Dharmarth Trust (also spelt Dharmartha) in Jammu and Kashmir was founded by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1846 as an endowment for religious charity, and to manage and support Hinduism. In 1884, and under Maharaja Ranbir Singh, the Ain-i-Dharmath (in Persian) or 'The Regulations for the Dharmarth Trust' were formulated and a government department for religious affairs was created. The trust helped the Dogra dynasty to consolidate and validate its control over its territory and over the functioning of Hinduism in the region.
Karan Singh has been the sole chairperson trustee since 1959. In 2009 the trust had about 100 temples under its ambit, mainly in Jammu and Kashmir, but also in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Trust continues to be the guardians of major temples such as Shankaracharya Temple in Srinagar, Kheer Bhawani in Ganderbal and the Raghunath temple and Bawe Wali Mata shrine in Jammu.