Karkota Dynasty: Difference between revisions

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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
[[File:Karkota_Empire_map.jpg|thumb|Maximum extent of the Karkota Empire according to ancient sources.<ref name="A Historical atlas of South Asia">{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=146, map XIV.2 (f)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=183}}</ref> Only [[Lalitaditya Muktapida|Lalitaditya]]'s conquests in the Kashmir neighbourhood and the Gangetic plains are considered as historical.]]
[[File:Karkota_Empire_map.jpg|thumb|Maximum extent of the Karkota Empire according to ancient sources.<ref name="A Historical atlas of South Asia">{{cite book |last1=Schwartzberg |first1=Joseph E. |title=A Historical atlas of South Asia |date=1978 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |page=146, map XIV.2 (f)|isbn=0226742210 |url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=183}}</ref> Only [[Lalitaditya Muktapida|Lalitaditya]]'s conquests in the Kashmir neighbourhood and the Gangetic plains are considered as historical.]]
The [[Nilamata Purana]], believed to have been commissioned by Durlabhavardhana — the first ruler of the dynasty, provides detailed information on Brahminic affairs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Zutshi|first=Chitralekha|title=Kashmir|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|location=Delhi|at=Aryavarta|chapter=Kashmir as Sacred Space}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=September 1991|title=THE BRAHMINS OF KASHMIR|url=https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/KashmiriBrahmins.pdf|url-status=live|pages=24–28}}</ref> [[Chitralekha Zutshi]], [[Ronald Inden]] and other scholars however urge for a cautious and contextual reading in that the Purana was penned to reconstruct Kashmir as one of the most sacred space in the subcontinental cosmos by attributing Brahminical divinity to its geographical features and then, establish Durlabhavardhana as its rightful king; also, there have been interpolations as late as 10th century.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Mahesh|date=2008-07-01|title=Puranic Texts from Kashmir: Vitasta and River Ceremonials in the Nilamata Purana|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/026272800802800201|journal=South Asia Research|language=en|volume=28|issue=2|pages=123–145|doi=10.1177/026272800802800201|issn=0262-7280|s2cid=144448359}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jamwal|first=Suman|date=2011|title=The Making of the Religious Geography of Kashmir: From Nilamata Purana to Rajatarangini|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146700|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=72|pages=101–109|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44146700}}</ref> The [[Vishnudharmottara Purana]], is another local and contemporary source, which played roughly similar roles in pre-medieval polity.<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":12" /><ref name=":6" />
The [[Nilamata Purana]], believed to have been commissioned by Durlabhavardhana — the first ruler of the dynasty, provides detailed information on Brahminic affairs.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Zutshi|first=Chitralekha|title=Kashmir|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|location=Delhi|at=Aryavarta|chapter=Kashmir as Sacred Space}}</ref><ref name=":11">{{Cite web|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=September 1991|title=THE BRAHMINS OF KASHMIR|url=https://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/KashmiriBrahmins.pdf|url-status=live|pages=24–28}}</ref> [[Chitralekha Zutshi]], [[Ronald Inden]] and other scholars however urge for a cautious and contextual reading in that the Purana was penned to reconstruct Kashmir as one of the most sacred space in the subcontinental cosmos by attributing Brahminical divinity to its geographical features and then, establish Durlabhavardhana as its rightful king; also, there have been interpolations as late as 10th century.<ref name=":12">{{Cite journal|last=Sharma|first=Mahesh|date=2008-07-01|title=Puranic Texts from Kashmir: Vitasta and River Ceremonials in the Nilamata Purana|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/026272800802800201|journal=South Asia Research|language=en|volume=28|issue=2|pages=123–145|doi=10.1177/026272800802800201|issn=0262-7280|s2cid=144448359}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jamwal|first=Suman|date=2011|title=The Making of the Religious Geography of Kashmir: From Nilamata Purana to Rajatarangini|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146700|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=72|pages=101–109|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44146700}}</ref> The [[Vishnudharmottara Purana]], is another local and contemporary source, which played roughly similar roles in pre-medieval polity.<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":42" /><ref name=":6" />


Contemporary sources also include the chronicles of a multitude of Buddhist pilgrims — [[Xuanzang]] (May 631- April 633), [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]] (673 - 685), [[Wukong (monk)|Wukong]], [[Hyecho]] and others — who visited Kashmir during the dynasty.<ref name=":24" /> The [[Kuttanimata]], penned by a court-poet of Jayapida, was a [[Didactic method|didactic work]] on erotics and gave a fairly accurate account of contemporary Kashmiri life.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":26">{{Cite journal|last=Ray|first=Sunil Chandra|date=1957|title=Dāmodaragupta's Kuṭṭanīmata : Its VaITS as a Source of Ancient Indian History|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44304455|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=20|pages=144–148|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44304455}}</ref>
Contemporary sources also include the chronicles of a multitude of Buddhist pilgrims — [[Xuanzang]] (May 631- April 633), [[Yijing (monk)|Yijing]] (673 - 685), [[Wukong (monk)|Wukong]], [[Hyecho]] and others — who visited Kashmir during the dynasty.<ref name=":24" /> The [[Kuttanimata]], penned by a court-poet of Jayapida, was a [[Didactic method|didactic work]] on erotics and gave a fairly accurate account of contemporary Kashmiri life.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":26">{{Cite journal|last=Ray|first=Sunil Chandra|date=1957|title=Dāmodaragupta's Kuṭṭanīmata : Its VaITS as a Source of Ancient Indian History|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44304455|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=20|pages=144–148|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44304455}}</ref>


The ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', an 11th century work by Kalhana, was aimed at sketching an outline of Kashmir's history since ancient times, and did discuss the Karkota dynasty in depth.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004248328/B9789004248328_003.xml|title=1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-24832-8|pages=11, 16–19, 251, 262|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Zutshi|first=Chitralekha|title=Kashmir|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|location=Delhi|at=Especially Blessed Landscape/Peripheral Kingdom|chapter=Kashmir as Sacred Space}}</ref>{{Efn|At least three other Rajataranginis were composed in medieval Kashmir. They are since-lost.<ref name=":15" />}} He depended on a variety of material including earlier historical works, dynastic genealogies, inscriptions, coins and Puranas.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1990|title=On Indian Historical Writing: The role of the Vamsavalis|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjasas1989/1990/2/1990_2_1/_article/-char/ja|journal=南アジア研究|publisher=Japanese Association for South Asian Studies|volume=2|pages=10–11, 30|doi=10.11384/jjasas1989.1990.1}}</ref> The work has a contested repute of being the only pre-modern work in Sanskrit resembling Western notions of history; however, its historical accuracy is disputed — Zutshi and other scholars find the poem to be a blend of "mythical, political, social, spiritual, and geographical" narratives, which aimed at defining Kashmir as an idealized ethical space.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":52">{{Cite journal|last=Roy|first=Kumkum|date=1994|title=Defining the Household: Some Aspects of Prescription and Practice in Early India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3517849|journal=Social Scientist|volume=22|issue=1/2|pages=15|doi=10.2307/3517849|jstor=3517849|issn=0970-0293}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shulman|first=David|date=2013-04-01|title=Preface: Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: What is it?|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0019464613487096|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=127–130|doi=10.1177/0019464613487096|s2cid=220678233|issn=0019-4646}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Bronner|first=Yigal|date=2013-04-01|title=From conqueror to connoisseur: Kalhaṇa's account of Jayāpīḍa and the fashioning of Kashmir as a Kingdom of learning|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0019464613487098|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=161–177|doi=10.1177/0019464613487098|s2cid=144762916|issn=0019-4646}}</ref><ref name=":15">{{Cite journal|last=ZUTSHI|first=CHITRALEKHA|date=2011|title=Translating the Past: Rethinking "Rajatarangini" Narratives in Colonial India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41302205|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=70|issue=1|pages=5–27|doi=10.1017/S0021911810002998|jstor=41302205|s2cid=146160013|issn=0021-9118}}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Cite book|last=Dezső|first=Csaba|title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History|publisher=Barkhuis|year=2020|isbn=9789493194014|editor-last=Balogh|editor-first=Daniel|location=Groningen|pages=296–308|chapter=X.1.3: The Kashmir Secular Tradition}}</ref><ref name=":20" /> Nonetheless, historical accuracy increases drastically from the fourth book onward, with the narration of Karkota dynasty and the book (typically the critical edition by [[Aurel Stein]]) has been heavily cited to reconstruct Kashmiri history.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":15" /> [[Michael Witzel]] notes the fourth book to be accurate in its chronology (down to day) in that it aligns perfectly with contemporary Chinese sources; however a correction of +25 years need to be introduced throughout the dynasty.<ref name=":24">{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|title=Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century|year=2016|isbn=978-3-643-90697-7|editor-last=Franco|editor-first=Eli|series=Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens|location=Münster, Germany|pages=609–643|chapter=Kashmiri Brahmins under the Karkota, Utpala and Lohara Dynasties, 625-1101 CE|editor-last2=Ratié|editor-first2=Isabelle}}</ref><ref name=":23" />{{Efn|Kalhana misunderstood a Karkota Vamsavali to be in Laukika Samvat, when it was actually in Kali Samvat. Both calendars were used in medieval Kashmir and the beginning of Laukika Samvat equals Kali Samvat 25 (expired).}}
The ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', an 11th century work by Kalhana, was aimed at sketching an outline of Kashmir's history since ancient times, and did discuss the Karkota dynasty in depth.<ref name=":23">{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004248328/B9789004248328_003.xml|title=1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-24832-8|pages=11, 16–19, 251, 262|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book|last=Zutshi|first=Chitralekha|title=Kashmir|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2019|location=Delhi|at=Especially Blessed Landscape/Peripheral Kingdom|chapter=Kashmir as Sacred Space}}</ref>{{Efn|At least three other Rajataranginis were composed in medieval Kashmir. They are since-lost.<ref name=":15" />}} He depended on a variety of material including earlier historical works, dynastic genealogies, inscriptions, coins and Puranas.<ref name=":13">{{Cite journal|last=Witzel|first=Michael|date=1990|title=On Indian Historical Writing: The role of the Vamsavalis|url=https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjasas1989/1990/2/1990_2_1/_article/-char/ja|journal=南アジア研究|publisher=Japanese Association for South Asian Studies|volume=2|pages=10–11, 30|doi=10.11384/jjasas1989.1990.1}}</ref> The work has a contested repute of being the only pre-modern work in Sanskrit resembling Western notions of history; however, its historical accuracy is disputed — Zutshi and other scholars find the poem to be a blend of "mythical, political, social, spiritual, and geographical" narratives, which aimed at defining Kashmir as an idealized ethical space.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite journal|last=ZUTSHI|first=CHITRALEKHA|date=2011|title=Translating the Past: Rethinking "Rajatarangini" Narratives in Colonial India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41302205|journal=The Journal of Asian Studies|volume=70|issue=1|pages=5–27|doi=10.1017/S0021911810002998|jstor=41302205|s2cid=146160013|issn=0021-9118}}</ref><ref name=":52">{{Cite journal|last=Roy|first=Kumkum|date=1994|title=Defining the Household: Some Aspects of Prescription and Practice in Early India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3517849|journal=Social Scientist|volume=22|issue=1/2|pages=15|doi=10.2307/3517849|jstor=3517849|issn=0970-0293}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Bronner|first=Yigal|date=2013-04-01|title=From conqueror to connoisseur: Kalhaṇa's account of Jayāpīḍa and the fashioning of Kashmir as a Kingdom of learning|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0019464613487098|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=161–177|doi=10.1177/0019464613487098|s2cid=144762916|issn=0019-4646}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Shulman|first=David|date=2013-04-01|title=Preface: Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: What is it?|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/0019464613487096|journal=The Indian Economic & Social History Review|language=en|volume=50|issue=2|pages=127–130|doi=10.1177/0019464613487096|s2cid=220678233|issn=0019-4646}}</ref><ref name=":25">{{Cite book|last=Dezső|first=Csaba|title=Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History|publisher=Barkhuis|year=2020|isbn=9789493194014|editor-last=Balogh|editor-first=Daniel|location=Groningen|pages=296–308|chapter=X.1.3: The Kashmir Secular Tradition}}</ref><ref name=":20" /> Nonetheless, historical accuracy increases drastically from the fourth book onward, with the narration of Karkota dynasty and the book (typically the critical edition by [[Aurel Stein]]) has been heavily cited to reconstruct Kashmiri history.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":15" /><ref name=":13" /> [[Michael Witzel]] notes the fourth book to be accurate in its chronology (down to day) in that it aligns perfectly with contemporary Chinese sources; however a correction of +25 years need to be introduced throughout the dynasty.<ref name=":24">{{Cite book|last=Witzel|first=Michael|title=Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century|year=2016|isbn=978-3-643-90697-7|editor-last=Franco|editor-first=Eli|series=Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens|location=Münster, Germany|pages=609–643|chapter=Kashmiri Brahmins under the Karkota, Utpala and Lohara Dynasties, 625-1101 CE|editor-last2=Ratié|editor-first2=Isabelle}}</ref><ref name=":23" />{{Efn|Kalhana misunderstood a Karkota Vamsavali to be in Laukika Samvat, when it was actually in Kali Samvat. Both calendars were used in medieval Kashmir and the beginning of Laukika Samvat equals Kali Samvat 25 (expired).}}


