Kalhana - The
Chronicler
by Prof. K. N. Dhar
Chronicle-writing is not foreign
to the imagination of the Kashmiri Brahmins. A
host of histories Charitas and Mahatmyas amply
testify to this assertion. However, the history as
it is taken in the modern parlance, is absent in
Sanskrit literature. History is not an account of
rise and fall of kings but should embrace in its
ambit the political, social and religious
attainments and aspirations of the people at
large. To glean such fool-proof material. from
Kalhana's Raja Tarangini (River of Kings) will
only mean love's labour lost. In the first
instance in his time such a conception of
history-writing was not at all known; Even the
earlier Greek memoirs cannot be deemed free from
this defect. I before accusing Kalhana of
inefficient handling of the subject-matter, it is
to be borne in mind that he holds brief only for
the "Rajas" i. e. Kings, and does not
dabble in any other literary or historical pastime
concerning people. He has very faithfully and
aptly captioned his chronicle as "The River
of Kings". Hence he limits his poetic
description to the kings for and about whom he has
written this Kavya. Thus it can safely be stated
that Dr. Mecdonnel's remarks about the
non-existence of truly historical material in
Raja-Tarangini is only partly true.
Among the galaxy of such
writers of Historical Kavyas Kalhana shines the
brightest. He is the only Kashmiri author who has
I taken his assignment seriously. He is the first
and the best in the line.
Obviouly enough the name
Kalhana is non Sanskritic but may have had some
meaning in the local dialect at that time; this is
not even now intelligible to Kashmiri people.
Kashmiri writers have
shown a preference for coining their names in
local dialect instead of Sanskrit over which their
command was praise-worthy. So names as, Bilhana,
Mammatta, Kayatta etc are striking examples of
this trend.
However, Dr. Stein in his
masterly introdution to Raja Tarangini has taken
pains in establishing the affinity of "Kalyan",
as given in the Srikanthacaritam of Mankha, with
"Kalhana" of RajaTarangini:
Moreover, the commentator
of Sri Kantlia Caritam, jonaraja has said that
"Alakadatta was actually the "Sandhi-Vigrahaka"
or the minister of war and peace." He further
says that the stories (Kathas) in which "Kalyan"
is said to be proficient are the stories from
Mahabharata and other epics. But being himself a
man of letters and having taken up the thread of
chronicle-writing from Kalhana has also given his
local name and has not cared to identify it with
"Kalyan." Even though phonetically
"Kalyan" can be rendered into "Kalhana"
Apabhramsa, yet we have to rely on the verdict of
Dr. Keith who seems to take this conclusion with a
grain of salt.
Kalhana is silent about
his pedigree or the sort of life he lived. His
name only appears on the colophons of his work
including the direct reference to him by jona-Raja
who wrote some three centuries after him. This
establishes beyond doubt that inspite of his being
shy about self-introduction unlike "Bilhana"'
the tradition had not forgotten him and his merit.
Some scholars have tried
to identify certain names in the text of the Raja
Tarangini as the relations of the Chronicler e.g.
"Canpaka" as his father and "Kamaka"
probably his uncle. It is true that this name
occurs frequently and with evident respect also:
<verses>
"When Canpaka who
was stationed as incharge of the 'gate' was ready
to go in for that assignment under the orders of
the king, Vataganda (Ananda) endeavoured to stop
him.'
Unless this surmise is
corroborated by any other, evidence contemporary
or later, we are constrained to dismiss it as
extraneous.
Fortunately for us
Kalhana has not left us into guessing the date of
his composition. He explicitly says that he began
the writing of his chronicle in year 4224 of the
Laukika era i.e. 1148-49 AD. and finished it in
the year following.
Kalhana does not brag
about the originality of his Kavya but instead
very humbly says:
<verses>
"If I again narrate
the subject matter of tales which have been
related by others earlier, still the virtuous
ought not turn their faces from me without hearing
my purpose".
He very frankly admits
that the tradition of chronicle-writing was very
popular even before his advent, but to his dismay
these chronicles no longer existed in a complete
state in his time. He further says that the loss
of such chronicles was due to the fact that one
"Suvrata" condensed all these chronicles
into one book, hence nobody bothered for the
originals; having fallen into disuse, these in
course of time, were consigned to the forgotten
niches of the houses.
Before embarking on his
task of writing the chronicle, Kalhana very
rightly wants to be dispassionate in narrating the
events. He would like to sit on the fence
recording the events in a most judicious and
unprejudiced manner; He believes that:
<verses>
"That talented one
is alone praiseworthy whose intellect devoid of
love or hatred relates the past anecdotes like an
umpire."
The chronicler
acknowledges the debt of Eleven works of former
scholars containing "the chronicles of
Kings" including the Nilamata Purana. Out of
these eleven chronicle only three are named by him
and about other eight he is silent. The first
title he refers to as his source, is Ksemendra's
Nrpavali or List of Kings. However, this useful
book is now lost along with the works of "Padam
Mihira" and "Helaraja" who had also
composed a List of Kings (Parthivavali)." In
view of his giving a direct quotation from "Chavillakara's"
uncaptioned work which furnished him with the name
of Ashoka and five other ancient kings it can be
safely inferred that this work was extant at that
time but subsequently could not stand the ravages
of time, hence was lost.
Besides this, he made
ample use of inscriptions and edicts for building
the chronicle uptodate. He could not also ignore
the popular tradition which has occupied a sizable
portion of his chronicle.
However, on even a
cursory perusal of the chronicle we can very
safely infer that he had studied the "VikramankaDevaCaritam"
of Bilhana, a fellow-poet of his. He has not at
times refrained from quoting his phraseology and
style even. Another earlier work which he must
have consulted is Bana's "Harsacarita".
