"The shrine of Sharda Devi was at one time among the most revered in Kashmir, indeed India. The Sharda Mahatmya narrated that once Muni Shandilya, son of Matanga, was practising great austerities to obtain sight of goddess Sharda (who as Shakti embodied Sharda, Sarasvati, and Vagdevi). A divine voice directed him to Shardavana, the sacred spot of Shardi (a small village and fort near the Sharda temple)."