Coins issued by all major rulers until Muktapida (and Jayapida) have been excavated; these coins were always inscribed in the name of [[Kidara]] on the reverse.<ref name="AMS16">{{cite book|last1=Shastri|first1=A. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=979BKkAiQowC&pg=PA16|title=India As Seen In The Kuttanimata Of Damodara Gupta|date=31 December 1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-1336-6|page=16|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Inden|first1=Ronald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPARDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74|title=Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia|last2=Inden|first2=Professor of South Asian History Ronald|last3=Walters|first3=Jonathan S.|last4=Walters|first4=Jonathan|last5=Ali|first5=Daud|last6=Ali|first6=Lecturer in Ancient and Medieval Indian History Daud|date=8 June 2000|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-512430-9|pages=74–77|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Marc Aurel|title=Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir|publisher=[[Archibald Constable]]|year=1900|location=Westminster|pages=86–97, 136, 142 (Introduction), 120–185 (The Rajatarangini of Kalahana: Fourth Book)}}</ref>
Coins issued by all major rulers until Muktapida (and Jayapida) have been excavated; these coins were always inscribed in the name of [[Kidara]] on the reverse.<ref name="AMS16">{{cite book|last1=Shastri|first1=A. M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=979BKkAiQowC&pg=PA16|title=India As Seen In The Kuttanimata Of Damodara Gupta|date=31 December 1996|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-1336-6|page=16|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Inden|first1=Ronald|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mPARDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA74|title=Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia|last2=Inden|first2=Professor of South Asian History Ronald|last3=Walters|first3=Jonathan S.|last4=Walters|first4=Jonathan|last5=Ali|first5=Daud|last6=Ali|first6=Lecturer in Ancient and Medieval Indian History Daud|date=8 June 2000|publisher=Oxford University Press, USA|isbn=978-0-19-512430-9|pages=74–77|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite book|last=Stein|first=Marc Aurel|title=Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir|publisher=[[Archibald Constable]]|year=1900|location=Westminster|pages=86–97, 136, 142 (Introduction), 120–185 (The Rajatarangini of Kalahana: Fourth Book)}}</ref>
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Kalhana's third book mentions of a [[Gonanda dynasty (II)]], which ruled for about 590 years till the establishment of the Karkotas;<ref name=":16" /> however the chronology is widely deemed to be faulty and on cross-vetting with coins and inscriptions from outside Kashmir, names of some of the rulers are found to roughly correspond with the [[Alchon Huns]], who ruled hundreds of years later than the time-frame assigned by Kalhana.<ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cribb|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|date=2016|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|journal=Numismatic Digest|publisher=Numismatic Society of Bombay|volume=40|pages=98}}</ref> In Kalhana's narrative, names of some rulers are reshuffled and/or repeated multiple times across the first three books, some stories are retrofitted and recycled, some reigns are impossibly long, and some rulers are telescoped into the past.<ref name=":25" />{{Efn|The first book of Rajatarangini ends with Yudhisthira I being deposed by Pratapaditya c.180 B.C. Yudhisthira I, the son of a Narendraditya Khinkhila is noted to be the 9th successor of Mihirakula (who is dated to around 704 BC). Mihirakula, in turn, has figures from the Ramayana pantheon — Vibhisana, Ravana, Indrajit et al — among ancestors.{{pb}}Pratapaditya's successors (second book) are noted to be Jalauka and Tunjina I. The latter was deposed by Vijaya from another family, who was succeeded by his son Jayendra. The next ruler was his minister Samdhimati, who went on to abdicate the throne after a few decades.{{pb}}The third book starts with Meghavahana, the great-great-grandson of Yudhisthira I, being restored to the vacant throne from his exile. There is also a Yudhisthir II, the son of Pravarsena II and grandson of Toramana (grandson of Meghavahana). He is dated to 170-210 AD and had a son Lakhana-Narendraditya; Baladitya is noted to be Narendraditya's nephew (and his third successor).}}
Kalhana's third book mentions of a [[Gonanda dynasty (II)]], which ruled for about 590 years till the establishment of the Karkotas;<ref name=":16" /> however the chronology is widely deemed to be faulty and on cross-vetting with coins and inscriptions from outside Kashmir, names of some of the rulers are found to roughly correspond with the [[Alchon Huns]], who ruled hundreds of years later than the time-frame assigned by Kalhana.<ref name=":22" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cribb|first=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|date=2016|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|journal=Numismatic Digest|publisher=Numismatic Society of Bombay|volume=40|pages=98}}</ref> In Kalhana's narrative, names of some rulers are reshuffled and/or repeated multiple times across the first three books, some stories are retrofitted and recycled, some reigns are impossibly long, and some rulers are telescoped into the past.<ref name=":25" />{{Efn|The first book of Rajatarangini ends with Yudhisthira I being deposed by Pratapaditya c.180 B.C. Yudhisthira I, the son of a Narendraditya Khinkhila is noted to be the 9th successor of Mihirakula (who is dated to around 704 BC). Mihirakula, in turn, has figures from the Ramayana pantheon — Vibhisana, Ravana, Indrajit et al — among ancestors.{{pb}}Pratapaditya's successors (second book) are noted to be Jalauka and Tunjina I. The latter was deposed by Vijaya from another family, who was succeeded by his son Jayendra. The next ruler was his minister Samdhimati, who went on to abdicate the throne after a few decades.{{pb}}The third book starts with Meghavahana, the great-great-grandson of Yudhisthira I, being restored to the vacant throne from his exile. There is also a Yudhisthir II, the son of Pravarsena II and grandson of Toramana (grandson of Meghavahana). He is dated to 170-210 AD and had a son Lakhana-Narendraditya; Baladitya is noted to be Narendraditya's nephew (and his third successor).}}


According to a roughly literal reading of the ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', Durlabhavardhana belonged to a low caste and was employed by Baladitya, the last ruler of the Gonanda dynasty.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Rangachari|first=Devika|date=2002-04-01|title=Kalhana's Rājataranginī: A Gender Perspective1|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/097194580200500103|journal=The Medieval History Journal|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|pages=46, 48|doi=10.1177/097194580200500103|issn=0971-9458|s2cid=144377502}}</ref> Baladitya (apparently) had no male heir but a daughter Anaṅgalekhā and did not wish his territory to be annexed by in-laws.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":16" /> To avert such a possibility he married her to Durlabhavardhana, who had no royal lineage.<ref name=":16" /> However, after Baladitya's death, Durlabhavardhana ascended to the throne with help from a minister, and claimed descent from the mythical Naga king [[Karkotaka]], establishing the Karkota Dynasty.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":72">{{Citation|last=Pal|first=Sayantani|title=Karkota dynasty of Kashmir|date=2016|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe049|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Empire|pages=1–2|publisher=American Cancer Society|language=en|doi=10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe049|isbn=978-1-118-45507-4|access-date=2021-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":11" /><ref name=":16" /> This view is accepted by Witzel<ref name=":24" /> and Devika Rangachari.
According to a roughly literal reading of the ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', Durlabhavardhana belonged to a low caste and was employed by Baladitya, the last ruler of the Gonanda dynasty.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|last=Rangachari|first=Devika|date=2002-04-01|title=Kalhana's Rājataranginī: A Gender Perspective1|url=https://doi.org/10.1177/097194580200500103|journal=The Medieval History Journal|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|pages=46, 48|doi=10.1177/097194580200500103|issn=0971-9458|s2cid=144377502}}</ref> Baladitya (apparently) had no male heir but a daughter Anaṅgalekhā and did not wish his territory to be annexed by in-laws.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":8" /> To avert such a possibility he married her to Durlabhavardhana, who had no royal lineage.<ref name=":16" /> However, after Baladitya's death, Durlabhavardhana ascended to the throne with help from a minister, and claimed descent from the mythical Naga king [[Karkotaka]], establishing the Karkota Dynasty.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":11" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name=":72">{{Citation|last=Pal|first=Sayantani|title=Karkota dynasty of Kashmir|date=2016|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe049|encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Empire|pages=1–2|publisher=American Cancer Society|language=en|doi=10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe049|isbn=978-1-118-45507-4|access-date=2021-03-18}}</ref> This view is accepted by Witzel<ref name=":24" /> and Devika Rangachari.


Atreyi Biswas however rejects this literal description of the establishment of the Karkota dynasty as fictitious.<ref name=":20">{{Cite book|last=Biswas|first=Atreyi|url=|title=The Political History of the Hūṇas in India|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|year=1971|isbn=978-0-88386-301-5|pages=112–113, 135, 138, 143|language=en}}</ref> In a critical reading of the ''Rajatarangini'', and taking into account numismatic as well as literary sources, the dates of the Gonanda rulers are adjusted and Biswas deems the first ruler of the Karkota dynasty to be Durlabhaka Pratapaditya, who claimed the throne after defeating [[Yudhishthira (Huna king)|Yudhisthira]], the last [[Alchon Hun]] ruler of Kashmir.<ref name=":20" />{{efn|name=fn1|Mihirakula has been precisely dated to 502 - 530 AD on the basis of inscriptions and coins; he was a Huna ruler. He has been similarly confirmed to be Toramana's son and immediate successor. Biswas notes that no historical evidence has been located for the first six successors of Mihirakula or Yudhisthira I, himself. Ditto as to Yudhishtira II or the three successors of Narendraditya. Biswas however notes that coins and inscriptions attesting to the immediate predecessor of Yudhisthira I (Narendraditya Khinkhila) have been excavated, as have been coins minted by Pravarsena II.{{pb}}Noting that contemporary Huna kings are located across three books and spaced out by over 1000 years, Biswas proposes that Kalhana had the names of individual kings and content (including popular legends) about their rule but not the chronological framework to fit them. Pravarsena II was Mihirakula's brother and he was alive as late as 597 A.D.; he was succeeded by Narendraditya Khinkhila, whose reign, assuming the regnal spans of the first book of Rajtarangini to be correct, ended in around 633 AD. He was followed by a Yudhisthira, who was defeated by (Durlabhaka) Pratapaditya — content-parts of both books thus stand true, if these two rulers were concurrent, which automatically follows if we assume Yudhisthira I and Yudhisthira II to be the [[Yudhishthira (Huna king)|same ruler]].}} His father Durlabhavardhana would have been a subordinate king under the-then Huna ruler, [[Narendraditya Khinkhila]].<ref name=":20" />{{efn|name=fn1}} Baladitya and his immediate predecessors of the [[Gonanda dynasty of Kashmir III|Gonanda dynasty]] would never have existed at all or were subordinate kings under the Karkotas.<ref name=":20" />{{efn|Maulavi Hasan Shah wrote a history of Kashmir (not published; late 19th century), based on a Persian translation of Ratnakara Purana by Mulla Ahmed, court poet of [[Zain-ul-Abidin]]. All the three works are currently lost or untraceable. However, a partial translation (in English) of Shah's manuscript was published over a journal in 1918 by Pandit Ananda Kaul.{{pb}}Biswas hyothesizes a probable time-frame for the predecessors based on Kaul's translation.}} [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]] follows her interpretation in one of his works.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dani|first1=Ahmad Hasan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=883OZBe2sMYC&pg=PA169|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750|last2=Litvinsky|first2=B. A.|date=1996|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231032110|pages=169–170|language=en}}</ref>
Atreyi Biswas however rejects this literal description of the establishment of the Karkota dynasty as fictitious.<ref name=":20">{{Cite book|last=Biswas|first=Atreyi|url=|title=The Political History of the Hūṇas in India|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers|year=1971|isbn=978-0-88386-301-5|pages=112–113, 135, 138, 143|language=en}}</ref> In a critical reading of the ''Rajatarangini'', and taking into account numismatic as well as literary sources, the dates of the Gonanda rulers are adjusted and Biswas deems the first ruler of the Karkota dynasty to be Durlabhaka Pratapaditya, who claimed the throne after defeating [[Yudhishthira (Huna king)|Yudhisthira]], the last [[Alchon Hun]] ruler of Kashmir.<ref name=":20" />{{efn|name=fn1|Mihirakula has been precisely dated to 502 - 530 AD on the basis of inscriptions and coins; he was a Huna ruler. He has been similarly confirmed to be Toramana's son and immediate successor. Biswas notes that no historical evidence has been located for the first six successors of Mihirakula or Yudhisthira I, himself. Ditto as to Yudhishtira II or the three successors of Narendraditya. Biswas however notes that coins and inscriptions attesting to the immediate predecessor of Yudhisthira I (Narendraditya Khinkhila) have been excavated, as have been coins minted by Pravarsena II.{{pb}}Noting that contemporary Huna kings are located across three books and spaced out by over 1000 years, Biswas proposes that Kalhana had the names of individual kings and content (including popular legends) about their rule but not the chronological framework to fit them. Pravarsena II was Mihirakula's brother and he was alive as late as 597 A.D.; he was succeeded by Narendraditya Khinkhila, whose reign, assuming the regnal spans of the first book of Rajtarangini to be correct, ended in around 633 AD. He was followed by a Yudhisthira, who was defeated by (Durlabhaka) Pratapaditya — content-parts of both books thus stand true, if these two rulers were concurrent, which automatically follows if we assume Yudhisthira I and Yudhisthira II to be the [[Yudhishthira (Huna king)|same ruler]].}} His father Durlabhavardhana would have been a subordinate king under the-then Huna ruler, [[Narendraditya Khinkhila]].<ref name=":20" />{{efn|name=fn1}} Baladitya and his immediate predecessors of the [[Gonanda dynasty of Kashmir III|Gonanda dynasty]] would never have existed at all or were subordinate kings under the Karkotas.<ref name=":20" />{{efn|Maulavi Hasan Shah wrote a history of Kashmir (not published; late 19th century), based on a Persian translation of Ratnakara Purana by Mulla Ahmed, court poet of [[Zain-ul-Abidin]]. All the three works are currently lost or untraceable. However, a partial translation (in English) of Shah's manuscript was published over a journal in 1918 by Pandit Ananda Kaul.{{pb}}Biswas hyothesizes a probable time-frame for the predecessors based on Kaul's translation.}} [[Ahmad Hasan Dani]] follows her interpretation in one of his works.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dani|first1=Ahmad Hasan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=883OZBe2sMYC&pg=PA169|title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750|last2=Litvinsky|first2=B. A.|date=1996|publisher=UNESCO|isbn=9789231032110|pages=169–170|language=en}}</ref>