It is a well-known fact that this historical
record of King Harsa Vardhana of Kanauj enjoved
popularity in Kashmir as Mammatta in his
KavyaPrakasa has quoted a passage from it. It
cannot also be gainsaid that Kalhana was very well
conversant with the epics-Ramayana and Mahabharta.
In this connection copious examples can be culled
from the RajaTarangini. Having armed himself with
all this material, he took up his assignment in
all seriousness and tried to overcome "the
difficulties arising from any errors".
The oldest manuscript (in
Sarada characters) of 'Raja' is in the possession
of Govt. Research Library, Srinagar. There is
another manuscript of this chronicle prepared by
one Pt. Gana Kak, with explanatory notes by Pt.
Saheb Ram.
Kalhana originally wrote
in Sarada and subsequently it was transcribed into
Devanagri. However, it is to be borne in mind that
the scribes (lipikaras) engaged for this purpose
seem not to have mastery either over,the lanouage
or the script. Hence many errors crept into it.
Moreover, Sarada is a very intricate script and
the resemblance of several words with each other
could only be detected by scholars of profound
learning. Unfortunately the lack of command of the
transcribers over the language has corrupted and
even ruined the text at places. This is mainly
responsible for the defects inherent in the
Calcutta edition of the "Raja".
Confusing 'Rilhana' with 'Bilhana' is a glaring
example of such neglect. This edition was so
corrupt that the translation of this gave rise to
many controversies.
Taking cue from Dr.
Buhler, who first of all pointed out the defects
of the Calcutta edition, the search for a more
authentic manuscript was continued by the
subsequent indologists. The efforts of Dr. Stein
were crowned with success, when he could find
access to the "zealously guarded Codex
Archetypus (date of composition from l648. A. D.
to 1685 A. D.) of Rajanaka Ratnakantha by his
successors," through the good offices of
Pandit Suraj Kaul, member of the Kashmir State
Council and his son Pandit Hari Krishen Koul. This
genuine Kashmiri recension of Raja Tarangini
solved many mysteries and a trustworthy text of
this great chronicle, in the hands of Rajanaka
Ratanakantha, was unearthed in 1890 A D. Moreover,
Dr. Stein could also lay his hands on the Lahore
edition of Raja Tarangini in 1895; it was in the
possession of a Kashmiri Brahmin named Pandit
Jagmohan Lal Hundu, who had migrated to Lahore
from Srinagar. These two valuable finds were
instrumental in dispelling doubts regarding the
authenticity or genuine-character of Raja
Tarangini. Earlier, Dr. Buhler had also been able
to procure a manuscript of RajaTarangini, in
Sarada, from one Pt. Keshava Raina in Srinagar.
This MS according to the learned scholar, was only
hundred or hundred and fifty years old.
However, the credit of
introducing this Kashmiri chronicle to the world
goes to Professor Wilson. In 1825 A.D he compiled
an essay on the first six cantos (tarangas) of
Rajatarangini and published it in Asiatic
Researches. Thereafter the text was published also
from Calcutta in 1835 by the Asiatic Society and
later on Mr. Troyer undertook the stupendous task
of translating all the eight cantos in 1840 and
completed these in 1852.
His knowledge of Sanskrit
being faulty, he made the confusion arising out of
the Calcutta edition, worse confounded. Then
onwards, in addition to this, many other European
scholars have made references to this chronicle
and have gleaned much useful data from it. Prof.
Lassen, in his Encyclopedia of Indian Antiquities,
has given a complete analysis of this work.
General Cunningham treated its chronology in an
admirable article in the 'Numismatic chronicle of
1918. Inspite of all this, Prof. Wilson had to
concede that a close translation of these cantos
in such a pretty mess with regard to linguistic
inaccuracies, would have been impractiable. It is
noteworthy to mention here that no of these
scholars had seen the MS in Sarada characters.
They based all their conjectures on Devanagri
manuscripts. Professor Wilson, in particular had
seen the sent by Mr.Moorcraft from Kashmir and two
copies in Devanagri gifted to the India House
Library Lond by Mr. Colebkooke. Dr. E. Hultzsch
also utilized the material brought to light by the
above mention scholars for many of his
thought-provoking articles. Among the Indian
scholars Shri Yogeshchander Dutt's English version
and R.S. Pandit's translation also deserve
mention. Both these works are based on Calcutta
edition.
Before we proceed, it is
desirable to allude to a controversy raised by Mr.
Troyer. He contends in his introduction to the
translation of Raja Tarangini that the last two
cantos of this chronicle have not been written by
Kalhana but are the composition of some other
poet. To substantiate his theory he argues
i) He (Kalhana) allots to
the last two hundred and fifty years double the
number of verses of what he devotes to the
preceding three thousand and odd years.
ii) The references and
resumes given in the VII and VIII do not tally
with those of the first six.
iii) Canto VIII relates
events which occurred after 1148 A. D.
Prof. Lassen also notes
the difference in style between the first six and
last two cantos. In meeting his arguments it
useful to bear in mind that:
i) Last two cantos can
roughly be called the contemporary history
delineated by the chronicler. It definitely
deserved more space, because Kalhana was sure
about the ground under his feet. The first six
cantos are based on different sources coupled with
tradition; so Kalhana wanted to skip through
these. The matter he was treating was more or less
not so authentic from his view-point and so was
given lesser space.
ii) The so-called varying
references are mainly, due to the bad and faulty
MS; and to crown all, his incorrect translation.
No such contradictions have been detected by,
subsequent scholars, more recently by Dr. Stein
because of the correct text. Mr. Troyer's hold on
Sanskrit was not so good. He has translated
Mukhtapida and Lalitaditya as two different
personalities while actually they are one and the
same person. With regard to this Dr. Buhler has to
say "He (Troyer) undertook a task very much
beyond his strength for which he was qualified
neither by learning nor by natural talent;
iii) With regard to the
third argument it may safely be said that he began
to write his chronicle in Saptrsi Samvat 24 which
works out at 4224 (Saptrsi Samvat) i e. 1148-49
A.D. It contained thousands of slokas, hence could
not be completed in the same year by any stretch
of imagination. If he mentioned events happening
nine years later (VIII book) in Saptrsi Samvat 33,
it only proves that the poem was not completed
until after that year.
iv) The so called
difference in style referred to by Prof Lassen is
not at all detectable.
