The Avantiswami Temple is a

Hindu temple 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 Hi ...

located on the banks of the river

Jhelum Jhelum (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for pr ...

, 28 km away from Srinagar in

Awantipora Awantipora () or Avantipur or Aavantipur, known as Woontpor () in Kashmiri, is a town, just opposite of Pulwama city, on the banks of the river Jhelum in the Pulwama district of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is on the Ja ...

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 administere ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. Its complex consisted of two temples, one each for

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 Hin ...

and

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 ...

, which were built under king Avantivarman 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. ...

in the 9th century CE on the banks 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 the ...

. The site is 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 ...

. Locals call the temples ''Pandav Lari'', meaning "house of the

Pandavas The Pandavas (Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic ''Mahabharata''. They are acknowl ...

History

The temple was built by king Awantivarman 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

in the 9th century CE. He had 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 Hindu deities, gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Q ...

in Kashmir during his reign, which were largely destroyed due to

Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...

.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 centre of

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

and

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson ...

, and a seat of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominalization, nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cul ...

learning and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to inclu ...

. 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

and the Avantishwara Temple dedicated to

. The Avantiswami is smaller in size, but similar to the earlier

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 Hinduis ...

in planning. File:Avantipura 1.jpg, Platform and pillars File:Avantipura 3.jpg, Reliefs, Avantiswami Temple File:Avantiswami Temple detail (6133723727).jpg, Temple detail

References

{{reflist Hindu temples in Jammu and Kashmir 9th-century Hindu temples Utpala dynasty