However, Gudrun Melzer notes that Biswas did not take into account a different chronology proposed by two German historians (Humbach and Göbl), which has since received eminence in Huna studies; scholars have disputed her dating and commentary on Narendraditya Khinkhila.<ref name=":21">{{Cite book|last1=Melzer|first1=Gudrun|title=Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection|last2=Sander|first2=Lore|publisher=Hermes Publishing|year=2006|editor-last=Braarvig|editor-first=Jens|volume=III|location=Oslo|pages=257|chapter=A Copper Scroll Inscription from the Time of the Alchon Huns}}</ref>{{efn|Gobl and Kuwayama notes a Khingila (not Narendraditya Khinkhila in the above note) to precede Toramana, based on numismatic and literary evidence.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://britishacademy.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001/upso-9780197262856|title=Indo-Iranian Languages and Peoples|date=2003-01-23|publisher=British Academy|isbn=978-0-19-726285-6|editor-last=Sims-Williams|editor-first=Nicholas|edition=1|language=en|doi=10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001}}</ref> In contrast, Biswas had noted Tijin (Thunjina II in the third book of Rajatarangini) to be Toramana's father and predecessor. Melzer expresses reservations on all of these readings.{{pb}}Biswas identifies her Narendraditya Khinkhila with the "Shahi Khimgala" mentioned over [[Gardez Ganesha|a Ganesha inscription]] but this is disputed by others. Dhavalikar as well as Tucci reject that the two rulers are same and note that there are too many possibilities to date the inscribed king; Tucci however dates the inscription to late fifth or early sixth on a paleographic analysis and Dhavalikar confirms the same time-span on an artistic analysis of the statue. D.C. Sircar as well as Petech date the inscription to sixth or seventh century. Melzer notes that the inscribed Khinkhila was "most probably" a different ruler than Khingila (first paragraph), who could not have existed before the second half of 6th century. However, [[David Bivar]] identifies Khingila (first paragraph) with Narendraditya Khinkhila; he is noted to be the second successor of [[Pravarsena II]] and dated to sometime before 600. Shōshin Kuwayama rejects that Narendraditya Khinkhila ruled Kashmir at all and assigns him to sometime "before or long before" 600; the inscribed ruler is dated to 753. Overall, Melzer notes that there might have been multiple Huna rulers of the name Khingila (or variants) who had ruled different territories across different time-spans and their details remain hazy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kuawayama|first=Shōshin|date=1999|title=Historical Notes on Kāpiśī and Kābul in the Sixth-Eighth Centuries|journal=Zinbun (Annals of the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University)|volume=34|issue=1|pages=25–77}}</ref><ref name=":21" /> {{pb}}Gobl notes the Alchon Hunas to have migrated to the Kapisa-Kabul area, after Mihirakula's defeat in India. This has been since accepted by Alram and others; numismatic evidence supports such proposition. The ruler who defeated the native Nezak kings is variably identified as Pravarsena II (Gobl) and Narendraditya Khinkhila ([[David Bivar]]). In contrast, Biswas rejects these theories of migration on a critical reading of Puranas, Rajatarangini, Xuanzang's chronicles and other literary sources.}}
However, Gudrun Melzer notes that Biswas did not take into account a different chronology proposed by two German historians (Humbach and Göbl), which has since received eminence in Huna studies; scholars have disputed her dating and commentary on Narendraditya Khinkhila.<ref name=":21">{{Cite book|last1=Melzer|first1=Gudrun|title=Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection|last2=Sander|first2=Lore|publisher=Hermes Publishing|year=2006|editor-last=Braarvig|editor-first=Jens|volume=III|location=Oslo|pages=257|chapter=A Copper Scroll Inscription from the Time of the Alchon Huns}}</ref>{{efn|Gobl and Kuwayama notes a Khingila (not Narendraditya Khinkhila in the above note) to precede Toramana, based on numismatic and literary evidence.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://britishacademy.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001/upso-9780197262856|title=Indo-Iranian Languages and Peoples|date=2003-01-23|publisher=British Academy|isbn=978-0-19-726285-6|editor-last=Sims-Williams|editor-first=Nicholas|edition=1|language=en|doi=10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001}}</ref> In contrast, Biswas had noted Tijin (Thunjina II in the third book of Rajatarangini) to be Toramana's father and predecessor. Melzer expresses reservations on all of these readings.{{pb}}Biswas identifies her Narendraditya Khinkhila with the "Shahi Khimgala" mentioned over [[Gardez Ganesha|a Ganesha inscription]] but this is disputed by others. Dhavalikar as well as Tucci reject that the two rulers are same and note that there are too many possibilities to date the inscribed king; Tucci however dates the inscription to late fifth or early sixth on a paleographic analysis and Dhavalikar confirms the same time-span on an artistic analysis of the statue. D.C. Sircar as well as Petech date the inscription to sixth or seventh century. Melzer notes that the inscribed Khinkhila was "most probably" a different ruler than Khingila (first paragraph), who could not have existed before the second half of 6th century. However, [[David Bivar]] identifies Khingila (first paragraph) with Narendraditya Khinkhila; he is noted to be the second successor of [[Pravarsena II]] and dated to sometime before 600. Shōshin Kuwayama rejects that Narendraditya Khinkhila ruled Kashmir at all and assigns him to sometime "before or long before" 600; the inscribed ruler is dated to 753. Overall, Melzer notes that there might have been multiple Huna rulers of the name Khingila (or variants) who had ruled different territories across different time-spans and their details remain hazy.<ref name=":21" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kuawayama|first=Shōshin|date=1999|title=Historical Notes on Kāpiśī and Kābul in the Sixth-Eighth Centuries|journal=Zinbun (Annals of the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University)|volume=34|issue=1|pages=25–77}}</ref> {{pb}}Gobl notes the Alchon Hunas to have migrated to the Kapisa-Kabul area, after Mihirakula's defeat in India. This has been since accepted by Alram and others; numismatic evidence supports such proposition. The ruler who defeated the native Nezak kings is variably identified as Pravarsena II (Gobl) and Narendraditya Khinkhila ([[David Bivar]]). In contrast, Biswas rejects these theories of migration on a critical reading of Puranas, Rajatarangini, Xuanzang's chronicles and other literary sources.}}


== Rule ==
== Rule ==
Line 72: Line 72:
[[File:Coin of Śri Durlabha (Jammu and Kashmir).jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Durlabhavardhana, founder of the dynasty.<br/>'''Obverse:''' abstract [[Kipunada|Kushan-style]] king standing, with legend ''Jayati Kidāra'' ([[Sharada script]]).<br/>'''Reverse:''' abstract seated goddess [[Ardoxsho]], holding garland and [[cornucopia]], legend: ''Śri Durla'' and ''Deva''.<ref name="RCM">"Kalhaņa tells us little about Durlabha-vardhana (...) The mixed metal coins bearing the legend Sri Durlabha on the obverse and jayati Kidāra on the reverse, belong to this monarch." {{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C. (Editor)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRBuAAAAMAAJ|title=A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1. A.D. 300-985|date=1981|publisher=People's Publishing House|page=30|language=en}}</ref><br/>Karkota coins are simplified/symbolized versions of [[:File:Kipunada.jpg|Late Kushan coins]] and [[:File:HUNNIC_TRIBES_Kidarites_Kidara_Circa_CE_350-385.jpg|Kidarite coins]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|pages=106–108}}</ref>]]
[[File:Coin of Śri Durlabha (Jammu and Kashmir).jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Durlabhavardhana, founder of the dynasty.<br/>'''Obverse:''' abstract [[Kipunada|Kushan-style]] king standing, with legend ''Jayati Kidāra'' ([[Sharada script]]).<br/>'''Reverse:''' abstract seated goddess [[Ardoxsho]], holding garland and [[cornucopia]], legend: ''Śri Durla'' and ''Deva''.<ref name="RCM">"Kalhaņa tells us little about Durlabha-vardhana (...) The mixed metal coins bearing the legend Sri Durlabha on the obverse and jayati Kidāra on the reverse, belong to this monarch." {{cite book|last1=Majumdar|first1=R. C. (Editor)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mRBuAAAAMAAJ|title=A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1. A.D. 300-985|date=1981|publisher=People's Publishing House|page=30|language=en}}</ref><br/>Karkota coins are simplified/symbolized versions of [[:File:Kipunada.jpg|Late Kushan coins]] and [[:File:HUNNIC_TRIBES_Kidarites_Kidara_Circa_CE_350-385.jpg|Kidarite coins]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|pages=106–108}}</ref>]]
[[File:Vajrasattva, Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 8th century CE.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of the [[Buddhist]] [[Bodhisattva]] [[Vajra]]sattva, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 8th century CE.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39342 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reedy |first1=Chandra L. |title=Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style, and Choices |year=1997 |publisher=Associated University Press |isbn=978-0-87413-570-1 |page=156, K47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dNiLUB3usMC&pg=PA156 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pal |first1=Pratapaditya |title=Bronzes of Kashmir |year=1975 |publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt |isbn=978-3-201-00929-4 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQw4AQAAIAAJ |language=en|quote="Fig 59a: Vajrasattva Kashmir , 8th century H : 65/8 in . ( 16.9 cm ) Pan - Asian Collection A regal Bodhisattva is seated on a lotus which rests on a pedestal of unusual form. The pedestal is composed of two tiers of jagged and contorted rock formations, the stylized design of the rockery being indicated by shallow , uneven incisions peculiar to Kashmiri bronzes . The narrow , recessed portions between the two tiers appear to be crushed by the entwined tails of two nāgas who , at the same time , are engaged in adoring the deity . The rock formations obviously represent a mountain , but the exact significance of the behaviour of the någas is not known . Clad in a dhoti , the Bodhisattva is elaborately crowned and ornamented . His hair is gathered up behind in what is generally known as the Parthian bob and is held in place by a filet . Five identical effigies of a seated Buddha - each showing the samadhimudra - are delineated on the crown and at the back . The Bodhisattva carries the thunderbolt ( vajra ) against his chest and a bell ( ghanță ) against his thigh . Because of the emblems and the manner in which they are disposed , the Bodhisattva may be identified as Vajrasattva ."}}</ref>]]
[[File:Vajrasattva, Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 8th century CE.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of the [[Buddhist]] [[Bodhisattva]] [[Vajra]]sattva, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 8th century CE.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/39342 |website=The Metropolitan Museum of Art |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Reedy |first1=Chandra L. |title=Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style, and Choices |year=1997 |publisher=Associated University Press |isbn=978-0-87413-570-1 |page=156, K47 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3dNiLUB3usMC&pg=PA156 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pal |first1=Pratapaditya |title=Bronzes of Kashmir |year=1975 |publisher=Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt |isbn=978-3-201-00929-4 |page=59 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sQw4AQAAIAAJ |language=en|quote="Fig 59a: Vajrasattva Kashmir , 8th century H : 65/8 in . ( 16.9 cm ) Pan - Asian Collection A regal Bodhisattva is seated on a lotus which rests on a pedestal of unusual form. The pedestal is composed of two tiers of jagged and contorted rock formations, the stylized design of the rockery being indicated by shallow , uneven incisions peculiar to Kashmiri bronzes . The narrow , recessed portions between the two tiers appear to be crushed by the entwined tails of two nāgas who , at the same time , are engaged in adoring the deity . The rock formations obviously represent a mountain , but the exact significance of the behaviour of the någas is not known . Clad in a dhoti , the Bodhisattva is elaborately crowned and ornamented . His hair is gathered up behind in what is generally known as the Parthian bob and is held in place by a filet . Five identical effigies of a seated Buddha - each showing the samadhimudra - are delineated on the crown and at the back . The Bodhisattva carries the thunderbolt ( vajra ) against his chest and a bell ( ghanță ) against his thigh . Because of the emblems and the manner in which they are disposed , the Bodhisattva may be identified as Vajrasattva ."}}</ref>]]
Kalhana assigns a regnal span of thirty six years from 625-661/2 AD.<ref name=":23" /> He was also known as Prajnaditya and gifted many villages ([[Agraharam|''agraharas'']]) to Brahmins.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":24" />
Kalhana assigns a regnal span of thirty six years from 625-661/2 AD.<ref name=":23" /> He was also known as Prajnaditya and gifted many villages ([[Agraharam|''agraharas'']]) to Brahmins.<ref name=":24" /><ref name=":23" />


Rajatarangini records no military activity during his reign; assuming [[Xuanzang]] to have visited Kashmir twice during his reign, Durlabhavardhana controlled vast swaths of territories including modern day [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Kashmir]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":72"/><ref name=":6">{{Citation|last=Inden|first=Ronald|title=Imperial Purāṇas: Kashmir as Vaiṣṇava Center of the World|date=2018-03-22|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1205493|doi=10.5281/zenodo.1205493|access-date=2021-03-18}}</ref>
Rajatarangini records no military activity during his reign; assuming [[Xuanzang]] to have visited Kashmir twice during his reign, Durlabhavardhana controlled vast swaths of territories including modern day [[Jammu and Kashmir (union territory)|Kashmir]], [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] and [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]].<ref name=":6">{{Citation|last=Inden|first=Ronald|title=Imperial Purāṇas: Kashmir as Vaiṣṇava Center of the World|date=2018-03-22|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1205493|doi=10.5281/zenodo.1205493|access-date=2021-03-18}}</ref><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":72"/>


=== Durlabhaka===
=== Durlabhaka===
Line 81: Line 81:
His reign saw increasing trade relation with neighboring polities and the development of the Classical Kārkoṭa style of sculpture.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ray|first=Sunil Chandra|title=Early History and Culture of Kashmir|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|year=1970|edition=2|pages=44|language=en}}</ref> Kalhana records him to have impressive military prowess.<ref name=":23" /> Several [[Agraharam|''agraharas'']] were established by Hanumant, son of his minister Uda (var. Oda, Aida).<ref name=":24" />
His reign saw increasing trade relation with neighboring polities and the development of the Classical Kārkoṭa style of sculpture.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Ray|first=Sunil Chandra|title=Early History and Culture of Kashmir|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|year=1970|edition=2|pages=44|language=en}}</ref> Kalhana records him to have impressive military prowess.<ref name=":23" /> Several [[Agraharam|''agraharas'']] were established by Hanumant, son of his minister Uda (var. Oda, Aida).<ref name=":24" />


Durlabhaka married Narendraprabhā, who had been earlier married to Nona, a wealthy merchant from outside Kashmir.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=AROLE|first=MEERA|title=The Institution of Devadāsīs in Literature and Archaeology|date=1990|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42931375|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|volume=50|pages=137|jstor=42931375|issn=0045-9801}}</ref><ref name=":8" />{{Efn|Kalhana notes their romantic overtures to have started when Durlabhaka accepted Nona's invite to have a stay in his residence. The invite was a reciprocation of Durlabhaka having honored Nona with a stay at the royal palace, for having constructed an accommodation for Brahmins in his homeland Rauhitaka.<br/>Durlabhaka suppressed his desires for being unworthy of a king but fell gradually ill, till Nona came to know of it. He offered Narendraprabha as a Devadasi, urging him to marry her and regain his health.}} He had three sons — Chandrapida, Tarapida and Lalitaditya — in descending order of age.<ref name=":23" />
Durlabhaka married Narendraprabhā, who had been earlier married to Nona, a wealthy merchant from outside Kashmir.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=AROLE|first=MEERA|title=The Institution of Devadāsīs in Literature and Archaeology|date=1990|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42931375|journal=Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute|volume=50|pages=137|jstor=42931375|issn=0045-9801}}</ref>{{Efn|Kalhana notes their romantic overtures to have started when Durlabhaka accepted Nona's invite to have a stay in his residence. The invite was a reciprocation of Durlabhaka having honored Nona with a stay at the royal palace, for having constructed an accommodation for Brahmins in his homeland Rauhitaka.<br/>Durlabhaka suppressed his desires for being unworthy of a king but fell gradually ill, till Nona came to know of it. He offered Narendraprabha as a Devadasi, urging him to marry her and regain his health.}} He had three sons — Chandrapida, Tarapida and Lalitaditya — in descending order of age.<ref name=":23" />


