Passions,Power,Perfidy

Tales & Fables, Kalhans Kashmir- RajaTarangni

By Pl.D.Parimoo

Copyright registration No:L-47833/2013

ISBN:978-81-909539

For my sister,Vijaya(Didda)Pashmeena and BulBul.

Table of contents Foreword Introduction Taranga-1 1-Story of King Gonanda-1 and Damodara. 2-King Jaluka . 3-Story of Abhimanu-1 4-Nara,the debauch 5-Mhirkula-the terrible. 6- Yudhishtra -forced exile. Taranga-2 1-The great famine,Tujina. 2-Nymphs and the Brahmchari,Sandhimati. Taranga-3 1-Meghvardana, the Nagas and the Bhill. 2-Strife of siblings. 3- From potters wheel to kingship. 4-The giant and a new city. 5- Beautiful Apsara and a gambler. 6-Story of passion and forgiveness. Taranga-4 1-A stormy royal romance. 2-The case of a stubborn tanner and black magic.

3-Dawn of a golden era-Lalitaditya. 4-Fables of cherries and magic crystals. 5-Warriors of vengeance-the brave Banglas 6-Stri Rajya-the women warriors. 7- the last journey of Lalitaditya. 8-The Bangla danseuse and a man eater tiger. 9-Invassion of Nepal and great escapes. 10 The kingmaker courtesan-Jaya. Taranga-5 1-Incredible story of a brilliant trio. 2-Gurjar Parihara and king Samkavarman. 3- Sugandha the Gandhara princess 4-Kingships by auction. 5- Cakra the cunning king. 6-Diabolic Unmattavanti. Taranga-6 1-A scholar king-Yakasara 2-The scandalous queens and fall of the king. 3- Didda-the devious queen. Taranga-7 1-Rise and fall of the shepherd-Tunga 2-Queen Suryamati-the power centre. 3-Anguish of an old couple. 4-Mysterious infatuation of king Harsa. Taranga-8 1- Jayamati the danseuse. 2-Uccala the betrayed hero. 3- The last flicker of a fading kingdom

Foreword
Prior to 1947,the history of Kashmir has evolved in four phases:Hindu and Buddhist rule,Muslim rule,Sikh rule and Dogra rule. Incirca A.D 1200 the poet historian Kalhana wrote a voluminous account of Kashmirs historical trajectory from 1182BC,RAJATARANGNI(River of Kings). The history of Kashmir Valley through AD 1486 was recounted by Pandit Janoraja.The task was further taken by Srivara and Prajyabhatta,who recorded the history of Kashmir through the conquest of the Valley by the Mughal Emperor Akbar in 1586. But somewhere along the way this rich historical trajectory has been relegated to the realm of oblivion. The ugly scars of insurgency,counter-insurgency,mass exodus,displacement,dispossession and unabated despair have underscored brutal aspects of the history of Kashmir,while consigning aspects of the historical and sociocultural evolution of Kashmir,which did not conform either to statist or insurgent agendas,to the catacombs of history. The younger generation of Kashmiris,which has been incredibly disfigured by the inability of global consumer culture,the national security apparatus and nationstates,either secular or theocratic, to gratify the political,socioeconomic and cultural needs of the majority of the population. This generation of Kashmiris is warweary,battle scarred,embittered and despondent. I would venture to say that we,Kashmiri Muslims as well as Kashmiri Pandits,crave a world in which social justice,political enfranchisement,cultural pride, and self realization are the order of the day. I yearn for a world in which the living tradition of legends,myths,fables of yore,is resuscitated,reviving the imaginative life of Kashmir.Myths and legends have,historically, been the collective expression of a peoples identity,enabling them to voice their cultural reality. Haitian writer,Jacques Stephan Alexis articulates the potency of myths and magic more convincingly than I, The treasure of tales and legends,all the musical ,choreographic and plastic symbolism,all the forms of Haitian popular art are there to help the nation in accomplishing the tasks before it. The recuperation of a culture,the reinvigoration of Kashmirs rich heritage,and the revival of Kashmirs mythos,which Peeji Parimoos PASSION,POWER,PERFIDY,promises to do,might not heal the greatly mauled body politic overnight,but it would certainly provide a much needed step in the right direction. NYLA ALI KHAN Visiting Professor, University of Oklahoma.

Introduction.
The greatness and historical importance of Kalhans Rajatarangni does not need any reaffirmation, neither by a professional historian nor an amateur like me. However lack of interest by the newer generations in this classic work prompted me to present this great book in form of tales and fables. I hope my humble contribution helps revive interest in Kalhans book which undoubtedly is a landmark in the historical literature of India. Kalhana, a Kashmiri, was the author of Rajatarangini, and is regarded as the first properly documented historian of the undivided Subcontinent. He composed his book Rajatarangini, the river of kings, in A.D. 1148-49. His father, Champaka, was the minister of king Harsha of Kashmir (A.D. 1089-1101). Kalhana starts his narrative with description of Gonanda dynasty after referring to his studies of ancient manuscripts written by authors like Suvrata and ksemendra besides eleven works including Nilmata Parthivajali recorded by ancient savants. He Describes the time periods of the earths chronological cycle of a Mahayuga of 43,20,000 years comprising of: Stya=17,28,000,Treta=1,96,000,Dvapara=8,64,000 and Kali=4,32,000 years and states to have started his narrative in the Kali yuga corresponding to Mahabarta period around 1184 B.C. dividing the narrative into eight Tarangas (Cantos). Late Shri R.S.Pandit transliteration of RAJA TARANGINI from Sanskrit to English has been the main source of reference for this book. Some sentences from Shri Pandits book have been used owing to the unique descriptive powers of the great translator. These have been presented in the book in Italics within brackets. Selected sketches and pictures have been used to heighten the interest of the reader but have no relevance to the original book. The origins of several pictures being unknown it has not been possible to register due acknowledgements A few notes have been added to the events which find only passing reference in the original book but have been established or expounded upon by modern scientific advances, main examples being the references to Stri Rajya and the fiery disc. The attempt has been to narrate the historical happenings as stories rather than as cold impersonal statistical data notwithstanding the fact that the historical thread runs throughout the book. Likewise care has been taken to present the stories in the same chronological order as mentioned by Kalhan and hence the sequence of Tarangas or cantos. It is my fervent hope that the book serves the purpose it is written with, which is to revive the interest of young men and women in the unique work of Kalhan who has written, that man of merit alone deserves praise whose language, like that of a judge, in recounting the events of the past has discarded bias as well as prejudice. Pl.D.Parimoo Ahmedabad

TARANGA ONE

1King Gonanada-1 and Damodara

The messengers from Mathura freezing in the chill of late Kashmiri winter found the last stages of their long journey the toughest. They were charged by their master, Kamsa, the king of Mathura,to persuade his friend,Gonanda,the mighty king of Kashmir,to urgently come to his aid against the belligerent Yadvas. The tired envoys felt the task assigned to them was not as easy to accomplish as they had believed it to be at the begin- ning of their northward sojourn.Negotiating the passes of Kashmir when ice, snow and slush hid the pony trails from sight, was a perilous and arduous task. At last after suffering losses of men and provisions, on their arrival at King Gonandas court they were given a warm welcome and their immediate needs attended to. Six hundred fifty three years of Kaliyug are supposed to have elapsed when there lived in India two famous splinter groups of the same great family, the Kaurvas and the Pandvas who were inimical to each other.Their internecine fight affected kingdoms far and wide, including the beautiful kingdom of Kashmira which nestled in the encircling mighty and protective embrace of the great Himalayas. This kingdom ruled by king Gonanda was unrivalled in its beauty. Great lakes, sparkling streams and gushing springs being only a few of the endowments of this fertile valley of lush green forests enchanting meadows and valleys of wild flowering plants. The people populating this Shangri-La were as distinguished as the country itself, excelling themselves in all spheres of knowledge and virile enough to defend their much coveted motherland from innumerable malignant forces around. As Kalhan,the historian poet has remarked such is Kashmir, the country which may be conquered by force of spiritual merit but not by armed force; where the inhabitants in consequence fear more the next world--what is there common place is difficult to secure in paradise. The great King of Kashmira in the Kali era, was known as much for his valor and wealth as for his wisdom. However the machinations of Yadvas to seize absolute power in the Indo-Gangetic plains found him drawn into the rising conflict between his relative Kamsa, King of Mathura and theYaadvas.Kalhana

claimsthat fifty two kings who must have been contemporaries of Kaurvas and Pandvas, had passed into oblivion for want of capable chroniclers. He could discover only King Gonanda and three others from the ancient chronicles that he studied. Having listened to Kamsas envoys, the King Gonanda torn between his sense of duty to his friend and the tough ground realities which included the distances to be travelled and the difficulties of terrain and climate, the great King opted to respect his friendship despite the odds to be faced. When the city of Mathura itself faced the wrath of Yaadva might, the brave King Gonanda decided, he had no option but to raise a large cavalry and march southwards to Mathura to help his friend and kinsman Kamsa. However on reaching the city of Mathura the King not only found the city already fallen to theYaadvas but also found it being well defended by them. King Gonanda thought it wise to lay siege to the city and wait for an opportune moment rather than attack without working out a proper strategy. Waiting on the banks of Yamuna for the opportune time to launch his attack, the King was collecting intelligence about the enemy and formulating his battle plans. The Yadavas getting desperate because of the siege decided to break the cordon of Gonanda around them. Before Gonanda could attack the besieged city, the Yadva warriors took the initiative for the battle and attacked Gonanda. In the ensuing ferocious battle the Kashmiri army fought bravely and the attacking Yadva army was encircled on all sides and their troops in total disarray. Alas when victory seemed so close to embrace Gonanda he found himself face to face with Balrama. Though coming from the commoner stock , this brother of Krasna was a strong and worthy opponent who fought under the banner of a peasants plough. Gonanda tired of a long journey and barely managing to tolerate the merciless sun of the plains could have refused to engage in combat with a common peasant. But remaining true to the chivalrous traditions of the times, Gonanda accepted the challenge of Balrama for a person to person combat. The two warriors were engaged in a mortal one on one combat for a long time but Gonanda having sustained too many injuries fell to the ground and Balrama emerged victorious. So ended the life of the first recorded King of Kashmir, as traced by the great historian poet Kalhana. Gonandas son Damodara could never forgive Yadavas for his fathers death and nursed a deep rooted grudge against them. He sensed his chance for avenging the death of his father, when he heard that some chiefs of Gandhara had invited Yadavas to the swyamvara of one of their princesses which was to be held somewhere in the region of Indus. Gandhara ,the eastern Afghanistan as known now, was the meeting ground of Indo Aryans with those of the Iranian origin. Preceding the invasion of Alexander, Gandhara was the home of Indo Greco Buddhist culture as well as of grammarians, scholars and philosophers.

Leading a large cavalry Damodara marched to lay ambush to the Yadvas. In yet another battle that followed the Kashmiri Ksatriya king Damodara fell to the fiery disc of Krasna. Damodar's consort, Yasomati, was carrying his unborn child when he fell to Krsanas fiery disc. Krsana sensing the covetous glances on her accosted the assembled nobles, pronouncing a verse from Purana: The land of Kashmir is Parvati; know its king to be part of Siva; he should not be disregarded even if he be wicked, by a wise man desirous of bliss The assembled men, most of whom viewed womankind with scant courtesy, considering a woman as one of the objects of pleasure, now looked upon Yasomati as if she was a Goddess.The queen Yasomati escorted with royal grace and dignity back to Kashmir, gave birth to a son in due course. The infant named Gonanda in honour of his grandfather was put on the throne. Being an infant he was spared the call to arms in the war between Pandvas and Kaurvas so well described in the epic Mahabarta. Kalhana expresses his inability to trace reliable records of thirty five kings who ruled Kashmir after Damodra. Then appeared the name of Lava who granted the jagir of Lidar valley near Pahalgam to Brahmins and founded the city of Lolor. Lava was succeeded by kings Kusa, Khagendra, and Surendra,the latter who seems to be the first Kashmiri king to have donated a Buddhist vihara. Surendera left no progeny and the throne went to Godhara from a different dynasty. Godhara was followed by Suvarna,Janaka and Sacinara who died without a heir. The throne of Kashmir went to Ashoka ,a son of Scinaras grand uncle and great grand son of Sakuni.(Appendix-1A)Ashoka who built an empire and had suzerainty over Kashmir, accepted the teachings of Lord Buddha. Ashoka not only drove away Mallechas, foreigners whose language was unintelligible, but also had several stupas and monasteries built in his empire' King Jaluka, son of Asoka ascended Kashmir throne after his fathers death. He proved to be a born leader of men. However he had a less fervent attitude towards Buddhism than his father Asoka . His spiritual advisor being an erudite philosopher defeated an assembly of Buddhist monks in open debate and Jaluka became a worshipper of Shiva. During the early period of his rule, the destruction of Buddhist Viharas and dispersal of Bhikshus took place, also the conversion of Buddhist temples into Hindu temples and replacement of Buddha images by Shiva statues happened in different parts of the country. King Jalukas Queen, the virtuous Isna Devi is credited with having built temples in honour of Maetrkas the circle of the mothers, the saivite Goddesses. The group of seven goddesses in the Hindu pantheon of Gods represent Life and Death,radiant loveliness and hideous ugliness as is represented by of Durga as Varahi.(see pic)

JALUKA and the beggar woman A famished looking little woman standing in the middle of the road begged food of King Jaluka when he was on his way to the town of Vijesvara(Vejbror). The king in his expansive mood promised to feed her the food of her choice. No sooner had the king uttered these words of promise, the starving woman assumed a hideous form and expressed her hunger for human flesh. The perplexed king who had vowed never to kill any living creature let alone a human being was left with no choice but to offer his own self for the appeasement of the monster.

Convinced that the King was true to his word and was in earnest to offer his own self as food for her, the woman said O mighty king you are an exalted soul, verily a Buddhistava. A protector of the land having such deep tenderness for the living creatures! I am a personified power of darkness a Kryataka raised by the Buddhists. You have antagonized them by your wrath. We the Kryatakas, the personated powers of darkness, have taken refuge in Bodhisttava and we long for the destruction of darkness. A handful of persons in the world who have conquered sorrow are the Bodhisattavas. They are not angered even by wrong doers, return good for evil and they desire enlightenment not for themselves alone but for the salvation of the mankind. Disturbed by the sounds of clarions coming from Viharas the wicked persons around you instigated you to demolish the Viharas. The Buddhists furious with this act of yours thought of me and had commissioned me to kill you but the kindly Bodhisattvas restrained me and instructed me to induce you O king to rebuild the Viharas at your own cost. That done the sin of demolishing the Viharas will be washed off, and you and the wicked persons who misguided you, will have atoned for your sins. Through this disguise I tested you and having done my duty I am free from my own sins, now I hail you and depart. When the King vowed to rebuild the Viharas, the Krtyadevi, eyes glistening with joy vanished from the scene. The king true to his word undertook to rebuild the Viharas that had been damaged and demolished earlier. A chronic problem of ancient Kashmir had been the infiltration of multi racist hordes of Greek ,Turk and other central Asian tribes into its territories for loot and plunder. Once again these hordes had infiltrated into Kashmir following the death of Emperor Ashoka. Kashmiris called them Mallechas for their languages were not understandable by the locals. Jaluka launched a campaign to cleanse Kashmir of these intruders and after crushing them, went on a victory spree annexing Kanouj, known in those times as Kanyakubja, the land of hunch back maidens, to his territory. Kanauj considered a cultural citadel of those times besides its rich intellectual wealth for its being the nerve centre of Aryan culture, had also become an exporter of high quality swords daggers and knives. Its metallic wares were in high

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demand in Iran and the adjoining states and its artisans had gained reputation beyond the borders of India. Having earned a great reputation not only for its artisans but also for the great pool of cultural wealth it possessed. Several of its high caste families had been lured away to different provinces of India; from Bengal in the east to Gujarat in the west, by the rulers of those lands. While returning back home to Kashmir, Jaluka arranged for a cross section of Kanaujs population to be migrated to Kashmir. People belonging to all the four castes were encouraged to migrate to Kashmir. Several men of high legal and administrative experience were brought to usher in revolutionary administrative reforms. With administrative setup of the fabled King Yudishtra in mind, Jaluka organized eighteen different departments to administer his country. The pontiff, Purohita was supposed to be conversant with the scared lore as also the political science. Thus the temporal power of the Kstarya working in tandem with the spiritual insight and might of the Brahman, was meant to form the edifice of a strong governance. It was king Jalukas wife, Isnadevi who was one of the earliest on records to have established maetrcakra , the circle of mothers, the seven Sivaite goddesses at various places in Kashmir. This is the first mention by Kalhana about the Devi (Female goddess) worship in Kashmir which continues to have strong adherents till today. King Jaluka also presented a hundred dancing women to the Shiva temples which seems to have been a practice prevalent from ancient times. Jaluka was succeeded by Damodara-2 who was either from Asokas dynasty or some other dynasty. He built a town to which he wished to divert the waters of an extensive dam he proposed to build at Gudda. The reasons why he failed could be several; however the story about the Brahmnic wrath he invited on himself seems to be the most likely reason. Damodara-2 and the angry Brahmins. Endowed with Lord Shivas blessings, Damodara was also lavishly favored by Kubera, the lord of wealth, so prominently figuring in Buddhist scriptures. Popular belief presents Kubera as chief of semi divine beings the Yaksas, who are credited for having helped king Damodara build an extensive dam at Gudda. One day when Damodara got up to go for his ritual bath prior to attending a shrada ceremony, a group of Brahmin mendicants appeared and asked to be fed. The king being in a hurry asked them to wait till he finished his bath in the river Vitasta( Jhelum) as was his daily habit. The starving mendicants insisted on having food and even created a semblance of Vitasta just where they and the King were standing. Now have your bath and feed us demanded the adamant Brahmins. King Damodara unwilling to have his dip in an illusory river refused. This irritated the Brahmins and they cursed him saying May you become a snake and that is what has last been heard about the King Damodara2. Damodara-2 was followed by reign of kings belonging to Turkish race,Scythians, who were staunch adherents to Buddhist faith. These were the Turuska-Turk rulers Huska,Juska and Kamiska(Kanishka). (Appendix-1B).

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The era of these rulers brought glory to the land of Kashmir along with the heightened activities of great Buddhist scholars. The supreme spiritual ruler in Kashmir during that period was the illustrious resident of Sadarhadvana,the present day Harwan,by the name of Nagarjuna. Reported to have lived in the first century A.D,Nagarjuna hailed from Berar of the earstwhile central provinces.Buddhism by that time had developed two schools of thought,the idealist and the metaphysical one.It was left to Nagarjuna to show a new way ,theMadhyamika,the middle way. 3-Story of Abhimanyu-1 The death of Kamiska heralded the end of Indo Scythian rule in Kashmir as he was succeeded by Abhimanyu-1 who founded the city of Abhimanyu Nagar, but his greater achievement lay in his propagation of Mahabhasya of Patanjali who is said to have lived in 2 century B.C and his commentary on the works of Panini a famous grammarian. In Abhimanyus period the Buddhist philosophy predominated the Kashmiri way of life. The proponents of Vedas having been defeated by the Buddhist learned men led and guided by the wise Buddhistava Nagarjuna who had debunked the religious rites prescribed in Nilapurana. An overwhelming success can also result in a reverse tide that can demolish the very fortunes which might have been built by the wave of success. This seems to explain the reversal in the fortunes of Buddhism. The semi divine Nagas who dwelt in wonderful palaces at the bottom of springs and lakes obviously did not take kindly to new social practices as enforced by a strict Buddhist doctrine. The absolute supremacy of Buddhists also cut into the practice of sacrificial offerings made to them, the invisible semi divine people belonging to the world of spirit. The wicked Pishachas who made the valley uninhabitable for humans in winter and the annoyed Yoginis having been denied the sacrificial feasts, were heard hooting and howling continuously from the mountain tops on summer nights.

The more probable cause for the reversal of Buddhist fortunes could have been the animosity generated amongst disgruntled Brahmins; who had been sidelined i n the new social order. In any case the anger of Brahmins, the Nagas and the like, seems to have ushered the country of Kashmir into a period of very severe prolonged winters and extremely heavy snow falls. This forced the Royal court to seek refuge in warmer places away from the capital Srinagari. The masses, the common people were forced to face the brunt of heavy snow falls, meager food resources and in general a disrupted social order. The excesses of Bhikshus coupled with increasingly unreasonable demands made by them on general public added to the chaos. As happens in such cases the times throw up a leader to deliver the people. One Brahman named Chanderdeva of the Kasyapa gotra undertook

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spiritual exertions to affect a change. He and his son managed to put an end to the intolerable pest of Bhikshus. It is said that his efforts were rewarded by Nila the king of the invisible Nagas and the world of spirit who averted the havoc of snow and promulgated the recommencement of rites as dictated by his Nilpurana. Thus ended the Buddhist dominated kingship and Gonanada-3 attained sovereignty. He restored all the religious practices like piligrimages, sacrifices and worship of Nagas as was the custom before Buddhists had forcibly stopped all these religious observances. The snows obliged and thereby the agriculture prospered and an all round improvement took place. Gonanda-3 was succeded by his son Vibhisana whose rule was followed by Indrajits rule of 35 years and then Ravanas rule for thirty years. Ravana was succeeded by his powerful sonVibhisan-2 who in turn was succeeded by his son Kinnara also known as Nara. 4-Nara-The debauche. The addiction of King Nara to insatiable and indiscriminate carnal appetites led to his inglorious fall from power and ultimately to his destruction. There were several episodes sparked because of his philandering ways. An ugly incident that triggered a catastrophic reign of repression and terror occurred with the abduction of a sweetheart of his by a Buddhist monk.Enraged the kingNara in retaliation caused thousands of Viharas to be burnt down and their villages requisitioned for the occupation of Brahmans residing in Madhyama matha. It was alleged that a certain Buddhist monk living in Kinnargrama had by force of yoga carried away a favorite courtesan of the king. Thereafter Naras rule was marked by several misfortunes all owing to his highly sensuous character. However his final annihilation was caused by the Nagas.

A city was founded by him on the strand of Vitasta which was rich in every aspect, its canals, its shops and the tastefully laid gardens rich with flowers and fruits. According to a legend, in a certain park of the city was a pool of sweet water believed to be the residence of the Naga named Susravas. A Brahman traveler named Visakha approached the water body desirous to have some rest under a shade. Refreshed after having rested for some time, the Brahmin felt the need to eat some porridge that he was carrying in his bundle. Just when he was about to have a fistful of this porridge he heard the jingle of ankle trinkets, looking up he saw two young maidens slowly approaching towards him and eating pods of a w ild grass known as kacchha. The Brahmin touched at this sight addressed the maidens O, young ladies why do you eat such coarse stuff, please partake of my porridge The girls accepted his food and when they felt relaxed the Brahmin asked them about the antecedents of their family and the reasons for their severe austerity. I am Iravati and she is my sister Chanderlekha, we are the daughters of Naga Susravas at whose place no grains or cooked food is allowed said the elder sister Iravati, smiling like the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. The poor traveler incapable of reading the riddle of her bewitching smile grew eager to learn the mystery of her home as also of her heart.

