[6] King Bhu Dev was known for extensively eradicating Buddhist practices in his kingdom and the Bageshwar stone inscription of Bhu Dev[7] writes himself as "Brahmana Parayana" and "Parama Shramana Rupu" meaning a follower of Brahmans and an arch rival of Buddhist Bhikshus.
[8] The Katyuri Kings were known for constructing several Hindu temples in present-day Uttarakhand as later they followed Brahminical practices.
[10] They called their state Kurmanchal, the land of Kurma, the second avatar of Vishnu, from which the present name is derived.
[12] For example E. T. Atkinson, in the first volume of his book Himalayan Gazetter, proposes the Katyuris to be natives of Kumaon, and traces their roots in the ruined town of Karvirpur on the bank of the Gomati river.
[4] Previously, Khasa had strongly established themselves from Afghanistan to Nepal from ancient period and as per internal evidences, they managed the village level theocratic republics like Gram-Rajya and Mandals under various local clans and identities.
[16] Katyuri was one of the ruling houses of Joshimath that claimed the sovereignty over other Gram Rajyas of the entire territory.
The Hindu practices of Katyuri kings in general is sometimes attributed to a vigorous campaign of Adi Shankara (788-820 CE).
At its peak, the Katyuri dynasty of Kumaon extended from Sikkim in the east to Kabul, Afghanistan They were known as Katoor around Chitral Gilgit Hindukush, in the west, before fragmenting into numerous principalities by the 12th century.
It is said that the Kumaoni folk song "Mami tile dharo bola" became popular from that very day.
This region was covered in thick jungles and swamps and was inhabited by fierce Bhar tribals.
[9] Bhuv Dev (955-970) was follower of Brahminical practices and built several temples at Baijnath and Bageshwar, but the structures are lost and tradition continues.