Introduction

The contributions of Vaidya, Ray and the Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan Series of the History and Culture of the Indian People bring us on sounder historical grounds but, because of the nature and wider scope of their works, many knotty problems of considerable political import have received insufficient attention from them. Recently, the works of Sri S.C. Ray and Bamzai have done some justice to the political history of the Valley, but the stress in both these has, in the main, been on the cultural aspects of the history of Kashmir. While the former has dealt with the political history of the Valley for about 1500 years (from Asoka Maurya to 1338 A.D.) in a little over fifty pages, the latter has devoted some hundred pages for the history of a period covering some 1700 years. Hence the necessity and importance of this humble attempt. II As noted above, the present work deals with the political history of Kashmir from the earliest times to the 12 th century A.D. Our approach and method of treatment in dealing with the subject-matter at hand may be briefly outlined here. For the sake of convenience, the dissertation has been divided into

-vi- ? five broad sections, viz., (1) Geography and Early History of Kashmir, (2) Kashmir Under the Karkotas, (3) Kashmir Under the Utpalas, (4) Kashmir Under the Loharas and (5) Administration and Coinage. Since the presentation of the work is in the nature of a thesis on political history, the careers and reignnot periods of the kings have been dealt with separately, but notable personalities like Lalitaditya, Kalasa, Harsha, Jayasimha, etc., have been treated apart in separate chapters. Although the Rajatarangini of Kalhana has been utilised as the main source of our information, other works like the Nilamata Purana, Rajatarangini of Jonaraja, Kuttanimatam of Damodargupta and numerous others have also been drawn upon to advantage for supplementing our assertions. Literary notices of foreign travellers, notably the Chinese and Persian, have been utilised according to the nature of the problem at hand. Further, corroborative numismatic data and those of the monumental remains have also come to our help specially on occasions when there was paucity of evidence from other sources. Alongside, epigraphic evidence, both from the North and the South and wielding considerable weight on several controversial topics, has been pressed in support of our suggestions and assertions.

-vii It has generally been held that the political history of Kashmir, prior to the rise of the Karkotas in the Valley, is vague, unsubstantiated and disputatious, as Kalhana's 'treatment of the history of Kashmir down to the 7 th century A.D. is exclusively based on legends and traditions.' But a closer scrutiny would reveal that, shorn of the embellishments and personal likes and dislikes, Kalhana has made a valiant attempt at historiography of the proper type under the circumstances after analysing the evidence of eleven existing works and numerous epigraphs. It will be noticed that it has not been possible for us to accept the suggestions of some scholars regarding the identity of Jalauka Maurya nor the theory that the Fourth Buddhist Council was held in Kashmir. Also, we have tried our best to clear the mist and certain doubts regarding such historical personages as Mihirakula and Toramana who find mention in the Chronicle. The period subsequent to the dawn of the 8 th Century A.D. is of very great importance in the annals of Kashmir as several historical events of momentous importance took place thereafter. The rise of the Karkotas in the Valley ushered in a

-viii In new era of peace at home and expansion abroad. consequence, the Indian mainland was invaded thrice by Kashmir during the reign-periods of Lalitaditya and Jayapida and later, during the reign of Sankaravarman as well; political alliance with China was sought after by the rulers of the Valley who had fully realised the menace of Arab expansion, as also the threat from Tibet. The invasion of Nepal during the reign of Jayapida is also indicative of similar political consciousness of the rulers of the Valley. It will also be noticed that the invincible Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni, who ravaged the plains of India at will, had to beat retreat in his three successive attempts against the combined forces of Nature and men of the Valley. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why Kashmir was the last State to succumb to Islamic onslaught in as late as the 14 th century A.D. when the rest of Northern India had been brought under its rule some two centuries earlier. The extensive conquests of Lalitaditya Muktapida, the mightiest ruler of the Valley, have hitherto been partially accepted by scholars and his campaigns in the South have generally been brushed aside as mere ' rhodomontade'. To us, it appears that these should 1

-ix now be acceptable to sober history as established facts, for the political turmoils and dynastic feuds of the times offered full scope for such a digvijaya campaign to that mighty Emperor. It will also be noticed that some South Indian epigraphs, together with the legends of Rajasthan and numismatic data, help us considerably in establishing the veracity of our assertions. Similarly, his presence and adventures in Central Asia and his wars with the Tibetans, have to be viewed in the broader perspective of an aggressive foreign policy aiming at the territorial security of the Valley. The subsequent attempt of Jayapida to emulate the exploits of his grandfather, his presence and adventures in Bengal and his wars with Nepal were born of a similar policy. That the enlightened rulers of Kashmir were quite alive to the policy of maintaining a ring of friendly feudatories around them is apparent from the fact that Sankaravarman risked a war with the Gurjara-Pratiharas when the latter were at the height of their glory and the most powerful State in Northern India. Further, it is unfortunate that the role of the rulers of the Valley in their efforts to help safeguard the vulnerable frontiers of India has not received due attention and appreciation. While it is true that

the Kashmiri forces sent to help the Shahis of Kabul d were worsted by the Ghaznavis because of the tactical errors of their chief commander, yet it has to be conceded that the thought of the security of the mainland and the dangers from the rising Islamic powers on the North-west had fully dawned upon them. That, despite their lack of resources, the Kashmiris were able to beat Mahmud back thrice (as stated earlier), was no small achievement on their part. Subsequent history of Kashmir, as submitted by us, is a sad and pitiful account of court-intrigues and struggle for the crown in which the Ekangas and the Tantrins - two militarily organised bodies and peculiar to the Valley alone - played major, and often decisive, roles. The larger interests of the masses and the country were shelved back and the country groaned under an oppressive and exacting administrative machinery dominated by the 'Kayastha' officials. A few enlightened rulers did try to alleviate the sufferings of the people, but their efforts were like patches of oasis in the desert of corruption and misrule. It will be noticed that our treatment of the system of administration enjoyed by the people of the

-xi Valley during the period under review differs from the pattern generally advocated and followed by our worthy predecessors. We have tried to analyse the origin and development of the institution of kingship in the Valley along with the growth of a formidable bureaucracy in later times and detailed its functions together with the importance attached to each office. It is interesting to note that while most of the terms of administrative usage were the same as current in the sub-continent of India, a few were also borrowed from the neighbouring Persia, while many were peculiar to the Valley itself and had their parallels in the administrative system of India in later times. We have also taken cognisance of the various reforms introduced in the administrative machinery by enlightened rules from time to time. III We are deeply conscious of our limitations and it is very natural that a few aspects of the political history of Kashmir may have unwittingly been left out unelucidated. In defence, it may humbly be pointed out that, as Kalhana approaches nearer to his times in his narration, his account loses much of his 'historical sense' in the maze of details which might be valuable

-x 11- 5 otherwise but are less important from our point of view. Lack of corroborative data from other sources, too, might have contributed to some measure in this respect. Also, many controversial problems relating to the history of Kashmir have been dealt by us separately in detail and these have seen the light of the day in several Journals. Consequently, we have merely referred to them for details and submitted the substance of our views herein. Though it has been our constant endeavour to deal with the subject and its manifold problems in correct perspective and without prejudice, it is quite possible that a few divergences from the hitherto accepted opinions of learned scholars and some discrepancies might have crept in because of the inadequacy of materials and our poor understanding of the same. Lastly, we are painfully alive to the unwieldy bulk and size of our humble attempt and crave indulgence from the reader for any typographical and diacritical oversights on our part. The system of transliteration adopted in the preparation of the present Thesis is the same as the one followed by the Archaeological Survey of India.