=== Candrapida ===
=== Candrapida ===
Candrapida ruled from 712/13-720 CE and bore the name Vajraditya.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":16" /> Candrapida Vajraditya is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Dynasty Chronicles ([[New Book of Tang|''Tangshu'']]) under the name ''Zhentuoluobili'', as contemporary of the period 713-720 CE.<ref name=":9" /><ref name="JC99">{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|page=99|quote= "Candrapida-Vajraditya is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 716-720 and Muktapida-Lalitaditya was mentioned in the same chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 736-747 and according to the Rajatarangini was in conflict with the Indian king [[Yashovarman|Yasovarman]], datable from the Tang Chronicle and other Chinese sources to c. CE 691-731 or later."}}</ref> Kalhana paints a benevolent and virtuous image of the ruler — two stories are narrated to the same effect.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rana|first=Suman Jamwal|title=Revenue System of Ancient Kashmir|date=1998|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146979|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=59|pages=109|jstor=44146979|issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref name=":222">{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004248328/B9789004248328_003.xml|title=1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-24832-8|pages=11, 16, 18|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=SAXENA|first=HINA|title=Vaishnavism in Kashmir During the Time of the Karkotas|date=1995|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158593|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=56|pages=118|jstor=44158593|issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> [[Jayanta Bhatta]]'s great-grandfather Saktisvāmin was one of his ministers.<ref name=":24" />
Candrapida ruled from 712/13-720 CE and bore the name Vajraditya.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":9" /> Candrapida Vajraditya is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Dynasty Chronicles ([[New Book of Tang|''Tangshu'']]) under the name ''Zhentuoluobili'', as contemporary of the period 713-720 CE.<ref name=":9" /><ref name="JC99">{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|page=99|quote= "Candrapida-Vajraditya is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 716-720 and Muktapida-Lalitaditya was mentioned in the same chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 736-747 and according to the Rajatarangini was in conflict with the Indian king [[Yashovarman|Yasovarman]], datable from the Tang Chronicle and other Chinese sources to c. CE 691-731 or later."}}</ref> Kalhana paints a benevolent and virtuous image of the ruler — two stories are narrated to the same effect.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rana|first=Suman Jamwal|title=Revenue System of Ancient Kashmir|date=1998|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44146979|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=59|pages=109|jstor=44146979|issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref name=":222">{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004248328/B9789004248328_003.xml|title=1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD|date=2013-01-01|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-24832-8|pages=11, 16, 18|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last=SAXENA|first=HINA|title=Vaishnavism in Kashmir During the Time of the Karkotas|date=1995|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44158593|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=56|pages=118|jstor=44158593|issn=2249-1937}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> [[Jayanta Bhatta]]'s great-grandfather Saktisvāmin was one of his ministers.<ref name=":24" />


In 713, [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] received an embassy from Candrapida requesting aid against Arab invasions.<ref name=":23" /> Candrapida did not receive any help but managed to defend his territory.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SHARMA|first=ARVIND|title='Albīrūnī's India' as a Source of Political History|date=1982|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41927345|journal=Central Asiatic Journal|volume=26|issue=1/2|pages=135|jstor=41927345|issn=0008-9192}}</ref> In 720, Xuanzong sent an envoy to bestow upon him, the title "King of Kashmir".<ref name=":9" /> These diplomatic exchanges led to the formation of an imperial alliance between the Tangs and Karakotas; in 722, after the Tangs emerged victorious against Tibet, the Chinese court credits Kashmir for having provided ample food to their troops stationed in Gilgit.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":27" />
In 713, [[Emperor Xuanzong of Tang]] received an embassy from Candrapida requesting aid against Arab invasions.<ref name=":23" /> Candrapida did not receive any help but managed to defend his territory.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SHARMA|first=ARVIND|title='Albīrūnī's India' as a Source of Political History|date=1982|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41927345|journal=Central Asiatic Journal|volume=26|issue=1/2|pages=135|jstor=41927345|issn=0008-9192}}</ref> In 720, Xuanzong sent an envoy to bestow upon him, the title "King of Kashmir".<ref name=":9" /> These diplomatic exchanges led to the formation of an imperial alliance between the Tangs and Karakotas; in 722, after the Tangs emerged victorious against Tibet, the Chinese court credits Kashmir for having provided ample food to their troops stationed in Gilgit.<ref name=":27" /><ref name=":9" />


His assassination is blamed upon Tarapida, who recruited a Brahmin.<ref name=":16" />{{Efn|name=fn2|Stein notes that the cause might have been derived from contemporary Tantric tradition.}}
His assassination is blamed upon Tarapida, who recruited a Brahmin.<ref name=":16" />{{Efn|name=fn2|Stein notes that the cause might have been derived from contemporary Tantric tradition.}}
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{{main|Lalitaditya Muktapida}}
{{main|Lalitaditya Muktapida}}
[[File:Ancient Ruins at Parihaspora 01.jpg|thumb|[[Parihaspur]] Stupa, built during the reign of [[Lalitaditya Muktapida]], 8th century CE.]]
[[File:Ancient Ruins at Parihaspora 01.jpg|thumb|[[Parihaspur]] Stupa, built during the reign of [[Lalitaditya Muktapida]], 8th century CE.]]
Kalhana lived around four centuries after Lalitaditya Muktapida (724/725 - 760/761), and popular imagination appears to have embellished Lalitaditya's achievements by then.<ref>{{cite book|author=Shyam Manohar Mishra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZWgj-YMdVEC&pg=PA95|title=Yaśovarman of Kanauj|publisher=Abhinav|year=1977|page=95|oclc=5782454|quote=And as usually happens the achievements of Lalitaditya must have been coloured and exaggerated by popular imagination during the four centuries or so that intervened between Kalhana and the events of the reign of the Kashmir king. This is illustrated by the stories of Lalitaditya's miraculous powers recorded by Kalhana.}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> Lalitaditya Muktapida is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentionned in the Chinese [[Tang Dynasty Chronicles]], as a contemporary of the 736-747 CE period.<ref name="JC99"/> A world conqueror, he is credited with extensive conquests spanning major parts of India, Afghanistan and Central Asia; he was in a conflict with the Indian king [[Yashovarman]].<ref name="JC99" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":9" /> A century prior to Kalhana, [[Al-Biruni]] noted the Kashmiris to celebrate an annual festival in commemoration of Lalitaditya, who defeated the Turks and ruled over the world.<ref name=":9" />
Kalhana lived around four centuries after Lalitaditya Muktapida (724/725 - 760/761), and popular imagination appears to have embellished Lalitaditya's achievements by then.<ref name=":9" /><ref>{{cite book|author=Shyam Manohar Mishra|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kZWgj-YMdVEC&pg=PA95|title=Yaśovarman of Kanauj|publisher=Abhinav|year=1977|page=95|oclc=5782454|quote=And as usually happens the achievements of Lalitaditya must have been coloured and exaggerated by popular imagination during the four centuries or so that intervened between Kalhana and the events of the reign of the Kashmir king. This is illustrated by the stories of Lalitaditya's miraculous powers recorded by Kalhana.}}</ref> Lalitaditya Muktapida is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentionned in the Chinese [[Tang Dynasty Chronicles]], as a contemporary of the 736-747 CE period.<ref name="JC99"/> A world conqueror, he is credited with extensive conquests spanning major parts of India, Afghanistan and Central Asia; he was in a conflict with the Indian king [[Yashovarman]].<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":9" /><ref name="JC99" /> A century prior to Kalhana, [[Al-Biruni]] noted the Kashmiris to celebrate an annual festival in commemoration of Lalitaditya, who defeated the Turks and ruled over the world.<ref name=":9" />


Whilst Stein rejected these assertions as "purely mythological" (and noted that Kalhana was quite ignorant about territories outside Kashmir), it was since accepted by [[Hermann Goetz (art historian)|Hermann Goetz]] as "historical fact", whose views were subsequently relied upon by [[André Wink]] and [[Ronald Inden]].<ref name=":9" /> Sen however rejects the conquest-accounts concerned with parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia as excessively exaggerated, selective, and contradicting contemporary Chinese and Tibetan sources including [[New Book of Tang|official histories]], coins and [[Wang ocheonchukguk jeon|pilgrim-chronicles]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=SEN|first=TANSEN|title=Kaśmīr, Tang China, and Muktāpīḍa Lalitā-Ditya's Ascendancy over the Southern Hindukush Region|date=2004|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41933381|journal=Journal of Asian History|volume=38|issue=2|pages=141–162|jstor=41933381|issn=0021-910X}}</ref>
Whilst Stein rejected these assertions as "purely mythological" (and noted that Kalhana was quite ignorant about territories outside Kashmir), it was since accepted by [[Hermann Goetz (art historian)|Hermann Goetz]] as "historical fact", whose views were subsequently relied upon by [[André Wink]] and [[Ronald Inden]].<ref name=":9" /> Sen however rejects the conquest-accounts concerned with parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia as excessively exaggerated, selective, and contradicting contemporary Chinese and Tibetan sources including [[New Book of Tang|official histories]], coins and [[Wang ocheonchukguk jeon|pilgrim-chronicles]].<ref name=":9">{{Cite journal|last=SEN|first=TANSEN|title=Kaśmīr, Tang China, and Muktāpīḍa Lalitā-Ditya's Ascendancy over the Southern Hindukush Region|date=2004|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41933381|journal=Journal of Asian History|volume=38|issue=2|pages=141–162|jstor=41933381|issn=0021-910X}}</ref>
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=== Vajraditya ===
=== Vajraditya ===
[[File:Vajraditya (Vigraha Deva) of the Karkota dynasty Circa 763-770.jpg |thumb|Coin of king Vajraditya (Vigraha Deva) of the Karkota dynasty, c.  763-770 CE.]]
[[File:Vajraditya (Vigraha Deva) of the Karkota dynasty Circa 763-770.jpg |thumb|Coin of king Vajraditya (Vigraha Deva) of the Karkota dynasty, c.  763-770 CE.]]
Son of Lalitaditya and his second queen Chakramardika, his reign saw a successful raid by the Governor of Sindh and introduction of slave trade.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":16" /> Kalhana notes his seven year of rule to be cruel.<ref name=":16" />
Son of Lalitaditya and his second queen Chakramardika, his reign saw a successful raid by the Governor of Sindh and introduction of slave trade.<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":4" /> Kalhana notes his seven year of rule to be cruel.<ref name=":16" />


He had numerous concubines and at-least four wives Meghavali, Amrtaprabha, Manjarika and Mamma; his four sons were Tribhuvanapida (from Meghabali), Jayapida (from Amrtaprabha), Prithivyapida I (from Manjarika) and Samgramapida I (from Mamma).<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":4" /> Stein notes a similar lack of sources; he was also known as Bappiyaka.<ref name=":16" />
He had numerous concubines and at-least four wives Meghavali, Amrtaprabha, Manjarika and Mamma; his four sons were Tribhuvanapida (from Meghabali), Jayapida (from Amrtaprabha), Prithivyapida I (from Manjarika) and Samgramapida I (from Mamma).<ref name=":16" /><ref name=":4" /> Stein notes a similar lack of sources; he was also known as Bappiyaka.<ref name=":16" />
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[[File:Yinayaditya of Kashmir Late 5th century CE.jpg|thumb|Coin of king Jayapida "Vinayaditya". [[Jammu]] and [[Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|page=108}}</ref>]]
[[File:Yinayaditya of Kashmir Late 5th century CE.jpg|thumb|Coin of king Jayapida "Vinayaditya". [[Jammu]] and [[Kashmir]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Cribb|first1=Joe|author-link=Joe Cribb|title=Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly|url=https://www.academia.edu/32663187|journal=Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016)|language=en|page=108}}</ref>]]
[[File:Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 725-750 CE.jpg|thumb|[[Vairocana Buddha]] performing the [[dharmacakra]]-pravartana mudrā. Circa 725–750, Kashmir, [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. [[Lacma]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana (LACMA Collections) |url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/236668 |website=collections.lacma.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Twist |first1=Rebecca L. (Art Department, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR 97123, USA) |title=Images of the Crowned Buddha along the Silk Road: Iconography and Ideology |journal=Humanities |date=2018 |volume=7 |issue=92 |page=25, Fig. 31 |doi=10.3390/h7040092 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/7/4/92/pdf-vor|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
[[File:Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 725-750 CE.jpg|thumb|[[Vairocana Buddha]] performing the [[dharmacakra]]-pravartana mudrā. Circa 725–750, Kashmir, [[Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)|Jammu and Kashmir]]. [[Lacma]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana (LACMA Collections) |url=https://collections.lacma.org/node/236668 |website=collections.lacma.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Twist |first1=Rebecca L. (Art Department, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR 97123, USA) |title=Images of the Crowned Buddha along the Silk Road: Iconography and Ideology |journal=Humanities |date=2018 |volume=7 |issue=92 |page=25, Fig. 31 |doi=10.3390/h7040092 |url=https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/7/4/92/pdf-vor|doi-access=free }}</ref>]]
Jayapida ruled for 31 years and partook in multiple conquests to faraway territories in an apparent bid to out-rival Muktapida; however, Kalhana's narrative is noted to be excessively exaggerated and in absence of other corroborating sources from across a vast geographical region, the authenticity of the raids and other events must be disputed.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":4" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Textures of Time: Writing History in South India 1600-1800|last1=Rao|first1=Velcheru Narayana|last2=Shulman|first2=David Dean|last3=Subrahmanyam|first3=Sanjay|date=2003|publisher=Other Press|isbn=978-1-59051-044-5|location=New York|pages=254–260|language=en|chapter=Conclusion}}</ref> He was also known by the name Vinayaditya.<ref name=":16" />
Jayapida ruled for 31 years and partook in multiple conquests to faraway territories in an apparent bid to out-rival Muktapida; however, Kalhana's narrative is noted to be excessively exaggerated and in absence of other corroborating sources from across a vast geographical region, the authenticity of the raids and other events must be disputed.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":14" /><ref name=":16" /><ref name=":4" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Textures of Time: Writing History in South India 1600-1800|last1=Rao|first1=Velcheru Narayana|last2=Shulman|first2=David Dean|last3=Subrahmanyam|first3=Sanjay|date=2003|publisher=Other Press|isbn=978-1-59051-044-5|location=New York|pages=254–260|language=en|chapter=Conclusion}}</ref> He was also known by the name Vinayaditya.<ref name=":16" />


