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Later Hindu
Period of Kashmir History (1148 A.D. to 1339 A.D.)
The Doyen of
Sanskrit chroniclers, Kashmirian Kalhana was
destined to write about the Hindu period of Kashmir
History only upto A.D. 1148. Therafter, being
inspired by overwhelming talent of his illustrious
predecessor, Jona Raja pieced together the reign of
subsequent Hindu Kings up to 1339 A. C. when the
Sultans appeared on the Kashmir-scene. It was at the
instance of celebrated Shirya Bhatta that Jona Raja
took up the thread of chronicle writing with Jaya
Singh's last seven years to the end of Kota Rani,
the Hindu monarch of Kashmir and wove a panoramic
picture of fourteen Hindu kings in 307 verses. Thus
the chronicle of later Hindu Kings of Kashmir did
not suffer by default in any way, more or less was
made complete and self-contained by this versatile
scholar.
Even though Jona Raja has confessed that Kalhana was
his ideal, yet he has not been able to pin-point the
sources on which he rebuilt the History of these
Hindu kings. Kalhana, on the other hand, has most
lucidly given as a lengthy inventory of sources
which came in handy to him while delineating the
History of ancient Hindu period of Kashmir.
Unfortunately for Jona Raja, no such reference
material could be available to him, more so in the
context of social and political turmoil which found
a fertile soil during the reign of those later Hindu
Kings. Perforce, he had to draw upon public-memory,
tradition, and other allied direct or indirect
evidence and piece these together for giving it the
shape of readable chronicle. Moreover, the selection
of medium-Sanskrit also posed a veritable
predicament to him. In his own words he has lamented
the apathy of general public for Sanskrit and so has
elected to caption his chronicle as "Raja
Tarangini in the footsteps of Kalhana.” He could
correctly divine that this title borrowed for
Kalhana would draw the elite towards it since the
reputation of Kalhana as a master-mind in wedding
History to poetry was irrefutable, an alibi for
Kalhana through his own treatise.
Despite all these shortcomings, it goes without
saying that Jona Raja has taken up his assignment in
all seriousness and has not indulged in futile kite
flying. He along with his successors in this field -Shrivara,
Prajya Bhatta and Shuka- have kept their heads cool
and have in no way got involved emotionally with the
turn of events. The inauspicious atmosphere staring
them in their face did not at all ruffle them and
they have admirably enough maintained the highest
traditions of chronicle writing; their counterparts
in Persian have more than often lost their balance
and in their misplaced zeal for Islam have mutilated
the actual content and ethos of Sultan period of
Kashmir History. They have presented most of these
Sultans as rabid crusaders against the Hindu way of
life, which does not stand the veracity of facts
penned down by the contemporary Sanskrit
chroniclers. These chroniclers having been reduced
to a minority overnight as also treated like the
under god (as narrated by Persian Historians), had
every reason to deride this proselytising attitude
of the Sultans, but instead have placed honour where
it was due and have not also refrained from calling
spade a spade. The very fact of engaging Sanskrit
Scholars for writing the History of Sultan period
gives a lie to what Persian Historians have termed
as mass conversion under duris or general genocide
of the Hindus at that time. Jona Raja takes Sultan
Sikandar, in collusion with Suha Bhatta, to task for
his inhuma n treatment towards Hindus, though he was
in the pay of his son Sultan Zainul-abdin Budshah.
This kind of plain - speaking on the part of Jona
Raja deserves kudos but at the same time acts as a
telling reminder of the freedom of expression
allowed so benignly by this benevolent Sultan. To
crown all, Jona Raja has praised Sultan
Shahab-ud-Din for his catholicity, yet Persian
chroniclers have dubbed him as the worst kind of
Hindu-baiter. Shrivara has recorded in his "Zaina
Raja Tarangini" that a Buddhist monastery at
Bijebehara and a rock Shrine of "Ganesha"
at the foot of Hari Parbat in Srinagar were built at
public level during the reign of Sultan Hassan, the
grandson of Budshah, but at the same time he has
said that the Shrine of 'Bahu Khitkeshwara' at the
confluence of the Jhelum and Dhud-Ganga was razed to
ground by hot headed Muslims,' actually
neo-converts. The very fact of converting Hindu
Shrines into mosques preserving their sanctity in
every respect speaks volumes for the forbearance
exhibited consciously or otherwise by the Muslim
Population of Kashmir. In recent years we have seen
the sordid fate which such places of worship met
during Russian Revolution or even after it, when we
are told that the man of today is more rational than
he was ever before.
