Awantiwarman was a great known king, who ruled the kashmir valley from 855 to 883 AD. He was wise and had the same opinion for one of his kinds. He always worked for people’s good and was generous towards his kingdom. During his reign, everyone lived a peaceful life and saw many beneficial advances. He built many buildings, towns, temples and other such type. The village Awantipora was known after his name.
Only
thing that used to concern him was the overflow of the river Vitasta (jhelum)
every summer. This overflow would cost the villagers their goods
and possessions. To inhibit this overflow, he had come across many
strategies, but none of them proved useful.
It is
said that a man named “Suyya” used
to claim that he can fix the overflow of this river. He used to say that, “If
he had enough money, he would have already controlled the flood.”
Kalhana
has also mentioned about “Suyya” in his book Rajatarangini. He
had written that a poor lady had found a newborn in a
covered earthen pot on the roadside and brought him home. She raised him with
love and care, and named him Suyya. He was very intelligent and wise.
Although he himself was poor but he still used to help others in need. He used
to keep looking for answers and used to remain engaged in self-talk. People
used to think about him as fool and unwise.
Keeping
in mind the helplessness of villagers, he had already overlooked the
river. This was the reason that he used to say, “If he was rich enough, he
would have already controlled the flood.”
One
day, the king comes to know about Suyya and his claim. He summoned
him to his palace. After meeting the Suyya, the king realized that he is
no fool and can fix the flood. The king told Suyya that he
may use as much money as he needs but to make sure the flood
does not persist.
Suyya
said, “Give me only two pots of dinnaras for the time being. I’ll use that to
calm the raging floods.” The courtiers, cutting him off,
said, “He’s insane.”
Suyya
replied, “Crazy or no?! Trust me with the funds I requested. I am not
a thief to do away with people’s
money.” Avantivarman replied, “Suyya, you shall have the
two pots of dinnaras. Our soldiers will also accompany you”. Suyya
took the loads of coins and stepped into the boat. He scattered these coins
from Khanbal to Khadinyar.
During
this period, people were poor and helpless. They were starving due to the lack
and high prices of foodstuffs. After hearing this, the people stepped into
the river; they started digging the
underneath of river to collect the treasure that Suyya had
thrown into it.
This
caused the increasing in depth of the river and hence brought down the flood
levels. It also increased the height of the shores. The extra water that
was stuck in the village area was now drained back into the river.
Seeing
all this, the king got quite impressed. He honoured Suyya and
announced him as The
Royal Engineer of his kingdom. After becoming the
Engineer, he made several advances to enhance the village’s agriculture.
For the betterment of agriculture, he built many big and small canals. These
were to channel the water coming down the slopes into the river.
He
also built heavy walls around the river shores in the mountain areas to prevent
the blockages of the river from landscaping. It was every year now that he used
to promote the cleaning of the rivers and thus maintaining its depth. The king
also established a town and named it “Suyyapur” (Present day Sopore) after the
name of “Suyya”.
We
can now trace both the original path of the river and the altered course of the
river. It owes to Kalhana’s tales of Suyya regulating the waters of the
Vitasta. This illustrates the accuracy of his geographical knowledge
in great detail.
In
the past, the Vitasta and the Sindh merged close to Trigami. It used to
turn a sizable portion of the land into a swamp. However, Suyya organised their
meeting at Shadipur. He controlled the Vitasta’s path so that it passed
directly into the Wular Lake. In a same way, the tributaries’ paths
were also controlled. Thus, the water got directed for agricultural
reasons. Each community received the exact amount of water required for
its crops.
Suyya
built circular embankments around several settlements to keep out
water. It gave them the appearance of bowls, hence named after that
as “Kundala”. Some villages still go by this name today, including Utsa
Kundal, Mara Kundal, etc.
Parihaspura
lost the majority of its significance as a result of Suyya’s irrigation activities. He moved the junction of the rivers, Vitasta and Sindhu,
from Parihaspura to Shadipur. At this junction,
it is said that he built a temple dedicated to Hrashikesha Yogasayin.
According
to Kalhana, Suyya observed various types of terrain. He succeeded
in obtaining a supply of river water for the communities. So they
were no longer solely dependent on rainfall.
He
collected some soil from each village after seeing the fields of all the
villages. By measuring how long it took for the soil to dry up, he
determined how long irrigation would be necessary for each soil. He then
permanently set up the size and distribution of each village’s watercourse.
He employed a variety of streams for irrigation covering the
entire area. These fields were extensive and known for quality
food.