Brahmin immigrants from Indus and Dravida regions were settled in Kashmir during Jayapida's reign; [[Kshemendra]]'s great-great-grandfather Narendra was a minister in his court.<ref name=":24" /> Jayapida married Kalyanadevi, daughter of King Jayanta of [[Cooch Behar]], whilst away in a conquest.<ref name=":14" /> Returning to Kashmir, he found his brother-in-law Jajja to have usurped the throne but went on to defeat him.<ref name=":14" />
Brahmin immigrants from Indus and Dravida regions were settled in Kashmir during Jayapida's reign; [[Kshemendra]]'s great-great-grandfather Narendra was a minister in his court.<ref name=":24" /> Jayapida married Kalyanadevi, daughter of King Jayanta of [[Cooch Behar]], whilst away in a conquest.<ref name=":14" /> Returning to Kashmir, he found his brother-in-law Jajja to have usurped the throne but went on to defeat him.<ref name=":14" />


Kalhana notes his later years to be tyrannical when Jayapida sought to (unsuccessfully) rescind [[Agraharam|''agraharas'']] and imposed a cruel taxation regime on Brahmins, forcing them to emigrate; he was cursed to death by a Brahmin.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11" /> Jayapida had two sons — Lalitapida (from Durga) and Samgramapida II (from Kalyanadevi).<ref name=":16" />
Kalhana notes his later years to be tyrannical when Jayapida sought to (unsuccessfully) rescind [[Agraharam|''agraharas'']] and imposed a cruel taxation regime on Brahmins, forcing them to emigrate; he was cursed to death by a Brahmin.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":10" /> Jayapida had two sons — Lalitapida (from Durga) and Samgramapida II (from Kalyanadevi).<ref name=":16" />


=== Lalitapida ===
=== Lalitapida ===
Kalhana condemns Lalitapida as a recklessly extravagant ruler, whose court was infested with courtesans/concubines and jesters, and provided no patronage to learning.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bhattacharji|first=Sukumari|date=1987|title=Prostitution in Ancient India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520437|journal=Social Scientist|volume=15|issue=2|pages=49|doi=10.2307/3520437|jstor=3520437|issn=0970-0293}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> He ruled for twelve years and had donated ''agraharas''.<ref name=":16" />
Kalhana condemns Lalitapida as a recklessly extravagant ruler, whose court was infested with courtesans/concubines and jesters, and provided no patronage to learning.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bhattacharji|first=Sukumari|date=1987|title=Prostitution in Ancient India|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3520437|journal=Social Scientist|volume=15|issue=2|pages=49|doi=10.2307/3520437|jstor=3520437|issn=0970-0293}}</ref> He ruled for twelve years and had donated ''agraharas''.<ref name=":16" />


He had one son Cippatajayapida, from his concubine Jayadevi, who was the daughter of a spirit distiller.<ref name=":16" />
He had one son Cippatajayapida, from his concubine Jayadevi, who was the daughter of a spirit distiller.<ref name=":16" />
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Kalhana notes Jayapida to be a liberal patron of arts and even invited scholars from abroad; [[Yigal Bronner]] notes his court to have ushered a breakthrough moment in Kashmiri poetics.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Bronner|first=Yigal|title=Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century|year=2016|isbn=978-3-643-90697-7|editor-last=Franco|editor-first=Eli|series=Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens|location=Münster, Germany|pages=81–148|chapter=Understanding Udbhaṭa: The Invention of Kashmiri Poetics in the Jayāpīḍa Moment|editor-last2=Ratié|editor-first2=Isabelle}}</ref> [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]] writes that Jayapada's court was responsible for birthing the "school of literary criticism in Kashmir".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ānandavardhana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC|title=The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta|date=1990|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-20278-8|language=en}}</ref> Two literary theorists were installed in his office: Vāmana as a minister and Udbhaṭa as the chief scholar.<ref name=":2" />{{Efn|Udbhata was probably senior to Vāmana and might have began his career under Lalitaditya.<ref name=":2" />}} Udbhata wrote four works — Kumārasambhava, a poem on the theme of the marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī; Kāvyālaṃkārasaṃgraha, a short commentary on [[Bhamaha|Bhāmaha's]] Kāvyālaṃkāra; another (now-lost) commentary on the Nāṭyaśāstra; and a mostly-lost but extensive Vivaraṇa on Bhāmaha — in what Bronner notes to be an unprecedented volume of literature production by contemporary standards.<ref name=":2" /> Vāmana composed sūtra texts.<ref name=":2" /> Both aimed at an audience of literary scholars and engaged (for the first time) in critical discussions surrounding poetic theory, praxis and semantic cognition using tools from mīmāṃsā etc; a grand universe of poetry, rigidly theorizing the many elements of aesthetics, their scopes and inter-relation was sought to be created.<ref name=":2" /> Kuttanimata was penned by Damodaragupta in his court.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SINGH|first=Y.B.|date=1991|title=System of Land Grants in Early Medieval Kashmir|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44142574|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=52|pages=116|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44142574}}</ref> Among other noted figures were the grammarian Kṣīra, the poets Manoratha, Śaṅkhadatta, Caṭaka, and Sandhimat, and a Buddhist philosopher Dharmottara.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dāmodaraguptaviracitaṃ Kuṭṭanīmatam — The Bawd's Counsel: Being an Eighth-century Verse Novel in Sanskrit|date=16 November 2012|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-69-80158-2|editor-last=Goodall|editor-first=Dominic|series=Groningen Oriental Studies - 23|pages=21|editor-last2=Desző|editor-first2=Csaba}}</ref>
Kalhana notes Jayapida to be a liberal patron of arts and even invited scholars from abroad; [[Yigal Bronner]] notes his court to have ushered a breakthrough moment in Kashmiri poetics.<ref name=":23" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite book|last=Bronner|first=Yigal|title=Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century|year=2016|isbn=978-3-643-90697-7|editor-last=Franco|editor-first=Eli|series=Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens|location=Münster, Germany|pages=81–148|chapter=Understanding Udbhaṭa: The Invention of Kashmiri Poetics in the Jayāpīḍa Moment|editor-last2=Ratié|editor-first2=Isabelle}}</ref> [[Daniel H. H. Ingalls Sr.|Daniel Ingalls]] writes that Jayapada's court was responsible for birthing the "school of literary criticism in Kashmir".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ānandavardhana|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NJvxASBA9IC|title=The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta|date=1990|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-20278-8|language=en}}</ref> Two literary theorists were installed in his office: Vāmana as a minister and Udbhaṭa as the chief scholar.<ref name=":2" />{{Efn|Udbhata was probably senior to Vāmana and might have began his career under Lalitaditya.<ref name=":2" />}} Udbhata wrote four works — Kumārasambhava, a poem on the theme of the marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī; Kāvyālaṃkārasaṃgraha, a short commentary on [[Bhamaha|Bhāmaha's]] Kāvyālaṃkāra; another (now-lost) commentary on the Nāṭyaśāstra; and a mostly-lost but extensive Vivaraṇa on Bhāmaha — in what Bronner notes to be an unprecedented volume of literature production by contemporary standards.<ref name=":2" /> Vāmana composed sūtra texts.<ref name=":2" /> Both aimed at an audience of literary scholars and engaged (for the first time) in critical discussions surrounding poetic theory, praxis and semantic cognition using tools from mīmāṃsā etc; a grand universe of poetry, rigidly theorizing the many elements of aesthetics, their scopes and inter-relation was sought to be created.<ref name=":2" /> Kuttanimata was penned by Damodaragupta in his court.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=SINGH|first=Y.B.|date=1991|title=System of Land Grants in Early Medieval Kashmir|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44142574|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=52|pages=116|issn=2249-1937|jstor=44142574}}</ref> Among other noted figures were the grammarian Kṣīra, the poets Manoratha, Śaṅkhadatta, Caṭaka, and Sandhimat, and a Buddhist philosopher Dharmottara.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Dāmodaraguptaviracitaṃ Kuṭṭanīmatam — The Bawd's Counsel: Being an Eighth-century Verse Novel in Sanskrit|date=16 November 2012|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-69-80158-2|editor-last=Goodall|editor-first=Dominic|series=Groningen Oriental Studies - 23|pages=21|editor-last2=Desző|editor-first2=Csaba}}</ref>


Ratnakara wrote [[Haravijaya]], under the patronage of Cippatajayapida; in fifty cantos and 4351 verses, it is the largest surviving Mahākāvya and is based on the defeat of [[Andhaka]] by [[Shiva]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Winternitz|first=Moriz|title=History of Indian Literature|date=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-0056-4|pages=77|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pasedach|first=Peter|date=9 July 2018|title=Ratnākara's ''Haravijaya'': Critical Edition, Including Commentaries, and Annotated Translation|journal=World Sanskrit Conference|publication-place=Vancouver|volume=17}}</ref>
Ratnakara wrote [[Haravijaya]], under the patronage of Cippatajayapida; in fifty cantos and 4351 verses, it is the largest surviving Mahākāvya and is based on the defeat of [[Andhaka]] by [[Shiva]].<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Winternitz|first=Moriz|title=History of Indian Literature|date=1985|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ.|isbn=978-81-208-0056-4|pages=77|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pasedach|first=Peter|date=9 July 2018|title=Ratnākara's ''Haravijaya'': Critical Edition, Including Commentaries, and Annotated Translation|journal=World Sanskrit Conference|publication-place=Vancouver|volume=17}}</ref>


=== Sculpture ===
=== Sculpture ===
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=== Shrines and cities ===
=== Shrines and cities ===
Durlabhavardhana, built a shrine dedicated to Lord [[Vishnu]] at [[Srinagar]] named "Durlabhasvāmin"; his wife had constructed a Buddhist monastery - Anangabhavana.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal|last=Pingree|first=David|date=1990|title=The Purāṇas and Jyotiḥśāstra: Astronomy|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/604530|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=110|issue=2|pages=276|doi=10.2307/604530|jstor=604530|issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":23" /> He also introduced a distinct style of architecture into Kashmir by borrowing post-Gupta trends from Sarnath, Nalanda etc.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sculpture and Bronze Images from Kashmir {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sculpture-and-bronze-images-kashmir|access-date=2021-03-18|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref><ref name=":23" /> Durlabhaka established the city of Pratāpapura (current day Tapar between Baramula and Srinagar) and the shrine of Malhanasvāmin; his wife had established the Narendreśvara Temple.<ref name=":23" />
Durlabhavardhana, built a shrine dedicated to Lord [[Vishnu]] at [[Srinagar]] named "Durlabhasvāmin"; his wife had constructed a Buddhist monastery - Anangabhavana.<ref name=":42">{{Cite journal|last=Pingree|first=David|date=1990|title=The Purāṇas and Jyotiḥśāstra: Astronomy|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/604530|journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume=110|issue=2|pages=276|doi=10.2307/604530|jstor=604530|issn=0003-0279}}</ref><ref name=":23" /><ref name=":1" /> He also introduced a distinct style of architecture into Kashmir by borrowing post-Gupta trends from Sarnath, Nalanda etc.<ref name=":23" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Sculpture and Bronze Images from Kashmir {{!}} Encyclopedia.com|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/international/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sculpture-and-bronze-images-kashmir|access-date=2021-03-18|website=www.encyclopedia.com}}</ref> Durlabhaka established the city of Pratāpapura (current day Tapar between Baramula and Srinagar) and the shrine of Malhanasvāmin; his wife had established the Narendreśvara Temple.<ref name=":23" />


Candrapika had multiple Vishnu shrines installed.<ref name=":1" /> Jayapida set up Buddhist Viharas and commissioned the construction of multiple Buddha statues; he also established a new capital town at Jayapura (current day Andrkoth).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schroeder|first=Ulrich von|url=https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/indo-tibetan-bronzes|title=Indo-Tibetan Bronzes|publisher=Visual Dharma Publications|year=1981|pages=101|chapter=North-Western India: Kashmir}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> Lalitaditya commissioned a number of shrines in Kashmir, including the now-ruined [[Martand Sun Temple]] and numerous Buddhist structures.<ref name=":17" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|title=The arts of Kashmir|publisher=Asia Society ; 5 Continents|year=2007|editor-last=Pal|editor-first=Pratapaditya|pages=56–57|language=English|chapter=Religious architecture: 500 - 1200|editor-last2=Ames|editor-first2=Frank}}</ref> He also established several towns, including a new capital at [[Parihasapura]].<ref name=":16" />
Candrapika had multiple Vishnu shrines installed.<ref name=":1" /> Jayapida set up Buddhist Viharas and commissioned the construction of multiple Buddha statues; he also established a new capital town at Jayapura (current day Andrkoth).<ref name=":16" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Schroeder|first=Ulrich von|url=https://library.si.edu/donate/adopt-a-book/indo-tibetan-bronzes|title=Indo-Tibetan Bronzes|publisher=Visual Dharma Publications|year=1981|pages=101|chapter=North-Western India: Kashmir}}</ref> Lalitaditya commissioned a number of shrines in Kashmir, including the now-ruined [[Martand Sun Temple]] and numerous Buddhist structures.<ref name=":17" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Siudmak|first=John|title=The arts of Kashmir|publisher=Asia Society ; 5 Continents|year=2007|editor-last=Pal|editor-first=Pratapaditya|pages=56–57|language=English|chapter=Religious architecture: 500 - 1200|editor-last2=Ames|editor-first2=Frank}}</ref> He also established several towns, including a new capital at [[Parihasapura]].<ref name=":16" />


The five brothers had set up a Shiva shrine - Jayesvara during Cippatajayapida's rule.<ref name=":16" /> After coming to the helm, they commissioned multiple towns and temples—Utapalasvāmin, Padmasvāmin, Dharmasvāmin, Kalyanasvāmin, Mamasvāmin, Utpalapura, Padmapura etc.<ref name=":16" /> Padma's wife got constructed two mathas.<ref name=":16" />
The five brothers had set up a Shiva shrine - Jayesvara during Cippatajayapida's rule.<ref name=":16" /> After coming to the helm, they commissioned multiple towns and temples—Utapalasvāmin, Padmasvāmin, Dharmasvāmin, Kalyanasvāmin, Mamasvāmin, Utpalapura, Padmapura etc.<ref name=":16" /> Padma's wife got constructed two mathas.<ref name=":16" />

Latest revision as of 21:56, 1 January 2022


Karkota Dynasty

625 CE–855 CE
class=notpageimage|
Heartland of the Karkota Dynasty around Srinagara, with neighbouring polities.[1]
Religion
Vaishnavism
GovernmentMonarchy
Historical eraClassical India
• Established
625 CE
• Disestablished
855 CE
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Alchon Huns
Gonanda dynasty (II)
Utpala dynasty
Today part ofAfghanistan
India
Pakistan
Bangladesh

Karkota Dynasty (c. 625 - 855 CE) ruled over the Kashmir valley and some northern parts of the Indian subcontinent during 7th and 8th century. Their rule saw a period of political expansion, economic prosperity and emergence of Kashmir as a center of Indian culture and scholarship.[2][3]

The Karkota rulers were Vaishnavas and constructed several Vishnu shrines in their dominions.[4] They however also allowed Buddhism to flourish under them. Stupa, Chaitya and Vihara can be found in the ruins of their capital. Martand Sun Temple in the Anantnag district were built by Lalitaditya. It is the oldest known Sun temple in India and was also one of the biggest temple complexes at the time.[5]

Avanti Varman ascended the throne of Kashmir in 855 A.D., establishing the Utpala dynasty and ending the rule of Karkota dynasty.

