Avantipura

This town which is 29 km southeast of Srinagar in the Anantnag district of Kashmir was built by King Avantivarman (the first king of the Utpala dynasty) in the period of 855 and 883 AD.

At Avantipur, the King erected two magnificent temples, one dedicated to Lord Vishnu called “Avantisvamin” and the other to Lord Shiva called “Avantisvara”. The former temple was built before he became the King and the latter after he became the King. Out of great regard for his minister Sura, he made the other temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. He made the required provisions for the maintenance of the temples at Avantipura and the worship of the images by lavish endowments.

Does anyone know the History behind this?

The history of the town covers a period of more than 60 years and was a scene of several battles and sometimes used to serve as a station for the troops. Now all that remains are the long stretches of stonewalls and rubble foundations of these temples which overlook the river Jhelum. The remains of the Avantisvamin temple, which was once known for its rich carvings and graceful sculptures, are now in Sri Pratap Singh Museum at Srinagar. The Avantisvara temple must have been an imposing one, as what remains of this temple now is its “Tri Ratha” platform which shows that the temple was of the Compact Panchayatana style.

Did you ever visit this temple?

The foundation of the town of Avantipura has been ascribed to Avantivarman by Kalhana who noted: 'At the site called Vishvaikasara, which procures final beatitude for those who die, the king founded the Avantipura, an abode of abundant enjoyments'. From this statement it appears that the place had already been a holy centre before the town was established by the king after his own name.

Avantivarman, the first king of the Utpala dynasty, was the son of Sukhavarman and the grandson of Utpalaka or Utpala who was a maternal uncle of the Karkota king Chippatajayapida, son of Lalitapida and Jayadevi, daughter of a spirit - distiller. Taking advantage of the minority of the king,

Utpala and his four brothers virtually grasped the regal powers and ultimately caused the death of their royal nephew and became king makers. Then ensured an internecine strife and rivalry among the brothers themselves.

After the death of Utpala, his son Sukhavarman consolidated his power, placed his nominee Utpalapida on the throne and practically became the de facto ruler. Eventually he had been on the point of usurping the crown when he was killed by one of his relatives. Soon afterwards Utpalapida was dethroned by the minister Sura who crowned Avantivarman as the king.

Though of an inglorious lineage, Avantivarman made himself illustrious by virtue of his peaceful pursuits, conscientious care of his subjects and liberal patronage of arts and learning and made himself fondly live in the memory of posterity. He did not launch on an ambitious career of conquests. Aided by his wise and faithful minister Sura, the great king devoted his energies to the consolidation of his kingdom by subduing the unruly opponents and turbulent chiefs and brought back the much needed peace and prosperity to the country, hitherto town by court intrigues, factions and oppression of the subjects during the reign of the later feeble puppet kings of the Karkota dynasty.

He made earnest efforts to ameliorate the economic condition of the people and picked up a gifted person, Suyya, who by his engineering operations regulated the course of the Vitasta, thereby arresting the devastating periodical floods and consequent famine, and promoted irrigation and agricultural operations over an extensive area with the result that output of crops increased tremendously.

His court was adorned by men of learning and poets like "Muktakana", "Shivasvamin", "Anandavardhana" and "Ratnakara". His just and peaceful rule of twenty-eight years was made further memorable by a large number of religious foundations and endowments, not only by himself but by his relatives and officials.

At Avantipura itself Avantivarman erected two magnificent temples, one dedicated to Lord Vishnu called "Avantisvamin" and the other to Lord Shiva called "Avantisvara" the former built before his accession to the throne and the latter after obtaining sovereignty. The king was a devout worshipper of Lord Vishnu from his childhood and remained Vaishnava in the core of his heart till his death. However, out of great regard for his minister Sura who was a devotee of Shiva, he made the other temple dedicated to Lord Shiva.

It appears that Avantivarman made the required provision for the maintenance of the temples at Avantipura and the ritualistic worship of the images by lavish endowments. Thus, according to Kalhana, the greedy Kalasa (AD 1063-89) of the first Lohara dynasty confiscated the villages, which had formed the endowment of the Avantisvamin temple.

In the time of Kalhana and immediately after the accession of King Jayasimha (AD 1128-55) of the second Lohara dynasty when his position became precarious due to the uprisings and attacks of Bhikshachara, the great grandson of Kalasa, and his powerful Damara allies, the Avantisvamin temple braced a siege when its courtyard protected by mighty stone walls provided shelter to royal officers Bhasa and Kshemananda and their companions who were besieged by the Damaras of Holada.

The stone walls of the enclosure of the temple withstood the siege successfully and the Damaras headed by the powerful Tikka could not overcome the besieged, 'though they fought them by lighting fires, throwing stones and making breaches' Ultimately, the Damaras had to disperse at the approach of sujji, the commander-in-chief of jayasimha, to relieve bhasa nad his retinue.