The most unassailable
evidence regarding the authenticity of the last
two cantos of 'Raja' is furnished by Jona Raja
when he took up the thread from Kalhana (nearly
three centuries afier him) and completed his Raja
Tarangini. He explicitly mentions that Kalhana
finished the "Account of Kings" with the
reign of Jaya Simha. One fact should not be lost
sight of that canto VI, ends abruptly which can
never be termed as the conclusion. Hence it has
been made sufficiently clear that, all the eight
cantos are from the fertile pen of one and the
same author and that is Kalhana. However, it is to
be conceded (with all that is said and done) that
Kalhana's text of 'Raja', as it is available to us
at present, does suffer from some shortcomings.
After making due allowance for the corruptions
which might have crept into the text by careless
transcription and, at times, deliberate
interpolation's, yet some unpardonable oversights
have been made by the 'renowned' chronicler.
Kalhana's mastery over the language is also at
times doubtful when he repeats the Alankaras word
by word particularly in the Canto VIII. At times
consistency with the anecdotes related earlier is
not maintained and it seems that he was either in
hurry in completing the assignment or treated the
subject - matter towards the conculsion in a
slip-shod manner. In view of his accurate
detailing and exactness, it can only be surmised
that he did not care to revise his manuscript for
one reason or nother, or he could not find time to
do so.
As regards the
over-sights, he has made a glaring error : while
describing King " Sacinara" in Book I he
extolls him like " Sacipati"; Indra, or
the husband of saci (queen), but in Book VIII
while giving the resume of the reigns of different
kings he mentions "Sacinara" as the
"son of Saci" (queen Mother):
<verses>
"Thereafter his son (Janakas's) the illustrious Sacinara like an Indra
on the globe protected the earth. He was
forbearing and his commands could not be
disobeyed."
<verses>
"The latter's son (Suvarna's)
was janaka, whose son was Sacinara born of Saci
(queen mother).
Even if we may contend
that Kalhana has play on the word Saci, yet it is
not in good taste to describe "Saci" as
the wife and the mother at the same time in
respect to one and the same perso Moreover in Book
VIII he has altogether forgotten to mention King
Nara I whom he has treated at length in the Book
I. Also while giving the names of the lovers of
Srilekha queen of Samgrama Raja in Book VII he has
not mentioned Vyaddasuha who plundered the
treasures of the King and courted his consort as
given in the Book VIII. To crown all, at some
places we are confronted with bad Sanskrit and
even wrong metres employed.
Besides this, he has been
so much influenced by Bilhana's
Vikramankdeva-caritam and Bana's Harsacaritam that
he has not refrained from borrowing their words
and even phraseology. From epics also he has
enriched his vocabulary and has not resisted the
temptation of quoting Verbatum from these.
Kalidasa's Reghuvamsa has been also used by him
for his treatise and even the thought and diction
have been borrowed from it :
<verses>
"(He King Kalasa)
had approached the woman (daughter in-law of Jindu
Raja of licentious Character), having sent in
advance the noselessman (His vita). That very
inauspicious man because of his disfigurement was
responsible for the frustration of his amors".
Evidently the books which
have attracted Kalhana to borrow do come also
under the purview of chronicles, e.g. Ramayana,
Mahabharata, Raghuvamsa etc,. hence he could not
but get acquainted with these so as to make his
own composition more authentic and traditionally
accurate. The point to be emphasized here is his
freedom with which he has drawn upon these and has
even quoted the words, vocabulary and to crown all
imitated the style.
But such lapses are few
and far between, and do not, in any way, tarnish
his image as a chronicle-writer. Out of a
compendium of some 8000 Slokas such defects are
quite natural when, the canvas is very wide before
the chronicler.
In his introduction to
his 'Raja' Kalhana very clearly indicates that he
would prefer to be a poet because:-
<verses>
"Who else but the
poets resembling Prajapati in (creative power) and
able to bring forth lovely productions, can place
the past times before the eyes of men ."
He thinks that
transformation of the past into the present can be
attained by the deft pen of a poet only. A Kavya
has been defined as a composition in prescribed
metres, being devoid or blemishes (Dosa) having
meaningful words containing Rasa (sentiment), Guna
(quality) and embellishments. Such and other
ingredients of Kavya presuppose a thorough study
of Rhetorics, poetics and embellishments. Kalhana
has not cared to give any account of his literary
attainments. To whatever poetic horizon be reaches
is to be gleaned from this chronicle. Therefore,
we may assert that he is a poet by intuition and a
historian by profession. Primarily his concern was
to put into words the hierarchy of Kings which
ruled Kashmir; poetry was used by him only as a
convenient vehicle.
Having read other Kavyas,
Raghuvamsa and Vikramankadevacaritam and the epics
about which we are sure very thoroughly, he must
have gained proficiency in the art of Kavya-writing
and there can be no surprise, in noticing that at
times he rises to the heights of poetic prowess
also:
<verses>
"Having come out of
the grove off lowery creepers, (a young Brahmin
visakha) saw before him two virgins donning blue
robes and having very sweet eyes. The corners of
their eyes were very attractive and were smeared
with a very thin line of collyrium, as if this was
the stalk of the red ruby-like lotuses used by
these as ear-ornaments. To their two shoulders
were pinned their faces, as it were like flags,
the ends of which in the shape of their
captivating eyes were fluttering in the gentle
wind."
The similies used in
these stanzas are not only very beautiful but also
homely.