Sources[edit]

Maximum extent of the Karkota Empire according to ancient sources.[1] Only Lalitaditya's conquests in the Kashmir neighbourhood and the Gangetic plains are considered as historical.

The Nilamata Purana, believed to have been commissioned by Durlabhavardhana — the first ruler of the dynasty, provides detailed information on Brahminic affairs.[6][7] Chitralekha Zutshi, Ronald Inden and other scholars however urge for a cautious and contextual reading in that the Purana was penned to reconstruct Kashmir as one of the most sacred space in the subcontinental cosmos by attributing Brahminical divinity to its geographical features and then, establish Durlabhavardhana as its rightful king; also, there have been interpolations as late as 10th century.[8][9] The Vishnudharmottara Purana, is another local and contemporary source, which played roughly similar roles in pre-medieval polity.[8][10][11]

Contemporary sources also include the chronicles of a multitude of Buddhist pilgrims — Xuanzang (May 631- April 633), Yijing (673 - 685), Wukong, Hyecho and others — who visited Kashmir during the dynasty.[3] The Kuttanimata, penned by a court-poet of Jayapida, was a didactic work on erotics and gave a fairly accurate account of contemporary Kashmiri life.[3][12]

The Rajatarangini, an 11th century work by Kalhana, was aimed at sketching an outline of Kashmir's history since ancient times, and did discuss the Karkota dynasty in depth.[13][14][lower-alpha 1] He depended on a variety of material including earlier historical works, dynastic genealogies, inscriptions, coins and Puranas.[16] The work has a contested repute of being the only pre-modern work in Sanskrit resembling Western notions of history; however, its historical accuracy is disputed — Zutshi and other scholars find the poem to be a blend of "mythical, political, social, spiritual, and geographical" narratives, which aimed at defining Kashmir as an idealized ethical space.[14][15][17][18][19][20][21] Nonetheless, historical accuracy increases drastically from the fourth book onward, with the narration of Karkota dynasty and the book (typically the critical edition by Aurel Stein) has been heavily cited to reconstruct Kashmiri history.[7][13][15][16] Michael Witzel notes the fourth book to be accurate in its chronology (down to day) in that it aligns perfectly with contemporary Chinese sources; however a correction of +25 years need to be introduced throughout the dynasty.[3][13][lower-alpha 2]

Coins issued by all major rulers until Muktapida (and Jayapida) have been excavated; these coins were always inscribed in the name of Kidara on the reverse.[22][23][24]

Establishment[edit]

Scholars disagree on the specifics of establishment of the Karkotas, though it is held that their establishment followed the rule of the Hunas in the region of Kashmir.[25][26]

Kalhana's third book mentions of a Gonanda dynasty (II), which ruled for about 590 years till the establishment of the Karkotas;[24] however the chronology is widely deemed to be faulty and on cross-vetting with coins and inscriptions from outside Kashmir, names of some of the rulers are found to roughly correspond with the Alchon Huns, who ruled hundreds of years later than the time-frame assigned by Kalhana.[5][27] In Kalhana's narrative, names of some rulers are reshuffled and/or repeated multiple times across the first three books, some stories are retrofitted and recycled, some reigns are impossibly long, and some rulers are telescoped into the past.[20][lower-alpha 3]

According to a roughly literal reading of the Rajatarangini, Durlabhavardhana belonged to a low caste and was employed by Baladitya, the last ruler of the Gonanda dynasty.[28] Baladitya (apparently) had no male heir but a daughter Anaṅgalekhā and did not wish his territory to be annexed by in-laws.[24][28] To avert such a possibility he married her to Durlabhavardhana, who had no royal lineage.[24] However, after Baladitya's death, Durlabhavardhana ascended to the throne with help from a minister, and claimed descent from the mythical Naga king Karkotaka, establishing the Karkota Dynasty.[6][7][24][29][30] This view is accepted by Witzel[3] and Devika Rangachari.

Atreyi Biswas however rejects this literal description of the establishment of the Karkota dynasty as fictitious.[21] In a critical reading of the Rajatarangini, and taking into account numismatic as well as literary sources, the dates of the Gonanda rulers are adjusted and Biswas deems the first ruler of the Karkota dynasty to be Durlabhaka Pratapaditya, who claimed the throne after defeating Yudhisthira, the last Alchon Hun ruler of Kashmir.[21][lower-alpha 4] His father Durlabhavardhana would have been a subordinate king under the-then Huna ruler, Narendraditya Khinkhila.[21][lower-alpha 4] Baladitya and his immediate predecessors of the Gonanda dynasty would never have existed at all or were subordinate kings under the Karkotas.[21][lower-alpha 5] Ahmad Hasan Dani follows her interpretation in one of his works.[31]

However, Gudrun Melzer notes that Biswas did not take into account a different chronology proposed by two German historians (Humbach and Göbl), which has since received eminence in Huna studies; scholars have disputed her dating and commentary on Narendraditya Khinkhila.[32][lower-alpha 6]

Rule[edit]

Durlabhavardhana[edit]

Coin of Durlabhavardhana, founder of the dynasty.
Obverse: abstract Kushan-style king standing, with legend Jayati Kidāra (Sharada script).
Reverse: abstract seated goddess Ardoxsho, holding garland and cornucopia, legend: Śri Durla and Deva.[35]
Karkota coins are simplified/symbolized versions of Late Kushan coins and Kidarite coins.[36]
Sculpture of the Buddhist Bodhisattva Vajrasattva, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir, 8th century CE.[37][38][39]

Kalhana assigns a regnal span of thirty six years from 625-661/2 AD.[13] He was also known as Prajnaditya and gifted many villages (agraharas) to Brahmins.[3][13]

Rajatarangini records no military activity during his reign; assuming Xuanzang to have visited Kashmir twice during his reign, Durlabhavardhana controlled vast swaths of territories including modern day Kashmir, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.[11][13][30]

Durlabhaka[edit]

Per Kalhana, Anaṅgalekhā had him declared as her dauhitra and Durlabhaka became known as Pratapaditya, adopting the surname of his maternal grandfather.[17][24] Durlabhaka is assigned a regnal span of 50 years (662-712 AD).[13] He had a brother Malhana.[24]

His reign saw increasing trade relation with neighboring polities and the development of the Classical Kārkoṭa style of sculpture.[13][40] Kalhana records him to have impressive military prowess.[13] Several agraharas were established by Hanumant, son of his minister Uda (var. Oda, Aida).[3]

Durlabhaka married Narendraprabhā, who had been earlier married to Nona, a wealthy merchant from outside Kashmir.[13][28][41][lower-alpha 7] He had three sons — Chandrapida, Tarapida and Lalitaditya — in descending order of age.[13]

Candrapida[edit]

Candrapida ruled from 712/13-720 CE and bore the name Vajraditya.[24][29] Candrapida Vajraditya is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Dynasty Chronicles (Tangshu) under the name Zhentuoluobili, as contemporary of the period 713-720 CE.[29][42] Kalhana paints a benevolent and virtuous image of the ruler — two stories are narrated to the same effect.[43][44][45][24] Jayanta Bhatta's great-grandfather Saktisvāmin was one of his ministers.[3]

In 713, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang received an embassy from Candrapida requesting aid against Arab invasions.[13] Candrapida did not receive any help but managed to defend his territory.[46] In 720, Xuanzong sent an envoy to bestow upon him, the title "King of Kashmir".[29] These diplomatic exchanges led to the formation of an imperial alliance between the Tangs and Karakotas; in 722, after the Tangs emerged victorious against Tibet, the Chinese court credits Kashmir for having provided ample food to their troops stationed in Gilgit.[25][29]

His assassination is blamed upon Tarapida, who recruited a Brahmin.[24][lower-alpha 8]

Tarapida[edit]

Little is noted about his rule in Rajatarangini except that he was tyrannical and oppressed the Brahmins.[47][48] In October–November 724, Chinese chronicles mention of an unhappy Jincheng seeking defection to Kashmir; the-then King (unnamed) apparently consented and urged for military assistance from Zabulistan to ward off the Tibetan troops.[29] Tansen Sen notes this king to be Tarapida; however other scholars have identified him with Candrapida.[29]

Tarapida bore the name Udayaditya, and was murdered after four years; the practice of magic-rites by Brahmins is held to be the cause.[24][lower-alpha 8]

Lalitaditya[edit]

Main article: Lalitaditya Muktapida
Parihaspur Stupa, built during the reign of Lalitaditya Muktapida, 8th century CE.

Kalhana lived around four centuries after Lalitaditya Muktapida (724/725 - 760/761), and popular imagination appears to have embellished Lalitaditya's achievements by then.[29][49] Lalitaditya Muktapida is otherwise known from Chinese sources, as he is mentionned in the Chinese Tang Dynasty Chronicles, as a contemporary of the 736-747 CE period.[42] A world conqueror, he is credited with extensive conquests spanning major parts of India, Afghanistan and Central Asia; he was in a conflict with the Indian king Yashovarman.[24][29][42] A century prior to Kalhana, Al-Biruni noted the Kashmiris to celebrate an annual festival in commemoration of Lalitaditya, who defeated the Turks and ruled over the world.[29]

Whilst Stein rejected these assertions as "purely mythological" (and noted that Kalhana was quite ignorant about territories outside Kashmir), it was since accepted by Hermann Goetz as "historical fact", whose views were subsequently relied upon by André Wink and Ronald Inden.[29] Sen however rejects the conquest-accounts concerned with parts of Afghanistan and Central Asia as excessively exaggerated, selective, and contradicting contemporary Chinese and Tibetan sources including official histories, coins and pilgrim-chronicles.[29]

Numerous Brahmin immigrants were brought to Kashmir during his time including the ancestors of Abhinavagupta.[3] A brilliant intellectual and artistic culture flourished during his reign.[50]

Kuvalayapida[edit]

Son of Lalitaditya and his first queen Kamaladevi, his short reign of one year and half a month was marked by a succession struggle between him and his half-brother.[24] He is claimed to be a virtuous ruler.[24] Per Kalhana, after being subject to a treachery by his minister, he realized the folly of material gains, abdicated as the emperor, and retreated to a holy forest where he attained siddhi.[24]

No evidence other than the Rajatarangini exists to corroborate his reign, per Stein.[24]

Vajraditya[edit]

Coin of king Vajraditya (Vigraha Deva) of the Karkota dynasty, c. 763-770 CE.

Son of Lalitaditya and his second queen Chakramardika, his reign saw a successful raid by the Governor of Sindh and introduction of slave trade.[24][47] Kalhana notes his seven year of rule to be cruel.[24]

He had numerous concubines and at-least four wives Meghavali, Amrtaprabha, Manjarika and Mamma; his four sons were Tribhuvanapida (from Meghabali), Jayapida (from Amrtaprabha), Prithivyapida I (from Manjarika) and Samgramapida I (from Mamma).[24][47] Stein notes a similar lack of sources; he was also known as Bappiyaka.[24]

Prithivyapida I[edit]

According to Kalhana, he ruled for a span of four years and one month.[24] He was overthrown by Samgramapida I, who ruled for seven days.[24] Tribhuvanapida, despite being the eldest, had abdicated the throne.[24]

Kalhana does not note any additional detail except not finding either of them to be worthy of wielding royal power, and Stein reiterates that no other evidence of these rulers have been located.[24]

Jayapida[edit]

Coin of king Jayapida "Vinayaditya". Jammu and Kashmir.[51]
Vairocana Buddha performing the dharmacakra-pravartana mudrā. Circa 725–750, Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir. Lacma.[52][53]

Jayapida ruled for 31 years and partook in multiple conquests to faraway territories in an apparent bid to out-rival Muktapida; however, Kalhana's narrative is noted to be excessively exaggerated and in absence of other corroborating sources from across a vast geographical region, the authenticity of the raids and other events must be disputed.[13][18][24][47][54] He was also known by the name Vinayaditya.[24]

Brahmin immigrants from Indus and Dravida regions were settled in Kashmir during Jayapida's reign; Kshemendra's great-great-grandfather Narendra was a minister in his court.[3] Jayapida married Kalyanadevi, daughter of King Jayanta of Cooch Behar, whilst away in a conquest.[18] Returning to Kashmir, he found his brother-in-law Jajja to have usurped the throne but went on to defeat him.[18]

Kalhana notes his later years to be tyrannical when Jayapida sought to (unsuccessfully) rescind agraharas and imposed a cruel taxation regime on Brahmins, forcing them to emigrate; he was cursed to death by a Brahmin.[7][13][48] Jayapida had two sons — Lalitapida (from Durga) and Samgramapida II (from Kalyanadevi).[24]

