Avantiswami Temple

The Avantiswami Temple is an ancient ruined Hindu temple located on the banks of the Jhelum River, 28 km away from Srinagar in Awantipora, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its ruins once consisted of two temples dedicated to Shiva and Vishnu,^[1] and were built under king Avantivarman of the Utpala dynasty in the 9th century CE. The site is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India.^[2][3] Locals call the temple Pandav Lari, meaning "house of the Pandavas".^[4]

Avantiswami Temple
Remains of Avantiswami Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Pulwama
Deity	Shiva Vishnu
Governing body	Indian Archaeological Survey
Location
Location	Awantipora
State	Jammu and Kashmir
Country	India
Location within Jammu & Kashmir, India Show map of Jammu and Kashmir Avantiswami Temple (India) Show map of India
Geographic coordinates	33.9232602°N 75.012846°E / 33.9232602; 75.012846
Architecture
Type	Medieval Hindu
Founder	Avantivarman
Date established	9th century CE

History

The temple was built by King Avantivarman in the year 853–855 CE. Originally known as Viswasara, the ancient town was also a capital city. Avantivarman was also the founder of Avantipur and of the Utpala dynasty in the 9th century CE. He had built many Hindu temples in Kashmir during his reign, which were largely destroyed due to Muslim conquests.^[5] During the reign of Avantivarman, the region prospered. The Avantiswami Temple is an example of the stone temple architecture of Kashmir during that era.

Prior to the Muslim conquests, Kashmir was a center of Shaivism and Hindu philosophy, and a seat of Sanskrit learning and literature. By the 14th century, Kashmir had come under Muslim rule, and most of its early temples were deserted or sacked by the early 15th century. Two temples here are attributed to him: the Avantiswami Temple dedicated to Vishnu and the Avantishwara Temple dedicated to Shiva. The Avantiswami is smaller, but similar in planning to the earlier Martand Sun Temple.^[6][7]

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  Platform and pillars
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  Reliefs, Avantiswami Temple
• 
  Temple detail

See also

• Martand Sun Temple
• Shankaragaurishvara Temple
• Vishnu Devi
• Awantipora
• Kheer Bhawani

References

1. "Origin of Lord Shiva and Vishnu - Relationship Between Shiva & Vishnu". TemplePurohit - Your Spiritual Destination | Bhakti, Shraddha Aur Ashirwad. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
2. "Avantiswami Temple, Avantipur". Archeological Survey of India. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
3. Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 295. ISBN 978-8122-411-98-0.
4. "The History Behind Avantipura". GK.
5. "Early Muslim Conquests (622-656 CE)". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 4 June 2022.
6. "Lost in the rubble". The Hindu. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
7. "Kashmir. General view of ruins of Temple of Avantiswami at Avantipore. Probable date A.D. 852 to 854". British Library. Retrieved 26 March 2009.