In his benedictory
tribute to Siva and his consort Parvati in book
III, the dialogue between the two, reminds us of
the same situation in Kalidasa's Kumar Sambhavam.
Herein Kalhana has most poetically justified the
otherwise ugly demeanour of Lord Siva:
<verses>
"May Siva protect
you who in his form composed of two halves (male
and female, Ardhanarisvara) gives these replies
(to Parvati's queries):
"Leave away this
elephant-skin". "In the inner recesses
of the frontal globe on his fore-head are pearls
which can effortlessly adorn the tips of your
breasts." "Why this fire on your
fore-head." "From these you may take the
collyrium for your eyes" and who even, if
objection were raised by his beloved to the Snake,
would suffer such an answer."
In the Stanzas below the
use of Alankaras (poetic, embellishments) has been
made dexterously
<verses>
While describing the
burning of the Cakradhara temple in the reign of
Sussala 1121 A. D. to 1128 A. D. the poet in
Kalhana weaves a graphic panorama of words and
images:
1. "The sky was
densely screened by huge columns of smoke from
which shone moving flames resembling the bushy and
tawny red-hair and beards of goblins.
2. The tongues of the
flames emanating from the fire the smoke of which
was spent-up, gave the impression of waves of gold
coming out of a golden cloud which had been, as it
were, melted by the excessive beat.
3. The columns of fire
strewn on the sky looked like the red headgear
fallen from the crests of gods fleeing in scare
before the conflagration."
Even if Kalhana tries to
live up to the norms of a Kavya as enjoined by the
Alankarashastra, yet his 'forte' being
chronicle-writing, he has therefore conveniently
ignored many of the tenets laid therein. Even
though he employs a variety of metres yet his
mastery over these is deficient. Some scholars are
forced to label it as "versified prose."
In view of what has been shown to illustrate his
poetic prowess earlier, this verdict seems unjust.
Many such examples can be copiously quoted from
the 'Raja' to show that Kalhana is no poet of mean
order, even if he cannot catchup with his fellow
country-man Bilhana.
The didactic import of
his work is also distinctly pronounced. In this
branch of his poetic fancy he has amply drawn from
the epics, Dharamasastras and Nitishastras
<verses>
"The diamond can be
held as proof against all metals and stone-dykes
against the waters, but nothing (is proof against)
the false." His mastery over the pun can be
sufficiently illustrated by the following stanza:
<verses>
"There Gauri though
she has assumed the form of Vitasta still keeps
her wonted inclination. (For in her river-shape)
she turns her face towards the ravine (Guha), just
as (in her godlike form) she turns it towards (her
son) Kumara, (Guha) (in her river shape) the
mouths of the Nagas (Naga Mukha) drink her
abundant water (Apita bhuri Paya) just as (in her
god like form) elephant faced (son Ganesha Naga
Mukha) drank her abundant milk (Apita bhuri Paya).
Alankara Shastras also
lay it down that every poetic composition should
have a Rasa (sentiment) permeating throughout. the
length and breadth of the Kavya. To live up to
this tenet Kalhana says:
<verses>
"Suddenly coming to
life of living beings and their transitory nature
is to be seriously thought over ; sothe Santa
(indifference to worldly objects and pleasures)
sentiment will reign supreme here-in in this
book)."
This Santa Rasa is very
much pronounced in Mahabharta. While defining
Santa Rasa Vishva Nath Kaviraja has to say:
<verses>
"Wherein there is no
Sorrow or joy, nor fear, as neither apathy nor
attachment and no desire. The great munies have
called such a state of mind as shanta, where in
all sentiments and their consequent expression are
equal in measure.
One point needs
clarification here. Raja Tarangini is composed of
thousands of anecdotes in which individual
"Rasa" in view of its subject matter,
should naturally run. So in the description of war
vira is there; in the details giving amors of
various queens "Srinagar" is present.
The intrigue and court conspircacies arouse "Jugupsa"
and the sad end of some kings excites "Shoka".
These sentiments are all subservient to the motif
of the chronicle i. e. "Santa". Perhaps
this is the reason that Kalhana ends four out of
eight Tarangas of his chronicle with the
description of such kings who gave up their
thrones by acts of pious resignation and
renunciation. He has emphasized off and on that
despite regal glory and affluence, every king, one
after another, had to renounce this by the
everlasting natural law that nothing is permanent
in this world.
"What is born is to
die definitely." Hence every one should take
a lesson from this and try to remain resigned and
cultivate in himself an attitude which remains
unruffled in pleasure or paid, plenty or penury;
herein the patent influence of Mahabharata is
clearly seen on the chronicler.
Without mincing words we
are alive to the fact that Kalhana's poetical
prowess was limited by his assignment of
chronicle-writing. He wants to be a poet and a
chronicler at the same time. Kalidasa did combine
poetic acumen with history in his "Raghuvamsa"
but therein also his talents and unparalleled
skill have suffered a jolt-especially towards the
closing chapters of his Kavya. Kalhana has also
tried to emulate his example. Let us now discuss
how far he has been successful in making a happ y
compromise between the two.
Perhaps sensing some such
insinuations Kalhana has very succinctly made a
confession:
"Though in view of
the length of the narrative, diversity could not
be secured by means of amplification, still there
may be found something in it that will please the
rightminded."
Hence the chronicler is
aware of the fact that his treatise cannot boast
of diversity by elaborate events, because that
would lengthen his narrative and as such he has to
be brief and factual. This axe of brevity is to be
employed even though the chronicler may not have
liked it. Important events need to be emphasized
and minor ones skipped over. This very fact goes a
long way in proving that Kalhana even though
wanting to retain the poet in himself does
actually make it subordinate to his skill of
chronicle-writing. Not only this he has also set a
norm for his chronicle-recording:
"Only that person of
merit is worthy of praise who while relating the
past does keep himself away from partiality or
otherwise like an Umpire."
