Awantipora () or Avantipur or Aavantipur, known as Woontpor () in
Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to:
* People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir
* Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley
* Kashmiri language, their language
People with the name
* Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...
, is a town, just opposite of
Pulwama city
Pulwama (known as Panwangam in antiquity, and later as Pulgam) is a City and notified area council in the Pulwama district of the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located approximately south of the summer capital of ...
, on the banks of the
river Jhelum in the
Pulwama district of the
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
n
union territory of
Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to:
* Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent
* Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory
* Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...
. It is on the
Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (now called the
NH 44
National Highway 44 (NH 44) is a major north–south National Highway in India and is the longest in the country.
It passes through the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, in addition to the states of Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, ...
), south of
Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...
and north of
Anantnag
Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the un ...
. Awantipora was named after the Kashmiri king
Avantivarman and has the ruins of two 9th century
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
temples built by him.
Awantipora tehsil is a subdistrict of
Pulwama district.
History
It is said that the town was founded by
Avantivarman who was the first 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 Avanti Varman, ending the rule of Karkota dynasty in 855 CE. ...
, and ruled Kashmir from 855 to 883 AD.
This web-page spells the town ''Avantipur'', and says that it is in Anantnag district
Anantnag district is a district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of ten districts which make up the Kashmir Valley. The district headquarters is Anantnag city. As of 2011, it was the third most populous district ...
, which it was before the creation of Pulwama district in 1979. Avantivarman built a Hindu temple in Awantipora dedicated to
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" withi ...
called "
Avantisvamin" before he became king, and during his reign he built a second Hindu temple in Awantipora called "Avantisvara" dedicated to
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; Help:IPA/Sanskrit, ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one o ...
. Both temples were built in spacious rectangular paved courtyards. They were destroyed in the middle ages. They were excavated by the archeologist
Daya Ram Sahni
Rai Bahadur Daya Ram Sahni CIE (16 December 1879 – 7 March 1939) was an Indian archaeologist who supervised the excavation of the Indus valley site at Harappa in 1920 to 1921 But the first report of Harappan excavations came out in 1921 ...
in the early 20th century.
[ The Avantisvamin temple is located at and Avantisvara is at . They are protected and maintained by the ]Archaeological Survey of India
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is an Indian government agency that is responsible for archaeological research and the conservation and preservation of cultural historical monuments in the country. It was founded in 1861 by Alexand ...
.
File:Avantipura 1.jpg, The Avantisvamin temple
File:Avantisvara_Temple.JPG, The Avantisvara temple
Demographics
As per the 2011 census, Awantipora has an average literacy rate of 69.41%, lower than the national average of 74%. Male literacy was 80.17%, and female literacy was 43.03% 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Awantipora has a population of 12,647 people.
Villages in Awantipora tehsil
The villages along with their patwar halqa (revenue circle) in Awantipora tehsil are listed below. There is a branch of Axis Bank
Axis Bank Limited, formerly known as UTI Bank (1993–2007), is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It sells financial services to large and mid-size companies, SMEs and retail businesses.
As ...
in the village of Larkipora.
IUST Awantipora
Awantipora is home to Islamic University of Science and Technology(IUST) dating back to 2005. The university has been set up as a centre for higher learning for the people of the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir and its neighbouring regions.
AIIMS Awantipora
The first batch of MBBS
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United Kin ...
at the upcoming AIIMS at Awantipora in south Kashmir will start in August 2021. The temporary accommodation is in Srinagar
Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...
.
Air Force Station
Awantipur Air Force Station is situated near Awantipora at Malangpora about 5 km from Pulwama town.
See also
* Anantnag
Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of 53 kilometres (33 miles) from the un ...
* Martand Sun Temple
The Martand Sun Temple is a Hindu temple located near the city of Anantnag in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), India. It dates back to the eighth century AD and was dedicated to Surya, the chief solar deity in Hindu ...
* Sun Temple
A sun temple (or solar temple) is a building used for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, dedicated to the sun or a solar deity. Such temples were built by a number different cultures and are distributed around the ...
External links
Ruins of Ancient Temples of Awantipora
References
{{Pulwama district
Cities and towns in Pulwama district
9th-century Hindu temples