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Expressing curiosity to know the cause of such severe adversity he drew a blank as the girls reluctant to reveal anything further left him. After taking a few steps Iravati paused, looked back at him and said On twelfth of the dark half of Jyeshtha (falls in the month of June) our father will come for the pilgrimage of Taksaka Naga, the patron saint of the Saffron fields at Zevan (near Nunnar,Distt Ganderbal), and we both w ill be standing by his side. There you can ask him the reason for our austerity. Saying this to the astonished Brahmin both the Naga sisters vanished. The Nagas, semi divine beings as they are supposed to be, according to legend are the original inhabitants of Kashmir. They dwell in water bodies but can also appear as clouds, hail storms and rain torrents. The Brahmin unable to erase this encounter with the beautiful maidens reached the designated place on the date mentioned to him by the Naga maidens. The fair atmosphere was fully charged when the Brahmin reached there watching the performance of acrobats,enjoying the music played and the all round atmosphere of gaiety. There, true to their word were the girls with their father. The Brahmin approached them and paid his formal respects to the Naga Susravas after the girls had introduced him to their father. After a little while of general conversation, the Brahmin felt bold enough to ask the Naga the reasons of his adversity. The Naga first expressing his reluctance to talk about his bad times on moral grounds and demands of good etiquette. Proud people as we Nagas are, we do not find it right to give publicity to our sufferings which, of necessity have to be endured. Besides on hearing the woes of others a good natured man, when unable to oblige, is pained at heart. Ultimately on the insistence of the Brahmin, the Naga Susravas agreed to divulge the matter as it had already been disclosed, though partly, by his daughters. Requesting the help of the Brahmin the Naga said There under the tree you can see an ascetic with shaven head and one tuft of hair,practicing austerities. The spell cast on us Nagas prevents us from eating of the new grain so long as this ascetic does not do so. The fellow does not eat the new grain, subsisting on the stored old grain and thereby driving us Nagas to eat grasses and tree leaves. If you can act in such a manner that this vow of his is broken then alone we Nagas can resume our normal lives. For this we will be obliged to you and we Nagas know how to adequately reward people who oblige us. The Brahmin having accepted the commission was lost in thought for days to find a way for deliverance of the Nagas. One day he got his chance when he observed the ascetic inside his hut while his food was cooking outside. Seizing the chance the Brahmin put some grains of freshly grown rice into the ascetics cooking vessel. No sooner had the ascetic eaten his food that the Lord of Nagas struck with hail and thunder and pouring torrents of rain thereby carried away the rich harvest in a trice. The Brahmin in turn was mightily welcomed to the domain of Nagas and lavish hospitality bestowed on him.At the time of departure, the Naga having promised to grant a boon, the Brahmin asked for the hand of Chandralekha albeit he was unworthy for the alliance. The Naga yielding to the granting of boon and dictates of gratitude accepted the Brahmins prayer and married off Chanderalekha to the Brahmin and gifted him lot of wealth. Chanderalekha who was an embodiment of all grace and the good

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qualities a respectable lady is supposed to have was one day standing on the terrace of her house when she found a horse eating away the corn that had been left in the open to dry. Descending the stairs to shoo away the horse she happened to slap it with one hand while with the other hand she held her Taranga (head gear) which had slipped in her hurry. The horse moved away but a golden imprint appeared on the body of the horse where Chandralekha had slapped it. Through his spies King Nara had already heard about the great beauty of Chandralekha and his passions had been welling up even before he had seen her. The story of imprint on the horse further maddened the King who started to transgress the bounds of discretion and decorum. Nara the lustful king tried to seduce her by sending her emissaries to convey his longings. But the object of his seductive attempts, the seemingly weak woman, was yet the stronger force than him.Sitting likes a sphinx she shunned away all his lecherous attempts with disdain. His ruses having failed, he shamelessly begged the Brahman for Chanderlekha. Getting a fitting rebuff but boiling with rage and burning with his passions the King ordered his soldiers to carry her away by force. W hile the soldiers were raiding the house, the Brahman escaped from the backdoor along w ith his wife and sought asylum with the Naga his father-in-law. Having heard the miserable life that the couple had lived on account of the King Nara, the enraged Naga, blind with rage sallied forth from his pool to wreck havoc on the king and the city he lived in. The fearful thundering clouds burnt down the King Nara and destroyed his city with a rain of boulders; thousands of human beings were burnt or crushed. The sister of the Naga Susravas also had joined the carnage to help her brother and had brought heaps of boulders to destroy the city of the King Nara and the villages around. About 40 miles of agricultural land known as Ramanyatavi thus were laid waste. Next morning, learning the full details of the havoc he had created and the hideous slaughter of humanity he had caused, the Naga was full of remorse and being depressed by the denunciation of the people he left his locality for good. Wandering through mountains, the Naga to atone for his sins committed in rage, built a lake now known as Sesnag which gleams like the ocean of milk on a distant mountain which on their way to the pilgrim centre of Amarnatha is visited by people even today

(Revenge of Nagas) The only son of Nara who escaped the whole sale destruction had been taken away by his wet nurse elsewhere on that fateful night and thus his life was spared. The boy grew up to be named King Siddha. This King Siddha put in order the disturbed conditions of the state owing to the misdeeds of his father .He was followed by his son Utpalaksa,then Hiranyaksa who in turn was succeeded by Hiranyakula And he in turn by Vasukula whose son Mihirkula gained great notoriety as one of the most ruthless ,insensitive and cruel kings Kashmir had ever seen.The last three according to modern historians were of Turko/Hun origins, who had entered north western India and spread far into the Indo Gangetic plains. Mihirkula-the terrible.

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It was an army embittered by defeats and humiliation seeking return to the safe refuge of Kashmir. The defeat at the hands of Yasodharman of Malwa followed by another defeat at the hands of Narsimha Gupta had demoralized the army completely. Their ferocious leader, Mihirkula who belonged to white Hun horde, the son of proud KingTormana, probably given the name of Vasakula by Kashmiris, was in his worst possible mental frame when he heard the painful cries of an elephant that had slipped down the cliffs of the Pir Panjal mountain range at a place called Hastivatr/Hastivanj. The psychopathic Kings Sadist inclinations were so thrilled by these heart rending cries of the dying elephant that he ordered several other elephants(one hundred) to be thrown from the mountain cliffs one after the other, his perverted mind deriving great pleasure out of the painful shrieks of the crushed dying elephants . Deriving pleasure from such cruel acts the King caused utter destruction of Buddhists in particular. His approach became known by the sight of vultures, crows and the like, eager to feed on those being massacred by his encircling army. Pity for children, clemency towards women or respect for the aged, this enemy of humanity of terrible appearance had none while he massacred. Having reorganized his fighting forces in the splendid isolation of Kashmir and having turned a Shiva worshipper the King preceded on a military campaign to Gandhara where he exterminated the ruling family in a brutal fashion, destroyed the Buddhist Stupas and Viharas and plundered the country. On his way back to Kashmir with his loot and innumerable prisoners, he massacred his helpless captives on the banks of Indus. The greedy shameless Brahmins of Gandhara stooped low before this ruthless ruler and even accepted gifts of Agraharas from the cruel despot. But he deserves credit for having driven out the hated Mallechas, Dards and Bhauttas(The Tibetans) who had over run the land of Kashmir . Brahmins were also elated when he promulgated the observance of Shivite religious conduct and helped in settling the people from the land of Aryas of Ganga Jamuna belt in his kingdom of Kashmir. Many a young women were done to death by this despot. An irrigation project undertaken by him involved diverting a river. A rock in midstream did not budge despite all the attempts to dislodge it for the purpose of river diversion. Claiming to have had a revelation in his sleep the king next day declared a mighty Yaksha brahmchari resides in this rock, were a chaste woman to touch the rock, the Yakhsha would not be able to obstruct. Following the royal order numerous ladies had endeavored but in vain, however on being touched by a potter woman the mighty boulder moved. The wrathful king then slaughtered many women along with their husbands, brothers and sons for their imagined sins. In due course of time and with advancing age remorse overtook the tyrant king in moments of deep introspection. Turning to Shaivism with greater fervor to compensate for his past deeds he had various temples made and Agahars donated.

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In 533 B.C. Mihirakula had been driven off the plains of northern India, taking refuge in Kashmir with his capital at Sialkot, he is thought to have died of some disease. Upon an iron platform studded with razors swords and knives, red hot with fire was his body consumed by the fire. Meharkulla was succeeded by his son Baka the righteous.Born from the great oppressor he became the delight of people like the pouring rain after a day of excessive heat.Baka was succeeded by Kistananda,followed byVasunanda then Nara and Aksa.Aksas son Gopaditya built a shiva temple at Gopkar village as a continuation of the great ancient Jyesthvara at the hill top(Shankracharya).He expelled Brahmins who ate garlic. His son, Gokarna was succeeded by Narendradittya whose Guru was one Ugra who founded the temple of Ugresa. Narendradittya was succeeded by Yudishtra-1 who caused the downfall of this old dynasty. (Appendix-1-C) 6- Yudishtras forced exile. Yudhishtra sat on the throne of Kashmir after the demise of his father. He was called Yudhishtra the blind by his people not so much because of his small eyes as for the way he ruled as long as he ruled. Initially after being crowned he ruled with care and caution following the well established system of governance as established by the long lineage of his ancestors. However, feeling that his position was well secured he let the intoxicating influences of royal power affect his sense of discretion and decorum. It did not take much effort on the part of his cronies to draw him into a capricious way of life. His attitude towards the worthy and the intelligent men in his court was no different than that towards the people of inferior worth. Failing to retain the loyalties of those who had served him and his predecessor he gradually lost the services of the wise,the gifted and the loyal. His speech which was curt, his prolonged jesting exhibiting a very low brow personality and perpetual company of the yes men around him gave rise to fear amongst the countrys elders. Fearing for the stability of the land the nobles as also the commoners showed signs of increasing restlessness. The blundering king hardly paid any attention to the affairs of the state resulting in the regime falling into disorder. The situation got so bad that ultimately the King himself felt concerned at the steadily deteriorating administration. Belatedly he tried to make amends to find ways of reforming the administration. But it was too little and too late. An amicable settlement with the honest and wise counselors alarmed some people, his coterie, who had brought him and the country to this sorry state of affairs. Realizing that if things got normal their dirty deeds would get exposed. These people who had professed to be the Kings inner circle and well wishers planned to nip the coming events by staging a palace coup. Forming a league these conspirators surrounded the palace with the armed men that they had mobilized. After a lot of arguments between the few who wanted to spare the kings life and those that wanted him dead,the King was given the option to leave the country which he accepted having no other option open to him. Treading along the tortuous mountain tracks and through the green

17

dense forests the royal party was several times subjected to depredations of robbers and thieves. Managing to reach the frontier at last, the king and the royal ladies took a symbolic leave of their homeland by making a parting gesture of offering flowers towards it accompanied by an endless stream of their tears. Some kind hearted frontier chiefs offered them refuge till the demise of the king.

TARANGA TWO
A relative of the famous King Vikramadittya,who had van-quished the Scythians was brought in to occupy the throne of Kashmir.Kalhan mentions that his name was Pratpdittya though several references have been made about him errone-ously confusing him to be Vikramdittya. King Pratapdittya though not born in the land of Kashmir devoted the same love and attention to his kingdom as if it was hi owns land of birth. He was succeeded by his son Jalaukas who in turn was succeeded by his son Tunjina. Both King Tunjina and his queen were a couple of extremely pious nature who loved their subjects like their own children but the Gods put him to a very severe test on this account. 1- Tujina,the Great Famine The early autumn of Kashmir had just started making its onset apparent,being the month of Bhadarpadha(August-September).The leaves from the great Chinar trees having turned from green to purple to gold and all the shades in between. Only some of the leaves had broken loose from the majestic Chinar trees, the tall poplars, mulberries and apricots. Though the sun had lost its terrible heat, it was still blessing the land and showering it with welcome comforting sun shine and driving away the approaching chill which made its presence felt during the wee hours of the mornings. The sun was still powerful in the daytime and the sky bright and clear. In the days of early autumn the ripe rice fields showed off as expanses of green and yellow over miles of flat land. The exceptionally good crop having created a strong sense of euphoria, the population of the land had given itself up to celebrations by feasting lavishly. After all, such a bumper crop as expected was rarely witnessed before and the old grain could be consumed without any apprehension of the future. How quickly can mans hopes and dreams be dashed by the unpredictable whims of nature? Suddenly on one such bright day, masses of clouds rolled up from behind the towering peaks which guarded the beautiful valley from evil encroachers. The mighty cloud masses dark and ominous soon canopied over the valley and spreading their tentacles fast, dwarfed the surrounding majestic peaks. In no time before the seriousness of the calamity could sink into the public mind the darkened sky let loose trillions after trillions of dainty snow flakes floating dow n leisurely to embrace the earth below. It snowed for four days and four nights, some say even more. Everything was buried under a heavy blanket of snow. Dashed were the hopes of a rice harvest, some brave hearts could be seen making pathetic attempts to salvage some isolated strands of the grain. Even grass

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to be fed as fodder for cattle perished. The entire country faced a terrible gloom of a dreadful famine. Anything and everything edible was fast vanishing from the shops and granaries. Some wise learned folk who could comprehend the approaching doom left the valley. But many who delayed or could not manage to flee were stranded to perish. Things got worse with the passing days. People started falling victims to hunger in more than one way. Son turned blind by hunger refused to see his suffering old parents, a father and a husband abandoned his wife and children to seek something to eat elsew here. So widespread was the social deterioration and depravity of a highly civilized society that the King broke into tears. He and his ministers selling all the gold and jewellery of the state treasure as also their own personal wealth, procured food for the people. He did his best to save as many lives as he possibly could. All his noble efforts did help the populace for sometime but were just not enough to last for the full period of the dark grim times. Those of the learned who could escape the land have gone those left are doomed to the spell of the destroyer bemoaned the King. Having lost all hope and desperate with failure to save his subjects, the noble king considered the option to immolate himself. The queen sensing the intense feelings of the morose king, felt downcast and desperate, wondering how she could save the life of her husband and thereby of her suffering subjects. Having already expended her treasures and jewels to fight the misery of her dying subjects, she had nothing left to save her king except her spiritual powers. Determined in her vow to save her people and the king she meditated deep and long. It is said that her prayers were answered, for in many parts of the country a strange phenomenon unfolded,as large flocks of pigeons fell dead on the ground below. Whether it happened because of her spiritual powers or because of the extreme cold and lack of feed that the poor birds suffered,it is difficult to say. The steady rain of dead pigeons provided a means of nutrition for the masses to see them through the cursed times, for times dont remain alike too long, good or bad. In due course the sky was clear again, life resumed its normal tempo and the virtuous queen paid her thanks to the gods above by donating the Agraharas of Kimuh and Raimuh.(located midway between Srinagar and Sopore highway) to the fraternity of the Brahmins. The kind king Tanjuna died after ruling for thirty six years and the virtuous queen rid herself of the fever of separation from her Lord in the bed-sheets of the blazing flames as if they were lotuses at a place called Vakpustatavi. The alms house there, that this gracious queen had established, still attracts the multitudes of destitute men and women to be fed. This noble royal couple left this world without leaving behind any offspring to occupy the throne. A prince by the name of Vijaya, scion of another family was chosen as the king. He founded the city of Vijayeswara but could rule it for only eight years. His son Jayendera succeeded him. 2-

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Nymphs and the Brahmchari,Sandhimati.

King Jayendras fame as a warrior reached far and wide, his long arms reportedly reaching his knees did protect his kingdom well. Amongst his ministers was a person by the name of Sandhimati who excelled every one of his ministerial colleagues by outstanding qualities of intellect, integrity and devotion to Lord Shiva. Considered the best amongst men of learning and intellect he earned the wrath of his not so worthy colleagues, who carved a niche in the closest rungs of the royal court by their sycophancy. This gang of sycophants united in their zeal by the sole aim of downgrading and harming their brilliant adversary, the noble Sandhimati, invented tales of conspiracies purported to be hatched by Sandhimati to bring down the king. The vain king did ultimately fall a prey to this scheming gang and having been carried away by their lies started believing Sandhimati to be an evil force scheming to usurp the throne for himself. The hatred in the Kings mind reached a level that he ordered the dismissal of Sandhimati from the court and confiscation all of his material possessions. Sandhimati living now a life of abject poverty however dismayed his tormentors by showing no signs of a destitute pauper let alone beg for the kings mercy. His face, on the contrary showed radiance on account of his new found peace, being away from the hassles of a life in the court and plunging himself fulltime in his devotion and dedication to god Shiva. The increasing brightness of the religious halo around him and his fast increasing popularity amongst the populace put his tormentors ill at ease. Soon a rumor of mysterious origins spread amongst the people that the realm will in future belong to Sandhimati. What spread as a rumor, was accepted as a gospel truth by people in no time. This development greatly upset the king and his gang of cronies who ordered Sandhimati to be put in fetters and consigned to the dark recesses of the prison. About ten years passed, the kings health was deteriorating fast with no successor in sight for the throne. The king realizing that his end was imminent felt tormented by the widely known prophecy that Sandhimati would be the king. Distraught with anger and hatred the miserable king, bent on forestalling any possibility of the imprisoned Sandhimati becoming the king decided to put him to death. One dark night when the populace of the capital was fast asleep, havingnoinkling of what bad news would greet them in the morning, the cruel officers in charge of executions woke up their distinguished prisoner in fetters and led him to the nearby fields where a stake was erected for the prisoner to be impaled on, the only w itness to the heinous deed, a pack of howling jackals. Soon afterwards the king died, the country remained without a king for sometime and the people lamented the death of Sandhimati. As the news of the gruesome murder spread,the Guru of Sandhimati, Isama, who lived and meditated far away in a forest getting the news about the death of his beloved disciple was enraged and left for the execution spot. All that met his eyes was a skeleton still partially hanging by the stake and the wolves tearing away the remaining few mouthfuls of the dead mans flesh and bone. Guru Isana, grief stricken beyond words carried away the skeleton of his beloved disciple after successfully frightening away the growling wolves.

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Preparing the skeleton of what was left of the body, Guru Isana noticed a sloka inscribed on the forehead of the skeleton, which read poverty so long as there is life, ten years imprisonment, death on the stake, then there will be sovereignty Being well versed with scriptures, the Guru soon realized what the inscription denoted and how valid the first three prophesies had proved in the life of Sandhimati but he wondered how the fourth part regarding the sovereignty would come true. Reflecting on various similar instances cited in the past he recollected the cases of Arjuna who after being slain in the city of Manipura had been restored to life by the Naga maidens, the restoration of life to Pariksit in the womb by the glory of Krsna and of Kaca by Tarksya. Convinced that his disciple would be restored to life, Guru Isana was curious and eager to witness how and who would do so in the case of Sandhamati. Keeping a vigil on the skeleton he made a shelter for himself at that very spot.

One midnight the sleepless Isana smelt a divine perfume and heard the sweet music of cymbals and bells accompanied by the din of tambourines. Peeping outside he saw a group of excited nymphs surrounding the skeleton. When the skeleton was removed from the place by the nymphs, Isana lost his cool and proceeded with a drawn sword to retrieve the skeleton when from a distance and

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hiding behind a tree he espied the nymphs modeling it with limbs and flesh. Having brought all the parts of a body and created a full fledged man, the nymphs with their yogic powers induced back the soul of the dead man into this newly created body. As they were massaging him with divine lotions, the man gradually rose as if from a deep slumber. The rest of the night he spent joyful hours with the troupe that gave them all the rapturous pleasures that they craved for. As the dawn was approaching, Isana apprehensive that the nymphs might carry away all they had bestowed on the skeleton advanced with a shout allow ing no time for the nymphs to undo all that they had done. The nymphs vanished from sight but soon their voice was heard addressing Isana: Have no fear, O Isana! There will be neither loss of limb nor any deceit towards this chosen lover on our part. Having been chosen as our lover, he, who has been modeled with a divine body will be renowned on earth as Sandhiman and because of his gentlemanliness as Aryaraja Embracing each other the Guru and his disciple spent time pondering and discussing the cycle of life. When the news reached Srinagara, people, commoners as also the courtiers flocked in droves to where the Guru and the disciple were staying. Any doubts arising from the changes in his looks were soon dispelled when he talked to people he had known and who knew him personally. At the behest of his Guru, Sandhiman accepted the pleas of the people to accept the throne and rule over them as the land was without a ruler. There and then was the new king anointed with the sacred waters by the Brahmins and then suitably attired as a king he, escorted by the army, entered the capital Srinagara which was enthusiastically celebrating his return with music and parched grain showered from the house terraces. The new king remained occupied with his religious practices, devoting most of his time to worship of Shiva, procurement and consecration of shivlingas obtained from the basins of river Narmada. These excessive religious preoccupations left him little time to look after the mundane everyday affairs of the state which in turn caused disaffection amongst his subjects.His excessive obsession for inner calm,left him little time to take care of the realm which led to disaffection amongst his subjects. The disaffected subjects started looking for someone more suited to run the affairs of the state. Far away in the court of Gandhara, lived a prince descending from the line of Yudhistra. His fame gained great currency when princess Amratlekha, daughter of the ruler of Pragjyotsa the legendry city of Assam, selected him as her husband during her svayamvara. The ministers of Kashmir approved and invited him to be the ruler of Kashmir. Aryaraja (Sandhiman) instead of feeling depressed by this development was relieved and was eager to deliver the kingship to the new incumbent. All the formalities of the changeover completed, Sandhiman now dressed in white, and carrying only the Linga that he worshipped, left the capital, Srinagara, with countless citizenry following him in tears. On reaching the foothills he bid his final adieu to the crowd and disappeared in the forests to lead a life of renunciation and meditation.

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TARANGA THREE
Following the abdication of the throne by Sandhimat, Meghavardhana invited from Gandhara was crowned the king. His glorious rule lasting about 34 years, he was succeeded by his two sons Hirnaya and Tormana. The two brothers got involved in a power struggle w hich resulted in a saintly poet Maetragupta occupying the throne on behest of the Emperor,Vikramdittya of Ujjain. The unfortunate power struggle between the brothers came to end when the son of Hirnaya named Pravarasena, very gently replaced the poet king Maetragupta. 1Meghavardhana, the Nagas and the Bhill. The sun was setting in its abode in the west. The sunset in Kashmir is of longer duration than in the plains, where the interlude between the daylight and the dark night is of very brief period. In Kashmir sunset begins when the westerly mountain peaks hide the sun behind them. Thus there is a considerable interlude between the day light and the darkness of the night. On one such dusk when the king Meghavardhana and his entourage were returning back from an outing in the country side, there was a commotion amongst his party. Apparently some unidentified person was responsible for this unseemly commotion and the kings party was alerted by the cries of thief-thief. The disturbed king getting irritated ordered the thief to be arrested and bound. A few days later when the king was riding along the same path, there suddenly appeared some women of unearthly beauty and bearing,praying to him with folded hands for his benevolence. The kind hearted king stopped his horse and granting them their prayer asked them the purpose of their supplication. The women in unison addressed him thus Some days back our husbands, the Nagas,having assumed the form of clouds had spread their wings over the sky. This caused an unfounded fear amongst the farmers of hailstorms. In order to save their crops the panicked farmers forcefully drove our Naga husbands into your Majestys path. By shouting thief, thief they caused you much undesirable distraction and your majesty angrily ordered their arrest. At your command our men fell down caught in a lasso. We beg you to pity us and show favor to our men. On hearing this the kind hearted king ordered all the Nagas to bereleased. The Nagas freed from the fetters made obeisance to the king and went off with their much relieved spouses. Gandhara (Kabul valley) was the bastion of Buddhism and it was from Gandhara that a prince was invited to rule Kashmira. On being crowned as King of Kashmir he,Meghavardhana, issued an order banning animal slaughter, the order being proclaimed in his entire domain by beat of drum.