At the same time, these chroniclers have suggested
loudly -rather reading between their lines- that the
Sultans of Kashmir always treated themselves as the
big brother and never mixed with local Muslim
population. They were so conscious of their
blue-blood that they preferred to marry daughters or
sisters of Rajas of Jammu, Rajouri etc. rather than
have any such matrimonial relations with Kashmiri
Muslims. At best they brought sayed girls to their
harem who were obviously foreigners here and
belonged to the highest echelon of Muslim hierarchy.
But, when during the decline of Sultan rule, local
factions began to assert themselves, the force of
circumstance made them initiate such relations with
the most powerful factions not for the love of it
but to make themselves secure on the rickety throne.
In the background of such detached attitude to
chronicle writing we can safely assert that Jona
Raja has steered meticulously safe between
enthralling emotion and nauseating exaggeration.
Later Hindu period of Kashmir History is an eloquent
testimony to this kind of highest norm observed by
him most tenaciously. He has elected to sit on the
fence and narrate the events as they take shape of
their own accord. He never sits on judgment on
these and leaves it to the reader to draw his own
inferences. He had enough excuse to lament when the
rule of Hindu Kashmir was slowly and steadily raking
way for an alien sovereignity, but instead has felt
relieved to see the end of such incompetence and
depravation which these Hindu kings represented in
letter and spirit. This is a glowing tribute to his
undaunted spirit unruffled by sentiment or religious
loyalties.
Jona Raja has altogether given us a list of twelve
Hindu Kings punctuating it with a brief interlude of
"Renchan" and then proceeded with Udyan
Deva and Kota Rani. The last seven years of JaYa
Singh's rule (1148 A. D. to 1155 A. D.) were
exhausted in obstructing muslim incursions into the
state for which he also sought the help from
neighbouring Hindu chieftains. He seems to be the
last Hindu monarch worth his salt and laid down his
life while defending his home land. After him the
reins of the Government passed on to his son 'Parmanuk'
1155 A. D. to 1164 A. D. through whose incompetence
the vassals of Kishtwar, Rajouri and others on the
outer fringe of Kashmir declared independence. He
has been portrayed as an idiot with least
credentials for becoming a king. Thereafter, 'Vanti
Deva’ (1164 to 1171 A. D.) and 'Bopa Deva' (1171
A. D. to 1181 A. D.) ascended the throne one after
another and the social and political conditions
deteriorated in the country due to their being
nincompoops. They were followed by 'Jassaka' (1181
A. D. to 1199 A. D.) given to levity and lust.
However, his talented son Jagdeva (1159 A. D. to
1213 A. D. ) tried his best to stem the rot and
halted the disintegration of the state. He erected a
towering shrine of 'Harsheshwara' Lord Shiva at
Razpur near Khonmuh. Unfortunately he was poisoned
to death by the commander of the gate guards (passes
leading into Kashmir) "Padma" by name.
His son Raja Deva (1213 A. D. to 1236) had fled to
Kishtwar but was brought back by the enemies of the
commander of gateguards, the nobles of Khovurpora in
the Liddar Valley. Later on 'Padma' was also done to
death by some hunters. Raja Deva was acknowledged as
the ruler by the entire Kashmiri population. He
rehabilitated 'Lavanyas' ('lones' in Kashmiri) and
made them his strong allies. But he could not arrest
the erosion that had seeped down into the very fibre
of Kashmiri society and was venquishad by the
chieftain of 'Lar' - 'Baladhyachandra' who grabbed
half of the metropolis- Srinagar from him and built
a hospice 'Baladhymatha' (Kashmiri Baldimar) in his
own name. The Brahmin-section of the population did
not take kindly to his weak-kneed policy,
consequently revolted but were brought to bay with
an iron hand. They were persecuted so vehemently
that they opted for changing their caste even. Jona
Raja associates the abominable term 'Na Bhatto ham
-’ 'I am not a Bhatta' (Kashmiri Nabtu) with this
Hindu King for the first time. He founded the two
localities of Rajori (Kadal) within the city and
Village (Razul) consecrating these with his own
name.