So, it is abundantly
clear that Kalhana would not like to indulge in
fanciful hyperbole or otherwise like a poet, but
would like to record the facts as these took
place, in an unattached bent of feeling. The
vehicle for this he has chosen is the poetry,
otherwise his motive is to write a chronicle
uptodate which had become fragmentary.
The inference that
Kalhana is a chronicler first and a poet
afterwards, can very safely be made from the
preceding stanzas. Poetry to him was only a means
to an end, the end being pure and simple-
chronicle-writing. The soul of a chronicle is art
of narration. Hence Kalhana's merit as a
chronicler can be measured by his deftness in
narrating events. Narration 'does not mean only
flow of events but events should also admit of
impartiality of the narrator. Secondly, the
individuality of characters and their personal
traits have also to be taken into consideration.
Thirdly, historicity of the narrative is the
touchstone on which the merit or otherwise of the
chronicler is to be tested.
About the impartiality
and independence of judgment as depicted by
Kalhana we have earlier shown his attitude to his
assignment. However, as practice is better than
precept we have to see the veracity of his
professing an "Umpire-like attitude."
Happily for us, Kalhana
has lived upto this maxim. He has been a close
witness of the rise and fall of kings from Sussala
to jayasimha of whom he was a contemporary. In
narrating the events of the reign of Jaya-Simha he
has not hesitated to bring into relief his defects
also. He has not been a panegryist. He has very
emphatically critisized the conduct of high-ups in
his own times, the omissions and faulty judgment
of the king under whom he wrote. At times we feel
that such trenchant criticism could not have been
publicised at that time for fear of punishment.
About the exploitation of
their subjects, Kalhana records:
<verses>
"The riches which
the kings amass by tormenting people go to the
rivals or enemies or are consumed by fire."
Ill gotten wealth does not last long. In order to
illustrate his point he says:
<verses>
"The treasures of
King Kalasa which he had contrived to get through
malpractices were very soon squandered by his son
on unworthy persons and by his wife on
lovers."
Ordinarily like all other Kavya-writers even in his own land Kalhana should
have followed a policy of safety first and painted
the kings only in white splendour; but like a true
chronicler he does not hesitate from using black
paint whenever occasion arises. In this connection
he has placed a host of rulers in the dock.
In this respect we should
remember this fact that Kalhana was alive and a
close witness of events of Sussala's and his son's
Jayasimha's reign. About Sussala, the father of
the reigning king, be has not a single 'kind word
and even for Jayasimha he does not ignore to pen
down his bad points.
This needs high order of
courage and that also at that time when political
murders and diplomatic reprisals were a common
feature. He also gives a graphic account of
Sycophants, parasites and flatterer of the kin,
Jaysimha who definitely held high office in his
government. He is not at all afraid of their
revenge and very faithfully paints their
detestable figures.
The ruling king also does
not escape his chastisement:
<verses>
"Uneven, indeed are
the features also in his (Jayasimha's) character.
Not perceiving the excellence of their (aggregate)
result, the people have concluded that-these were
faults."
Now we come to the moot
point of historicity in Kalhana's chronicle. He
has given us the eyewitness account of at least
three kings- Harsa, Sussala and Jayasimha. Herein
his historical acumen is at its highest. However
in the first six books he has relied on the
sources which he has described at length in the
begining of his chronicle. He has also taken help
from tradition which he could not ignore at any
price. In this way if the events are treated in a
very loose and general way in the first six books,
it is the fault not of the chronicler but of the
sources at his disposal. He has tried his best to
weave into one the scattered threads of history.
The first king of Kashmir
has been named as Gonanda I by him and he has been
shown a contemporary of Yudishthira of Mahabharta.
The date of accession to throne by Yudishthira is
given as 653rd year of Kali era. Kalhana has given
this very date as the start of Gonanda's rule or
Kashmir-history on the authority of Nilamata
Purana. However, from Gonanda III he gives the
length of reigns regularly. For this he supplies a
cogent reason in as much as " fifty two lost
kings" he has not been able to identify or
locate. Among the fifty two lost kings he has
given us names of seventeen perhaps on the basis
of the tradition. Still there is a veritable gap
of thirty five kings between Gonanda I and Gonanda
III which he has not succeeded in filling. Out of
these seventeen kings whom he has retrieved, he
has given us the name of Ashoka (B.C. 300) - the
great Buddhist monarch of Pataliputra who had also
annexed Kashmir. Kalhana's record about Ashoka is
corroborated by his inscriptions and by the
chinese travellers. One of the famous deeds of
this monarch was to found the city of Srinagar
which was called "Srinagari" at that
time:
<verses>
"That illustrious
king (Ashoka) founded the important city of
Srinagari with ninety six lakhs of houses full of
wealth".
"The Turkish
incursions into Kashmir have been amply dealt with
by Kalhana while mentioning the names of great
Kushan ruler Kanishka and other two Huska and
Juska, while describing these foreign, kings
Kalhana has shown extreme sense of catholicity.
They bad embraced Buddhism and as such this
religion - a virtual reaction against Brahmanism-
also was popular in Kashmir, for which Kalhana a
staunch Saiva has no regrets; instead he praises
this religion and its founder.
These kings founded the
towns Huskapura, Juskpura, and Kaniskapura now
known as "Vushkur, Zokur, and Kanispur
respectively, the first and last are in the
vicinity of Baramulla (Varahmula) and "Zokur"
near the famous Naseem Bagh. The chronicler also
refers to famous Buddhist philosopher "Nagarjuna"
having lived here at Sadarhadvana (the first of
six Arhats-Buddhist mendicants). This place has
been indentified as the present "Harwan"
where on the hillocks remains of the Buddhist
monasteries are still visible.
Another alien king who
retired to Kashmir as narrated by Kalhana, is the
white Hun Mihir Kula whom he refers as "Trikotihan"
- killer of three crores. After perpetrating
countless atrocities, he embraced Saivism here and
later out of penitence consigned himself to
flames.
