Baramulla

Baramulla (baːɾaːmuːlaː), also known as Varmul (warmul) in Kashmiri, is a City and municipality of the Baramulla district of the Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district, located on the banks of the River Jhelum downstream from Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. The town was earlier known as gateway of Kashmir, serving as the major distribution centre for goods arriving in Kashmir valley through the Jhelum valley cart road. The town was earlier known as Vārāhamūla. The name is derived from two Sanskrit words, Vārāha (meaning wild boar) and Mūla (meaning root/origin). The town was a major urban settlement and trade centre, before suffering extensive damage during the 1947 Pakistani tribal invasion of Kashmir. Currently, Baramulla is a major centre of business and education in Northern Kashmir. The name Baramulla is derived from the Sanskrit Varāhamūla (वराहमूल), a combination of varaha (boar) and mūla (root or deep) meaning "boar's molar." According to Hindu mythology, the Kashmir Valley was once a lake known as Satisaras (Parvati's Lake in Sanskrit). Ancient Hindu texts relate that the lake was occupied by the demon Jalodbhava (meaning "originated from water") until Lord Vishnu assumed the form of a boar and struck the mountain at Varahamula. This created an opening for the water to flow out of the lake. The modern Baramulla was called Varahamulaksetra or Varahaksetra in the ancient days. Originally, it was a suburb of Huviskapura (modern Ushkur). Associated with the Adivaraha, the boar incarnation of Vishnu, it was considered very sacred. Consequently, many temples and monasteries were built in the ninth and tenth centuries, during the region of Lalitaditya Muktapida, (Queen) Sugandha, and Ksemagupta, when the worship of Vishnu flourished there. According to some accounts the city of Baramulla was founded by Raja Bhimsina in 2306 B.C. A number of visitors have traveled to Baramulla, including Xuanzang from China and a British historian named Moorcraft.