Sangrama Deva (1236 A. D. to 1252 A. D.) his
successor put in herd labour to reclaim the lost
territories from neighbouring chieftains but his
younger brother 'Surya' fell foul with him and
indulged in conspiring against him though he had
been given the respectable authority as the chairman
of the Council of ministers. Consequently a fight
broke out between the brothers in which 'Surya' was
taken prisoner and killed subsequently at the 'Hamal',
the Governor of which locality 'Tunga' had sworn
allegiance to him. During the absence of 'Sangrama
Deva' the descendants of Kalhana had unleashed a
reign of terror throughout the state and the king
had to seek asylum with the ruler of Rajori.
Thereafter "Damaras" also joined hands
with the "Kalhanas" and sucked the blood
of Kashmiris. Sangrama Deva returned to his state
incognito, collected his forces and overwhelmed his
enemies. He also gave reprieve to 'Kalhanas' for
being Brahmins. He built a row of twenty-one
barracks for the Brahmins and cows at Bijebehara.
But the 'Kalhanas' nursed a grudge against the King
and secretly conspired to get rid of him. Pandit 'Yashska'
the poet, immortalized the King in his composition
replete with poetic excellence. However, this
treatise along with its title is not available to us
today. We also are not informed about the medium
used by this poet - Sanskrit or Kashmiri.
His son Rama Deva (1252 A. D. to 1273 A. D.) avenged
the murder of his father by putting to sword all
those who had colluded with each other to kill him.
On the left bank of 'Ladar' stream he built a very
imposing fort in his name. The Vishnu temple at
Kakapora was rennovated by him which had earlier
been desecrated mistakenly. He had no son of his
own, hence adopted a Brahmin-boy 'Lakshma' by
name. The queen 'Samudra' erected a hospice within
the city naming it as 'Samudra Matha'
(Kashmiri 'Sodramar').
We are given to understand that a Brahmin boy, the
adopted son of Rama Deva, Lakshma Deva occupied the
throne (1273 A.D. to 1286 A.D.) but it proved to be
a veritable crown of thorns for him. Though being
made 'Khshtrya' by his profession, he could not
shake off his marrowdeep Brahmanical
outlook. The Turk 'Kajjala' invaded Kashmir during
his reign and Lakshma Deva was uprooted. His queen 'Ahalya'
built a serai calling it as 'Ahalya Matha' (Kashmiri
'Ahalmar') within Srinagar.
'Sangram Chandra of 'Lar' in collusion with the Turk
invader 'Kajjala' made Lakshma Deva's successor 'Sinha
Deva' (1236 A. D. to 1301 A. D.) flee to the 'Ledar'
Valley which comprised his nominal state now. When 'Sangrama
Chandra' died, Sinha Deva entered the city and
indulged in setting the house in order. The King was
a devout Hindu, so constructed many shrines, the
prominent amongst these was the temple of 'half
lion, half man' (Nara Simha) at Dhyanodarthe
Karewa of Dhyneshwara near Bandipore. He also
honoured his guru Shankar Swami by allotting him the
income accruing from ten shrines. The King was poet
also, but none of his compositions has come down to
us so far. However, he fell in bad company later on
and had illegal relations with one courtesan 'Idagali'
by name. The chief teller of Royal treasury Darya
(Khan) by name got the King assassinated by 'Kama
Samuha.'
This very 'Kama Samuha' was instrumental in
installing Simha Deva's brother 'Suha Deva' (1301
A.D. to 1320 A.D.) on the throne.
