Part 4 - The history of Parvagupta (C. 949 - 50 A.D.)

Parvagupta did not come of any royal family and vas a mere commoner. His father, Sangramagupta, hailed from Parevisoka and his grandfather, 3 un Abhinava (gupta) was a mere clerk. Some twelve years earlier, he had gained access to the royal court of Unmattavanti as a dancer and had gradually formed his way to recognition by associating himself with the council of five ministers headed by Bhubhata. It is quite apparent from the narrative that Parvagupta had been, since the very beginning, nursing the ambition of seating himself on the throne of Kashmir. Under the chaotic political circumstances through which the Valley was passing during those days, a person of ambition and capable of intrigues and machinations had enough scope to seek fulfilment of his dreams, and Parvagupta seems to have devoted himself fully to this mission of his life. For a 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, vi, 127-28. 2. Ibid., I, vi, 3. Ibid., I, vi, 4. Ibid., I, v, 5. Ibid., I, v, 6. Ibid., I, V, 114, 129. 130. 420, 422-23. 421. 427 ff.

242 brief period, it appears, he lost the favour of the king, but was soon able to regain it through his son, Devagupta, the latter having participated in the brutal murder of Partha, as noted earlier Further, in order to stablise his position at the court, he had married away his two daughters to Chhoja and Bhubhata, whose offsprings played a none too notorious role subsequently, as we shall see later. Immediately after ascending the throne, Parvagupta tried to satisfy (brought about the subservience of albeit sullen-) the disgruntled forces around all and him at the court. Having punished the insulted an Ekariga chief of noble birth rather harshly, he soon 34 put the fear of life amongst all his opponents. But his chief aim after accession seems to have been that of amassing wealth through officers adept in exactions. A portion of such ill-gotten gains was, however, spent in founding a shrine - Parvaguptasvara - 45 after his name. Like others before him, Parvagupta, too, was hopelessly enamoured of (the beauty of) the plous and widowed queen of Yasaskara and wanted 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, I, V, 437-38. 2. Ibid., I, vi, 211-13. 3. Ibid., I, vi, 132. 4. Ibid., I, vi, 131-34. 5. id. I, VI. 137.

243 her to join his seraglio. The queen, however, played a neat trick on him, caused a temple to be built by Parvagupta in order to perpetuate the memory of her departed husband, and soon after its completion, cast herself bodily in the sacrificial fire rather than yield to theusurper's advances.- This act of the queen made Parvagupta extremely unpopular amongst 2 his subjects. He was soon seized by dropsy and died 3 shortly after in 950 A.D.