Out of the indigenous
kings Kalhana has given us illuminating accounts
of the following. These illustrious kings are very
renowned in Kashmir:
Pravarsena II (A.D. 580
roughly): This king has been portrayed as a
valiant warrior; when he was invited to occupy the
throne, he was leading an expedition in Trigarta
(modern Kangra) to recover the kingdom of his
fore-fathers. He is said to have built his capital
named Pravarapura, (Pravarasenapura) perhaps on
the same site on which modern Srinagar stands.
However, on further scrutiny and reading through
the lines, it can be safely established that the
new city was founded on the outskirts of Sharika
parvat or Hari parvat in Kashmir. In Kalhana's own
words this hill was situated in the centre of the
new city.
Lalitaditya Mukhtapida
(A.D. 750) has been painted in very profuse
colours and also at length by Kalhana. Here-in the
evidence of foreign notices and monuments is so
striking that Kalhana's account does not seem only
credible but also accurate, Lalitaditya was a
great conqueror and inflicted crushing defeats on
Yasovarman, the king of central India, Tokharians
(Dwellars of upper oxus or more precisely
Badakhshan of the Muslim Historians) from where he
brought a very astute person Cankuna by name and
made him his minister, and also some Turks who
lived in the upper Indus. Not only this, he
invaded Baltistan and Tibet with Chinese
connivance and subjugated Dard tribes. He has also
been portrayed as having crossed the sand-ocean
perhaps in central Asia. In this way we are told
thrt the whole of his life was spent in wars and
he perished while with anexpedition to distant
North in the excessive snow. Not only this he made
the king of Bengal his vassal.
Even though his hands
were full with waging wars, he did find some time
to build some famous buildings in Kashmir. One of
these is the sun-temple at Martanda which the king
constructed at the site of the Tirtha of the same
name. Its massive walls of stones with a lofty
enclosure have been clearly mentioned. He also
founded the city of Parihasapura which served as
the royal residence also. He also built a cluster
of temples around it. This city had been built by
the king for merrymaking (parihasa) as a respite
after strenuous wars. "The karewas of
Paraspor and Diwar are situated at a distance of
fourteen miles from Srinagar on the Baramulla
road." Another two towns namely "
Lalitpura" and "Lokapunya", "Lalitpur"
an abbreviation of Lalitadityapura can be
identified easily. It is called "Letapor"
now, but no remains are seen there above ground.
May be these lie buried under the saffron-growing
udars.
The "Loka Punya"
is the "Lookabhavan" of to-day; the
former town did not find favour with the king as
it had been designed and built by his architect in
his absences. This great king also made elaborate
arrangements for the irrigation of villages by
water- wheels drawing water from the Vitasta.
The reign of Avantivarman
(A. D. 855-883) has been rightly called the period
of consolidation for the country. Even though the
suzeranity of Kashmir was not extended beyond its
frontiers as in the time of Lalitaditya, but the
king gave ample attention to the internal problems
of the country, which had become more pronounced
during the reign of weak successors of Lalitaditya.
The king founded the town
of "Avantipur" situated at a distance of
some seventeen miles from Srinagar on Srinagar
Jammu Highway. The fame of Avantipur is still
preserved by the huge temples he built there,
which are still erect though in dilapidated
condition. Among these ruins the most valuable are
a series of sculptures which have been placed in
the Srinagar Museum. His very astute and wise
Minister Sura was also as pious as the king. He
also founded a town after his name Surapura called
Hurpora at present. The landmark of his reign is
the dredging of the Vitasta undertaken by Engineer
Suyya. By his ingenous methods he regulated the
course of Vitasta and the scare of famine looming
large every year by excessive floods was warded
off for ever. New land was also reclaimed and on
one of these tracts Sayya built a township named
"Suyyapur," Sopore of today.
King Avanti Varman died
of an affliction at Jyeshtheshvara shrine
overlooking the "Dal" lake where he had
retired earlier. This shrine is called "Zeethayar"
at present near the Chismashi spring. In his court
there were such luminaries as Muktakana, Sivaswami,
Ananda Vardhana and Ratnakara.
Among the most powerful
women who changed the course of the history of
Kashmir by their irresistible personality "Dida"
deserves full mention. Actually being the consort
of "Khemagupta" (A. D. 950-958) she
wielded the real regal power, as her consort was a
weakling given to licentious habits. She was the
daughter of "Simha Raja" the king of
Lohara. She tried to give clean administration to
the people by getting rid of corrupt ministers and
even the prime-minister Phalguna. Many rebellions
raised their head but were quelled by Dida as she
did not show any mercy. After the death of her
husband she ruled the country as a regent for
minor Abhimanyu. However, Abhimanyu died
prematurely and his son Nandi Gupta was installed
on the throne by Dida his grandmother. He ruled
for one year only and died of "witch
craft" employed by her grandmother. Her other
grand sons Tribhuvaha and Bhima Gupta were also
despatched to other world in the same way and path
became clear for the queen to ascend the throne
herself. She had a love affair with Tunga a
cowhered boy from Poonch and made him the
prime-minister.
After annointing her
brother's son "Samgrama Raja" as the
Yuva Raja she died in A.D. 1003 121 after having
ruled for 53 long years both as a regent and a
monarch in a most ruthless way. After the
assasination of Sussala (A.D. 1123), Jayasimha
ascended the throne in the face of conspiracies,
intrigues and famine. This is the last king of
Kashmir as narrated by Kalhana. His reign was
marked by the revolt of Damaras an in the end the
king had to make a compromise with them so that
the troubles in the land would end. In this way
the chronocler had described the reins of 109
kings from Gonanda I to Jayasimha spreading over a
period of 1182 B. C. to 1149 A.D. As has been said
earlier, Kalhana has given the tenure of reigns of
each king from Gonanda III and prior to him the
dates have been given in a hyperbolic manner;
these have not been consequently added to the span
of years given above. The exact number of verses
he has employed to condense this account is 7126.