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This order of his caused great distress to butchers and others who lost their livelihood. The kind king promptly compensated them from his personal wealth and helped them to find alternative sources of livelihood. To overcome the reservations of the priests the king ordered replacement of animal sacrifice by the use of animal effigies mixed with ghee. His Queen Amrataprabha had as her dharma Guru a scholar named Stunpa from the country of Lo(southern Tibet).Amongst the other wives of the king were Yukadevi,Indra devi,Khadana and Samma. All these queens contributed greatly towards building of Viharas for the residence of Buddhist Bhikshus. Fired by the zeal to wipe off the practice of animal slaughter, the king embarked on a campaign of conquest which took him to the shores of the sea. Once while journeying he heard an anguished cry from the outskirts of a wood under the very sway of Meghavardhana, I am being slain. Proceeding hastily to the spot he found a man about to be slain in front of the temple of Candika by a Kirata,a Bhill warrior of an aboriginal tribe living inVindhya hills and Rajasthan. Scolded by the angry king, the Bhill chieftain whimpered Sire, my infant son who is on his death bed can be saved only by the rite of human sacrifice. Abandoning this sacrifice will mean death for my son and misery for all those whose welfare is dependent on this boys survival. Adding further the Bhill said, Can you Sire sacrifice a boy of a large important family for the sake of a worthless waif from the forest? Strongly affected by the argument of the Bhill and finding no other recourse the kind king offered his own life to appease the terrifying Chamunda in order to save the lives of both the waif as also the Bhill child. The wonderstruck Bhill refused to do the kings bidding arguing that the Kings life was far more worthy than a poor waifs. When even after repeated urgings by the king to be accepted as the sacrifice and the Bhill declining to do so, the noble king grasping the sword drawn from his scabbard was about to strike his own neck. At that moment a person of divine form materialized before the king and addressing him said I am Varuna, swayed by your spirituality; I created this illusion to test your generosity. You appear to be doing penance through practice of nonviolence for the sins of your predecessor the son of Vasakula. It is a wonder that the same dynasty saw the birth of,Mihikula, a slayer of crores of people and of a sovereign like you who is nonviolent. Varuna as a parting gift granted the king a boon, promising him the waters of the sea would yield path to the king whenever the latter desired to cross the sea. The great conqueror was approached in peace by king of Lanka, Vibhishna suing for peace. As per the agreement he ordered the ban of animal sacrifice and animal slaughter in his country in deference to the wishes of king Meghavardahana. The great king ruled for thirty four years and after his death was succeeded by his son Sresthasena whom people called Pravarsena and also Tunjina. Pravarsena ruled for thirty years. He had two sons, Hiranaya and Tormana both of whom were involved in the governance of the country. This resulted in frictions and ultimately led to a palace coup. Tormana is a Turkish name of early origins found among the Turks who conquered India and became Buddhists and later Hindus. Those of them who ruled in 10th.century were known as Sahis. 2-Strife of the siblings.

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Hiranaya functioning as the king seemed to be loosing the grip on the economy of the country. Runaway inflation subjected the people to great miseries as too many coins had been minted and put in circulation by the king who unable to curtail rising expenses had resorted to this measure. Tormana his brother sensing the great danger country was faced with, got Dinnaras struck in his own name so the currency that was in circulation could be devalued and thereby a check established on the high money supply. This infuriated the king Hiranaya, his ego having been hurt, he ordered Tormanas confinement. During the prolonged confinement his queen Anjana became pregnant. Considering it a matter of shame, as he, Tormana was in confinement, he advised his w ife to go to a certain potters house and seek shelter there. There Anjana gave birth to a son who was broughtup by the poor potters wife like her own son. The child on behest of his biological mother was named Pravarsena ,after his distinguished grand father. The noble bearing, shinning intellect and high spirits of the boy were getting more and more evident with every passing year. The first person who unraveled the mystery of this unique potter boy was a courtier Jayendera who was also the brother of Queen Anjana. Tormana was released after prolonged confinement and before he could plan any action to get his rightful place in the court, he passed away. By some quirk of fate his brother the king Hiranaya too died soon after him leaving no successor to the throne. Faraway in the country of Ujjayini the great emperor Vikramaditya was watching these developments in Kashmir. He after getting rid of Mallechas from the land had subdued the powerful Sakas in a great victory commemorated by start of the Saka era (78 A.C) still observed in Kashmir and Deccan. Hi s power and bravery had become known all over India, so even without sending a single soldier he thought of sending a protge of his with his missive to the nobles and ministers of Kashmir that the bearer of his directive be accepted and installed as the king of Kashmir. The man he chose for this singular honour was an extra ordinarily brilliant poet named Maetragupta, who apart from his dignified behavior had also proved his faithful devotion to the emperor. Maetragupta was a famous intellectual of his time who had been rewarded and honoured by several kings.Having heard praises about the valour,the wisdom and just administration of the King Vikramaditya,the saintly poet philosopher appeared in Vkramditya's court offering his services. "This king who is profound,appreciates merit and is firm in intellect,it seems to me,is one who might be served without fear of trouble"thought Maetragupta about his new employer. On his part the King tested his employee in his own way over a prolonged period without ever granting him boons as his other employees received.Finding the devotion of his new employee undiminished even after he was seemingly neglected while others were rewarded,the king reflected, "This high minded man is not merely qualified;his profoundity proclaims that he deserves an honourable treatment for his noble character." The said Maetragupta got a rousing welcome by the courtiers and ministers of Kashmir and was enthroned with all the pomp and ceremony to appease the Emperor Vikramaditya .

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3-

To kingship from potters wheel.

The son of Torman and queen Anjana , brought up by a potter woman,on grow ing up learnt his true lineage. After the sudden death of his father he left to visit various Tirthas performing shradas and ceremonies in order to bring peace to the souls of his ancestors. It was during this pilgrimage that he heard about an outsider Maetragupta having been crowned as the king on behest of Vikramadittya. This news changed his mood of sorrow to that of anger and cutting short further pilgrimages turned back to march towards his own country. Once during his return journey he happened to meet one saint Asvapada who belonged to the Pasupata sect, a Shaivist sect who include in their rituals singing and dancing, Shiva being represented by men and Shakti the female energy, by women. The two struck a relationship of mutual admiration and on advice and under guidance of this saint Asvapada, Pravarsena prayed to Lord Shiva for kingship. On being questioned why he a devotee of Shiva was asking the boon for Kingship when his life was to be devoted to matters spiritual, the prince expressed his desire and mental compulsion to wipe off the humiliation that had tormented his family Having been blessed by Shiva,Pravarsena took the vow of austerity and taking leave of Asvapada resumed his journey to his country. His fame having preceded him, he found many ministers coming forth to join him with suggestions of attacking Maetragupta but instead, Pravarsena stopped them by saying Object of my hatred is Vikarma,I bear no grudge towards Maetragupta. Crucifying a man on his death bed is futile. The glory of conquest lies in subjugating the powerful that are capable to defend and retaliate. Marching forth after he had conquered the territory of Trigarta,he heard that Vikramdittya had succumbed to death. This news saddened him but the news that followed the next day totally upset him when he was told that Maetragupta had abdicated the Kashmir throne and was camping somewhere close by to where he was. Fearing that this might have been the result of some of his overzealous partisans, Pravarsena hastened to meet Maetragupta with only a small retinue for company. On meeting Maetragupta ,he,Pravarsena bowing with courtesy asked the former the reason for having abdicated the throne. The sage king sighed and said, My mentor because of whom I was a ruler is no more. The crystal ceases to shine when the source of light is no more. Adding further he said people of conscience and gratitude follow their benefactor. I eagerly look forward to a life of bliss in the hallowed city of Benares as befits a twice born. Moved on hearing the kings arguments based on high planes of morality,Pravarsena trying to plead the king return said Being the leading light of countrys learned philosophers and acknowledged by the righteous we request you not to renounce the throne. To this Maetragupta expressing great appreciation of Pravarsenas gentlemanly attitude however was steadfast in his resolve to renounce the kingship and seek solitude in the holy city of Benares. Having fallen silent Pravarsena could only say to him so long as you are alive your riches shall not be touched by me After going to Benares and having put on the ochre-brown

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costumes, Maetragupta the good man became a Yati ,a man who lives a life of complete renunciation while Pravarsena occupied the throne of Kashmir which was long over due. The affairs of the country having been put in order and the administration well organized, King Pravarsena embarked on a long campaign of conquests. From the eastern sea which is the destination of Ganga on land to western seas his armies gained strength by each successive victory. He invaded Saurashtra also known as Saurath or Kathiawad in the present day Gujarat and destroyed the Saka satrap states there. Turning to Ujjayani he restored the kingdom to the son of Vikramdittya named Pratapsilla also known as Siladitya. The lion throne of Kashmir which had found its way to Ujjayinis court was retrieved and brought back to Srinangara the capital of Kashmir by Pravarsena. A certain king named Mummuni was defeated several times by Pravarsena and each time he was let free he would ri se again up in arms. Seven times was he defeated and seven times let go. Every time this Mummuni denied to having been defeated till at last king Pravarsena getting exasperated was ready to order the man to be manacled, that the foolish man started dancing like a peacock. Making gestures and sounds like a peacock he danced in the midst of an assembly. Amused the king let him go after presenting him gifts worthy of an actor. 4-The giant and a new city. A mythical giant is credited with having chosen the site and plan for the Srinagar city now a part of the original city founded by Ashoka. After quenching his thirst for victories king Prasaverna, wished to establish a new city after his name. Setting out during one night on an adventure to discover the right location and an auspicious time the king happened to come to the outskirts of a crematorium,a stream flowing nearby with many trees on its banks all lit up by several funeral fires presented a site weird enough to frighten any normal mortal. While the undaunted king was sizing up this unusual site a giant appeared on the other side of the stream shrieking with arms thrown up towards the heavens. Filling the surroundings w ith his loud laugh the giant spoke to the unruffled king With the exceptions of Vikramaditya,Sudraka and yourself, O you protector of the land, resolute courage to perfection is rare to find in others. Come over this bridge to me and your desire will be fulfilled. Saying this,the giant extended his leg across the stream, daring the king to come over it to his side of the stream. Realizing the bridge to be the giants leg the courageous king took out his dagger, slashing and cutting steps in this mammoth giant leg made a flight of stairs to cross the stream. The place of this occurrence was called Ksuri kabal,now known as Khodabal. At dawn after seeing the demarcation line put down by me, constructthe city. The giant vanished soon after uttering these words. Having spotted the line in the morning and his uncle Jayaendra having deciphered the time from the diagram; the king after the mandatory pujas started the work of constructing the city of Parvesvara. The location indicated by the giant Vetala was in the village of Saritaka supposed to be the abode of goddess Sarika and Yaksa Atta.The site of Sarikas temple is still a place of pilgrimage to Kashmiris on the hill of Haripar vat. This ruler of Pancajana which could mean five classes of beings:the Gods,men, Gandharvas,Nagas and the Pitr or it could mean the four

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castes with the barbarians as the fifth, also introduced the concept of boat bridges to facilitate crossing of river Vitasta. The city had an extravaganza peculiar to it, tall sky touching mansions, charming canals diverted from the river flow ing through the pleasure houses and boasting of five temples dedicated to goddess Sadbhavsri and others. It was then that the seer Asvapada who had initiated Pravarsena into Shiva worship years back, sent an emissary by the name of Jayanta a Kashmiri Brahmin with a note to the king. The note read: Duty has been discharged; much has been given in charity, the pleasures of life have been enjoyed, a life time has been spent, what else remains to be done by you! Come away and proceed to the abode of Siva. The great king understood the full impact of the message from Asvapada and left his domain in the direction of Kailasa to attain the ultimate peace. King Pravarsena was succeeded by his son Yudhishtra-2 and he in turn by his son Narendraditya also named Lakhana. Lakhana is remembered in history for founding a state office charged with preservation of written records. This king however died young and his younger brother Ranaditya ascended the throne. Said to have been born with a unique,divine mark of the conch ,this king is associated with mystical powers so is his queen Ranarambha of extra ordi nary beauty and spiritual powers 5-

The beautiful Apsara and a Gambler

Once upon a time a gambler, addicted to gambling was reduced to desperation while playing high stakes. Having lost all his material possessions and having nothing further to loose except his miserable life, he hit upon a weird idea to seek back his fortunes, as only a gambler would think of. Having heard that a pilgrimage to the deep interior wilds of Mount Vindhya, where dwelt goddess Brahmaravasini, never went unrewarded; this incurable gambler planned a journey to the unapproachable place which was guarded by ferocious wasps, hornets and other dangerous insects. Convincing himself the gambler thought that a way to cover and protect oneself suitably against the ferocious guards was feasible and at worse one could loose ones life which anyway was not of much importance to him anymore. He put on a steel armor and then covered himself with buffalo hide. This was followed by applying layer upon layer of a paste made of clay mixed with cow dung. Looking like a massive earthen mound, he left with a grim determination for the inaccessible cave in the forests of Mount Vindhya. The cave was terrifying in its mysterious darkness but the resolute man forgetting death and unmindful of life plunged into the dark infinity before him. Sensing an imprudent intruder in their domain, there rose swarms of wasps and the overpowering sound of their wings like the rattle of deaths drums. Attacking the intruder in droves the wasps felt their eyes aching on account of the dust rising from the dried clay mantle that the intruders body wore.

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This infuriated the wasps further prompting them to still more ferocious attacks, but the determined man was pushing forth and managed to cover a major distance to the shrine. The retreating wasps incapacitated by injured eyes were replaced by newer droves till the last layers of mud coatings fell off completely from the mans body. By now he had covered three fourths of the distance to the shrine, when he heard a different sound arising as the wasps were attacking the buffalo hide, the clay cover having disintegrated completely by now. Hardly after covering some more distance he heard a metallic ringing, which he rightly guessed was the sound of his metal armour under attack. Thereupon realizing the perilous position he was in he started running as fast as he could till soon the wasps were attacking his body the steel armour too having been broken down. Fighting off the wasps with his bare arms the resolute man saw his goal of the shrine very close and with his last desperate efforts managed to touch the shrine and bleeding profusely from the innumerable insect and wasp bites fell unconscious before the feet of goddess. Bleeding and flesh torn from his body the unconscious man was touched and soothed by the goddess and soon he was restored to consciousness and full health. Looking around he was dismayed not to find the goddess anymore on the lion throne where he recollected having seen her terrifying formonly some while back. At a little distance he saw a lotus eyed woman of astounding beauty reclining on a cradle of creepers on the edge of a lotus pool. Gazing at her and rendered speechless by the most beautiful female form he ever had seen, going in a trance he felt she was an Apsara and not a goddess. Sensing his bewilderment and moved with compassion she addressed him with comforting words and offered him a boon he desired.

" My fatigue and all that I suffered have vanished with the sight of your ladyship, but being an Apsara and not a goddess how can you bestow a boon to me? said the dazed man. Goddess or not when I promised you a boon why are you letting delusions mislead you. Having obtained a promise of irreversible favour and having fallen a prey to cupids piercing arrows, this resolute man transgressing bounds of decency asked for physical union with her. The lady highly distressed and angered asked him to demand something else. So extreme was his infatuation that undaunted he repeated his desire for her and wished for nothing else. Perceiving the stubborn nature of the man and out of generosity she said Thus it shall be in another birth. Saying this she vanished and he lost in thoughts of her and the promise of meeting her in the next birth renounced his life at Prayaga only to be born as Ranaditya.

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Ratisena king of Colas one day while worshipping the oceans found a young baby floating on the waves. Given the name of Ranarambha her divinity manifested from her very childhood and when she grew up the king was reluctant to give her to any mortal being though there were many suitors clamoring for her hand. The emissaries of Ranaditya too on arrival were about to be declined in the same vein when the princess Ranaramba herself declared it to be her choice suit. She then narrated the story about the origin and reason of her birth and finally Ranaditya and Ranaramba were tied by the nuptial knot. Though married in fulfillment of a word given in her previous birth, Ranarambha feared the touch of a mortal. The king being in a state of perpetual infatuation on account of her radiant glamour, she managed to keep her virginity in tact by placing a phantom woman of her resemblance on the royal bed. The thought that she was in a way deceiving him did weigh heavily on her mind so by way of atoning this injustice she imparted a Mantra to him which gave the king access to Patala the underworld. True to her guess the king entered the underworld and gave himself up to the lavish and abundant enjoyments provided by the semi divine Daitiya (Titan) women, thereby loosing his whole identity to the gratification of his carnal desires. Ranaditya was succeeded by Vikramaditya who in turn was succeeded by his younger brother, Baladitya 6-

Story of passions and forgiveness

Baladitya the King of Kashmir had a daughter named Ananglekha a girl gifted by nature w ith great beauty and all feminine charming characteristics in abundance. The gazelle eyed young lady was a great favorite of her parents, the king and the queen who brought her up with a high degree of royal pampering. When the girl had attained marriageable age, the king consulted an astrologer. Studying the charts, the signs and the beautiful face, the Astrologer confided to the king, O merciful king, your son in law will be a man of noble character and distinguish himself as a ruler, however the highly distinguished and ancient Gonanada dynasty will last only as long as you last. The throne of Kashmir will pass on to a new dynasty which will be of your son in-law. Greatly upset by the astrologers predictions the king Baladitya was lost in thoughts of seeking ways and means to counter the predictions. Reasoning that only a suitor from a ruling clan and possessing a royal lineage could claim the throne after he was no more; the best way he thought would be to marry his daughter Ananglekha to a commoner who would never be acceptable as a king. Having secretly made up his mind he discovered a handsome young man by the name of Durlabhvardhana, who worked as the officer incharge of horse fodder in the palace. The king, little knowing that the young man was begotten by a Karkota Naga expressly for the crown, prevailed upon everyone of his family especially his daughter to marry this man of his choice. The princess puffed up with pride on account of her station in life and intoxicated by youth did not accord the young man consideration that was due to him on account of his being her husband. By dint of a high degree of intelligence and his sharp wits, the young man soon started gaining recognition of people around him and became a cynosure of all

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eyes. By slow degrees he gained fame and fortune and came to be known as Prajnaditya While lady fortune was smiling on the worthy but poor commoner and building everyday the edifice of his glory, the passions and zeal for a lustful life of the proud Ananglekha, his wife were dragging her deep towards the quagmire of shame and indecency of illicit romances. Like a restive horse she would take the path that pleased her. Blood of youth ran too warm in those blue veins of hers. Showing utter disregard for the meek gentleman that her husband was, she in the association of wanton women indulged herself unbridled in carnal pleasures. The proximity to young men of the court, the lavish luxuries provided by the doting parents and a weak willed court further aided the princess on her march towards marital doom. A minister of the court by the name of Khankha who had free access to her gradually snared her into his intimate relationship. Unfettered in her everyday delights of furtive love, her having abandoned all sense of shame and propriety became entangled into his web of sexual cravings. The scheming minister Khankha, through bribery gained control over the staff and amused himself in the pure interior, living quarters of the ladies of the royal house hold as it pleased him. Durlabhvardhana, her husband grew convinced of her lewd conduct and her lack of affection towards him. One night the husband, distraught due to the corruption of his wife, entered the palace interior, to see his wife relaxed in slumber which comes after the fatigue of loves ecstasy. Alongside lay her paramour in a similar state as if the consummation of their sinful union had taken just a little w hile ago. Follow ing the instinct of the primitive man, Durlabhvardhana seething with anger was about to strike with his dagger when he felt thwarted by a reflection; the rage of seething anger was checked by calmness of deliberation. Controlling the spasm of jealousy he reflected on the waywardness of the wretched. Having thus mused over the futility of a savage revenge he quietly left the chamber after having w ritten on Khankhas scarf Remember that you have not been slain though you deserved to be killed. On waking up Khankha read the writing and reflecting on it he forgot Ananglekha and instead resolved to make amends to the man who had spared his life whenever an opportunity to do so arose. Sometime later the king died leaving no successor to the throne. After many deliberations when the choices for a successor to the late king were being proposed and rejected, the name of Durlabhvardhana too was proposed and met with objections but it was the grateful Khankhas tireless efforts that all the objections were quashed and Durlabhvardhana the kings son-in-law,the w ronged husband, was blessed with the sacred royal Abhishekha occupying the much coveted throne of Kashmir. Thus the Astrologers prophecy having materialized the kinship slipped from the ancient Gonanada dynasty to that of pure Karakota Nagas.

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TARANGA FOUR
Durlabhvardhana having successfully concealed the nasty episode of his wifes infidelity, laid a strong foundation of the Karkota dynasty .He ruled for thirty six years and was succeeded by his son Durlabhkha, titled Pratapaditya after his maternal grand father as per the canons of the Hindu law of succession. This is one of the few instances where a man of a different gothra has succeeded a king, on the strength of his being the son from the daughter of the deceased. 1A Tumultuous Royal Romance. Story Of Pratapditya 2 The flourishing economy of Kashmir kingdom owed itself to the high degree of commercial activity that the period witnessed. Many traders, big and small flocked to the kingdom to seek their fortunes by trading. One of the fortune seekers who made it big was a Baniya from Rauhitika (Rohtak) by the name of Nona. He had earned respect of the people for having built a convent for the Brahmins of Rohtak visiting Kashmir. Having gained a favoured position in the court, he once happened to be invited by the king to enjoy royal hospitality and spend a night at the royal residence. In turn one day, Nona invited the king to spend a few days at his mansion which the king was pleased to accept. In the course of his stay with Nona, the king marveled at the luxury and wealth possessed by the merchant. Even the lamps that lit the night were studded with jewels. The king enjoying his stay at this place was so impressed that he prolonged his stay for a few more days. Once by chance the king happened to see Srinarenderprabha, Nonas wife, amusing herself with her companions on the terrace of her mansion. The stunning beauty of the ladys full breasts, the lovely swaying hips coupled with an aura of a radiantly happy woman struck the king who touched by desire, could not help but keep gazing hypnotized and wide eyed at the seductive woman. The ladys companions noticing the king watching them, pointed him out to their mistress. Looking back at the king by lightly turning her beautiful neck, some unspoken words seemed to have been exchanged just by glances; the king felt his innards being electrified and his loins set on fire. Partly hiding herself behind a column of the mansion, she returned his gaze and lingeringly moved away from the terrace looking back at the king every few steps she took. A womans shafts are sharp.Even when lips are sealed she can find a way to answer with. The seductive glances of the beautiful siren had swayed the king off his royal feet. Back to his palace with a heavy heart, mind occupied by the thoughts of the woman and cursing his mind for having let grow the poison tree called passion and the secret love for her, he could spare little thought for other affairs of the court. How disagreeable is the course of passionate love that turns friends into antagonists and replaces virtue by vice, the king mused.

