Avantiswami Temple ruins

History

The state archaeology directorate’s ASI protected monuments table names “Avantiswami Temple” at Awantipora, Pulwama, placing it among Kashmir’s medieval stone temples.

Awantipora also hosts the paired Awantisvara (Shiva) monument on the same official list; pilgrims often view both ruins in one stop when travelling the Srinagar–Jammu corridor.

Stories

A king's pair of temples on the Jhelum

The Avantiswami temple stands in ruins on the bank of the Jhelum in Awantipora, in Pulwama district. It was built by King Avantivarman of the Utpala dynasty, in the years 853 to 855 CE, and the town itself was named for him.

The site originally held two temples, Avantiswami for Vishnu and Avantishwara for Shiva. The Avantiswami temple is smaller, but similar in plan to the earlier Martand Sun Temple, and the ruins are protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

Pandav Lari, the house of the Pandavas

Local people call the ruins Pandav Lari, meaning the house of the Pandavas. The name reflects a common habit in Kashmir of linking old stone temples with the epic heroes, even though the builder is known to be a ninth-century king.

The ruins show how Kashmir's stone temple architecture looked in that period, before the region came under Muslim rule and most early temples were deserted or sacked by the early fifteenth century, according to the Wikipedia account.

Good to know

ASI protected Vishnu temple ruins at Awantipora

Listed on jkarchives.nic.in protected monuments schedule

Open-air archaeological setting on the Pulwama district corridor

Getting there

Nearest airport: Srinagar. Nearest major railhead: Jammu Tawi or Udhampur; Awantipora lies on the NH-44 Srinagar–Jammu highway in Pulwama district.