Kalliana is at his best
when he gives an exact topographical account of
ancient Kashmir. The veracity of his interest in
this field can be very conveniently established
even now after such a lapse of time. It seems
probable that he had visited each and every place
before describing it in words. The exactness of
their position and accurate description are a
feather to his cap. By even a cursory perusal of
the chronicle the geography of Kashmir can be
built with precise dexterity. Copious examples can
easily be gleaned from the chronicle to illustrate
this point. About the sanctity of the soil of his
land he does not exaggerate when he says:
<verses>
"(Where in my
county) Keshava (Visnu) and Isana (Siva) shine
like Chakrabrt and Vijayesa and also in other
forms, there is not space even as a fraction of
sesamum seed without having a Tirtha."
To this day, the whole
valley is strewn with holy places, springs and
temples and even every pebble of this land has
been deified.
The names of towns and
villages have Nagara, Pura, Bhoga, Dhama, and
Grama, as endings respectively, but in Kashmiri
pronounced as Nagra, Pora, Bug, Homa, Gama,
respectively; Srinagar e. g. Lyatapora, Shalabug,
Danyahoma, and Chandigama. Perhaps the best
tribute we can pay to the the precision with which
Kalhana has penned down topography is the route of
vitasta with its serpentine flow. The names of
places through which it flows have been faithfully
recorded. The Kashmiri Buga is evidently derived
from Bhoga meaning property.
Even though Kashmir
valley is hemmed in between continuous chains of
mountains, yet. Kalhana has given us a lucid
description of the 'Dvaras' or gateways to
Kashmir. Through these 'dvaras' invasions took
place as also the traffic on both sides was
maintained to and fro.
At the eastern corner of
the Pir Panjal range Banasala has been mentioned.
A castle had been built there perhaps as a
watch-tower also. This pass be easily identified
as Banihal nowadays. Anantvarman's Minister Sura
built a town Surapura, modern Hurpor which has
been also mentioned as an entrance to the valley.
Herein also a watch-tower was built. This route
connected RajaPuri, (Rajouri) with the valley.
This road was also known as "Salt road,"
as alluded to by Ksemendra, as the salt has been
all along an imported commodity into Kashmir.
The other route, which
connected Kashmir with Lohara (modern Lohrin) and
Parantosa (Poonch) passing through the Tosamaidan
was very well known at that time. The ancient name
of this route was Karkota Dranga.
Even though the village
Dranga situated at the foot of the hill still
bears that name, yet Dranga in Kalhana's time was
an equivalent of watch station. The mountain-ridge
known nowadays as Kakudar (Kashmiri) is a corrupt
form of KaraKota dhara. Tosa maidan of present day
is made up of "Tausi" the plain of
"Tohi" as known in Poonch and the
persian 'maidan' (a plain).
The frontiers of ancient
Kashmir as narrated by Kalhana should also deserve
mention here. The actual territory on which the
monarch at Srinagar ruled can be ascertained by
the reference to chiefs and independent Rajas
bordering on the outskirts of the valley beyond
mountains. On the southeast Kashtavata (modern
Kishtwar) and Bhadravakasa (modern Badarwah) were
ruled by the local Hindu rajas. The Rajas of
Chamba (ancient Champa) often had matrimonial
alliances with the Lohara Kings which reigned over
Kashmir. To the west of Champa and south of
Bhadravakasa was situated Vallapura the Billavar
of to-day in Jammu district. The chieftains of
this territory were independent and have been
described by Kalhana often.
To the south west and
west of Kashmir lay the hill-states of
Darvabhisara. Actually it is combination of Darvas
and Abhisaras finding mention in Mahabharta also.
The prominent principality of this region was
Rajapuri known as Rajouri today. Owing to its
strategic position of being on the route to
plains, the rulers of Kashmir always tried to
subjugate it . To the North-west of Rajapuri was
the territory of Lohara-the moden Lorin (now in
Poonch district). The chiefs of this family ruled
Kashmir also for some time. In those times
Parantosa, (Poonch) was included in Lohara.
On the North west of
Parantosa the valley of Kashmir was situated.
Vitasta flowed in between the valley and further
to the west lay the Kingdom of Urasa, district
Hazara of today to which many expeditions by kings
of Kashmir were led.
The tract of land now
known as Keran or Karnaha bore the old name of
Karnaha, though under local rule, paid tribute to
Kashmir kings. The valley of Kishenganga was known
as Drava derived from Duranda as given by Kalhana.
This was a feudatory state of Kashmir and one of
the most sacred Tirthas of Kashmir 'Sarada' is
situated therein. This is now under the
unauthorised rule of Pakistan.
At the other end of this
valley the territory of Dards (Dard-Desa) is
located. It was a separate kingdom though small in
extent. This is, therefore, in nutshell the
political topography as given by Kalhana about the
Kashmir of his times.
As has been said earlier,
Kalhna is concerned only with the rise and fall of
kings and people at large have been left untouched
by him directly. However, the mercurial fate of
kings which at times smiled at them and at times
frowned also, has afforded sufficient opportunites
to him to study the behaviour and character of his
people.
The most noteworthy trait
of Kashmiri character is its tolerance and
catholicity. There are numerous examples in his
chronicle to show that Buddhist viharas and stupas
were built side by side with Visnu and Siva
temples. The great conqueror Lalita Ditya though
himself a Vaisnava erected a massive Buddhist
vihara at his newly built capital Parihasapura.