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As the longing of his heart grew so did his health decline w ith every passing day. To fall low after being great is akin to being swallowed by the quagmire of shame. Deploring the lack of self control and good conduct on his part, the scandal fearing and righteous king brooding silently thought, When the supporter of the land himself resorts to seduction of the wives of his subjects, who else will punish the transgression of moral law ? The conflict between the concept of kingship, the restraints and moral responsibilities it entails with the pangs of desire took such a heavy toll of the king that tongues in the court started wagging and the whispers reached Nona the trader who too became victim of a cruel dilemma. Saving the king and thereby the kingdoms stability weighed heavily on his conscience and he understood that the onus to take appropriate action to resolve this dreadful situation lay on his shoulders. Approaching the king, Nona offered to sacrifice his matrimonial life for the sake of the king and the kingdom. The heavy hearted king refused the merchants generous offer to which the merchant replied If you do not accept her directly from me,even after my submission, then you may take her from a temple as a danseuse where she will be offered by me on account of her being an accomplished dancer. Under the steady pressure of other well meaning courtiers the king at last accepted the merchants offer. In time Narenderprabha, now the kings wife, gave birth to a son named Candrapida whose noble deeds wiped off the blemish of his being born of a divorced woman. She bore two more sons to the king, Tarapida and Mukta pida. 2A stubborn tanner and black magic. After occupying the throne for forty long years, Durlabha on his death was succeeded by his son Candrapida, who distinguished himself by meticulously observing the rules of kingship. Instead of having to be tutored by the ministers it was he who could guide them in the methods of good governance. Religious and righteous, king Candrapida decided to have a temple constructed in honor of his deity Tribhavanaswamin. Accordingly the officers of the king charged with construction of the temple selected a suitable site for the purpose. However while requisitioning the land they faced a stubborn resistance from a tanner who had a little hut on that piece of land. All their generous offers of money by way of compensation and even threats having failed to cajole the tanner, the officers complained to the king and prayed for the royal consent to seize the land forcibly. Instead, the officers were admonished by the king for their lack of foresight and poor planning. He asked them to select some other piece of land for the project. Meanwhile a messenger on behalf of the tanner arrived at the court praying for an audience w ith the king. To every ones surprise the king agreed to meet the lowly man. When the tanner presented himself before the king,he was asked by the king the reason for hindering the work of a pious nature and saying If that house appeals to thee as charming , then you mayst apply for one better than that or alternatively for a larger sum of money .

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The tanner with folded hands replied: just as much as this grand palace means to your majesty, the cottage where the window is made of the mouth of an earthen pot is to me. Since my birth this little cottage has been the witness, like a mother of both happiness and unhappiness that I have experienced in my life. I could not bear to see it today leveled to the ground. The distress of mankind at the seizure of their dwelling-house, either an immortal angel fallen from the heavens or a king deposed from sovereignty is capable of feeling the pain of . However added the tanner, if his kingship was to visit the tanners, house and ask for it, he would out of good manners be obliged to surrender his house. To everyones surprise the king accepted the condition and did go to the tanners place and offered to buy the house at his price. By this act of his, the king set one more example of his law abiding upright conduct. The code of kingship of those times expected and laid great moral responsibilities on those who wore the crown. Not only was the ruler responsible for good governance but also the maintenance of morallaw and the spiritual progress of the people. Even some calamity or premature death of an individual was attributed to lapses of a king. Once,a Brahmin woman sat on a hunger strike at the kings assembly. Dissatisfied with the investigations done by the concerned officers,she was demanding that the king himself probe into her husbands untimely death under mysterious circumstances. She claimed that her husband w ho was a man free of arrogance, soft of speech, free of greed and cultured in his behavior did not invite hatred or animosity of anybody, except of a Brahmin who knew the dead man from his childhood and suffered an inferiority complex since the dead husband had excelled this man in everything they did in life. Further she accused this man who was a resident of Maksika svamin (present day Maisuma area of Srinagar) of practicing black magic to harm her husband out of jealousy. Putting forth her argument to justify her demand for the king to investigate the case himself, she further added some choice collection of sayings and expressions from ancient literature, saying: persons possessed by demons of ambition but lacking in merit after failing in the competitions resort to hurting the capable by foul and fiendish means. An envious man will ever feel miserable just like a man ridiculed by all who is subdued by his wife. The harlots off spring will be immoral just as a man will be miser who is born to him, who never gave in charity. No son will get hostile to his father unless begotten by someone other than his father. A man matured by years will be soft spoken and the lustful alone will be shameless. The king impressed by her arguments acceded to her demand and personally questioned the accused but could not reach any conclusion. The woman, entering the fourth day of her fast, made king wise to

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the black magic cloak that the accused wore so as to prevail upon any thing that may prove his guilt. The helpless king unable to sort the problem himself went on a fast, bent on solving the mystery. On the forth day, while asleep the king had a dream in w hich Lord Vishnu directed him to have rice powder strewn in the court-yard of Vishnu temple. The accused after circumambulation thrice would leave his foot marks. If the foot marks on keen observation were found to be accompanied by a trail of footmarks of Brahmhatya,then the accused certainly was the culprit. Brahmhatya ,a female specter that supposedly follows any murderer of a Brahmin. The whole procedure was done at night before the suns rays removed all the evidence of dark deeds and the evils. All the directions of the God Vishnu having been observed and the accused proved guilty of the heinous crime, the king awarded the severest punishment outside death to the accused Brahimn as per the law of the land. Natures irony; the same condemned man whose life had been spared by the righteous king, was used by the kings villainous brother Tarapida to usurp the throne by causing kings untimely death allegedly through the black magic rituals performed by this very Brahmin of Maisuma. This was the begin of a new ,despicable trend of court intrigues and power struggles involving use of dirty black magic in the land of Kashmir. Tarapidas rule of around four years was marked by extreme repression of his subjects and blood baths. Just as the light of the burning funeral pyre fails to cheer up a dark night, even some achievements of king Tarapida lacked a jubilant response from his subjects. At last the tide of public opinion against the treasonous act towards his brother ended his life. He met his fate in the same manner that he had employed to eliminate his brother, Candrapida. Some Brahmins, it is said caused his untimely death by sorcery. The youngest of the three sons of Pratapaditya ,Mukhtaditya then was crowned the king .

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3Dawn of a glorious era- Story of King Lalitaditya, Muktapida, the youngest of the three sons of Durlabhvardhana, the founder of the Karkota dynasty ascended the throne of Kashmir in circa 696 A.D. under the title of Lalitaditya to usher a new glorious era of Kashmiri kingdom.

The remains of grand Martand.(Photograph by author.) His has been a life time dedicated to expeditions and brilliant conquests; undaunted by the distances involved, the diversity of unknown cultures and the ever lengthening of the lines of logistics,with his court in the capital city of Srinagar. Marching eastwards he brought several eastern regions bordering Kashmir under his subjugation by force of arms, Lalitaditya recorded his first great victory over king Yasovarman of Kanouj(Kanyakabouja) ,surprisingly not by use of arms but by simple show of arms.Such was the extant of dread associated with his name that Yasovarman, the king of Antravadi, the land between Yamuna and Ganga (Delhi-Allahbad) deemed it prudent to show the white flag of surrender and accept the lordship of the Maharaja Lalitaditya when the latters forces surrounded Kanouj. Acceptance of defeat without getting a chance to fight and show their valor rankled in the minds of the Antravadi army just as the Kashmiri army lead by their minister of war, Mitrasarman, felt cheated of a chance to show their martial superiority and attain the true status as the victors of war. The matters soon precipitated when the peace treaty drafted very cleverly by the disgruntled ministers of king Yasovarman stating This is the treaty of peace concluded between Yasovarman and Lalitaditya.. was strongly opposed by

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Mitrasarman who took an objection to the wording and the spirit conveyed by the treaty. According to him the wording of the treaty denied precedence and indicated lack of superiority to his sovereign, Lalitaditya. The simmering of dissent spread wide and fast in the humiliated camp of Yasovarman and resulted in sporadic clashes with the occupying forces w hich developed into a full fledged battle. The already demoralized Kanouj army was crushed and the clever king Lalitaditya wriggling out of the earlier commitment to Yashovarman, had him deposed and rewarded his war minister Mitrasarman with five top most ministerial folios of: office of high Chamberlin, principal minister of war and peace, chief of the stables, high treasurer and high sheriff. The deposed king Yasovarman who had previously employed the services of poets likeVakpai and Bhavabhuti was himself reduced to the status of a court bard employed for proclaiming the praise of his master and sovereign Maharaja Lalitaditya. The country extending from the banks of Yamuna to the banks of Kalika having been reduced to the personal fiefdom of Lalitaditya, he marched in the direction of eastern sea. Seizing the elephants in the kingdom of Gauda(northern Bengal) and Kalinga, he marched southwards along the seashore. Kingdom after kingdom was bending low before his unstoppable might including the people of Karnata (Karnatka) ruled by queen Ratta of wide spread glorious fame and belonging to the Ratta dynasty that ruled Maharashtra. This queen as famous for her beauty as for her prowess, who had vanquished the rebellions of Vindhyas bowed before the great Lalitaditya in whom she saw her own image as a warrior and a righteous ruler. After resting on the banks of river Kaveri where they relaxed sipping coconut wine, the Kashmir army also stayed a while on Mount Malaya uncaring of the slithering snakes that abound the sandal wood tree groves there. The tireless army following a possessed leader over ran the Konkans, the narrow strip of land between the Shayadari hills and the Arabian sea, eager to have a view of Dwarka overlooking the surf that swept western sea. Crossing the Vindhyas, Lalitaditya now moved his army comprising of infantry, cavalry and the sizeable number of war elephants eastwards to the country of Avanti(Ujjain). The campaign towards and through the Arravali hills was fraught with maximum resistance that the conquering hero from Kashmir had faced so far. Brave Rajas, small and big offered him battle at every stage, but determined as he was; he fought his way relentlessly through all the obstacles to achieve his goal of conquest of Ujjain the city that boasted the temple of Mahakala. Occupying the flourishing capital of Ujjain, Lalitaditya had access to the trade to Alexandria through the port city of Bharukaccha (Barooch) on the banks of Narmada. Flush with his victories in the directions of east, south and west,Lalitaditya now set on a trail of conquests in the direction of north-west. Depriving the Kambojas (the Afghans) of their beautiful highly prized horses he advanced into the Tuhkhara (Turkish) territory comprising of the upper Oxus valley,Balakh and Badkshan extending eastwards to the borders of China. The Tuhkhars too, abandoning their prized horses sought refuge in the mountains. After defeating the Bhuttias(Tibetans) and the Dard tribes, he dared to enter the dessert (Gobi) where he vanquished the much fabled queen of Amazonians. This curious reference to the subjugation of the Amazonian queen

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in the annals of ancient Kashmiri history would have been treated just another fable but for the latest archeological findings in Outer Mongolia.(See the story of women warriors,Stri-Rajya) Having accumulated great wealth and gained great fame, the king returned to his kingdom. Embarking on an era of construction and development of a hitherto unparalleled scale, he founded several towns like his dream cities of Parihaspura,Parnotsa(Poonch)and Lalitpura; developed a great irrigation canal system, and built several places of pilgrimage. One of his greatest master pieces being the stone temple of Martand, the ruins of which still attract admiration of public. The great king though a devotee of Shiva was equally devotional towards the Buddhists and had massive metal sculpture of Lord Buddha made. 4Fables of cherries and the magic crystals. No order issued by king Lalitaditya could be taken lightly let alone transgressed. Once when resting on the shores of the eastern sea the king ordered cherries to be brought for him. The fruit grown only in the cold climates like that of Kashmir and available for a brief period of a few weeks could not be found anywhere where the king was camping. While the aides were in a quandary there appeared a mysterious person with a present of the required fruit. On being asked who he was, the mysterious man asked for a private audience with the king, which was readily granted. The message from Indira to you-O Lord though brutally frank is out of friendly feeling for you. The stranger further told the great king that in his previous birth he, the king, was a farm labourer of a wealthy landlord. On one occasion during summer being tired, hungry and thirsty after a toiling hard day when he sat to have his food and water that was sent from the masters house, there appeared a hungry and thirsty Brahmin demanding food and water as he was dying for want of the same. The labourer though himself very thirsty and hungry, spared half his food and water for the starving Brahmin and comforted him with kindness of speech and behaviour. This charitable action on his part having been the reason that his wishes as a king in this birth had been granted time and again, but warned the stranger, only few of the boons remained to be executed so the king was advised not to waste these over trifles and without due diligence. The occasional thoughtless orders of the otherwise brilliant king are illustrated in another episode which occurred one day when he was at Parihaspura, intoxicated with wine, in the company of royal ladies. Someone in general conversation happened to mention the beauty of Pravarpura city founded by Pravarsena. The ego of the drunken king having been needlessly pricked, he ordered his ministers to burn down that place. The stunned ministers scared of transgressing the royal command however went and set fire to hay stacks for cavalry at Vatulanaka. After the intoxicating influence of wine had vanished, the king recalling his misdeed was extremely remorseful. When the ministers saw him so depressed the next day they lightened his mood by informing him that the city had been spared and only the hay stacks burnt. Praising the ministers for having used right judgment he declared that no oral order of his be carried out when he issued it in an inebriated condition. Once his march obstructed by a river in the country of Pancanda (Punjab) the king was lost in great anxiety. He asked his ministers to think of ways to cross the unfathomable river. All the attendant ministers trying to work out some plan

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or the other without much success,it was the alchemist Cankuna hailing from the Tuhkara (Turkish) country who threw a crystal into the waters which caused the waters to part allowing the king and his army a passage to reach the other bank. The army having crossed, the alchemist Cankuna threw another crystal to retrieve the first one and the river resumed its normal course. The amazed king praising Cankuna asked to have the crystals to which the latter replied that the crystals could perform only in his hands and would be useless in the hands of the king. 5Warriors of vengeance-the brave Banglas. The present day Murshidabad, Birbhum, and western Burdwan formed the territory of ancient Gauda -northern Bengal. The Gaudas most powerful kings, Dharmapala (reigned 775-810) and Devapala (reigned 810-850) united Bengal and made the Pala Empire the most powerful empire in 9th century India after expanding across much of the Indian subcontinent and parts of Afghanistan. Internecine strife during the reign of Narayanpala (reigned 854-908) and administrative excesses led to the decline of the dynasty.The ambitious Pala kings seem to have earned the enmity of both, the Kashmir king Lalitaditya as also of the king of Kanouj,Yashovarman. Situated on a hillock about 130 kms from Srinagar,on the bank of river Madhumati lie the ruins of what was once the most esteemed seat of learning and a majestic temple. The complex of ruins now a part of Neelam Valley district of Pak-Kashmir are reportedly well looked after by the authorities there. Sharda since times immemorial had become a great centre for learning which was visited by students and piligrims from as far as Bengal. The references of a Gauda king who rendered assistance to the Sharda temple complex are known to the learned Pandits. It goes against the character of the otherwise righteous king Lalitaditya that he got the king of Gauda murdered by hired assassins. The Gauda king had been guaranteed a safe passage with an oath to this effect naming the holy Parihasakesava who was the patron deity of Lalitaditya when he had expressed a desire to visit the holy city of Sharda. This foul act on part of Lalitaditya incited some of the Gouda warriors to revenge the murder of their Liege lord despite the heavy odds against them. The morale of Gauda warriors was so high that despite the certainty of death, they undertook to avenge the murder of their lord. Entering Kashmir under the pretext of paying homage to goddess Sharda, they, the brave Goudas surrounded by surprise the temple, Parihasakesava, the favorite of king Lalitaditya and the surety to their lord king. Unknown to these Gauda warriors, the king of Kashmir was abroad at that time and the temple authorities getting wise to the intentions of theses intruders had closed the gates of Parihasakesava temple. The intruders jubilant with their successful entry into a temple complex pulled the silver statue of Ramasvamin from its foundations and crushed it to powder under the mistaken belief that they had destroyed the icon of Parihasakesva the surety and the favorite of king Lalitaditya. Meanwhile the Kashmiri soldiers had reached the scene and

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surrounded the brave dark heroes from Bengal who fell bravely one and all for having avenged the murder of their king. How difficult is it to find such brave men who knowing their lives would be lost undertake such a deadly mission for the sake of their Sovereign who was no more. The temple of Sharda still stands devoid of its deities and the worshippers in what is now Pakistan controlled Kashmir. 6Stri Rajya.The Women Warriors The earliest mention of the Queen of Stri Rajya in Indian history is by the Kashmiri king Lalitaditya during his campaigns in the north followed by similar subsequent references by other adventure seeking Kashmir kings like his grand son Jayapida. The existence of Female warriors and their kingdoms finds reference by Homer in Iliad and the works of other Greek writers about the presence of Women states ruled by Amazons. None of these severalreferences were taken any serious note of till very recent times. The references of similar nature by ancient Kashmiri kings who had ventured into the dessert of far Northern areas also were at best ignored as fantasy tales. Modern archaeologist have discovered some burial sites of warriormaidens entombed in the region of Altai mountains, thereby furnishing at last scientifically recognized proof to the Greek tales of mounted Amazons. Stories of the Amazons have been the subject of speculation among classics scholars. According to the ancient lore, the Amazons were an all-female society of fierce warriors who supposedly lived in the area north of the Black Sea from before the fifth century BC. It goes to the credit of one Ms.Kimball, an archaeologist of Kazakhstan, who unearthed some burial sites which support the existence of women warriors. In the burial sites females skeletons were found buried with weapons. The shape of leg bones of some women suggestive of a life spent on horseback which indicates womens participation in traditionally male activities. The presence of an arrow head found in one female skeleton indicates death while fighting. The Amazon society ruled always by a queen is reported to have been matriarchal. Males found no use other than for mating purposes and as slaves and male babies were either given away at birth to neighboring tribes or killed. Also referred to as women with one breast in ancient Greek literature,(Am= without,azon=a breast). It is believed; the right breast of the young Amazon girl was cauterized so that she could carry the weapons of war and use them with comfort. Hitherto considered a myth, the kingdom of Amazonian women got a scientific grounding only recently when archeologists found the ancient skeleton of a Caucasian woman in southern region of Russia as mentioned earlier. Following scientific reasoning the explorers assumed that the Amazons, following defeats at the hands of Greeks, reached the area of southern Russia by boats. To escape the wrath and persecution at the hands of Greeks the Amazons migrated east wards, across the Gobi desert, where they entered the Mongol territories and gradually in time got assimilated with the nomadic Mongols. Their presence has also been reported by the great legendry traveller MarcoPolo. After great efforts and several expeditions, the scientists at last got

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the proof they needed, they could find a perfect DNA match of the Amazon skeleton with that of a young girl of golden locks, Meira Mugul, amongst the wandering Mongol tribes in outer Mongolia. This scientific development gives credence to the boasts of Kashmiri kings having subjugated the Amazons of Northern Asia and provides substantial evidence to the theory that an Amazonian race did exist around Gobi after having fled the islands off the coast of Greece. 7-Last journey of Lalitaditya. Curious to see what had remained unseen and conquer what remained to be conquered, Lalitaditya once again left his country for the regions in the little known mysterious north. Failing to receive any news from the king, the anxious courtiers dispatched a messenger seeking the kings advice and directives on affairs of the state. The messenger on his return carried a long list of dos and donts including a mild snub admonishing the ministers not to expect him back as he had embarked on a long expedition since there were no new triumphs for him to achieve and he would be wasting his time idling in the country. Outlining the governance of the country the king stressed several points of caution, prime being the need for unity amongst them. He pointed out the dangers if the people living in far off mountains were spared the fines and allowed to get rich enough to build formidable impregnable forts. Similarly people of large land holdings were to be taxed sufficiently lest they turn into Damras, (equivalent of Russian Kulaks, who could threaten the seat of Government. Bureaucracy was to be discouraged from forming alliances through marriages lest they form powerful lobbies detrimental to the safety of state. Mentioning his two sons, Kuvalaaditya and Vajraditya (brothers from two mothers), the king directed that the elder brother be crowned but the younger one to be well provided. The kings message included a special reference to his youngest grand son, Jayapida, Among my grand sons he w ho is the youngest, the little lad, Jayapida, should be instructed thus may you be like the grandfather at all times. Cankuna the minister with tears in his eyes announced in public the performance of Abhisheka on Kuvalaypida. Nothing more was heard about the king Lalitaditya who according to rumors perished in the country of Aryanaka(Persia) due to heavy snow fall. Thereby ends nearly thirty six years of a glorious period in the history of Kashmir. Kuvalaypida ruled about an year and half when he abdicated the throne in search of mental peace and spiritual enlightenment. He was followed by his brother Vajraditya assuming the title of Bappiyaka. He proved to be a cruel ruler who first time in Kashmir history not only entertained Mallechaas but even sold them his men in slavery, a heinous crime and an abhorrent practice banned to Aryas. This loathsome creature led a lecherous life and died an early death, some say because of his excessive sexual indulgences. Two more brothers,Prithvipida and Sangram pida followed without any one able to establish a stable governance, till at last the youngest grandson Jayapida, that Lalitaditya had specifically mentioned, wore the mantle of kingship.

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8Tale of the Bangla danseuse and the man eater tiger. Men who achieve great heights are endowed with a high perception of human character. The last message of king Lalitaditya to his ministers wherein, he had made a special reference to his youngest grandson; the child Jayapida, bears witness to his understanding and reading of men. After three of his sons one after the other failed to establish a grip on the kingdom, the young Jayapida ascended the throne of a land shorn of its grandeur and bereft of its treasures. During the chaotic times under the incapable kings the dishonest ministers and their accomplice officers had emptied the treasures. Even the once great army was reduced to a shadow of its former glory was demoralized.

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When the young king Jayapida fired by the stories of valor of his grand father and the latters famous words about him left his homeland for campaigns, it did not take him long to find how dispirited and ill prepared was his army for emulating the deeds of his grand father. On receipt of the news of his wifes brother Jajja having forcibly and treacherously occupied his throne in Kashmir during his absence;he gave leave to the remaining followers whose numbers had already diminished by desertions. One night he left his camp unannounced with the intention of finding a land where he could prove his prowess. His travels took him to the city of Paundavardhana, in the kingdom of Gauda which was locally under the protection of one prince Jayanta. Impressed with the charms of the city and its prosperity, he, who being well versed with the arts of Natya Shastra went to the temple of Kartikiya to witness a dance and music performance. While he sat on the slab of the temple door to rest a while, a danseuse by the name of Kamala observed him throwing his hand often over his shoulder as if by instinct or habit. Reflecting on this queer behavior of the stranger, she concluded that he must be belonging to a very high family and been used to have a servant standing behind him to put a Tambula (Paan,betel leaf/nut) into his hand whenever the young man so indicated.To test her guess she asked her attendant lady to go unobserved and stand quietly behind the young man ready with a paan and put it into his hand as soon as he put his hand to his shoulder again. Her plan having been executed perfectly she was proved right in her guess; the young man accepted the paan and asked the attendant who she was. The lady speaking about her mistress in glowing terms and her various noble qualities invited him to the residence of her mistress after the dance was over which he accepted. The graceful lady the mistress of the house treated him amazingly well and there after when the night had advanced she led him to her bed room taking him by the hand. Her amorous designs and suggestive gestures to her great surprise, met with little response. Noticing her visibly embarrassed and ashamed the kind young man said, O,thou with eyes like the lotus petal ! It is not that thou have failed to captivate my heart; on the contrary, it is the compelling force of circumstances which has made me an offender. O beautiful lady of lotus petal eyes you have captivated my heart but my compelling circumstances inhibit me and make me the offender. Please understand I am sworn to achieve my goals before I indulge myself in pursuit of pleasure. After a period of silence on part of both he uttered a sloka to himself, what does a man of determination whose ambitions for conquest is unfinished care about women? Until he has over run the entire world the sun does not make love to the lady of the twilight.

