Avantivarman or Aditya varman was a

Chamar Chamar is a Dalit community classified as a Scheduled Caste under modern India's system of affirmative action. Historically subject to untouchability, they were traditionally outside the Hindu ritual ranking system of castes known as varna. ...

ruler who founded the

Utpala dynasty Utpala dynasty was a Kashmiri dynasty which ruled over the Kashmir region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent from 8th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was established by Avanti Varman, ending the rule of Karkota dynasty in 855 CE. ...

. He ruled

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

from 855 to 883 CE and built the

Avantiswami Temple The Avantiswami Temple is a Hindu temple located on the banks of the river Jhelum, 28 km away from Srinagar in Awantipora, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its complex consisted of two temples, one each for Shiva and Vishnu, which were built under k ...

History

Avantivarman (853-888 A.D.) belonged to Utpala dynasty emerged as a powerful King. He was most sagacious king. He built temples at Avantipur after his name. His Minister Suyya was a great genius. His court had a pride on two poets-Ranakar and Ananvardhana. During his time price of paddy showed a deep decline from 36 to 20 dinars. Suyya who was a great engineer is said to have drained a large chunck of wasteland during his regime. His memory is commemorated by Suyyapur or Sopore, a township in Baramulla district. It is said that when this great engineer was working in Sopore no people were coming forth to plunge themselves in gushing water. The king thereupon ordered that a part of treasury may be thrown into the water, a large number of people plunged into the river to get as many coins as they could. The skill of Suyya worked and the river was cleared of silt. Sopore town in Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir was founded by the famous Utpala engineer and irrigation minister Suyya during the peaceful reign of king Avantivarman in 880 CE.

Reign

Avantivarman was the grandson of Utpala, one of the five brothers who had taken control of the

Karkota The Karkota Dynasty (c. 625 − 855 CE) ruled over the Kashmir valley and some northern parts of the Indian subcontinent during 7th and 8th centuries. Their rule saw a period of political expansion, economic prosperity and emergence of Kashmir ...

throne. Raised by Utpala's minister Sura, Anantivarman ascended the throne of

on 855 CE, establishing the

and ending the rule of the Karkotas. Avantivarman appointed Suyya, an engineer and architect as his prime minister. The country had been badly affected due to the numerous civil wars over the last forty years and Avantivarman's reign restored the economy. Suyya carried out desilting of the

Jhelum river The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

and diverted its course.

Arts and architecture

Avantivarman was a patron of the arts and the most notable scholar of his time was Anandhavardana, the author of the ''Dhvanyaloka''. He founded the cities of Avantipur and Suyapur, which was named after Suyya. He built many

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

dedicated to both

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" within t ...

and

Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

as well as

Buddhist monasteries Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. Notable among the temples were the temples of Avantiswara and Avantiswami dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu respectively in Avantipur. The reign of avantiverman witnessed a remarkable revival of Sanskrit learning in Kashmir.He built a dam on vitasta river to save kingdom from devastating flood. Notable books written during Avantivarman's reign include Haraviyaja written by Ratnakara and Dhvanyaloka written by

Anandavardhana Ānandavardhana (c. 820–890 CE) was the author of ''Dhvanyāloka'', or ''A Light on Suggestion'' (''dhvani''), a work articulating the philosophy of "aesthetic suggestion" (''dhvani'', ''vyañjanā''). The philosopher Abhinavagupta (c. 950 – 10 ...

Death and succession

Avantivarman died in 883 CE and his death was followed by another civil war among his descendants. The throne was finally captured by

Sankaravarman Sankaravarman was an Chamar king of the Utpala dynasty Utpala dynasty was a Kashmiri dynasty which ruled over the Kashmir region in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent from 8th to 10th century CE. The kingdom was established by Avan ...

in 885 CE, who ruled till 902 CE.

Coins of Avantivarman

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avantivarman Hindu monarchs Utpala dynasty Kashmir