Karkota dynasty ended with the murder of Cippatajayapida, their last significant ruler. Padma, Utpala, Kalyana, Mamma, and Dharma, his maternal uncles gained considerable power and indulged in a fierce strifle in a dash to conquest for the control of entire empire.(1) However Tribhuvanapida's son, Ajitapida was nominated by Utpala immediately after Cippatajayapida's death. Following a lull for a period of few years Mamma waged a successful battle against Utpala, and installed Anangipida. Three years later, Utpala's son Sukhavarman rebelled successfully and installed Utpalapida, a son of Ajitapida. Then again after a few years Sukhavarman was killed by his relative on his way to assume throne. Finally his son Avantivarman deposed Utpalapida and claimed the throne c. 855 with help from minister Sura, thus establishing the Utpala dynasty.

Avantivarman, was considered the greatest ruler of the Utpala dynasty who ruled for 27 years until 883. His minister Suyya was responsible for several innovations in the field of irrigation and water-management. His death led to a power vacuum which was filled by instating Sankaravarman to throne. Multiple battles were waged and remained victorious. Kalhana notes that Samkaravarman invaded Gujarat with an army composed of "nine lac infantrymen, three hundred elephants and one lac cavalry"; Alakhana, the local ruler had to gift a swath of territory to maintain his sovereignty. Samkaravarman was married to Sugandha, the daughter of a neighboring king and had at-least three other queens including one Surendravati. He is remarked to have brought cultural as well as economic prosperity.

Avantiswami Temple Built By Avantivarman

However, the later years of his regime were cruel and marked by rampant oppression, especially from a fiscal perspective. Kalhana described him to be a "robber" who seized profits exacted by temples, plundered religious institutions and brought agraharas etc. under direct control of the crown whilst providing minimal compensations. Forced labor were systematically legitimized in Kashmir for the first time and not rendering such services was made into an offense. New revenue offices were created and an elaborate taxation scheme was devised, which led to the employment of numerous Kayasthas in royal service. Kalhana blames these lowly Kayasthas for driving honest villagers to poverty and destroying all repute of Samkaravarman. Scholarship struggled to flourish and court-poets lived a pitiful existence, without pay. Famines and other calamities became commonplace.

These continued despite Gopalavarman accusing his father of unbound greed and inflicting terrible misfortune on the subjects. Finally, Samkaravarman died in 902 of a stray-arrow at a foreign territory, whilst returning from a successful conquest. His ministers guarded-back the corpse to Kashmir, where last respects were conferred and funeral rites organized; some of his queens and servants died by Sati.Despite having thirty to forty issues, none other than Gopalavarman and Samkata survived past infancy, in what Kalnana ascribed to karma.

Gopalavarman was installed as the new king, with John Nemec noting that the labyrinthine series of coups to start with him would be worthy of a Mahabharata-like epic. He had a short reign of two years (902-904) under the regency of Sugandha. Prabhakaradeva employed Ramadeva—one of his relatives—to assassinate the king by practice of witchcraft. Gopalavarman died of a fever soon and Ramadeva died by suicide, after his conspiracy became public knowledge. Gopalavarman had at-least two consorts — Nanda, a child-girl and Jayalakshmi. He had no issue at the time of his death but Jayalakshmi was already pregnant. Consequently, Samkata ascended the throne only to die after ten days.

Sugandha seized the throne after Samkata, apparently with an intention of securing it for her grandson (from Jayalakshmi); however, he died soon after birth. She took the throne for herself and ruled for two years—in an environment marked by upheaval of the Tantrins before trying to install Nirjitavarman, a grandson of Suravarman as well as her blood-relative. This was met with considerable resistance from the ministers as well as the Tantrins, on grounds of his lameness and they installed Nirjitavarman's child-son Partha instead. Thereafter, Nirjitavarman was retained as a regent but Sugandha and her counsel were ousted.

Crowned at an age of ten, Partha’s reign of ten years (906-921) were under the regency of Nirjitavarman, who in turn was a puppet at the hands of Tantrins and the ministers. The subjects were oppressed and heavy bribes were exacted. Samkaravardhana, the eldest minister allied with another minister Sugandhaditya to plunder the royal finances; prime-minister Merubardhana's sons accrued riches as well. He entire span was marked by struggles for the throne between Partha and Nirjitavarman and in 921, Partha was finally overthrown by the Tantrins. Nothing is recorded by Kalhana about Nirjitavarman's rule of two years. He died, after having placed Cakravarman on the throne.

Cakravarman was yet another child-ruler; the Tantrins immediately tried to install back Partha but in vain. Cakravarman went on to rule for ten years (till 933/934), a few months under the regency of his mother and then, under grandmother Ksillika. Following Cakravarman's abdication, Samkaravardhana dispatched his brother Sambhuvardhana to negotiate with the Tantrins on his behalf. In the negotiating tables, he promised even greater bribes and purchased the crown for himself, deceiving Samkaravardhana.

Remains of Avantiswami Temple

In the meanwhile, Cakravarman forged an alliance with the Damaras (led by Samgrama) in exile and their combined forces took on Sambhuvardhana in the spring of 936 near Padmapura - modern day Pampore. Samkaravardhana, who served as the war-commander for the tantrins was slain by Cakravarman himself, in what Kalhana described as a moment of impeccable valor and significance, as the rest were now easily routed. Cakravarman was reinstalled after a victory-parade through the city and he rejected pardoning Sambhuvardhana and a bunch of tantrins, who were caught whilst fleeing away. In the summer of 937, a group of Damara guards attacked Cakravarman in a privy at night and chased him into Hamsi's sleeping-chamber; Cakravarman failing to locate any weapon—met with his end, in her embrace. Kalhana notes this to be a retaliation to his' killing numerous Damaras, in breach of the earlier alliance. Cakravarman's wives had allegedly urged the guards to stone his knees in his final dying moments.

Unmattavanti ascended to the throne after Cakravarman, with help from minister Sarvata and others. In a regime marked by wanton violence, ridiculousness, and oppression, he was effectively controlled by a minister named Parvagupta, who desired for the throne. Unmattavanti employed Kayasthas in royal services and appointed Rakka, a Brahmin foot-soldier from the house of Samgrama, as the prime-minister.Unmattavanti has fourteen queens and probably no son. He died of a chronic disease in 939, suffering immense pain; before his death, he had Suravarman II (who was falsely proclaimed by the servants of his seraglio to be his own son) crowned.

Suravarman II reigned for hardly a few days, before being ousted by his commander-in-chief Kamalvardhana, who had declared rebellion from his base in Madavarajya against the Damras (and by extension, the Utpalas). He fled the kingdom with his mother, bringing the Utpala Dynasty to an end. Kamalvardhana convened an assembly of Brahmins to appoint the next ruler, who rejected his self-nomination as well as a request from Suravarman II's mother. Yasaskara, the son of Prabhakaradeva was instead chosen, which brought an end to Utpala dynasty and brought Didda’s autocracy.