Wise that she was, Kamala, the danseuse understood that the young

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man was no ordinary person but a scion of royalty determined to achieve his goal in life. How strange is the love of a woman that is small in the beginning and in its end so great, like the little spring of Veri Nag which emerges from a foothill and turns into the mighty river Jhelum. Next day when he wished to depart, she implored and begged him to prolong his stay. One day having gone to offer sandhya prayers on the river bank he was delayed in returning to the house and coming late he found Kamala distraught with anxiety. She being annoyed expressed her anger for she was afraid the big man eating tiger may have attacked him as was his wont to attack and kill all beings who ventured out of their homes after dusk. The tiger had become a terror in the area and all attempts to kill him had failed. Saying nothing and feeling ashamed, Jayapida went quietly to sleep but next day when it was dark he sneaked out of the house to wait for the terrible tiger under a Banyan tree just outside the town.As the night advanced all sounds ceased except the chirping of tree crickets. The king discerned the large handsome specimen of the lord of jungle moving towards another path. Jayapida itching to give the terrifying beast a fight, a fight to death, shouted at the beast as if challenging him. On hearing the defiant king,the tiger sank its head between its forelegs its hinds gathering beneath it and tail erect tensed for the spring. Then rose the snarling head of the fierce tiger, its ears laid back, its jaws wide open revealing the gleaming canines. The tiger, eyes burning bright, and raised forepart of the body, roared and lurched himself forward. As the tiger, blind with rage, came down upon him,Jayapida putting his elbow in the tigers open mouth, in a flash stabbed the beasts chest with his dagger cutting deep into its heart, the big tiger fell down before him motionless and lifeless blood spurting in a heavy red stream from under its chest. Covering his elbow wound the king went to his dwelling and slept for the rest of the night. The spectacle that met the eyes of the citizens in the morning soon became the buzz of the town; people of all ages rushed to see the dead body of the man eater and when the news reached the prince,Jayanta,he too rushed to see the body of the tiger. Examining the tigers body, he was astonished to see that a single dagger blow had ended the life of the terrible beast .The situation turned panicky when somebody recovered a bracelet from the lions mouth on which were engraved the words His Majesty Jayapada. The king mulling over the matter then addressed the citizens asking them to rejoice instead of being scared. He also informed them that it was rumored that the great king has been wandering around for some unknown reasons and that Jayanta being without a heir would marry his daughter to the king Jayapida be he found there in the city. He even offered a reward to anyone who could give the whereabouts of the king Jayapida. Learning that king Jayapida was staying with Kamala, prince Jayanta along with his ladies and the court retinue himself went to meet the king at the residence of Kamala and invited him to his own place where he requested Jayapida to marry his daughter Kalyana Devi ,proposal that the young king accepted. With whatever meager resources he could muster Jayapida conquered several principalities of the Gauda kingdom for his father in law.Devasarman, son of the

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famous Mitrasarman the minister of war of Lalitaditya,was serving Jayapida in similar capacity and with similar loyalty as his father had for the kings grandfather. While Jayapida was busy trying to rebuild his fortunes in Gauda,his loyal minister was busy reorganizing the army that had disintegrated following Jayapidas departure from Kashmir. Rejoining the king with the forces thus mustered they left for their country along with both ladies, Kamala and Kalyana now the queens of Jayapida. The usurper Jajja w ho had treacherously seized the throne gave the gallant king battle at a village called Suskaletra. The public swell rose in favor of the king, resulting in the death of Jajja at the hands of a citizen of very humble origins and the victory of Jayapida. The kingdom of Kashmir again saw a period of intellectual resurgence. Grammarians and writers of high repute were invited and conferred with high offices. Many a construction projects were undertaken to glorify the Buddha as also the Hindu deities. It was not long before the king set out again in quest of fresh victories and that also was the beginning of a metamorphosis in the great warriors personality. 9Invassion of Nepal and the heroic escapes. If lack of self confidence handicaps a man to achieve worthwhile objectives, too much of it can cause equally negative results, as the subsequent events in the life story of king Jayapida prove. Flush with victories and achievements the king dared to enter the territory of a ruler, Bhimsena, of eastern territories. To gather intelligence and plan his strategy, he recklessly, out of overconfidence, dared to enter the castle of his opponent along with a group of sadhus in the guise of being one of them. It was Siddha, the brother of his vanquished enemy Jajja who recognizing him alerted the king Bhimsena. Caught by surprise the king was arrested and locked in a miserable dark cell. Undaunted Jayapida though in a bad situation thought hard and long for a way to escape from the confinement. Meanwhile a dreaded disease had spread in that land which made its appearance by way of blisters on the body ultimately causing the death of the victim. Jayapida now in the prison learnt about this and cleverly managed to cause similar symptoms on his own self by the use of some highly toxic and irritating weeds. When Bhimsena ,his captor learnt about the highly contagious disease having afflicted his royal prisoner, he deemed it wise to leave the prisoner away in some forest to die his own death. The ploy worked and Jayapida gaining his freedom soon came with his army, crashing down upon the Bhimsens hill fortress to avenge his imprisonment and also open the road to his more ambitious goal of conquering Nepal. His fury invoked, the king marched with his army to subdue thekingdom of Nepal. The wise king of Nepal,Aramudi, instead of waiting for the enemy, came forth to face Jayapida, but when the armies were almost face to face, Aramudi retreated beyond some hills with Jayapida following in pursuit. Sometime appearing and again disappearing, Aramudi was drawing Jayapida into a web of his design. While Jayapidas fury with this hide and seek game of Alamudi kept on increasing, so was his sense of caution and military strategy diminishing. At last reaching the banks of a river very close to the ocean, Jayapida struck his camp.

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There it was when he spotted his enemy Alamudi and his army on the other bank of the river. His pent up fury bursting forth and loosing all sense of discretion, he looking at the knee deep water of the river ordered his forces to jump into the river and advance forth.

Just when he, leading in the front and with whole army following him was wading through the knee deep water,when the high tide of the sea bore on to them with unexpected force washing away with it the entire army. Shrieks of distress of the Kashmiri army combined with the joyous cries of theNepali army on the opposite bank created an eerie atmosphere in the Tandav nritya of death played in this drama of victory which was turned into defeat and vice versa. In no time the Kashmir army having been washed away to sea, the king Jayapida shorn even of his garments was saved by the Nepalese to suffer the humiliation of being their prisoner. Lodged in a dark cell high up in a tower of their fort overlooking the river, the imprisoned king could look only at the river deep down below with no possibility of escape. Far away, the faithful minister Devasarman plunged into deep gloom on account of the fate of his liege lord, was lost in thoughts of helping his king. Starting diplomatic parleys with King Alamudi he gradually and tactfully enticed him with possibilities of not only gaining access to the secret treasures of Jayapida but even gaining the throne of Kashmir. Having thus gained the confidence of king Alamudi,Devasarman with a small retinue journeyed to the latters court and presenting himself impressed upon the Nepal king the desirability of coaxing the royal prisoner to divulge his secret trove in order to buy his release. Having gained the permission to meet the royal prisoner in private, the loyal minister infusing Jayapida with courage and the will to survive asked the king to go to privy for about half an hour and leave him alone. On his return the king was asked to act swiftly on the instructions that he would find awaiting him. After the prescribed time when the royal prisoner entered back in his cell, he found the dead body of his minister, a scarf tied tight around the neck, with a note written in blood obtained from pulling out his nails; the note read My body is inflated with breath, it will now serve you the purpose of an inflated skin, the turban has been tied round my own groins, get into these, mount me and jump at once into the river below. Seizing the only possible opportunity to regain his freedom the king as urged in the note acted fast and won his freedom due to the selfless sacrifice of his minister. Free from his prison the king extremely grieved with the sacrifice of his minister and furious on account of his humiliation, he soon attacked and brought about the ruin of the Nepalese country. Unpredictable is the human mind, the king who so far had lived a life inspired by the lofty thoughts and deeds of his grand father to the surprise and shock of all gradually degraded to the life style and actions, reminiscent of hi s notorious father, Bappiyaka. Feeling procurement by conquests not worth the trouble, he was

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encouraged in his increasingly negative and immoral mental attitudes by the self serving sycophant ministers. Learning that should have brought enlightenment and serenity to the king seemed to have brought intoxication to him, turning him into a persecutor of his own subjects Seizing the entire produce of cultivators without leaving a grain for them consecutively for three years and rewarding the corrupt officials for their evil deeds, forced the Brahmins,leaders and spokesmen of the society, to oppose and criticize him but many of the learned left the land out of disgust and frustration. Numerous matthas donated by kind kings, queens and nobles in the past were being usurped by the king. Once while he was camping in Tulumulya country-side for the same purpose of acquisitions, the Brahmins there presented him with their petition, but the callous king instead of listening to their pleas had them abused and even physically assaulted .In a verbal altercation that followed an infuriated Brahmin cursed him. No sooner a gold plated pole of the canopy broke and fell on the king causing an injury which despite treatment grew from bad to worse ultimately causing the death of that wretched king, Jayapida. The period of Kashmirs glory was, now coming to its end. Jayapida was succeeded by his son Lalita pida who turned the fabled Kashmiri court into a den of debauchery. Given to lecherous ways of extremely shameless behavior he squandered his fathers ill gotten wealth on dancing girls and the like. The wise and morally upright councilors were either shunned or shown the door. To amuse his harlots he even went to the extent of forcing some ministers to wear cloaks with the harlots foot marks printed on them .He ruled for 12 years succeeded by his step brother Samgrampida, born of Kalyanidevi(of Gauda country) who ruled for next seven years. Beginning the end of Karakouta dynasty, Brahaspati also known as CippataJayapida, was installed as a baby king. This little boy was a son of Lalitapida borne by a courtesan JAYA, a woman of low birth who played a very crucial role in the dynasty change over of Kashmir Royalty.During the two hundred and sixty years and six months,seventeen kings of the Karkota race ruled Kashmir.

10The king maker courtesan, Jaya. Jaya, who was a poor but a beautiful girl had become a widow at a tender age. Born in a village called Akhuva,her father,Uppa, was a disti ller of alcohol. The king,Jayapida, happened to see her by chance and was fascinated and smitten by her. He brought her to his court only to die suddenly soon after. She is thy slave yet holds thee captive, at her touch honor withers, locks open, barriers fall-infinite as ocean, her name is the unforeseen or Jaya, to be specific. The Kings son,Lalitapida, who succeeded him, also fell to the charms of this woman.

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As the most favorite courtesan, Jaya used her coquetry, her beauty, her brain and even her body to achieve the ultimate power in Kashmiri court. Though not even a queen she exercised the power of a kingmaker. The growing influence of Jaya benefited her brothers who soon became collectively a force to reckon with in the court of Kashmir. She had five brothers: Padma,Utpala,Kalyana,Mamma and Dharma. Of the five brothers, Utpala asserted the most and took the five topmost titles of the court. The five brothers jointly diverted the treasury fund to build their personal fortunes. As their wealth grew so did their ambitions. Using the viles of their immoral sister to gradually destroy the very plinth of Karkota dynasty, they consistently worked towards materializing their dream of usurping the Kashmir throne itself. In their attempts to bribe the Brahmins they built temples,mathhs and townslike Padampura (Pampore). Surprising as it might sound the so called learned and righteous Brahmins did not show any qualms in accepting gifts from men of the low caste liquor making family who had amassed wealth by the foulest of means. The brothers and their dependents fed unfettered on the kingdom li ke a pack of wolves on a dead animal. Brahaspati, borne to Jaya begotten by King Lalita pida was installed the king after his fathers death. The baby king that he was at the time of coronation ,on growing up started asserting his rights as a king w hich led to extreme discomfiture of his maternal uncles. They eventually collaborated in causing his death by means of black magic. Over ruling the claims of other karakota princes, Utpala,the eldest of Jayas brothers, by sheer force of hi s might had another son borne of Jaya ,Ajitpida, crow ned the king. After about thirty seven years of having enjoyed absolute power the five brothers of Jaya broke way from each other which resulted in a terrible internecine war. Two more kings tried their luck but the internecine war took toll of all till at last the last remnants of Karkota dynasty were made extinct

and good fortune again shone over Kashmir, though only for a brief period, with the crowning of Avantivarman the grandson of Utpala, the courtesan Jayas nephew and the first of the Utpala dynasty.

TARANGA FIVE
1Incredible story of a brilliant trio. The king whose reign is considered a golden age of Kashmir was Avantivarman. Fortune had favoured him with two ministers,Sura and Suya, whose unusual gifts of high integrity and brilliance of mind helped him turn a grief and pov-

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erty ridden land into one of abundance and prosperity. Sensitive to public opinion, the king successfully concealed his Vaishnav religious beliefs and showed a high degree of dedication and devotion to Saivism the religious belief of the vast majority of his subjects. Over looking the Dal Lake, he built a temple of magnificence in honor of Siva and Parvati at the sacred place of Suresvari above the sylvan settings of the village Ishbar, besides several other temples dedicated to Lord Siva. The sacred hill overlooking Dall lake.(Photograph by author.) A highly talented minister of great moral integrity Sura, served him with absolute sincerity and loyalty at every step. Once the king went to pray at the shrine of Bhutesa, present day Buthesar, situated in the vicinity of the magnificent Harmukh peak. W hile praying in the temple, the king happened to spot bunches of a cheap w ildly growing vegetable, Utpalsaka(Vopalhak) amongst the rich royal offerings at the idols pedestal. His curiosity aroused he The sacred hill overlooking Dall lake.(Photograph by author.) asked the people present there, the reasons for such a lowly offering to Lord Bhutesa. The assembled people in unison replied, Sire, a mighty Damra (a big landowner) by the name of Dhanva, who is like a beloved son of minister Sura, has usurped the villages around here. This cheap vegetable is the only produce available to people for offering to the God Bhutesa. Extremely pained on hearing such a remark about his minister, the king pretending to be suddenly sick interrupted his worship and left the temple. W hen Sura learned about the sudden departure of the king he got apprehensive and investigated what had happened. Having been briefed about the incident in the temple, Sura got enraged; forbidding the people from gathering in the streets he dispatched messengers to summon Dhanva, while he with his entourage waited in the nearby temple of Bhairva. When Dhanva accompanied by his cavalry regiment, entered the Bhairav temple to present himself before Sura, armed men on behest of Sura immediately pounced upon him and severed his head. Throwing the headless trunk of Dhanav into a nearby pool, the iron willed Sura felt relieved to have washed away the resentment of the king. The king hearing that his minister had beheaded a man he had liked like his own son felt very embarrassed. Next day when Sura enquired the king about his health, the king replied I am free from pain and proceeded back to the temple of Bhutesa to complete the worship of the deity that had been interrupted previously.

The saviour engineer Suyya

Ullolasara, the Wular lake, the residence of mythological Mahapadma Naga, is a vast body of water akin to a little sea surrounded by magnificent Himalayan mountains. Its swirling angry waters would swallow village after village that surrounded it, as its passage to meet its destination, the sea, would get obstructed by the boulders that had rolled down from the surrounding mountains. Denied entry into the already overflowing great lake the angry

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Jehlum(Vitasta) river and its minor companion rivers showed no mercy spared no house, barn or field. They wiped out all evidence of life, the earthly belongings and cattle leaving only few survivors to tell their stories of woe. The numerous villages and green fields that hugged the undulating river Vitsta on both sides would be washed away. The decades old evil that haunted the ruling coterie of kings unfit to rule and ministers steeped in greed and corruption had over time resulted in the deterioration of irrigation and flood canals. The dams and dykes having fallen into pitiable state of maintenance, all combined had resulted in frequent floods of catastrophic proportions; vast tracts of the land inundated, villages submerged and agriculture the backbone of economy almost collapsed. The extremely sad state of affairs assumed great significance and became a matter of challenge to the new king, Avantivarman, who was determined to end the miserable economy of his kingdom. It was in these times of gloom that one evening, hours preceding the dusk,an earthen vessel floating aimlessly came down the flowing Vitasta right in front of a woman named Suyya, who was washing herself after having done her job of cleaning the city streets. To her pleasant surprise she found a beautiful baby, a boy, in the vessel. Reluctant to touch the boy of noble appearances, Suyya took the vessel to a friend of hers, a kind Sudra lady, who gladly consented to adopt and bring up the boy. The boy given the name of the street cleaner, Suyya, grew up to become an ace engineer during the reign of Avantivarman, a legendary king still remembered with reverence in Kashmir. Asserting its precious presence li ke a diamond even when uncut, the young Suyya though lacking the benefit of a classical education, soon came to the notice of the educated elite and the influential strata of the society. Whenever the conversation touched the subject of floods in the country and its backbreaking effect on masses, the young Suyya always wished he had the means to execute his plans for rectifying the situation. Dismissed by the cynical as foolish ramblings, some of the wise gentlemen gave it a more serious thought and brought the young mans opinion to the notice of the king. His curiosity aroused, the king summoned Suyya to his court and demanded to know from the young man the solution to the problem of floods and the poor state of agricultural economy. W hile some courtiers smiling sarcastically, expected to hear some mumbo jumbo regarding the appeasing of Nagas, demons and the like;everyone including the king were amazed when brimming with self confidence, Suyya demanded a significant sum of money in form of small denomination dinars to put his plan into action. Despite the disbelief and even mockery of some courtiers the wi se king granted Suyya a few pots of copper dinars to start his work. Taking a boat the young man in full public gaze threw handfuls of the coins into the water at specific spots of the Wular Lake, giving fuel to the jesting courtiers who now loudly called Suyya a deranged fool. These gentlemen proud of their learning, probably never realized the greed and the need of famished folk living in the neighboring areas were keenly watching the proceedings of the royal party. Soon the numberless famished peasants unmindful of the perils

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involved, were diving into the dangerous waters to claim the coins. The hectic actions of thousands of hand and feet displaced and dislodged the boulders thereby removing the obstructions to the free outflow of the lakes waters. The waters let loose now shot out of the great lake like an arrow shot from the bow.As a result of which Vitasta then freed from restraints rushed forth on its way to meet the sea and thus pacified, came down to its original level so it could be barraged after having been temporarily diverted. Embankments were built to guard against the rolling boulders repeating their dastardly action. New channels to divert the excess waters were constructed to counter inundation of land by water. The mighty rivers of Sindhu and Vitasta were cajoled by canals to come together near a new confluence of Sundaribhavna. Great tracts of the land thus reclaimed, many villages were populated after being fortified with dykes. The great Engineer even had the soil tested for its moisture retention so it could be correctly determined which of the villages would be dependent when and for how long on irrigation. Water to such areas was supplied by aqua ducts. The ancient green revolution heralded by this man brought down the prices of rice to levels where it was within the purchasing powers of the masses. The learned Pundits could not but compare the achievements of Suyya to that of the Hindu mythologys Varah Avatar who according to legend had saved the earth from demons and brought it up from the depths of the ocean where she had been hidden. Suyya, who even in those ancient days had the foresight of a nature conservationist, got the hunting of fish and fowl prohibited in the areas adjacent to the great lake. Not forgetting the sweeper woman who had saved his life and whose name he bore w ith high dignity, he had a town founded after her name and also a bridge commemorating her. The king Avantivarmans rule brought prosperity and peace to the land which was once in the cruel jaws of famine and bankruptcy. Having ruled efficiently and w isely the king sensing the approach of his death at last declared his long hidden secret of being a Vaisnav by faith.

2The Gurjars Parihara and Samkavarman. GurjaraParihara dynasty ruled a large kingdom in northern India from the 6th to the 11th centuries. Their capital was situated at Bhilmal or Shrimal about 80 kms from Mt.Abu. Major areas of present day Rajasthan,Haryana and Gujarat had been long known as Gurjaratra (country ruled by the Gurjars) or Gurjarabhumi (land of the Gurjars) from 650 A.C.onwards The Gurjars seem to have appeared in northern India about the time of the Hun invasions of northern India. Some scholars believe that the Gurjars were foreign immigrants, possibly a branch of the White Huns. Mount Abu (ancient Arbuda Mountain) region of present day Rajasthan had been the abode of the Gurjars during medieval period Following the death of King Avantivarman many aspirants staked

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their claims for the throne, however the Chamberlin Ratnaverdhana after due diligence chose Samkravarman, the son of Avantivarman as the king. But a rival minister, Karnapa a man of great personal ambitions got Sukhavarman son of Suravarman, a cousin of Avantivarman appointed as heir apparent thereby creating a dual pole authority, a source of constant friction. The seeds of discord having been sown by the minister Karnapa and zealously nurtured by antagonistic uncles and cousins, it took little time for the family feud to erupt into an armed clash between the king and the heir apparent. After much blood had been shed, the king emerged victorious and the unquestioned authority of the land. Though the vocal opposition was eliminated, the king fully conscious of the silent, hidden pockets of dissent thought of a plan to impress the big and the small of his kingdom by raising a huge army and embarking on a calculated military adventure w hich could confer upon him the halo of a mighty conqueror and a powerful king. The king did not have to wait too long; a golden opportunity presented itself when King Bhoja was crowned the sovereign of the vast Gurjara Pratihara Empire in the year 910 A.C despite severe opposition from rival claimants. The Gurjar country torn by internal strife coupled with ineffectiveness of the new sovereign became an easy prey to the adventure seeking Samkavarman who after overrunning the Harigana principalities advanced towards the principality ruled by one Raja Prthvicandra. The Raja failing to get any support from his sovereign and anxious to prevent wanton destruction of his kingdom decided to sue for peace. Towards this purpose he first sent his son as hostage to Samkas camp but when summoned to present himself got cold feet on seeing the might of the invader and instead fled into obscurity abandoning his land. A simi lar fate was met with by another ruler Alkhana who bought peace by ceding a part of his territory. After having nibbled far and wide into the Gurjara territory thereby gaining the reputation of a conquering hero the clever Samkavarman retreated back to the sheltered security of his homeland, before the Gurjar Pratihara had the time to organize themselves for a stiff fight back. It is interesting to note that Bhoja the Gurjar sovereign who had failed to come to the rescue of his dependent Rajas was soon afterwards murdered in the year 913 A.C and succeeded by King Mahipala. On his way back home via the northern territories king Samkavarman happened to see a beautiful princess by the name of Sugandha daughter of king Svamiraja. The romance of the two culminated in the king Samkara marrying her. Strongly influenced by the queen Sugandhas vanity ridden life style,the king fell victim to several vices with the result that he always found himself short of money. Prodded by his spendthrift queen and obsessed by a greedy and acquisitive nature, he became adept in the persecution of his subjects not even sparing the temples which were robbed under various pretexts. The villages belonging to temples were confiscated and the greedy king even tried to practice agriculture himself. Appointing the sons of bondswomen as government officials with special powers he plundered sixty four temples. The priests employed to look after the temples traditionally

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depended on the doles handed to them by the state in form of rations,clothing etc. To gain popularity the cunning king declared to raise the quota of these priests but on the sly had the weights of the measuring scales reduced by one third. Begaar a deplorable system whereby the residents of any particular locality were requisitioned by the state to carry loads and do other menial work without being compensated for, was introduced first time in Kashmir by this king. This shameless practice on part of the successive regimes continued to plague Kashmir till unto 1930s. The king aware of his misdeeds avoided association with men of learning to the extant that a known great writer and poet of his court by the name of Bhallata had to take up a vocation far below his dignity to survive, while a favorite load carrier named Lavata got promoted to be a treasurer enjoying a generous allowance. In perpetual company of drunks and debauches even his speech had deteriorated from the royal lingua of Samaskara(Sanskrit) to the lowest form of a language fit for drunkards and those that were the scum of the society. So also did his shameful public behavior broadcast the genes inherited by him as a descendant of a spirit pedaling dynasty. Gopala the young son of the king even though a minor was greatly upset w ith the miserable condition of the subjects. One day he made a bold address to his father and submitted with absolute humility, breathing remains the sole activity for people that is free of any levy.The subjects are miserable, disease and food shortages are rampant as is the corruption of Kayasthas(the state officials).The greed reduces the glory of a king and civil servants wary of niggardly rewards desist from honest brave work. Kindly O king abolish the new taxes called the kings taxes. The king after mulling over what his son had said replied, Yournoble speech reflecting your noble personality, reminds me about my feelings w hen I was young and the loving kindness for the subjects that was the paramount consideration in my mind. In my youth I was subjected to rigorous training schedules by my father. I was made to trudge on marches without footwear, made to run with the horses through thorny bushes and if anyone tried to w ipe my tears or dress my wounds, was reproached by my father. My son this is how well disciplined I was by my father, nevertheless after securing the crown I have persecuted the subjects in this manner just as an embodied being forgets when born, the torment of birth, in the same way a king on securing the throne forgets the noble sentiments of youth. Therefore you yourself should promise me today that when you have secured the sovereign power, you will not oppress the subjects more than this. A relation of the king, who was the lord of frontier, met his death through his own carelessness at a place named Viranka. Making this an excuse the king destroyed the city and went forth towards Indus.There during a quarrel between the local populace and his troops an arrow pierced his neck. Realizing the dangers this posed whi le in an alien territory he ordered a tactical retreat back to his own country. Having reached a safer place, his physicians tried to extract the arrowhead, w hile their procedure was on, the king passed away. His entourage and the army being fearful of the populace kept his death a closely guarded secret till they were back into the safety of their domain. So intensely was the king hated by hi s subjects that even the name

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of his city ceased to be mentioned and subsequently erased from the public memory, the name that remained was Patana(Pattan). The miserable phase of Kashmirs fortunes did not however end with the death of Samkara, his son and heir apparent Gopalavarman being still a minor, the lascivious widowed queen Sugandha became the regent. Her paramour, the minister Prabhakara became an all powerful and an arrogant member of the council of ministers with no one to question his actions. The scandalous affair between the queen and Prabhkaran became a matter for public gossip which highly upset the young king. Unable to bear it anymore, once when he asked Prabhakar for the accounts of the fast disappearing treasury, he was given most unsatisfactory replies in the bluntest possible manner. Soon afterwards a mysterious fire burnt alive the young king. This was followed by an equally mysterious death of one Ramadeva a relative of the minister Prabhakaran, who had mastered the practices of sorcery and was generally believed to have caused the young kings mysterious death. 3Sugandha the Gandhara princess. The beautiful princess of a Gandhara principality, pampered with utmost luxury but devoid of essential ethical and moral education,caught the eye of the King Samkara who fell passionately in love with her and after marrying her brought her to Kashmir. The king having achieved his objective of subduing his subjects with his exploits in far off lands and impressing them w ith his might abandoned himself to the limitless pleasures of all that wealth and power could provide in the company of his voluptuous queen Sugandha whose outlook on life was clouded by overwhelming vanity. A very long period of life wasted in licentious manner by the royal couple, instead of mellowing down the queen only intensified her sensual desires which took an ugly turn after she was widowed. Finding herself with limitless powers as the regent of her minor son; she throwing off all and any concern and regard for the prevailing social mores and customs of the period publicly liaised w ith one of the ministers who took maximum advantage of her passionate lust for him. Her son the young king unable to stand the public shame of his mothers behavior had to confront his mothers paramour which resulted in the young boys murder by burning under mysterious circumstances. Shocked and morose Sugandha now found herself alone in a foreign land. Her husband dead and now her only son too dead, without any friends around except the self serving sycophants, she truly was in a pathetic situation. Even her hopes on her young daughter in- law to deliver a heir expected posthumously were dashed w hen the off spring too died soon after birth. The unfortunate people of Kashmir left with no choice had to beg her to continue to rule them despite her scandalous behavior. In absence of a centre of power several small power lobbies had been created by the machinations of intriguing officials and ministers. W hile the big landowners formed a Damra lobby, the cavallary captains the Ekanga group and the infantry commanders formed the Tantrins.