Even though the king professed a certain faith,
his ministers or people could subscribe freely to
a any other faith. King Avanti Varman was a
Vaishnava but his minister Sura was a Saiva and
there was no tension between the two on this
score. Even the Kashmir rulers did not hesitate to
appoint ministers of foreign descent and foreign
faith. Cankuna the Turk was the minister of
Lalitaditya 'Sarada' Mukhtapida. The secular out
look towards life was ever present in Kashmir even
in those hoary days.
The foreigners like Khasas, Bombas, Turuskas, Dards and Bhatitiyas etc
were free to practise their own faith and if they
felt impressed by Hindu or Buddhist out-look on
life and embraced one of these, there was no
compulsion in this behalf. Not a single communal
trouble is mentioned by Kalhana in his chronicle.
The holicity of a Kashmiri can very faithfully be
proved the existence of Turuska-Raja Bhairava, a
Siva shrine at the new colony Narsinghgarh,
Srinagar. As the name conclusively suggests that a
foreign Turk has been made into a Bhairava and is
being propitiated even now regularly. The foreign
kings like Huska, Juska, and Kanishka ruled over
the country and have left the annals of Kashmir
history by founding cities after their names.
Kashmiris according to
him are also fatalists of the highest order. They
ascribe all their woes and otherwise to the unseen
and unknown fate, perhaps this trait in their
character has to a large extent deprived them of
their initiative but at the same time has also
afforded them calm composure at the changes which
so frequently took place at that time:
<verses>
"He (Guru Isana) was
amazed and thought how this would come about.
Pondering for long he said (to himself) that the
power of fate is unpredictable." The people
of Kashmir were so much enthralled by this unseen
power of fate that Kalhana says that "fate is
the mine of all miracles."
<verses>
The firm belief in what
is ordained already can be illustrated eloquently
by this:
<verses>
"The lightening of
good fortune, the crane of fame, the thunder of
bravery, and the rainbow of glory come in the wake
of the cloud of fate."
As a natural corollary to
the above trait, Kashmiri character has firm
belief in Divine retribution. Evil doer can in no
way reap a harvest of virtue. Only good actions
can be rewarded and bad deeds will receive
punishment sooner or later. There is no escape
from this:
<verses>
"Cursed by the
oppressed subjects, the king's (Shankar Varman's)
who was taking to evil path, some twenty or thirty
sons died without being ill (suddenly)."
The Kasbmiri subjects
being powerless before tyrants invoked the Divine
wrath over them and felt gratified to see that
such despots fleecing their subjects did lose
family, life, name, and even glory.
Since good deeds are
rewarded, hence the Kashmiris have all along been
charitible-this being a good deed, helping the
needy. The importance of charity has been extolled
and consequently practised. Alms giving has been
stressed in Niti Shastras as well as in the
Mahabharta also, and is an inalienable ingredient
of Hindu culture. Kalhana says that even if wealth
may be got through fraud but becomes righteous if
given in charity.
As a matter of fact, a
peoples' revolt has never taken place in Kashmir
as narrated by Kalhana.
The kings often squeezed
blood from their subjects who were already groaing
under the weight of their abject poverty. Moreover
the favourites of kings exploited them to their
fill. Perhaps they drew satisfaction from the
Fatalism and the Divine retribution present in
their character. Indigenous rule at times changed
hands with foreign domination. Intrigue, treason
and lust reigned supreme in royal courts. To all
this, Kashmiris reacted in a most stoical way.
Whenever counter-conspiracies are hatched, it is
not the Kashmiri but a foreigner finding favour
with the king. Sometimes revolutions of
far-reaching consequences rocked their native land
but they sat with fingers crossed. This clearly
shows that they did not feel any sense of
partipation or belonging with high-ups above them.
Hence Kalhana very faithfully draws the picture of
idle and indifferent crowds in the bazars:
<verses>
"The indifferent
crowds without any feelings whatssoever, looked at
their king fighing with his contenders at the
bridge, as if it was a horse-show on the first day
of Asvin Month."
In view of such a
pacifist and indifferent attitude to life,
Kashmiri character has obviously been nonmilitant.
Inflicting injury on others could not be their
blood as they believed in Divine retribution,
Violence in any form cannot be termed as a noble
act, being essentially an evil action, the
Kaslimiris refrain from indulging in such actions.
Absence of militant traits in their character has
given ample opportunities to Kalhana to jeer at
his own countrymen:
<verses>
"Canga etc who were
the confidants and advisers of Tonga became
dumb-founded with terror like women, though being
armed."
Consequently Kashmiri
soldier was undenendable and the kings had to
employ mercenaries from fighting clans in the
adjoining areas. The pepole detested war and when
a foreign army came to invade them, they felt
despondent. They could never think of giving it a
fight:
<verses>
"At the sight of a
hostile army the people felt their bodies aching
as if paralysed by the sudden appearance of
untimely clouds, and their energy began to give
way."
A Kashmiri could never be
a spendthrift in as much as he had to provide for
the rainy day. Such "rainy days" were
legion in his time in the shape of famines seiges,
and invasions. So, he is calculating in
expenditure and does not waste his hard-earned
money. Even the kings learnt the utility of such
wise-spending:
<verses>
"(The king Uccala) a
Kashmiri as he was, did not invest his riches in
building and dismantling palaces time and again;
or purchasing horses only to make these apart of
the dust or the robbers (respectively)."
These pages have most
succinctly brought into bold relief the claims of
Kalhana as a chronicler. Since he is the first to
initiate this form of literary-writing yet, as has
been shown, he is humble and does not brag about
his prowess in this field. He may not touch the
high water-mark of historical attitude of mind,
but is very careful about his shortcomings also.
All the criticism that is levelled against him
does not ruffle him.
No better tribute could
be paid to the denizens of this land of
"learning, palacial houses, saffron, icy
water and grapes difficult to find in heaven
even," for their piety and spiritual
attainments:
<verses>
"The inhabitants of
this land can be conquered only by spiritual force
and never by brute-force of arms, hence they have
the fear of the other world only."
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