During his reign a sizable number of fugitives came
to Kashmir for seeking employment here. The king
obliged them readily, least knowing that he was
digging his own grave and working unconsciously for
the dissolution of Hindu Kashmir. Along with these
fugitives Shahmeer arrived in Kashmir in A. D. 1313
and the king Suha Deva allotted a Jagir to him
making him comfortable in every way.
At that very time 'Dulcha' invaded Kashmir with his
hordes spelling disaster. King Suha Deva, not having
the nerve to confront him, tried to buy peace from
him with a huge sum of money. For
meeting that end he imposed exhorbitant taxes on his
subjects already groaning under the terror of Dulcha
not sparing the Brahmanas even who were immune from
such levies. The ego of the Brahmanas was hurt to
such an extent that many of these preferred self
immolation to paying of taxes. Even after getting a
huge amount as gratification, Dulcha did not vacate
Kashmir for long eight months. During this period
Kashmiris suffered untold miseries, to borrow Jona
Raja’s words could not afford to come out of their
hideouts for being killed, like rats out of
fear for the cat. At last he went out of Kashmir
through Pirpanchal negotiating 'Tarbal' pass towards
the South of Divsar. Again Jona Raja would make us
believe that a very small portion of the population
had survived this holocaust and that also could not
find any food to eat. Kashmir had become desolated
completely.
During this nemesis which visited Kashmir, 'Renchan'
a runaway prince from Ladakh was in the
Valley but was lying low for fear of Dulcha. He was
perhaps biding his time to strike at the right
moment. Propitiously for him Kashmir was in
shambles, the people and their ruler demoralised, so
he did not encounter any resistance in grabbing the
throne. He had earlier subjugated 'Rama Chandra' the
last chieftain of 'Lar' though perfidy. He managed
infiltration into this stronghold of Chandra Dynasty
in the disguise of cloth-sellers and was successful
in murdering Rama Chandra and marrying 'Kota Devi' a
scion of his family. King Suhadeva went into hiding
and Renchan (1320 A. D. to. 1327 A. D.,) had his
bread buttered on both sides. Jona Raja uses the
adjectival epithet 'Sultan' with his name hinting
towards his conversion to Muslim faith, though he
had beseeched one Deva Sawmi, a Shaivite, earlier to
admit him into the Hindu fold. But on his being a 'Bhautta'
the Swami did not oblige him. Renchan tried to
consolidate his position with an iron hand and
suppressed the 'Lones' who had become very powerful.
He founded 'Rinchenpur' (near Kashmiri Bulbul
Lanker) whithin the capital surrounded by a moat
(Kashmiri Mar) on all sides. At last he became a
victim of a conspiracy hatched jointly by Tukka a
compatriot of Rinchen and Udhyan Deva who had taken
refuge in Gandhara. A fight ensued between these two
factions. Rinchan received a fatal head injury and
died. Earlier Rinchan had been very much pleased
with the nonpartisan attitude of Shahmeer
who had not aligned himself with all such intrigues
against the monarch; so had made over his son
'Harder' to him for upbringing.
Rinchan could have been safely termed as the first
Sultan of Kashmir but after him Hindu rule again
continued for sixteen years. He might at best be
called the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir. It might
well be termed as a rehearsal for induction of
Sultan rule later.
After him Udyan Deva (1323 to 1339 A. D.) settled
himself on the throne marrying 'Kota' the widow of
Rinchan. Jona Raja has not cared to give exact
credentials of Udyan Deva or his relations with King
Suha Deva. The chronicler laments his rise to power
as he lacked statesmanship and also nerve. He
bestowed governorship of 'Kamraz' and other places
on the sons of Shahmir - Jamshed and Ali
respectively. Actually the power was concentrated in
the hands of Kota Rani the queen while the king
would spend all his time in religious observances.
Jona Raja has indulged in laughing in his sleves
when he mentions that Udyan Deva had fastened bells
around the neck of horses so that insects were not
trampled over, as if these poor creatures would hear
and comphehend such an advance warning.