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The ageing Queen anxious to find and nominate a heir apparent was well aware that her decision would have to have the consent of these power centers, so she proposed them to consider Nirjitvarman ,a nephew of Samkaravarman, whom she thought would be compliant to her wishes. The Tantrins were highly critical of this man w hom they had nicknamed the Lame. How does an unabashed lecherous man w ho spends nights in debauchery and sleeps during the day qualify to be our king? demanded the angry infantry commanders. Storming out of the negotiations they forcibly put the Lames ten year old son, Partha on the throne. The blood less coup de tat resulted in the queen shorn of her powers,seeking refuge in the far off anonymity of Huskapura (Uskur village). Though deprived of her powers and compelled to live in obscurity the wily queen manipulated to get the backing of Ekangas w ho attempted to seize power for her by might of arms. However the alert Tantrins were more than a match for the invading Ekangas who were badly mauled and Sugandha was taken a prisoner. Lodged in the prison at Nispalka Vihara she died soon afterwards heart broken and alone sometime in the year 914 A.C. 4Kingship by auction. Story of the Lame. Far away in Rome in 2nd.century A.C a Roman emperor was murdered by his own elite Praetorian Guard who then proceeded to auction off the emperorship. A wealthy senator was the successful bidder. However he too was later murdered by the same Guards and for the next 50 years Rome saw more than 20 emperors till a stage reached when no one thought it worth buying the Emperorship. Nearly six hundred years later and thousands of miles apart a similar story was unfolding in Kashmir. The country, that had been once ruled by the glorious kings who had conquered places like Kanouj and other far off lands, was witnessing the same despicable spectacle; kingship purchased by money power and a corrupted army making the deals to the highest bidder. Nirjitvarman had earned the sobriquet The Lame, not for any physical deformation but for his sick mindedness, extreme greed and a perverted personal life. He being the regent of his minor son, Partha, wielded full powers of a king and misused these powers in a most deplorable manner. He not only accepted bribes but even demanded them. Emulating the king, the curse of corruption percolated to all sections of the society, every top official posting carried some price tag and finally the kingship itself became a purchasable commodity. Soon after attaining majority, Partha, the king planned to push off his unbearable father the Lame who acted as regent. He achieved his ambition by bribing the Tantrins, the group of Infantry commanders. However the father by bribing the very same Tantrins with higher amounts of money displaced his son to become the king again. This process of Kings being deposed and installed by the army in considerations of competitive biding continued for a period of nearly twenty one years. Since too many transactions were being made for ever increasing amounts, there was a shortage of cash so the Hundi system was used

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to make the payments. Many times the king or a top government functionary would runaway into hiding fearing the nonpayment of Hundis, the bills of exchange, which used to be given to army in lieu of cash payments. Failure to have Hundis encashed for want of funds would result in loss of life or something still worse like disfigurement and maiming as is the practice followed by big loan sharks even today. Not only were the men folk of the court involved in these murky deals, even the ladies of the court played diabolical roles to procure favors for their sons or favorites. Queens like Bappta devi and Mrgavati wives of the Lame or courtesans like Sambavati the favorite mistress of Partha, shamelessly dispensed their favors of all sorts imaginable to the power brokers like the Tantrins or the ministers in order to secure the throne for their wards. The major players in this ridiculous farce of musical chairs were the Lame and his two sons, Partha and the younger one Cakra. After the death of the Lame this disgusting fray of Utpala dynasty was joined by the two brothers, Samkara and Sambhu sons of a scheming minister, Meruvardhana . Eliminating Partha from the race for kingship by intrigue, the brothers while working for who- so- ever happened to be the king, secretly connived with the Tantrins for their own chance to occupy the throne. The brothers were not even true to each other. While Sambhu was ostensibly negotiating with the Tantrins for his brother Samkara, he managed to get the kingship for his own self deposing his employer the young king Cakra who blindly trusted these deceitful brothers. Cakra having learnt a bitter lesson in placing absolute trust on his ministers Samkara and Sambhu went into isolation to bid his time. 5- Cakra the cunning king. Though first made a king when just an infant, Cakra occupied the throne several times, each time being ignominiously dethroned by the vile scheming, first of his father and later by some of his trusted ministers. Now having come of age he felt deeply hurt and swore to have his throne as also his vengeance on those who had wronged him. Though lacking the riches needed to buy the allegiance of the Tantrin army, he made up that deficiency by an extremely strong determination and his know ledge of combat and science of warfare. This capablity of his however was unknown to most of the people par ticularly to the Tantrins.Working out a plan he one day presented himself at the residence of a leading Damra leader by the name of Samgrama. The Damra leader recognizing the former king, was very civil and courteous to him. After all formalities of civil conversation he tactfully enquired the purpose of the former kings visit. The dethroned king recounted all the trials and tribulations he had faced, the treachery of his ministers and the adversity he was facing. Samgrama understanding the purpose of this visit by the former king, after due thought and speaking very respectfully said, O King it is not impossible for me to raise an army of my followers who can take on the might of the Tantrins. Our hesitation however lies in the fact that kings on achieving their goal forget the very people who make their achievements possible.

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The kings have a tendency to cut down those very people who support them to gain the heights and suspect the intentions of these very supporters. On securing their rise the kings destroy their own followers, the very followers who have seen them in their weakest of moments and thereby fearing humiliation. Even the righteous kings do become victims of the evil whispers of their ministers during the day and of their consorts at night. If you swear to look on me and my people always as friends, Iwill raise and lead the army in your support tomorrow if need be! The king listening carefully to the Damra leader replied with great modesty You are the first one who has offered to help me. I will always protect you as I will protect my own self. To swear allegiance to each other, both with their swords in their hands stepped on a sheep skin wet with fresh blood and swore on oath as per the tradition of the times. A large army of fierce Damras was mobilized and Cakra determined to get back his throne, set towards the Capital Srinagara. The Tantrin getting the news of the invading army had very little time to organize themselves properly. With their king Samkara leading them, they came forward to give battle to the invading army. A grim battle was joined by the confronting armies in the outskirts of Padampura(Pampore).At this moment Cakra, revealing his hitherto undisclosed mastery of combat, started slashing through their ranks like a man possessed. Spotting his hated enemy the usurper of his throne Samkara, he made a quick dash towards him and slew him. The Tantrins seeing their king dead developed cold feet and started running away. Chased by the fast galloping Cakra and his entourage their retreat was soon cut off and systematically without any mercy they were all butchered, nearly five to six thousand of the Tantrins lay dead on the ghastly battle field. This broke the back of Tantrins in Kashmir for a long time to come. The Tantrins who had assumed importance in the land, di sproportionate to their intrinsic worth had been treating high and mighty of the land, the learned scholars and even the respected Eklangas with contempt and disdain, were reduced overnight to an existence of humiliation. Next day puffed with victory the proud Cakra made his grand entry into the capital of Srinagara to the thundering welcome by the grandees, the Eklingas the Damras and the common citizenry. Sambhu the brother of slain king Samkara was spotted reorganizing the remnants of Tantrin and was caught by one courtier Bhubhata. Dragged like a frightened animal into the crowded assembly welcoming the new king Cakra, this man Bhubhata cut off the head of the manacled Sambhu on the spot, to prove his loyalty to the new king. It didnt take much time for the liquor pedaling genes of Utpalas to come to surface and lead the newly triumphant king Cakra to the degenerate ways of his fore bearers. Getting carried away by the paeans sung by the flatterers around him he felt and behaved as if he really possessed divine powers. The emergence of a very low cast Domba by the name of Ranga who was a singer and father of two beautiful daughters in the court of the king proved the last straw in breaking the moral back of the king. The two girls named

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Hamsi and Naglata did successfully cast a spell on the king. Throwing all etiquette to winds he not only married both but even made Hamsi the senior most queen of his court. The self respecting ministers w ho incurred the displeasure of these wanton women were unceremoniously kicked out of the court and the worthless flatterers who kissed the feet of these women were elevated to the most important posts. The king having lost all sense of propriety stooped so low that he raped a Brahmin woman believing that touching a Brahmin woman would wash away his sins of physical intimacy with the Dombs. Once when Queen Hamsi went in procession to visit a temple the proud Damras refrained from following her train. For this act and the secret fear gnawing his mind of the Damra power, he who had gained the kingship with Damra support and who had sworn to be their friend and protector got the innocent Damras slain by treachery! Despite his hate and fear of Damras, a few of the Damras managed to cling to their favored positions in the kings court secretly seething with rage and vengeance waiting for an opportunity to settle the bloodfeud between their community and the king. One dark night, intoxicated as usual while in the company of his domb beloveds, the king went to the lavatory situated near the bedchamber of his domba queen Hamsi. The ever watchful Damras sensing the arrival of their moment of revenge jumped on the semi conscious king w hile he was in the act of relieving himself. Swiftly they thrust their sword and dagger blows on him, the wretched king bleeding profusely managed to reach and collapse in the arms of his beloved Domba queen. Woken by the melee other queens of the pure interior(zenana) too came rushing from their rooms and on seeing the king nearing his end urged the Damra assassins to break the knees of the fallen tyrant with stones to inflict maximum pain on the dying king. Such was their sense of hatred towards their wayward master who had grievously hurt their honor and prestige.

6-Diabolic Unmattavanti. The forgotten ex king Partha, the elder brother of Cakra, living a life of want and anonymity might have been overjoyed when his undeserving son Unmattavanti was chosen as successor to his dead uncle. Alas as the events unfolded he must have felt the saddest person for this very reason. Unmatta, on becoming the king proved even more sinful and vain than his predecessor. May be that was exactly what the depraved Chamberlin and other ministers of a degraded court wanted a king to be like and why they chose him as the successor to the throne. The new court became a haven for jugglers, acrobats, jesters and their like. The most outlandish amongst them were chosen as administrators and ministers. Dearest to the king amongst this queer crowd was one named

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Pravagupta who on behest of his king divested himself even of his loin cloth w hile dancing in the court. This diabolical man while secretly in league with some other courtiers, gained absolute confidence of the naive king to the ex tent that he persuaded the king to get rid of his father and two young innocent brothers. With all possible claimants to the throne thus annihilated the conspirators believed no one could challenge their bid to get the kingship and all that it entailed. First the king got his parents plundered of ever ything they had,forcing them to move to a vihara where they lived on charity. Further subjecting the king to fabricated lies and poisoning his mind more viciously, he was prevailed upon to order the murder of his own family. The team of executioners was approved and ordered personally by the king to carry out the heinous crime. The raiding party of murderers was blocked at the gate of the house by the wife of Partha w ho was wearing tattered rags and her two young children were clinging to her in fright. Assaulting her brutally the assassins then dragged out the old man who had turned a physical wreck for want of nourishment. Pulling him by his hair they then slew him in a most merciless manner. Next day the vicious Parvagupta brought the king to show him how brutally the royal command had been executed. Visibly excited the king burst in long loud laughter when Pravaguptas son threw his sharp knife to pierce the dead body of the famished old man lying unceremoniously on the ground. Many a Sadist manifestations of the king Unmatt were witnessed. He and his cohorts would practice dagger throws on the chests of naked women aiming at the cleavages between the breasts and waging bets on the same. Bellies of laborers were torn to test their endurance potentials. The abdomens of pregnant women were ripped to examine the growing foetus. The mentally sick, perverted king eventually fell a serious victim to tuberculosis. While suffering the pangs of excruciating pain he realized the fast approaching death. Fearful of the strong commander of armies,Kamlavardhan, the dying king tried to adopt a child of unknown parentage and make him the heir apparent but it didnt turn out as he had wished. The malicious king at last died in 939 A .C, closing the curtain on the dynasty of Utpalas. Army commander Kamalavardhan. The news of the kings death and attempt to make a nonentity the king reached the C.O of the army who was stationed along the border.Marching post haste to Srinagar he overcame the opposition presented by hostile Damras . Nearing Srinagara he was faced by the combined vested interests of courtiers including some Tantrins,and Ekangas whom he defeated with equal ease. The throne of Kashmir was open to him but vainly thinking it prudent to get the invitation from the learned Brahmins for becoming the king, he called an assembly of the learned old Pundits to select the incumbent for the throne. The learned Pundits either failing to understand the unspoken wishes of the army commander or deliberately on purpose, sat in a Gokula to debate the issue.

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The debate went on and on for five or six days. Each one of the Pundits had his proposal which would be shot down by others under some pretext or the other. The Brahmins got so carried away by their new found importance they even shooed away the very man who had appointed them to such an important function when he tried to hasten them to a decision. Seeing the royal power, for which he had so valiantly fought, now in the hands of the Brahmins and priests the repentant commander started to grieve but alas to no avail. Far away from his homeland, a young man by the name of Yasakara having obtained good education thought of retuning back to his land. Belonging to a middle class background he had earned a reputation for his good conduct and eloquence. His reputation preceding his arrival in the capital somehow reached the widow of the dead king Unmattvanti. The reported powers of his eloquence she rightly guessed could be utilized to influence the Brahmins in favor of her adopted minor son. An advance party was rushed forth by her to welcome the youngman and brief him about the situation in the capital and prevail upon him to plead the case of her ward. As planned by her the young Yaskara on his arrival in the capital was presented with lot of ceremonious pomp to the Brahmin congregation. Listening to his flawless rhetoric full of brilliant logic, the highly impressed Brahmins unanimously declared him, the young Yaksara,to be the right candidate for the kingship and performed on him the mandatory Abhisheka, leaving the opponent claimants, the army commander Kamalavardhana and the widow queen open mouthed and aghast!

TARANGA SIX
1-Scholar king Yasasksara Even when high learning, brilliant eloquence and a spotless personal character elevated him from the ranks of a commoner to that of a king, he could not escape the villainous vagaries of destiny. A passionate undying love for a woman caused him to bear the humiliation of cuckoldry w hich eventually led to his ignoble fall. It was his popularity with the Brahmins that made Yasasksara a person of common man background, the king. Realizing well that his intimacy and bonhomie with many of them could create difficulties in his proper functioning as a king, he ordered restrictions to be placed on their free entry to the royal premises. Thanking them in person for having gifted him the kingship, he requested them with great humility not to try to approach him except when the court was thrown open to the public at large for hearings and redress of public complaints. The state administration being in total disarray owing to the previous

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kings misrule, he first of all addressed the problems of placing suitable officers with requisite qualifications to various posts. Paying personal attention to various development works and revenue collection systems, he greatly reduced the chances of pilferage by the officials concerned. The successful measures to curb lawlessness removed the fear from farmers, traders and common citizens, so the people could devote themselves to their occupations without worries about self defense. Incidentally this also had the desired effect of stopping trafficking of illegal arms. Many irresponsible Brahmins had for past sometime taken to alcohol consumption even while performing their religious functions; many bedeviled by vanity and driven by loathsome ambitions of self aggrandizement would indulge in writing baseless and derogatory criticisms against well established religious philosophies and scriptures. Such actions on part of the leaders of the social order contributed to moral anarchy of the society. Similarly the indecent public behavior of female Tantrik gurus invited much ridicule from the learned ones. Cleansing the country of all such degrading practices of the society was carried out by the learned king in a very effective manner. Hunger strikes and justice. Since ancient times in our country, the very popular method adopted by people at large and Brahmins in particular to press their demands was the tool ofDharna and hunger strikes. In fact, so rampant was the practice that a special officer was appointed by the king to keep an eye on such activities. The officer-in-charge of strikers once reported the case of a person sitting on hunger strike, the king had the man summoned to his presence and asked him the reason of his distress. The man submitted, Sire I was a well to do citizen once. On account of certain compel- ling circumstances I got into a debt trap. Unable to clear my debts and the consequent harassment of the creditors I decided to try my luck abroad after settling my debts. To this effect I sold my assets including my house to a wealthy merchant. Beside the house I also owned a stepwell in the vicinity of the house. Making a provision for the sustenance of my w ife, I bargained the sale only of the house and not the well. Reasoning my wife by renting the well to gardeners for watering their gardens and traders who needed cool places to store items like betel leaves and vegetables, could fend for herself, I made the sale deed only for the house. After returning from my sojourns abroad, I was shocked to see my wife in a pitiable condition. I learnt that after my departure she was refused access to the well by the merchant whom I had sold my house. In the process she was even beaten up to keep her away from the well.Having lost her means of sustenance poor woman was forced to do back breaking menial jobs to survive. Sire I have been trying to seek justice from the officers but having been refused a proper enquiry I am forced to sit here on fast to death. The king enquired from the officers who produced the sale deed which mentioned including the well instead of excluding the well. Though on the face of it the matter was straight forward and officers were right, but the puzzled king smelt a rat. Digressing from the issue, referring to other matters and indulging in

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some humorous conversation the king asked all present to hand over to him their rings or any other ornament they bore on their person. The merchant defendant in the case also handed over his ring to the king. Without arousing any suspicion the king under the pretext of taking a little break went out and instructed his staff to rush to the merchants house with the ring of the merchant for identification and demand from his accountant the account books of the period when the deed for the disputed purchase of the house was signed. Reaching the merchants house the officers after showing the ring asked for the required account books from the accountant, saying these were essential to hearing of the case. The king studied the accounts of the period and found an unusually big fee of 1000 dinars paid to the deed writer. His suspicions aroused he demanded the deed writer to be immediately produced before him. Granting the deed writer immunity from any legal action, the king coaxed him to reveal the reason for such a hefty payment that the merchant had made to him. The deed writer admitted having changed the text substituting the word exclusive of by the word inclusive of in the disputed document. The matter resolved and justice done, the errant merchant was deprived of his properties and ordered to leave the country. 2Scandalous queens and downfall of the king. For all his know ledge and wisdom, king Yasasksara, failed to comprehend the frailties of a woman. Several opinions prevail about the causes of this well versed kings miserable end. Some ascribe it to his failure in getting rid of the scheming band of ministers inherited from the previous ruler and some ascribe it to his apathy towards the army. The rot in the court however started from his large bevy of queens and consorts who it seems he selected with a very poor sense of judgment. Blinded by his passionate love for a courtesan Lalla he raised her to the top hierarchy of his queens. Lovely though this woman was she betrayed the kings love for her by having a liaison with a night watchman of a very low breeding. It remains a mystery what attraction this man had over the queen that she lost all control over her self. Defying all norms of tradition and even simple decency she was witnessed by certain court officers as well as the kings officers during her nights out with this man. The king though enraged proved helpless to stop this scandalous behavior of his beloved queen and had to live with the shame of cuckoldry gnawing at his innards. The failure to act decisively in matters of heart set a chain of disquietude in the pure interior, the zenana. A crafty royal diviner taking the advantage of the disorderly condition in the kings private life, developed illicit liaisons with some other queens, though he had been elevated by the king to the level of a provincial governor. Aware of the all round treachery and the resultant deterioration of the court but unable to cope with it, the king became victim of the disease of dropsy. His foremost concern now was to nominate a heir and consolidate

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the position of heir apparent before his end, and thereby a unique drama was unfolded. Obvious choice would have been the kings son, Samgramdeva, but his claim was overlooked by the king as he believed that Samgram was not begotten by him but by a clerk. His choice fell on Varnata the son of his granduncle, whom he entrusted to the ministers, the Ekangas and other grandees of the court. King Yasaskaras condition was getting worse but the man nominated by him as the heir apparent didnt care to vi sit him evenonce. The penitent king at this stage was advised and prevailed upon by his courtiers to reconsider his decision about Samgram who was still a minor, and make him the king. Samgramdeva having been now crowned, the king Yasaskara his condition deteriorating fast, sought refuge in a monastery to wait for a peaceful end there. But destiny willed him to suffer still more physical tortures and heartbreaks. Shocking it must have been for him to helplessly watch his own ministers robbing him of the five thousand five hundred gold pieces, fastened to the hem of his garment and distributing it amongst themselves. Now laid in a dark depleted hut in the courtyard of the monastery, the physically incapacitated but still conscious king witnessed the treachery of his loyal servants and aides including his royal diviner. Death delaying its arrival, these very loyal servants, getting impatient to seize the powers of the court, killed him by poisoning. His lone saintly wife queen Trailokyadevi was the only person lamenting his demise in the traditional manner of the times. The cabal of the five notorious conspirators led by the rusty old Paravgupta now commanded the absolute powers they had been conspiring for so long. The very people whom the late king had promoted to positions of power and eminence now were engaging themselves in devising means to eliminate his progeny. After having the child kings guardian, his grand mother killed; the child king was under the absolute command and at the mercy of the Rajnaka, Parvagupta. Much as the conspirators wished the child king could not be annihilated for fear of Eklangas, the military elite. An unusually heavy snow fall, which put the normal life to an almost standstill, seemed to be the right time for the conspirators to stage an armed coup. Hastily mobilizing the troops loyal to him, Parvagupta attacked the palace after overcoming the feeble resistance offered by a loyal minister and some palace guards; the child king was dragged to an outhouse where he after being slain was tied to a heavy stone by a rope round his neck and thrown into the river Vitasta at night. The cabal headed by their chief and now the king, Parvagupta, had by morning taken total control of the state (949 A.D.). The powers like Eklangas, some civil servants and also someTa n tr i n s who had hated him preferred to lay low owing to fear. The despicable old man had his eyes on one of the widowed queens of his ex ruler, Yasaskara, since long. Though living in a court that had gained notoriety for rampant promiscuity this lady never yielded to temptations of flesh and warded off the advances of Parvagupta for long. The insistence for a union increased now that he was the king

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.At last the much harried lady promised to marry him if her vowto complete the unfinished temple built in the name of her dead husband was materialized. Falling for the ruse, the king had the temple completed as fast as possible. The temple completed, a grand opening was held and when the obligatory ritual of fire worship, the Hawan was being concluded with customary offerings to the plethora of Gods, the Queen made an offering of her own self by embracing the bright high flames leaving behind the king to face the ridicule of his subjects. Ruling for a year or so, Parvagupta also died of the same disease dropsy as hi s ex ruler had.