Lalitapida[edit]

Kalhana condemns Lalitapida as a recklessly extravagant ruler, whose court was infested with courtesans/concubines and jesters, and provided no patronage to learning.[13][24][55] He ruled for twelve years and had donated agraharas.[24]

He had one son Cippatajayapida, from his concubine Jayadevi, who was the daughter of a spirit distiller.[24]

Samgramapida II[edit]

Lalitapida was succeeded by his step-brother Samgramapida II, also known as Prithivyapida II.[24] He had at least one son - Anangipida and ruled for seven years; Kalhana notes no additional detail.[24]

Cippatajayapida[edit]

Cippatajayapida (var. Brhaspati) was crowned in 837/8.[13][24] However, due to his young age, the real power was vested in the five brothers of Jayadevi — Padma, Utpala, Kalyana, Mamma, and Dharma — who followed the orders of Jayadevi but yet engaged in an acute mismanagement of affairs.[13][24]

Disintegration[edit]

After Cippatajayapida was murdered in around 840, having ruled for twelve years, the brothers gained considerable power but fought each other to retain complete control of the empire, whilst installing puppet kings belonging to the Karkota lineage.[13][24]

Tribhuvanapida's son, Ajitapida was nominated by Utpala immediately after Cippatajayapida's death.[24] A few years afterwards, Mamma waged a successful battle against Utpala, and installed Anangipida.[24] Three years later, Utpala's son Sukhavarman rebelled successfully and installed Utpalapida, a son of Ajitapida.[24] Under his rule, merchants declared independence at the outposts of the territory.[24] Within a few years, Sukhavarman set out to assume the throne for himself but was murdered by a relative; finally, his son Avantivarman deposed Utpalapida and claimed the throne c. 855 with help from minister Sura, thus establishing the Utpala dynasty.[13][24]

Society[edit]

On a reading of Kuttanimata, the society seems to be unequal and dominated by merchant communities.[12] Materialism was in vogue among the elites, and prostitution received state patronage.[12] Sati as well as Devadasi system were prevalent.[12] The dynasty (at-least, the earlier rulers) had sought to restore Hinduism after a lengthy span of Buddhist influence in the valley; however a syncretic environment flourished.[3][lower-alpha 9]

Hunting was a popular sport for the princely class.[12] Theaters were frequently organized and there were halls for the purpose; Ratnavali is noted to be a popular drama.[12]

Economy[edit]

Metallic coins as well as cowrie shells were used as currency.[12] The state collected a variety of taxes — customs-levy, prostitution-levy, market-tax etc. — corruption was rampant and Damodaragupta takes frequent digs.[12]

Art and architecture[edit]

Literature[edit]

The Nilamata Purana is believed to have been commissioned by Durlabhavardhana.[6][11] The Vishnudharmottara Purana, was crafted around the same times.[8][11] A famed patron of arts, Lalitaditya invited scholars from abroad to his court and promoted study of religions.[2]

Kalhana notes Jayapida to be a liberal patron of arts and even invited scholars from abroad; Yigal Bronner notes his court to have ushered a breakthrough moment in Kashmiri poetics.[13][56] Daniel Ingalls writes that Jayapada's court was responsible for birthing the "school of literary criticism in Kashmir".[57] Two literary theorists were installed in his office: Vāmana as a minister and Udbhaṭa as the chief scholar.[56][lower-alpha 10] Udbhata wrote four works — Kumārasambhava, a poem on the theme of the marriage of Śiva and Pārvatī; Kāvyālaṃkārasaṃgraha, a short commentary on Bhāmaha's Kāvyālaṃkāra; another (now-lost) commentary on the Nāṭyaśāstra; and a mostly-lost but extensive Vivaraṇa on Bhāmaha — in what Bronner notes to be an unprecedented volume of literature production by contemporary standards.[56] Vāmana composed sūtra texts.[56] Both aimed at an audience of literary scholars and engaged (for the first time) in critical discussions surrounding poetic theory, praxis and semantic cognition using tools from mīmāṃsā etc; a grand universe of poetry, rigidly theorizing the many elements of aesthetics, their scopes and inter-relation was sought to be created.[56] Kuttanimata was penned by Damodaragupta in his court.[58] Among other noted figures were the grammarian Kṣīra, the poets Manoratha, Śaṅkhadatta, Caṭaka, and Sandhimat, and a Buddhist philosopher Dharmottara.[59]

Ratnakara wrote Haravijaya, under the patronage of Cippatajayapida; in fifty cantos and 4351 verses, it is the largest surviving Mahākāvya and is based on the defeat of Andhaka by Shiva.[24][60][61]

Sculpture[edit]

Vaikuntha Vishnu, Kashmir, 775-800 CE. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[62][63]

Sculpting proliferated during the Karkota dynasty, and Rajatarangini notes of several bronzes.[64][65] Lalitaditya commissioned numerous gold and silver images for temples and monasteries across faiths, and his span is considered to be the zenith of Kashmiri sculpture.[65]

Contemporary terracotta works (typically, faces) have been located.[64] Stone sculptures dedicated to Durlabhaka have been excavated.[13]

Shrines and cities[edit]

Durlabhavardhana, built a shrine dedicated to Lord Vishnu at Srinagar named "Durlabhasvāmin"; his wife had constructed a Buddhist monastery - Anangabhavana.[10][13][45] He also introduced a distinct style of architecture into Kashmir by borrowing post-Gupta trends from Sarnath, Nalanda etc.[13][66] Durlabhaka established the city of Pratāpapura (current day Tapar between Baramula and Srinagar) and the shrine of Malhanasvāmin; his wife had established the Narendreśvara Temple.[13]

Candrapika had multiple Vishnu shrines installed.[45] Jayapida set up Buddhist Viharas and commissioned the construction of multiple Buddha statues; he also established a new capital town at Jayapura (current day Andrkoth).[24][67] Lalitaditya commissioned a number of shrines in Kashmir, including the now-ruined Martand Sun Temple and numerous Buddhist structures.[2][68] He also established several towns, including a new capital at Parihasapura.[24]

The five brothers had set up a Shiva shrine - Jayesvara during Cippatajayapida's rule.[24] After coming to the helm, they commissioned multiple towns and temples—Utapalasvāmin, Padmasvāmin, Dharmasvāmin, Kalyanasvāmin, Mamasvāmin, Utpalapura, Padmapura etc.[24] Padma's wife got constructed two mathas.[24]

  • Ruins of the Martand Sun Temple

    Ruins of the Martand Sun Temple

  • Central temple of the Martand Sun Temple built by Lalitaditya Muktapida.

    Central temple of the Martand Sun Temple built by Lalitaditya Muktapida.

  • Sculptures in the Martand Temple. The trefoil arch is a characteristic feature of Brahminical temple architecture in Kashmir.[69]

    Sculptures in the Martand Temple. The trefoil arch is a characteristic feature of Brahminical temple architecture in Kashmir.[69]

See also[edit]

