The temples' pond is said in the Puranas to have been created from the teardrops of Shiva, after he wandered the Earth inconsolable after the death of his wife Sati.

Serial Kanpur Se Katas Tak was also shot here starring Saba Qamar in 2010 aired on Indus Vision.

[5][4][6] Another tradition states that the Hindu deity Krishna laid the foundation of the temple, and established a hand-made lingam in it.

The complex is located alongside the road that connects Kallar Kahar to Choa Saidan Shah near the village of Dulmial.

The name of the temple complex is believed to derive from the Sanskrit word kataksha, meaning "tearful eyes.

Prehistoric axes and knives made of granite, and artifacts like terracotta bangles and pottery have also been unearthed at the Katasraj site.

[8] Hindu tradition holds that the temples date from the era of the Mahabharata, and is believed to be where the Pandava brothers spent a large portion of their exile.

[4] Simhapura (also Singhapura or Sinhapura) Buddhist kingdom, mentioned and visited by Xuanzang, has been identified with Katas Raj by Alexander Cunningham in his book The Ancient Geography of India.

[9] Following the collapse of the empire of Gandhara, Hinduism gained traction in the region under the reign of the Hindu Shahis beginning around the 7th century CE.

[6] The Hindu Shahi empire also funded construction of several other temples throughout northern Punjab and the Potohar plateau,[4] including the nearby Tilla Jogian, and Kafir Kot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The founder of the Sikh faith, Guru Nanak, is believed to have visited the Katas Raj Temples, as the site became a popular destination for ascetics.

[13] The complex was a popular pilgrimage site for Hindus prior to the 1947 Partition of British India, with large numbers visiting for Maha Shivaratri.

[14] India's former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani visited the temples in 2005,[15] and expressed displeasure at the site's dilapidated state.

The holy pond was littered with garbage, while the murals inside the temples disappeared due to the ravages of time and the neglect of the authorities.

A three-member archaeological team visited India, Sri Lanka and Nepal to collect murtis of various Hindu gods.

[21] In 2016, the temple hit the national limelight after its centuries-old water pond ran dry, attributed to the depletion of groundwater owing to the establishment of four major cement factories in the area.

After the menace was reported, the Supreme Court of Pakistan took a suo motu notice and started hearing the case in November.

During the course of proceedings, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar remarked that cement factories were consuming water worth millions of rupees without paying their dues.

In 2017, while hearing the case, Nisar stressed, "This temple is not just a place of cultural significance for the Hindu community, but also a part of our national heritage.

The bench was told that a former chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board (ETPB) earned millions of rupees from corruption [during his tenure] and then ran away [from Pakistan].

[30] It told Bestway and DG Khan cement factories to fulfill their water needs from any other alluvial source such as river Jhelum.