3- Didda the devious queen. Ksemagupta had spent a precocious childhood in thezenanawith the flattery and adulations of sycophants, learning all the filth that his retinue of servants in the palace could teach him. It was no surprise that this son of Parvagupta grew up to be an uncouth lusty boozer given to obscene boorish laughs, and capable of extraordinary cruelty. W hen robbers turn kings no Generals and warriors are needed nor are chariots harnessed for war, there were no conquests for him toachieve other than conquests over women.

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Didda was the daughter of a princeling, her mother the descendent of the once mighty Sahis of Eastern Afghanistan, whom Arab invaders had forced to bite the dust. It was a cruel irony of fate that joined Ksemagupta and Didda in matrimony. Both the husband and wife were of similar temperaments and traits; both emotional, easily excitable and alas both extremely cruel. However she had a mind with w hich she could contrive designs to serve her diabolical genius but he did not show any signs of having a mind at all. On being crowned the king his base instincts came to surface lacking even the least modicum of common decency. Some of the self respecting, knowledgeable and wise courtiers who had endured the misrule of father, were now forced to leave the sons services or else suffer humiliating indignities at the hands of the neurotic king and his growing number of shameless sycophants and women procurers. The proud Damra ,Samgrama who had helped one of the earlier mentioned kings, Sambhuvardhana, regain the lost kingdom, had under the worsened social and political conditions sought refuge in the holy Jayendra Vihara after escaping an attempt on his life. But the vengeful king did not spare him even there; he had the entire vihara burnt down treacherously along with its in-mates. Even the molten brass from the stupendous Buddha statue of the vihara was stolen by Ksmendra. The queen with her coquetry befitting an accomplished courtesans nature had overcast the weak kings mind totally. Pitilessly involved with herself, she would draw him on only as far and no further than it suited her, and then she would thrust him away. The one outstanding quality he was gifted with, was his mastery in Javelin throw but alas even this talent was totally wasted on his unquenchable thirst for fox hunting.It was to the forest that he headed to with his lowlyDombs and jungle dwellers for hunts after his frequent tiffs with Didda. Having married a second time the daughter of Phalguna, the minister of frontier, the relations between him and Didda were strained further. Diddas role in her husbands mental disorientation was as calculated as it was considerable. Sensing that the king was madly in love w ith her she by turns would be to him gentle, vicious, kind, loving or angry. This cunning play of hers turned him into a total neurotic. Constant quarrels with his queen Didda, who was taking lover after lover behind his back,further increased his megalomania. Cruelty which is basic to a neurotic personality manifested itself in his mad furies of love making employing number of women w ho were appointed as procurers. It was obvious that Didda was afraid of his new queen and the possibility that she might give birth to another claimant to the throne gnawed at her mind. The handling of her husband and her subsequent behavior when she had her own son and grand sons murdered leads one to the conclusion that she was a sadist and a masochist. She liked to torment not only her husband but practically everyman that was unfortunate to catch her fancy. Her ambivalent attitude to love and hate men in general may have had some unfortunate but unknown reason buried in her early life but it surely did result in the Amazonian strength and revengeful hatred she showed towards men.

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The occasional bouts of self condemnation that manifested by way of religious frenzy and appeasement of Brahmins leaves no doubt that she herself felt tormented and possibly relished the feeling just as an addict relishes the pain of thrusting injecting needles into his own self. Though compulsions to change her lovers as fast as she could, were the prime concern in the life of this nymphomaniac, the unrestrained hunger for absolute power also emerged in her scheme of things in later life after her husbands death. Ksemendra it seems had contracted some sort of pox with high fever.Possibly small pox,called Luta in those ancient times (958A.D).Because of the nature of this disease he was shifted to Varahksetra(Barmullah) away from Srinagar to die a miserable lonely death. The after death ritual posed a dilemma to Didda. Being the senior most and the most loved of the king, she on seeing other co wives of the king follow him in death, had by force of circumstances to make a show. As was mandatory she sought permission from the Prime Minister Phalguna before ascending the burning pyre. The wily Phalguna w ho had married off his daughter to the king readily let her join the party to accompany the late king on his last journey. But clever as she was she already had prepared for such an eventuality;the other senior minister Naravahana prevailed upon her not to make the supreme sacrifice since her presence would be needed as the minor kings regent. Now taking over as the regent of the minor son Abhimanyu, Dida to strengthen her position and out of her instinctive love of intrigue let the ministers and other top functionaries of the court fill the vacancy in the couch of the kings consort. But her biggest eye sore remained Phalguna the Prime minister. Other ministers jealous of the prime position of Phalguna also let no chance to slip of sabotaging him in what so ever manner they could. Poisoning her ears with rumors and lies, the relations between the two,Didda and Phalguna, deteriorated from bad to worse. It was Phalguna who cracked under the rising tension between him and the regent. Seeking some relief, when he left the capital on the pretext of carrying the ashes of the dead king accompanied by a prince and a large army contingent, Didda backed by his opponents sent some hired assassins to have him done to death while on his way. For some reason they failed to accomplish the dirty deed Hurt and insulted Phalguna returned to the capital with a still bigger contingent that caused nervousness and fear to Didda and her coterie,but vain as he must have been, instead of using his might to destroy her,he lamented long the dead sovereign and laid his sword signaling his submission. Meanwhile a much more determined enemy of hers was planning an armed insurgency to get rid of her rule. Two of the royal princes w ho were brothers, Mahiman and Patala, had grown up in the royal palace and both nurtured ambitions of the throne. Their ambitions didnt escape the notice of the ever watchful queen who had them forced out of the royal palace and then into exile.

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The brothers won over several supporters and managed to raise a large enough force to wage a civil war. Several of Diddas noblemen sensing the great strength of the opponents deserted her, save the faithful Naravahna. Though the ranks of the advancing enemy were swelling with each passing day, there were not many alternatives or suitable resources for the besieged queen to fall back upon except her genius for intrigue which she did use to a telling effect. Instead of arms she used money and her abundant charm to win over the strongly influential Brahmin lobby of Lalitadityapura led by one Yasodhara. A great rift emerged amongst the allies, forgotten was the slogan all for one and one for all. Forgetting their avowed aim of toppling her they all came to beg peace of her. Perceiving that honors were valued higher over money by some men, she promoted this man Yasodhara as commander of armed forces and some of his colleagues to positions of high imminence. Soon after, having achieved this victory, the rebel leader, Mahiman, died of unknown causes but her absolute unchallenged rule however did not remain peaceful for long. The commander in chief angered by one Sahi ruler of the principality of Thakkana, made a forced assault, braving the difficult mountain passes and bad weather on Thakkana and forced the submission of the ruler. His absence from the country and the unauthorized nature of the campaign were fully exploited by his rivals including the old commander Rakka. There were enough people to poison her ears against the emerging strong man Yasodhara, the army chief, and in all probability she too fell through with this man. W hen the general Yasodhara flush with victory returned back, his entry into the capital was barred. Infuriated by this treatment, Yasodhara was now bent on destroying her and to this purpose gathered all the anti Didda forces. Some of the liberators stormed their entry into the city and the frightened Didda had her palace barricaded. At this point the regular army got divided into factions. The faithful Naravahana overnight re organized the pro Didda forces and managed to enlist the support of the Ekingas. A bloody battle was fought at the lion gate of the palace, breaking the rank and file of the enemy. Yasodhara and all his warrior leaders were either decimated or caught alive to meet the horrible fate of being tied with heavy stones and thrown into the river Vitasta. The queen full of gratitude invited the loyal Naravahana to the inner court and appointed him theRajnaka-equivalent of a viceroy. Even her personal life now revolved around him only, his moods dictating her moods and his wish becoming her command. Her attachment to him increased to the extent that she slept when he slept; she took no food until he had concluded his meals. She rejoiced in his happiness and when he was depressed she felt dejection in sympathy.

However the honeymoon between the two didnt last long thanks to her instinctive love of intrigue. A lowly palanquin bearer by name of Kuyya had two sons, Sindhu

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and Bhuyya.The elder of the two, Sindhu being crafty and an expert sycophant managed to curry favors first with the father Parvagupta and then with his son, ksemendra.It didnt take him long to gain the attention and trust of the dowager Queen Didda who elevated him to the high office of sindhuganja,the chief of treasury. He even managed to have his father Kayyaka elevated to the post of Lord of marches. Subtly suggesting to her that Naravahana was bypassing her in all state matters, he even expressed the fear that she might be arrested by her Rajnaka one day. There is no rest for the wicked as the saying goes, the ever listless queen got busy devising ways to belittle her old faithful friend,philosopher and guide, Naravahana. Having drifted away too far from each other their mutual harmonious relationship of love and absolute trust turned into a quagmire of suspicions, conspiracies and hate. Initiating a systematic campaign to reduce his powers and humiliate him in whatever way possible, she was more than encouraged by the jealous courtiers secretly desiring to have the capable and powerful Rajnaka out of their way. Exasperated by her beyond his tolerance,poor Naravahana committed suicide. While Didda was getting harder and increasingly merciless ,she in her bid to purge all the potential opponents, sent her new found favourite,Sindus father on a mission to eradicate the Damra strong holds. But not only were her forces beaten but even the Lord of the marches Kayyaka lost his life. Finding herself bereft of strong experienced men aroundher, she recalled the ageing Phalguna from anonymity asking him to lift the sword again which he had laid down a long time back. The old war horse w ho had conquered Rajapuri(Rajouri)showing exemplary valor was now a ghost of his former self. Finding it difficult to overcome the hankering for power he did accept the job no matter how unfit he appeared for the same. With a queen engrossed in her own obsessions and a weak old man at the helm, the officers and nobles started an unbridled loot of treasures. Meanwhile the minor king Abhimanyu now grown up enough to understand the goings on of his mother grew increasingly remorseful and contracted tuberculosis and passed away in 972A .D. The untimely death of her young son was a devastating blow to Didda. Grieving,the dark side of her personality got overshadowed at least for some time by remorse. It needed a man of virtue to channelize her sorrow and a remorseful state of mind to a path of piety and philanthrophy, and the man who played that role in her life was Bhuyya the younger brother of Sindhu,her new confidante. Respond she did to his guidance and that too w ith her characteristic bubbling enthusiasm. Kindling in her mind love for her subjects he encouraged her to adopt all such measures of public welfare that resulted in the people at large forgiving her past misdeeds and extending to her honors as befitted a de facto ruler. Besides building several shrines including Abhyamanyuswamin she also built a new town Abhimanyunagar in memory of her deceased son. Her construction activities included many more temples and lodges for travellers; approximately sixty four such projects have been credited to her.

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Alas this hectic period of piety did not last for more than a year, her mind longing for pleasures of a sinful life; she first resorted to favored method of sorcery to have her infant grandson murdered. Two years later she had another infant grandson killed by similar means. Then the third and last grandson Bhimagupta was placed on the throne. Meanwhile the aged minister Phalguna also died thereby removing the last restraining influence on her diabolical mind. Now openly indulging in misdeeds and excesses of every nature, she brazenly behaved like a tusker in rut. Tunga a Khasa rajput hailing from Parinotsa (Poonch) had entered Kashmir for grazing his buffaloes along w ith his five brothers. He succeeded in getting the job of bearer of messages and that job once brought him to the notice of Didda. Observing the handsome young man her heart was captivated and mind flooded with a storm of desire. She sent a maid at night to fetch the youngman and secretly smuggled him into her bed room. The woman who had seen many lovers before was by the time night wore out totally devoted to this young man w ho became her favourite for the rest of her life, the only lover of hers who outlived her. What started as a midnight secret fling became a matter of open defiance of the court and society. Tunga the unknown man frog leaped to high levels of prominence in no time, making a decent minister like Bhuyya keep away from the court out of shame and disgust. But he paid heavily for this honorable act, the ruthless queen had him killed by poisoning. The position he had occupied was filled by the appointment of one Deva, son of Rakka, who shamelessly acted as a procurer. He alone was not the man who degraded himself for the sake of a good job in the court and to be counted as the favourites of the dowager queen. Several other senior ministers including the Lord of marches also joined the band wagon of sycophants demeaning themselves to the level of pimps. Within a few years the young boy Bhimagupta occupier of the royal throne started showing signs of disquiet and disapproval of Diddas wanton conduct. Didda sensing the attitude of the minor king got uneasy and suspicious. Her anxiety further accentuated by the counsels of peoplelike Deva, resulted in an openly declared imprisonment of the minor king Bhimagupta. Following this she herself occupied the royal throne. Tunga flourishing due to the queens undiminished passion for him rose to be the Prime minister of the country and the most dominating personality of the court. The ministers and nobles now out of royal favor secretly organized themselves and after due deliberations invited a neighbouring prince,Vighraraja, a nephew of Didda to be their leader for the plotted insurrection. The shrewd prince successfully developed a good rapport with the powerful Brahmin lobby, organized them and induced them to stage a hunger strike on an unprecedented scale. This step created a massive social upheaval and the common citizenry got thirsty for the blood of Tunga. Sensing the anger of the masses, Tunga sensibly hid himself in the

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innermost apartments of Diddas palace, leaving the job of dealing with the explosive situation to the queen herself. True to her reputation the clever Queen succeeded to bribe the Brahmin leaders of the movement, thus causing a division amongst the strikers. The much hyped strike that had started as a bang ended in a whimper. Prince Vigharaja managed to sneak out of the country w hile the plot leaders who had organized the insurrection were executed. The biggest beneficiary of the aborted revolution was Tunga who emerged now more powerful than before. Not the one to admit defeat, Vigharaja, staying far away in the safety of his fortress, again attempted to secretly reorganize the Brahminswith the help of his favorite, Aditya, a military guard. The greedy Brahmins having tasted blood once were only too eager to avail a second chance for making a fortune. A second hunger strike was commenced by the Brahmins w ith the fond hopes of receiving bigger bribes from Didda. But by now Tunga was on much firmer ground and his power was stabilized. Instead of being approached by Diddas emissaries the Brahmin strikers were ferociously attacked by Tungas soldiers. Many of the unarmed strikers were killed in the panic and melee that followed. Aditya the points man of Vigrahraja too was slain while attempting to escape. The Brahmin leaders who had accepted bribes in the earlier strike were lodged in the prison. Thus was the Queen Didda now unchallenged de facto as also de jure ruler of Kashmir. The r uler of Rajapuri(Rajouri) learning about the death of Phalguna and also the disturbed conditions of Kashmir kingdom had started asserting his independence if not openly but by covert means. Following a consensus by the courtiers an expedition was mounted by Kashmiri army against the Raja, led by two of their ministers. The brave Raja of Rajouri surprising the advancing army in a gorge annihilated the Kashmiri army. However Tunga advancing via an alternative route entered Rajori town by surprise and put the town to torch. The brave Raja Prthvipala now ruined was left with no alternative but to pay tribute to Tunga. The victorious Tunga entered the city of Srinagar to a heros welcome,all the previous public hatred for him having been forgotten. Queen Didda selected the boy Samgrama a nephew from her brother Udayraja as the crown prince. The boy became the king of Kashmir in the year 1003A.D after the queens death put an end to an unusually controversial life.

TARANGA SEVEN
Didda the Kashmiri queen certainly proved herself a lady of Amazonian strength and a past master of Machiavellian statecraft. As her successor she nominated her nephew Samgrama who was of Sahi descent.Though weak and indecisive he managed to rule for a consider-

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able time nearly, 25 years (1003-10028 A.C).Even his long tenure as a ruler was made possible by the capable administrators Didda had left behind for him. His son Ananta had inherited all his negative traits but had thegood luck and common sense to handover the statecraft to his capable and devoted wife, queen Suryamati. Despite the comparatively sedate and efficient rule of the Queen, her biggest mistake occurred when she insisted on premature coronation of her son Kalsa. This unwise decision led to a long series of tragic events. Here under are the stories of men and women who formed theimportant chain links of this period till it snapped in 1101 A.C and brought the dynasty founded by Didda to an ignoble end. Concening:Rulers of Sahi descent who ruled from 1003 to 1101 A.C. King Samgramgupta and queen Srilekha, their son Ananta and his powerful queen Suryamati, grandson Kalsa, great grand son Harsa. Rise of Mulla brothers;Uccala and Sussala, a new dynasty of Kashmiri descent. 1Rise and fall of the shepherd,Tunga. The backdoor entry to the royal court via the queen Diddas bedroom and his low breeding were big stigmas in this mans early life. But constant endeavors to outshine himself in everything he did paid good dividends. The very people w ho had looked down upon him now looked upto him to provide the leadership that was badly needed after the demise of a capable Prime Minister Candrakara. Contrary to the belief of his detractors that Tunga would fall from grace after the demise of his patron the queen, the man grew in stature due to his relentless hard and honest efforts coupled with an exemplary courageous outlook on life. SamgramGupta the chosen nephew of Didda was made the king(1003- 1028). Because of his meek character and love for a hassle free leisurely life he chose to entrust the affairs of the state to Tunga. The rise of theKhasa shepherd as the Prime minister of the country was a bitter pill for the Brahmin/khashtriya hierarchy to swallow. Their clique both inside and outside the court conspired to create disturbance by inciting the Brahmins of Parihaspura to go on a hunger strike. The movement quickly snow balled into a mass unrest compelling the sovereign to negotiate for peace and offer Tungas expulsion from the country in barter. Sensing their effectiveness the strikers under the directions of the instigators got greedier. They now demanded death or dungeon for Tunga. In order to create mob frenzy, one day they went to the ex tent of getting a dead mans body that had drowned in a well and claimed that Tunga had the man murdered. A sizable mob having collected they attempted to cremate the body inside Tungas house. Finding the situation getting out of hand, Tunga and his small entourage, drawing their swords charged at the mob. A ferocious armed clash ensued which resulted in the loss of many lives including the lives of some leaders of the movement and their chief instigator. Normalcy was restored soon and Tunga emerged stronger than before the upheaval.Several other upheavals were instigated and crushed, Tunga emerged victorious, his position and reputation increasing with each event. Alas lady fortune being fickle, doesnt smile on a person till

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perpetuity. The downward slide of his fortune was preceded by the decline in his mental faculties. Tunga desperately needed an efficient reliable man to help him in running the administration of the country. Though there was no dearth of well qualified young aspirants for the job, Tunga obviously was averse to employ anyone from a decent background. His choice fell on a man w ho was an ordinaryKaystha by profession. This man by the name of Bhadresvara, belonged to a family w ho had by turns been trading in cow dung, functioning as butchers or working as gardeners. Appointing a man of low qualifications and a very poor backgroundas thegrahkrtya(collector of levies).Tunga committed a blunder the disastrous ramifications of which he could not grasp in time. This man Bhadresvara unmindful of the political fall out of his actions stopped the allowances of temples,Agharas,gowshalas orphanages and even the kings dependents and the state guest houses. Misfortune never comes alone, while the murmur of dissent and dissatisfaction was getting louder by the day, Tungas younger brother who helped him in running the state died a sudden death. W hile Tunga, beset with several problems was trying to sort these out; the king ordered him to immediately proceed with a large army to the help of Sahi king Trilocanapala whose country Gandhara or what remained of it, had been invaded by hordes of Turks. W hen Tunga reached his destination King Trilocanpala briefed him about the enemy and assigning him the positions to defend, strictly instructed not to get drawn into the engagement with the enemy until he was signaled to do so. Either belittling the expert advice of the Sahi king who had a long experience of fighting the Turks, or overestimating hisown mi litary genius, Tunga on spotting a party of Turks on a reconnaissance mission crossed the river Taussi and slew the Turk party. The Turk retribution was swift and ferocious. Next day very early in the morning, the Turk Hammira leading his entire army fell on the defendants. In the battle of blood and gore that followed Tungas army was scattered like saw dust in a storm. The Sahis held their ground for a long time. King Trilocanpala fought so valiantly in the battle that even the Turk Hammira felt unnerved. Alas not only did the Sahi king loose this battle but all further attempts to regain his country w ith the help of war elephants also failed making the Sahi kingdom a forgotten chapter in history. Routed and hounded the crest fallen Tunga slowly marched back to his country where the king in his characteristic mild manner did not express any anger towards him. The loss of his personal charisma and the growing dissatisfaction of the populace towards Tunga had become a matter of great concern. Now the king too felt association w ith him and his boastful son Kandarpa, a liability. Many of Tungas rivals in the court were thirsting for his blood and working discreetly to influence the King in achieving the elimination

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of Tunga. At last a secret message from Vigharaja the Kings brother to the King advising that Tunga be eliminated sealed the fate of the brave soldier and a capable administrator. A deceitful plan engineered by the king, lured Tunga and his son to the hall of audiences. There a party of assassins set on him and his small entourage. While he was still struggling several of his entourage threw their swords down to save their own necks. Quickly the severed heads of father and son were thrown down into the courtyard by the assassins. His armed body guards waiting in the courtyard on seeing this ghastly scene and fearing for their lives quickly ran away from the palace. The chief executioner of the dastardly plot was none other than Tungas own younger brother, Naga who not only had his brother and nephew murdered but had also seduced the wife of his nephew into an illicit relationship. As a reward for his dark deeds he was appointed as the commander-in-chief. Queen Srilekha. Samgram Gupta.the chosen nephew of Didda haing been made the King of Kashmir(1003-1028) left the affairs of the state ,entirely to the discretion of Tunga.His meek character and love for a leisurely hassle free life gave a free reign to his principal queen Strilekha to indulge herself. Finding her husband Samgramgupta weak, hesitant and not virile enough the queen had found several courses of distraction to amuse herself. Besides having a passionate lover in Tribhavana, the powerful commander-in-chief, she also had the quick witted officer of treasury as her paramour. The kind king having provided her with several opportunities in to which she made amassing of wealth as her main objective. W hen the king died in 1028A.C.her son Hari Raja ascended the throne but he ruled only for twenty two days w hen premature deathclaimed him as a victim. The rumors that did the rounds ascribed the death of Hariraja to witch craft by his mother. The sons objections to her deeds of wantonness were repressive and repugnant to the woman who found her son a hindrance to her chosen way of life. The preparations for the next coronations were ready and the queen entered the arena with the fond hope of being crowned herself. But theEkangas and the nobles caused her great shock when they made her infant son Ananta the king. At this time brother of Samgramgupta and uncle of the infant Ananta marched towards the Capital to seize the throne by force.But Queen Srilekha put up a brave front and had the aggressor routed before he could come anywhere near the capital. There after the queen spent a life time of extravaganza and indulgence. 2Queen Suryamati-the power centre. The infant king Ananta grew up addicted to extravagance and other vices. His closest friends were the Sahi princes who getting paid heavily by the treasury were draining the countrys resources. One of these princes named Anangpala even had the temerity to loot the temples and break the venerated golden statues of Gods and Goddesses,thereby earning the dubious distinction of being the first iconoclast reported in Kashmir. The economic situation of the country was nose diving fast. This prompted the commander-in-chief Tribhavana to muster some forces