Template:History of Kashmir

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ At least three other Rajataranginis were composed in medieval Kashmir. They are since-lost.[15]
  2. ↑ Kalhana misunderstood a Karkota Vamsavali to be in Laukika Samvat, when it was actually in Kali Samvat. Both calendars were used in medieval Kashmir and the beginning of Laukika Samvat equals Kali Samvat 25 (expired).
  3. ↑ The first book of Rajatarangini ends with Yudhisthira I being deposed by Pratapaditya c.180 B.C. Yudhisthira I, the son of a Narendraditya Khinkhila is noted to be the 9th successor of Mihirakula (who is dated to around 704 BC). Mihirakula, in turn, has figures from the Ramayana pantheon — Vibhisana, Ravana, Indrajit et al — among ancestors.
    Pratapaditya's successors (second book) are noted to be Jalauka and Tunjina I. The latter was deposed by Vijaya from another family, who was succeeded by his son Jayendra. The next ruler was his minister Samdhimati, who went on to abdicate the throne after a few decades.
    The third book starts with Meghavahana, the great-great-grandson of Yudhisthira I, being restored to the vacant throne from his exile. There is also a Yudhisthir II, the son of Pravarsena II and grandson of Toramana (grandson of Meghavahana). He is dated to 170-210 AD and had a son Lakhana-Narendraditya; Baladitya is noted to be Narendraditya's nephew (and his third successor).
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mihirakula has been precisely dated to 502 - 530 AD on the basis of inscriptions and coins; he was a Huna ruler. He has been similarly confirmed to be Toramana's son and immediate successor. Biswas notes that no historical evidence has been located for the first six successors of Mihirakula or Yudhisthira I, himself. Ditto as to Yudhishtira II or the three successors of Narendraditya. Biswas however notes that coins and inscriptions attesting to the immediate predecessor of Yudhisthira I (Narendraditya Khinkhila) have been excavated, as have been coins minted by Pravarsena II.
    Noting that contemporary Huna kings are located across three books and spaced out by over 1000 years, Biswas proposes that Kalhana had the names of individual kings and content (including popular legends) about their rule but not the chronological framework to fit them. Pravarsena II was Mihirakula's brother and he was alive as late as 597 A.D.; he was succeeded by Narendraditya Khinkhila, whose reign, assuming the regnal spans of the first book of Rajtarangini to be correct, ended in around 633 AD. He was followed by a Yudhisthira, who was defeated by (Durlabhaka) Pratapaditya — content-parts of both books thus stand true, if these two rulers were concurrent, which automatically follows if we assume Yudhisthira I and Yudhisthira II to be the same ruler.
  5. ↑ Maulavi Hasan Shah wrote a history of Kashmir (not published; late 19th century), based on a Persian translation of Ratnakara Purana by Mulla Ahmed, court poet of Zain-ul-Abidin. All the three works are currently lost or untraceable. However, a partial translation (in English) of Shah's manuscript was published over a journal in 1918 by Pandit Ananda Kaul.
    Biswas hyothesizes a probable time-frame for the predecessors based on Kaul's translation.
  6. ↑ Gobl and Kuwayama notes a Khingila (not Narendraditya Khinkhila in the above note) to precede Toramana, based on numismatic and literary evidence.[33] In contrast, Biswas had noted Tijin (Thunjina II in the third book of Rajatarangini) to be Toramana's father and predecessor. Melzer expresses reservations on all of these readings.
    Biswas identifies her Narendraditya Khinkhila with the "Shahi Khimgala" mentioned over a Ganesha inscription but this is disputed by others. Dhavalikar as well as Tucci reject that the two rulers are same and note that there are too many possibilities to date the inscribed king; Tucci however dates the inscription to late fifth or early sixth on a paleographic analysis and Dhavalikar confirms the same time-span on an artistic analysis of the statue. D.C. Sircar as well as Petech date the inscription to sixth or seventh century. Melzer notes that the inscribed Khinkhila was "most probably" a different ruler than Khingila (first paragraph), who could not have existed before the second half of 6th century. However, David Bivar identifies Khingila (first paragraph) with Narendraditya Khinkhila; he is noted to be the second successor of Pravarsena II and dated to sometime before 600. Shōshin Kuwayama rejects that Narendraditya Khinkhila ruled Kashmir at all and assigns him to sometime "before or long before" 600; the inscribed ruler is dated to 753. Overall, Melzer notes that there might have been multiple Huna rulers of the name Khingila (or variants) who had ruled different territories across different time-spans and their details remain hazy.[32][34]
    Gobl notes the Alchon Hunas to have migrated to the Kapisa-Kabul area, after Mihirakula's defeat in India. This has been since accepted by Alram and others; numismatic evidence supports such proposition. The ruler who defeated the native Nezak kings is variably identified as Pravarsena II (Gobl) and Narendraditya Khinkhila (David Bivar). In contrast, Biswas rejects these theories of migration on a critical reading of Puranas, Rajatarangini, Xuanzang's chronicles and other literary sources.
  7. ↑ Kalhana notes their romantic overtures to have started when Durlabhaka accepted Nona's invite to have a stay in his residence. The invite was a reciprocation of Durlabhaka having honored Nona with a stay at the royal palace, for having constructed an accommodation for Brahmins in his homeland Rauhitaka.
    Durlabhaka suppressed his desires for being unworthy of a king but fell gradually ill, till Nona came to know of it. He offered Narendraprabha as a Devadasi, urging him to marry her and regain his health.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Stein notes that the cause might have been derived from contemporary Tantric tradition.
  9. ↑ The extents of prior Buddhist influence is doubtful; the religious culture of Hunas is subject to extensive debates in scholarship.
  10. ↑ Udbhata was probably senior to Vāmana and might have began his career under Lalitaditya.[56]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical atlas of South Asia. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 146, map XIV.2 (f). ISBN 0226742210.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Larson, Gerald James (2007). "Nagas, Monks, Tantrics and Poets". In Pal, Pratapaditya; Ames, Frank (eds.). The arts of Kashmir. Asia Society ; 5 Continents. pp. 36–37.
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Witzel, Michael (2016). "Kashmiri Brahmins under the Karkota, Utpala and Lohara Dynasties, 625-1101 CE". In Franco, Eli; Ratié, Isabelle (eds.). Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century. Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens. Münster, Germany. pp. 609–643. ISBN 978-3-643-90697-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  4. ↑ Sanderson, Alexis (2009). "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period". In Einoo, Shingo (ed.). Genesis and Development of Tantrism. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series: 23. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo. pp. 60–61, 73, 298–300. ISBN 978-4-903235-08-0.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Siudmak, John (5 April 2013). The Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Ancient Kashmir and its Influences. ISBN 978-9004248328.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Zutshi, Chitralekha (2019). "Kashmir as Sacred Space". Kashmir. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Aryavarta.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Witzel, Michael (September 1991). "THE BRAHMINS OF KASHMIR" (PDF). pp. 24–28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Sharma, Mahesh (1 July 2008). "Puranic Texts from Kashmir: Vitasta and River Ceremonials in the Nilamata Purana". South Asia Research. 28 (2): 123–145. doi:10.1177/026272800802800201. ISSN 0262-7280. S2CID 144448359.
  9. ↑ Jamwal, Suman (2011). "The Making of the Religious Geography of Kashmir: From Nilamata Purana to Rajatarangini". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 72: 101–109. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44146700.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Pingree, David (1990). "The Purāṇas and Jyotiḥśāstra: Astronomy". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 110 (2): 276. doi:10.2307/604530. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 604530.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Inden, Ronald (22 March 2018), Imperial Purāṇas: Kashmir as Vaiṣṇava Center of the World, doi:10.5281/zenodo.1205493, retrieved 18 March 2021
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Ray, Sunil Chandra (1957). "Dāmodaragupta's Kuṭṭanīmata : Its VaITS as a Source of Ancient Indian History". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 20: 144–148. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44304455.
  13. ↑ 13.00 13.01 13.02 13.03 13.04 13.05 13.06 13.07 13.08 13.09 13.10 13.11 13.12 13.13 13.14 13.15 13.16 13.17 13.18 13.19 13.20 13.21 13.22 13.23 Siudmak, John (1 January 2013). 1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD. Brill. pp. 11, 16–19, 251, 262. ISBN 978-90-04-24832-8.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Zutshi, Chitralekha (2019). "Kashmir as Sacred Space". Kashmir. Delhi: Oxford University Press. Especially Blessed Landscape/Peripheral Kingdom.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 ZUTSHI, CHITRALEKHA (2011). "Translating the Past: Rethinking "Rajatarangini" Narratives in Colonial India". The Journal of Asian Studies. 70 (1): 5–27. doi:10.1017/S0021911810002998. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 41302205. S2CID 146160013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Witzel, Michael (1990). "On Indian Historical Writing: The role of the Vamsavalis". 南アジア研究. Japanese Association for South Asian Studies. 2: 10–11, 30. doi:10.11384/jjasas1989.1990.1.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 Roy, Kumkum (1994). "Defining the Household: Some Aspects of Prescription and Practice in Early India". Social Scientist. 22 (1/2): 15. doi:10.2307/3517849. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 3517849.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Bronner, Yigal (1 April 2013). "From conqueror to connoisseur: Kalhaṇa's account of Jayāpīḍa and the fashioning of Kashmir as a Kingdom of learning". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 50 (2): 161–177. doi:10.1177/0019464613487098. ISSN 0019-4646. S2CID 144762916.
  19. ↑ Shulman, David (1 April 2013). "Preface: Kalhaṇa's Rājataraṅgiṇī: What is it?". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 50 (2): 127–130. doi:10.1177/0019464613487096. ISSN 0019-4646. S2CID 220678233.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Dezső, Csaba (2020). "X.1.3: The Kashmir Secular Tradition". In Balogh, Daniel (ed.). Hunnic Peoples in Central and South Asia: Sources for their Origin and History. Groningen: Barkhuis. pp. 296–308. ISBN 9789493194014.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 Biswas, Atreyi (1971). The Political History of the Hūṇas in India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. pp. 112–113, 135, 138, 143. ISBN 978-0-88386-301-5.
  22. ↑ Shastri, A. M. (31 December 1996). India As Seen In The Kuttanimata Of Damodara Gupta. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 16. ISBN 978-81-208-1336-6.
  23. ↑ Inden, Ronald; Inden, Professor of South Asian History Ronald; Walters, Jonathan S.; Walters, Jonathan; Ali, Daud; Ali, Lecturer in Ancient and Medieval Indian History Daud (8 June 2000). Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia. Oxford University Press, USA. pp. 74–77. ISBN 978-0-19-512430-9.
  24. ↑ 24.00 24.01 24.02 24.03 24.04 24.05 24.06 24.07 24.08 24.09 24.10 24.11 24.12 24.13 24.14 24.15 24.16 24.17 24.18 24.19 24.20 24.21 24.22 24.23 24.24 24.25 24.26 24.27 24.28 24.29 24.30 24.31 24.32 24.33 24.34 24.35 24.36 24.37 24.38 24.39 24.40 24.41 24.42 24.43 24.44 24.45 Stein, Marc Aurel (1900). Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir. Westminster: Archibald Constable. pp. 86–97, 136, 142 (Introduction), 120–185 (The Rajatarangini of Kalahana: Fourth Book).
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Pal, Pratapaditya (1973). "Bronzes of Kashmir: Their Sources and Influences". Journal of the Royal Society of Arts. 121 (5207): 727, 746. ISSN 0035-9114. JSTOR 41371150.
  26. ↑ Kim, Hyun Jin (19 November 2015). "THE HUNS OF CENTRAL ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA: THE KIDARITE AND HEPHTHALITE WHITE HUNS". The Huns. Routledge. p. 58. doi:10.4324/9781315661704-11 (inactive 6 May 2021). ISBN 978-1-317-34090-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2021 (link)
  27. ↑ Cribb, Joe (2016). "Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly". Numismatic Digest. Numismatic Society of Bombay. 40: 98.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 28.2 Rangachari, Devika (1 April 2002). "Kalhana's Rājataranginī: A Gender Perspective1". The Medieval History Journal. 5 (1): 46, 48. doi:10.1177/097194580200500103. ISSN 0971-9458. S2CID 144377502.
  29. ↑ 29.00 29.01 29.02 29.03 29.04 29.05 29.06 29.07 29.08 29.09 29.10 29.11 SEN, TANSEN (2004). "Kaśmīr, Tang China, and Muktāpīḍa Lalitā-Ditya's Ascendancy over the Southern Hindukush Region". Journal of Asian History. 38 (2): 141–162. ISSN 0021-910X. JSTOR 41933381.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Pal, Sayantani (2016), "Karkota dynasty of Kashmir", The Encyclopedia of Empire, American Cancer Society, pp. 1–2, doi:10.1002/9781118455074.wbeoe049, ISBN 978-1-118-45507-4, retrieved 18 March 2021
  31. ↑ Dani, Ahmad Hasan; Litvinsky, B. A. (1996). History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations, A.D. 250 to 750. UNESCO. pp. 169–170. ISBN 9789231032110.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Melzer, Gudrun; Sander, Lore (2006). "A Copper Scroll Inscription from the Time of the Alchon Huns". In Braarvig, Jens (ed.). Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection. Vol. III. Oslo: Hermes Publishing. p. 257.
  33. ↑ Sims-Williams, Nicholas, ed. (23 January 2003). Indo-Iranian Languages and Peoples (1 ed.). British Academy. doi:10.5871/bacad/9780197262856.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-726285-6.
  34. ↑ Kuawayama, Shōshin (1999). "Historical Notes on Kāpiśī and Kābul in the Sixth-Eighth Centuries". Zinbun (Annals of the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University). 34 (1): 25–77.
  35. ↑ "Kalhaņa tells us little about Durlabha-vardhana (...) The mixed metal coins bearing the legend Sri Durlabha on the obverse and jayati Kidāra on the reverse, belong to this monarch." Majumdar, R. C. (Editor) (1981). A Comprehensive History of India: pt. 1. A.D. 300-985. People's Publishing House. p. 30. {{cite book}}: |first1= has generic name (help)
  36. ↑ Cribb, Joe. "Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly". Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016): 106–108.
  37. ↑ "The Bodhisattva Vajrasattva". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  38. ↑ Reedy, Chandra L. (1997). Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style, and Choices. Associated University Press. p. 156, K47. ISBN 978-0-87413-570-1.
  39. ↑ Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Bronzes of Kashmir. Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt. p. 59. ISBN 978-3-201-00929-4. Fig 59a: Vajrasattva Kashmir , 8th century H : 65/8 in . ( 16.9 cm ) Pan - Asian Collection A regal Bodhisattva is seated on a lotus which rests on a pedestal of unusual form. The pedestal is composed of two tiers of jagged and contorted rock formations, the stylized design of the rockery being indicated by shallow , uneven incisions peculiar to Kashmiri bronzes . The narrow , recessed portions between the two tiers appear to be crushed by the entwined tails of two nāgas who , at the same time , are engaged in adoring the deity . The rock formations obviously represent a mountain , but the exact significance of the behaviour of the någas is not known . Clad in a dhoti , the Bodhisattva is elaborately crowned and ornamented . His hair is gathered up behind in what is generally known as the Parthian bob and is held in place by a filet . Five identical effigies of a seated Buddha - each showing the samadhimudra - are delineated on the crown and at the back . The Bodhisattva carries the thunderbolt ( vajra ) against his chest and a bell ( ghanță ) against his thigh . Because of the emblems and the manner in which they are disposed , the Bodhisattva may be identified as Vajrasattva .
  40. ↑ Ray, Sunil Chandra (1970). Early History and Culture of Kashmir (2 ed.). Munshiram Manoharlal. p. 44.
  41. ↑ AROLE, MEERA (1990). "The Institution of Devadāsīs in Literature and Archaeology". Bulletin of the Deccan College Research Institute. 50: 137. ISSN 0045-9801. JSTOR 42931375.
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 Cribb, Joe. "Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly". Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016): 99. Candrapida-Vajraditya is mentioned in the Chinese Tang Chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 716-720 and Muktapida-Lalitaditya was mentioned in the same chronicle as a contemporary of the period CE 736-747 and according to the Rajatarangini was in conflict with the Indian king Yasovarman, datable from the Tang Chronicle and other Chinese sources to c. CE 691-731 or later.
  43. ↑ Rana, Suman Jamwal (1998). "Revenue System of Ancient Kashmir". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 59: 109. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44146979.
  44. ↑ Siudmak, John (1 January 2013). 1. Historical and Cultural Background of Kashmir Up to 1003 AD. Brill. pp. 11, 16, 18. ISBN 978-90-04-24832-8.
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 SAXENA, HINA (1995). "Vaishnavism in Kashmir During the Time of the Karkotas". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 56: 118. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44158593.
  46. ↑ SHARMA, ARVIND (1982). "'Albīrūnī's India' as a Source of Political History". Central Asiatic Journal. 26 (1/2): 135. ISSN 0008-9192. JSTOR 41927345.
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). "The Himalayan Kingdom". Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 294. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Lorenzen, David N. (1978). "Warrior Ascetics in Indian History". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 98 (1): 66. doi:10.2307/600151. ISSN 0003-0279. JSTOR 600151.
  49. ↑ Shyam Manohar Mishra (1977). Yaśovarman of Kanauj. Abhinav. p. 95. OCLC 5782454. And as usually happens the achievements of Lalitaditya must have been coloured and exaggerated by popular imagination during the four centuries or so that intervened between Kalhana and the events of the reign of the Kashmir king. This is illustrated by the stories of Lalitaditya's miraculous powers recorded by Kalhana.
  50. ↑ Michell, George; Davies, Philip H. (1989). The Penguin Guide to the Monuments of India: Buddhist, Jain, Hindu. Penguin Books. p. 96. ISBN 9780140081442. During the Karkota period, especially in the reign of the 8th-century ruler Lalitaditya, the central Kashmir valley became the setting of a brilliant intellectual and artistic culture.
  51. ↑ Cribb, Joe. "Early Medieval Kashmir Coinage – A New Hoard and An Anomaly". Numismatic Digest Volume 40 (2016): 108.
  52. ↑ "Buddha Shakyamuni or the Jina Buddha Vairochana (LACMA Collections)". collections.lacma.org.
  53. ↑ Twist, Rebecca L. (Art Department, Pacific University, Forest Grove, OR 97123, USA) (2018). "Images of the Crowned Buddha along the Silk Road: Iconography and Ideology". Humanities. 7 (92): 25, Fig. 31. doi:10.3390/h7040092.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  54. ↑ Rao, Velcheru Narayana; Shulman, David Dean; Subrahmanyam, Sanjay (2003). "Conclusion". Textures of Time: Writing History in South India 1600-1800. New York: Other Press. pp. 254–260. ISBN 978-1-59051-044-5.
  55. ↑ Bhattacharji, Sukumari (1987). "Prostitution in Ancient India". Social Scientist. 15 (2): 49. doi:10.2307/3520437. ISSN 0970-0293. JSTOR 3520437.
  56. ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 56.3 56.4 56.5 Bronner, Yigal (2016). "Understanding Udbhaṭa: The Invention of Kashmiri Poetics in the Jayāpīḍa Moment". In Franco, Eli; Ratié, Isabelle (eds.). Around Abhinavagupta: Aspects of the Intellectual History of Kashmir from the Ninth to the Eleventh Century. Leipziger Studien zu Kultur und Geschichte Süd- und Zentralasiens. Münster, Germany. pp. 81–148. ISBN 978-3-643-90697-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  57. ↑ Ānandavardhana (1990). The Dhvanyāloka of Ānandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-20278-8.
  58. ↑ SINGH, Y.B. (1991). "System of Land Grants in Early Medieval Kashmir". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 52: 116. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44142574.
  59. ↑ Goodall, Dominic; Desző, Csaba, eds. (16 November 2012). Dāmodaraguptaviracitaṃ Kuṭṭanīmatam — The Bawd's Counsel: Being an Eighth-century Verse Novel in Sanskrit. Groningen Oriental Studies - 23. Brill. p. 21. ISBN 978-90-69-80158-2.
  60. ↑ Winternitz, Moriz (1985). History of Indian Literature. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. p. 77. ISBN 978-81-208-0056-4.
  61. ↑ Pasedach, Peter (9 July 2018). "Ratnākara's Haravijaya: Critical Edition, Including Commentaries, and Annotated Translation". World Sanskrit Conference. Vancouver. 17.
  62. ↑ "Metropolitan Museum of Art". www.metmuseum.org.
  63. ↑ Kossak, Steven; Lerner, Martin (1994). "The Arts of South and Southeast Asia". The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. 51 (4): 32ff. doi:10.2307/3269200. JSTOR 3269200.
  64. ↑ 64.0 64.1 Pal, Pratapaditya (2007). "Faith And Form". In Pal, Pratapaditya; Ames, Frank (eds.). The arts of Kashmir. Asia Society ; 5 Continents. pp. 67–69, 75–82.
  65. ↑ 65.0 65.1 Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Bronzes of Kashmir. New York: Hacker Art Books. pp. 9–10.
  66. ↑ "Sculpture and Bronze Images from Kashmir | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 18 March 2021.
  67. ↑ Schroeder, Ulrich von (1981). "North-Western India: Kashmir". Indo-Tibetan Bronzes. Visual Dharma Publications. p. 101.
  68. ↑ Siudmak, John (2007). "Religious architecture: 500 - 1200". In Pal, Pratapaditya; Ames, Frank (eds.). The arts of Kashmir. Asia Society ; 5 Continents. pp. 56–57.
  69. ↑ Siudmak, John (2007). "Religious architecture: 500 - 1200". In Pal, Pratapaditya; Ames, Frank (eds.). The arts of Kashmir. Asia Society ; 5 Continents. p. 46.
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