The last nail in the coffin of later Hindu rule was
the invasion of Achala who was tactfully prevailed
upon to return after getting a good sum from Kota
Rani. During this invasion instead of confronting
Achala or negotiating peace with him on diplomatic
level, king Udyan Deva like an irresponsible coward
had fled to Ladakh throwing his wife to wolves. But
Kota stood this test well and called her husband
back. She had a son from him named 'Jatta' who was
made over to 'Bhaikshana' one of his ministers for
being properly nursed.
During this confusion and anarchy with which the
firmament of Kashmir was overcast, Shahmeer after
making his position secure tried to fish in these
troubled waters. He could very well divine that the
Hindu empire was tottering under its own weight of
incompetence; so to fill in this vacuum his
credentials were now the best. However, like an
astute diplomat he stood his ground well and did not
take a rash step. He had been made the chief of
guards on duty at the mountain passes. This position
he exploited to his heart's content and manipulated
infiltration into the valley on a large scale.
Secondly, he unified the scattered muslim population
within Kashmir and became their leader. Moreover, he
coaxed the commissars of Bhangil, Beerwa, Hamal etc.
into matrimonial alliances thus enlisted their
support. He also would demoralize Kota Rani the
virtual ruler at that time by reminding her that her
son 'Haider' who was in this tutelage would
inevitably suffer if she tried to thwart his plans.
Kota Rani out of motherly affection for Harder could
not take any action against Shahmeer. This resulted
in making him stronger every day; sensing that the
time was ripe for striking, Shahmeer raised the
banner of revolt and looted Shankarpur (Pattan) and
set Bijbehara on fire and encamped on the 'Udars’
(Karewas) of Chakdar. The Lones, Damaras and
Bhauttas defected to his side through his superb
statesmanship and his garrison outnumbered the Royal
army in men as well as material king. King Udyan
Deva died and now the decks were cleared for
Shahmeer by Nature even.
Kota Rani after suppressing the news of the death of
her husband for a couple of days went to Anderkot.
While engaged in_ planning counter strategy she was
beseiged by Shahmeer. Earlier, Shahmeer had 'Bikshana'
murdered on whose help Kota could very safely
depend.
In this atmosphere of gloom and despair Shahmeer
sent feelers to her to get married with him. Kota
Rani in order to save the throne for her as also for
guaranteeing safety to 'Haider' acceded to the
proposal of Shahmeer. She could not see through the
game Shahmeer was initiating under the cover of this
marriage-proposal. The siege was lifted, and Kota
having become the spouse of Shahmeer only for one
night, was in the morning handed over to assassins.
Thus the later Hindu period of Kashmir History came
to an ignonimous close and Shahmeer waiting in the
wings had a cake-walk to the throne of
Kashmir for ushering in Sultan rule.
After going through this brief detail, we cannot
resist inferring that this epoch of Hindu kings of
Kashmir had outlived itself for obvious reasons. Out
of 16 Kings in this period, five were killed through
court intrigues. Four amongst them fled the country
for not sizing up to the impending danger. Some
amongst these Kings were so spineless as to share
the capital Srinagar with rulers of Lar –
comparatively a very small principality. A fugitive
from Ladakh Renchan could very safely entrench
himself on the throne without a leaf in the valley.
Only Kota Rani tried her best to resist the
onslaught made on this Hindu Kingdom but she was
alone in undoing toe wrong that had permeated the
entire of Kashmiri society then. She valiantly tried
to fight against time and tide and in doing so had
to pay the price of getting killed.
So, it may be said without any fear of contradiction
that in the context of such an undignified rule of
later Hindu kings, the induction of Sultans can
unmistakenly be construed as the Divine retribution
in every sense of the word when man fails, Nature
intervenes. Fortune had smiled over Yashovati when
she inaugurated the Hindu rule in Kashmir, but Kota
Rani being more dashing and resourceful than her had
to succumb to the conspiracy of circumstances making
her write an epitaph over this period with her own
blood.
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