauhar and Yuzasaf, Yuzasaf being a name for Gautama Buddha. Yuzasaf occurs as a spelling in the Rasail Ikhwan al-Safa of the Brethren of Purity and other sources. David Marshall Lang (1960) notes that the connection of the Buddhist Yuzasaf with Kashmir in part results from a printing error in the Bombay Arabic edition referencing the legend of the Wisdom of Balahvar which makes its hero prince Yuzasaf die in "Kashmir" (Arabic: كشمير) by confusion with Kushinara (Pali: كوشينر), the traditional place of the original Buddha's death.

Court case 1770

A court case was brought mentioning the shrine in 1184AH/1770AD: The Seal of The Justice of Islam Mullah Fazil 1184-A.H. Verdict: Now this Court, after obtaining evidence, concludes that during the reign of Raja Gopadatta, who built and repaired many temples, especially the Throne of Solomon, Yuz Asaph came to the Valley. Prince by descent, he was pious and saintly and had given up earthly pursuits. He spent all his time in prayers and meditation. The people of Kashmir, having become idolators, after the great flood of Noah, the God Almighty, sent Yuz Asaph as a prophet to the people of Kashmir. He proclaimed oneness of God till he passed away. Yuz‐Asaph was buried at Khanyar on the banks of the lake and his shrine is known as Roza Bal. In the year 871 A.H. Syed Nasir-ud-Din, a descendant of Imam Musa-Raza, was also buried besides the grave of Yuz Asaph. Orders – Since the shrine is visited by devotees, both high and common, and since the applicant, Rehman Khan, is the hereditary custodian of the shrine, it is ordered that he be entitled to receive the offerings made at the shrine as before, and no one else shall have any right to such offerings. Given under our hand, 11th Jamad-ud-sani, 1184 A.H" (translation by Fida Hassnain 1988) Hassnain's translation follows Ghulam Ahmad in dividing the name of Yuzasaf, found in the Bilhawar and Yuzasaf tradition about Gautama Buddha, into two syllables, "Yuz Asaf." Yuzasaf, Arabic Yūdhasaf or Būdhasaf, is derived from the Sanskrit Bodhisattva. The Sanskrit word was changed to Bodisav in Persian texts in the 6th or 7th century, then to Budhasaf or Yudasaf in an 8th-century Arabic document (from Arabic initial "b" ﺑ to "y" ﻳ by duplication of a dot in handwriting).

Indo-Pakistan War, 1965

In the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 and continuing Hindu-Muslim and Muslim-Muslim tensions and incidents the Ziarat Rozabal was desecrated and the grave dug up on 27 October 1965. Indian columnist Praveen Swami (2006) identified the culprits as a "stay-back cell" of Pakistani operatives, but this is not confirmed by other sources.