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and attempt to seize the crown. Surprising as it may sound, the highly indolent king Anant gave a tough fight and proved too good forTribhavana. However the weakness of character of the king did show up time and again. His particular propensity towards inferior men of lowly conduct and intellect ultimately cost him a lot. A clever man from the plains who was an importer ofTambola-the paan leaves got into the good books of the king and soon wormed his way to be his very close confidante. It remains a mystery how this clever scoundrel not only drained the treasury, he even made the king hypotheicate the crown jewels. This came to light when the jewels had to be borrowed from this mans home every time that these were needed for state functions. Things having come to such a sorry state, it was the wife of King Ananta, Queen Suryamati who taking courage in both the hands first fired the minister Padmaraja from the job of administration. Probing deeper she purged several others of Treasury and administration departments whom she held responsible for the systematic loot of the treasury. Queen Suryamati now emerged the de facto ruler, relegating the king to a wife like submission. Her fair reputation and the motive of her actions never became a matter of public reproach. There have been precedents of this nature. Kashmiri queens always enjoyed their own personal treasuries and their own personal staff. Because of her benevolent bold action her reputation reached a zenith and the king occupied himself with spiritual pursuits. Haladhara was an ordinary employee of the queen who gradually rose into prominence till he was felt to be the right candidate for the Prime Ministers job, by both the king and the queen. Both of them had come to look up to this dedicated man whenever confronted with any out of the ordinary situations. Reforming the tax collection procedures he put an end to a system whereby the tax officials used to harass the people. The reign of King Ananta experienced many disturbances because of armed insurrections and the consequent military campaigns. During one such period of disturbed conditions Haldhara becoming a victim of a false malicious rumor accusing him of relations with the queen,was manacled and imprisoned. However he was fortunate to have been rehabilitated soon afterwards. 3-Anguish of an old couple. Leading a happy contented life the royal couple took a decision which set an extremely unpleasant course of their lives. The course that the royal couple decided upon reminds one of the Shakespearean drama King Lear. The comparison however ends w ith the desire to have the offspring take over the throne while the king was still alive. The trials and tribulations that this royal couple had to undergo make the fate of the fictional King Lear appear to be a cake walk. The king though warned by faithful ministers like Haladhara and

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several other nobles to desist from renouncing the throne, succumbed to the relentless pressure of his queen Suryamati, w ho was eager to have her minor son Kalasa crowned the king in her own life time. To appease the maternal sentiments of his queen, the ceremony of crowning the new king was carried out; however the nobles of the court having known about the very weak streaks in the character of the young prince persuaded the royal couple to keep the boy under their strict supervision and run the administration as they deemed fit. It was only matter of time before the mother-in-law and daughterin-law conflicts in the royal palace came to surface. Very shortly the mothers possessive instincts about her son became apparent as she grew increasingly intolerant of the young kings wives, forcing them to do the jobs assigned normally to maids and servants of the royal house holds. Thus were sown the earliest seeds of future destruction of a noble ruler that King Ananta had turned out to be. The young king Kalasa, instead of finding solace in the company of his wives had instead to suffer naggings which ultimately drove him to seek the company of sycophants of very low character. His closest friends were seducers of women, who even prompted him to incest with his own sister named Kallana. Self acclaimed Gurus and wayside musicians who distinguished themselves as procurers won the confidence of the young king who finding no delight in the embrace of his w ife would wander at night from one house to the other seeking the forbidden transports of love. On one such nocturnal misadventure he got beaten almost to death by some watchmen who mistook him for a thief, but was saved by his henchmen when they revealed the identity of the man being clubbed. Both the parents wept when the new s of their son having been beaten reached them and they resolved to have him imprisoned and make the eldest of their grandsons, Harsa, the king. All these deprivations of Kalsa mortified his parents and his father took the extreme step of slapping him, right in front of his retinue ofbody guards. The effort of the father to arrest his errant son failed owing to the strong resistance put by the beneficiaries of Kalsas wayward life. Finding it degrading to stay put in the palace while their son w ho regularly indulged in highly condemnable indecent behavior, both Ananta and his wife Suryamati prepared to leave the capital w ith all the treasures they could quietly muster. Accompanied by faithful relatives and Damras the two of them reached the town of Vijayesvara(Vijebror) the sight of which restored their mental serenity. Kalsa belatedly found his treasures empty. To make the best of a bad bargain and to make show of a virtuous ruler he replaced the gang of his sycophants by people of merit and advanced with an army against his own father. When the opposing camps were mobilized facing each other, the mother Queen made a strong appeal to her husband and made him agree to an armistice for two days. Dispatching a secret message to her errant son conveyed through confidential couriers she implored and cautioned her son from engaging in an armed conflict. The

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message to her son read to this effect, My dear son, the perversity of your mind is guiding you to this war and your ruin. What can save you and your soldiers from the dreadful wrath of your father when he comes out charging at you in the battle field? He who has let you rule a kingdom why cant you let him live in the peace of a sanctuary? Withdraw your army and soften him by words, so long as I am alive no harm will come your way. Harkening to the sound advice of his mother Kalsa withdrew his forces during that very night. The uneasy truce deceptively calm on the surface was deteriorating due to slanderous elements and rumor mongers from both the camps. The numerous accounts about the disgraceful deeds of his son convinced Ananta of working a way out to restrain Kalsa but every move he conceived was vetoed and sabotaged by his queen who was blinded by her mothers love for her son. However they both agreed to have their grandson Harsa, son of Kalsa proclaimed the king and for this purpose through secret messengers they persuaded their grandson to join them. His son having joined the camp of his parents, who had the crowning ritual done on the boy, made Kalsa worry and feel nervous. In retaliation he had the town of Vijayesvara put to torch by deceit and treachery. Both the old king and his queen were now in a pitiable position lacking the resources to rebuild the township. The disdainful son desiring to banish his parents was sending them repeated messages through emissaries to go and live in Parnotsa (Poonch). The old king totally averse to the idea was constantly urged by his wife who ruled him to accept the proposition. This difference of opinion deteriorated their mutual relationship so much that one day the old king unable to bear anymore burst out in a very uncharacteristic fashion. Loosing control over himself and in presence of several people he shouted loudly at his wife, By always listening to you and obeying you, I have lost my glory, sovereignty, power, my wealth and even my self respect.Women cherish their sons and abandon their husbands. Old and helpless as I am now what place is there for me to go to, except stay in Vijeshvara. Continuing unabated in this vein the king delivered for first time the unkindest cut of all by recalling the old rumor which implied that Kalsa was not born of the family but was clandestinely introduced by her as her son following the death at birth of her own baby. These words uttered by the king in extreme anger in presence of others shocked the queen to the extent that forgetting her exalted status she, raising her voice like a common woman of the streets shouted back at him, The foolish old recluse doesnt know what to say when.Banished from your own country you could have been deserted by your own wife, had I not horror of the very thought of such an action.That may have been what women of your family would have done. Thereupon the king suffering acute pain because of her jeering taunts sat down silently. His face expressionless, a long stream of blood flowing from under his seat caused panic to those around

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who discovered he had thrust a dagger into his anus. Tell people the king is suffering of a massive hemorrhage. Make it a public announcement ordered the old king. This nobleman who bore no grudge against anyone at last attained eternal peace in the year 1081A.C.The queen preparing to embrace the flames of her husbands pyre took her grand son,Harsa, aside and cautioned him to never trust his father Kalsa. A paradoxical relationship-Kalsa and Harsa A sense of remorse and the filial love for his estranged son did overcome Kalsa. Trying to bridge the differences he himself came to take back his son. A pall of gloom fell on him on entering the burnt town of Vijaysevara,which looked li ke a ghost town. Revulsion for his past deeds and a desire to make up for his sinful life seemed to have now possessed the king. Back in the capital he showed all fatherly concern for his son Harsa and the relations between the two seemed to be on the road to recovery. The strongly entrenched malignant counselors of the court were getting concerned with this development. Many of them would not only have lost their jobs but some were afraid to loose their very lives if their nefarious activities in spoiling the royal relations got revealed. It didnt take long for them to strain the relations of father and son again to the extent that the son was put under house confinement and the father was convinced that his estranged son planned to stage a rebellion and have him killed. The king though having reached a mature age was still an easy prey to the clever men who tempted him to buy young maiden slaves of various nationalities from Turks for his satisfaction. In a desperate bid to boost his libido he resorted to aphrodisiacs of various varieties. By seducing wives of others and also women procured as white slaves the number of his mistresses went up to seventy five. Horror of horrors as it might sound but the king even seduced the wives of his estranged son Harsa. One of these young wives, Sugala, discarding any sense of decency stooped to appease her father-in law in order to achieve her aim of killing her husband Harsa. Entering into a conspiracy with a court counselor Nonaka, she had an attempt engineered to poison Harsa while he was in captivity. However the faithful attendant of Harsa by name of Prayaga learnt about the attempted poisoning and threwthe poisoned food to some dogs w ho died after eating the food. The perversity of the king, his advancing age and indiscriminate use of aphrodisiacs ultimately rendered the king immobile; a constant bleeding through the nose which did not stop despite all the remedies known at the time led to extreme debility and confinement of the king to sick bed. While on his death bed he several times ex pressed his wish to see his son Harsa but the villainous courtiers like Nonaka ignored the wishes of a helpless king. After ruling for forty-nine years the king Kalsa passed away in 1089A.C.His most favored mistress, Kuyya, brought disgrace to the royal household when she became the mistress of a petty village official after the demise of the king despite the fact that her son,Jayraja, by the late king was granted a regular allowance.

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Harsa being in captivity, his younger brother, Utkasa, was crowned the king as a result of the court machinations. His chief advisor was one Nonaka from the days of his father the very man who had tried to cause Harsas poisoning. All the perils you face will end once the head of Harsa is severed. was the often repeated advice by this man to the new king. Heeding to this heinous advice Utkasa dispatched a party of assassins in disguise to murder his brother Harsa in captivity. Harsa sensing the intentions of the visitors deftly engaged them in sweet talk relating stories of righteous men who had met their ends happily. By some quirk intervention of fate the party of assassins got a signal not to kill(Harsa) from their employer before they could materialize their nefarious mission. Meanwhile the third brother Vijayamalla distressed to learn about the plot to assassinate Harsa surrounded the palace with his armed followers. King Utkasa having been taken by surprise with this move of Vijayamalla was nervous and at his wits end w hen the opportunist Sugala wife of Harsa who was now liaising unto the new king came to his rescue. Showing her husbands ring that was with her, she pacified Vijayamalla and succeeded in cooling off the frenzy that could have devastated Utkasa and his coterie. Perforce the king had to release his brother Harsa who got a heros welcome by the citizens. W hile spontaneous celebrations broke out in the courtyard of the palace,some enthusiastic retainers brought the lion throne from the treasury and lo and behold, Harsa sat on it without a moments hesitation. While the crowd including the dumbfounded Utsaka and coterie were cheering madly the woman who quickly sat on the throne beside the new king was none other than Sugala. The king keeping his cool did not express any emotions at the moment but the long history of treachery of this woman could not have escaped his attention. After this public show nothing more was ever heard of this woman again and the double dealing queen was relegated to anonymity. When Vijayamala came to see him,the king Harsa stood up and greeting him with folded hands said, You have given me not only my life but also my kingdom. The dethroned brother Utkasa lodged in confinement along with his mistress Saheja one day committed suicide by using a scissor since no arms were available to him. The faithful mistress once a temple dancer, turned an opera actor in sharp contrast to Kuyya, who was a woman of similar background, remained true to her liege lord even after death by way of follow ing the tradition of the times. 4Mysterious infatuation of king Harsa. Strange can be ways of Cupid! It was not an ordinary mortal but a king who got unhinged by his arrows. Smitten with love for the beautiful w ife of Parmandi the ruler of Karnata, Harsha went to absurd lengths of a ludicrous behavior. He had never seen the lady; it was only her portrait that had turned him mad. Some of his courtiers sensing the hopeless condition of the king did everything they could to increase his jealousies of the Karnataka king and added fuel to the fire that had engulfed the poor king.

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Once the lovelorn king made a solemn vow in the court assembly to possess Candala and overthrow the ruler Parnandi. Until the ruler of Karnata is slain, till Candala has been embraced! Blinded by love the king went so far as to assign the lord of marches the additional responsibility of functioning as chamberlain to the Karnata queen who existed only in the Kings imagination. He was even authorized to draw allowances for her ornaments and upkeep of her establi shment! The royal obsession for the Karnata queen however had other fallouts of a fundamental and durable nature on the Kashmiri society. Formerly the common people wore their hair loose and were not allowed to wear a turban or any ornaments, these being privileges reserved for the ruling classes. Now this restriction was removed and in fact courtiers were expected to present themselves wearing a short coat and a turban. The attire of women under went changes too. Bun coiffure decked with flower garlands, eye make up w hich consisted of a colored paste drawn in a thin line from the corners of eyes to the ears .Golden strings tied to plaited tresses and the upper garment emphasizing the curve of the breasts and covering the upper half of the arm became the vogue. Even the coins in use as currency were designed after the fashion of Karnata (Karnatka)coinage. The King who was fond of performing arts handsomely rewarded outstanding musicians.He would delightfully instruct the dancing girls personally (as would Nawab Wajid Ali shah do centuries later in the court of Oudh) at night. However the King had inherited the loathsome genetic traits of his father Kalsa and exhibited similar degraded morals. Not content with the purchase of beautiful women from the white slave Turk traders the kings depravity led him to rape his fathers sister Naga and the incestuous relations he developed with his fathers wives and mistresses. The pure interior of the king in due course became a den of disruption of chastity and immoralities. The lustful young men and women intoxicated with youth flourished in the court which heralded the down fall of Harsa. While the King Harsa was steadily heading towards his doom, Mother Nature was busy weaving her own web for his down fall and preparing ground for the emergence of a new leadership, a leadership that would be a breakaway from the traditional blue blooded incumbents. A leadership that would comprise of people of an entirely different stock, to rule the country. The tiny kingdom of Rajapuri (R ajouri) was notoriously inimical to rulers of Kashmir and has figured in the military campaigns of most of them. On one such occasion w hen the slow witted king was enraged he launched an attack on Rajapuri with all the arms at his disposal. On the way when in the vicinity of a minor fort in possession of the enemy he needlessly laid a siege to it. The small garrison defending the fort repelled all his half hearted efforts to enter the fort. One month having passed the large army now idle and running short of supplies became rebellious demanding higher wages. Sabotaged from within by his own elements the stupid king retreated in a hurry abandoning his equipment and treasure, when fed the false rumor that Turks were on the way to attack him. He met with a similar fate during a misadventure to attack and

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subdue the country of Dards. Blundering all along, the faction laden army was almost annihilated by heavy rains and floods .The retreating army taking various routes was washed away by the swollen river Madhumati which they had to cross. The crafty Dards pursuing the retreating army also claimed countless lives of the Kashmiri troops. Rise of Mulla brothers. It was during one of King Harsas ill fated adventures that hitherto unknown, Uccala and Sussala,sons of a minor functionary, showed exemplary courage. The Dards attempting to take full advantage of the confused situation of the royal army changed their defensive posture to an offensive one. The two Mulaa brothers holding their ground saved whatever was left of the army. They stemmed the tide of the Darad forces which was like an advancing sea intent on over running the land of Kashmir. Having proved their mettle as worthy commanders the two brothers hereby became the cynosures of the people. Their fame spread likeforest fire warming the hearts of a nation dejected and in shame. Public openly now opined that the brothers deserved the throne, such was the wave of popularity that they generated. The shameless king basking in the reflected glory of the two warriors entered Srinagar as if a victorious monarch was back. The fear of invaders now gone he plunged himself again into taxing the people,vandalizing the temples for gold and spending nights till the wee hours of the early morning in the company of singers, dancers and flirty courtesans. Listening to the counsel of his corrupt councilors the king had selectively targeted the riches of the shrines to be confiscated. An officer was designated officer in-charge of uprooting the Gods. It is reported that only two places were not desecrated by him, one in Srinagar,Ranasvamin and the other Martanda. Nature itself seemed to be conspiring against the sinful king. The heavy taxation that he imposed on a people who were suffering the ravages of flood broke their back. The king employed the cruelest methods to extract the revenue which turned the people especially the farmer lobby of Damras against him.The Damra revolt in Madhvarajya(areas south of the capital )was ruthlessly suppressed. Numberless Damras and the ferocious looking Lavanyas were slaughtered by the Governor. Arches exhibiting the human skulls were shamelessly raised all round the palace area and on palace gates to frighten the rebells into submission. The whole area around the palace was stinking. Karam rajya( areas north of the capital)also suffered a similar gruesome fate. However the Damras there mobilized themselves in time and offered a fierce resistance to the kings forces. Laksmidhara was a senior minister in the court of the king.He became aware of his wifes romantic laison with one of the Malla brothers,a step brother of Uccala and Saasala. Tormented by jealousy the minister desired to have his revenge on the brave brothers as also on their entire family. Conspiring with other counselors he launched a whisper campaign to persuade the king to annihilate the brave Mulla brothers. The king was very subtly made to believe that the growing popularity of the brothers had become a threat to the royal crown. Initially reluctant to commit himself, the ill omened king ultimately resolved to have the brothers assassinated and drew an elaborate plan to this effect.

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A dancing girl of the court named Thakkana, learning about the plan alerted the brothers of the danger to their lives. Convinced about the serious nature of the plot, the brothers made good there escape in the middle of the night. Uccala reached Rajapuri where he was received well initially but the Raja being conveyed threats from the king turned hostile to Uccala. Forced to go underground, Uccala gained many a supporters from the Damras and the khasa Rajputs inhabitating the surrounding hilly areas. The king desirous of nipping the challenge of Uccala in the bud sent several successive military expeditions against him. But none of these obtained any worthwhile results as most of the expedition commanders avoided to give any serious fight to the glorious hero of the war. The Uccala forces gaining strength by the day, reached Varamula but from here on Kakas and other families with vested interests offered him great resistance, so Uccala performing a tactical retreat went towards Kramarajya. A devastating defeat due to bad weather and treachery demoralized the kings army completely. The atmosphere of uncertainty and despondency was aggravated by the rumor mills working overtime. Taking advantage of the situation; Uccala arrived at Hirnayapura where the Brahmins blessed him with the ritual of coronation. In Madavrajya an uprising against the king was staged and led by Ananda the maternal uncle of Uccala. Several battles were fought on several fronts without any decisive outcomes. The younger brother, w ho had been lying low so far, was roused by the letters of his father, taunting him on his inertia and urging him to emulate his brother. Meanwhile Uccala who was by now camping on the bank of river Vitasta was put to lot of pressure by his followers to move ahead before Sussala his younger brother claimed the throne. Naga, the Police commissioner equipped with the best troops and cavalry who had been sent to deal with Uccala advanced to meet Uccala but instead of giving a fight he removed his helmet and greeted Uccala acknowledging his superiority. Lead and fight or get lost! The kings ministers getting restive advised the king to either abdicate the throne and wait for more favorable times to stage a comeback or alternatively lead the army personally and rout the enemy from all the fronts. Citing instances of past, some of the ministers said, Glorious should be the last act, like gamblers the Ksatriyas gambling for the throne have recourse to fearlessness. The king not willing to either risk his life or snap the attachment to the riches of his court only indulged in self pity and wailed, It pains me that owing to my faults this land has fallen to the status of a woman enjoyable by force from the high pedestal of a chaste matron that it was. Henceforth any unworthy man can by resorting to conspiracy hope to rule this land which has lost its glory. To prevent people thinking that he was too cowardly to face the rebels personally, the king pretended to be seriously sick and hence unable to lead the army in the field. The situation had come to such a sorry pass that the elite forces of

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Tantrins dispatched to the front were drawing campaign allowances even when they were snugly camped near the city itself instead of being anywhere within the range of enemy. Like rats deserting a sinking ship, most of the retainers had left the palace and sought refuge with kinsmen in the rival camp. Incited by the minister Lakshmidhara, the cowardly king sought to wreck his vengeance on the kith and kin of Uccala and Sussala . Their father, Malla who was old and turned a sage given to pursuit of spiritual studies had by way of surety given to the king two of his younger sons in lieu of permission to live in Srinagara. On being called out by the king accompanied by a party of assassins the old man comprehending the purpose of this unexpected visit opened the door of his house. Wearing his warriors belt as a turban, holding a shield in one hand and a sword in the other hand, ashes smeared on his forehead the old Mulla looked like another Pursrama, the legendry Brahmin warrior. A few of his assistants were the first to be slain. Jumping into the fray the old man was targeted by countless sharp arrows. The despicable king advancing forth then cut off his head and put his mansion on the bank of Vitasta to torch. Hearing about the murder of their father the brothers, Uccala and Sussala were in rage. The news about the merciless slaying of his father, made the reluctant Sussala take up the arms in earnest. The sorrow of his fathers murder soon turned into a boiling rage and putting several villages to torch the furious Sussala advanced to Vijeshvara (Vejhbror). There he entered the shrine alone with a sword in his hand. Several nobles had assembled in the courtyard and all paid homage to him begging him to spare their lives. The conceit of Sussala now came to fore and he decided to take the capital alone and claim the throne for himself. To his surprise the crown prince Bhoja alias Bappu came out to give a tough fight. So determined was the defending Bappu that Sussala could not stand the ferocity of his fight and thinking better of this enterprise he retreated to the far off Lavanotsa A bridge boat had been built over Vitasta by the king to facilitate his movements; the same bridge now became a boon to his enemy Uccala who seized the bridge head in no time. The king watching from the river bank saw a dark mass of Damra infantry at the bridge head, a sight that unnerved the king further. The kings army at the bridge had a war elephant leading it, but due to panic the armor of the elephant had not been placed on it. A rebel commander, Janakcandra spotting the weakness directed a hail of arrows on the elephant. The poor animal hit at several vital organs was maddened by pain. Trumpeting and roaring with pain it turned around to run away and in the process mangled many of his army. The kings soldiers also panicked and turned into a fleeing mass. By now the king also lost his nerve and he ran to the safety of his palace. Janakcandra, the rebel leader crossed the bridge and set on fire a mansion very close to the royal palace. Boja the crown prince seeing the flames leaping high into the sky concluded that the palace had fallen and kingdom lost. Without any delay he accompanied by a few horsemen took to flight. The Sahi princesses preparing to lay their lives were watching the destruction from the terrace of their pavilion. Some servants wishing

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to inform them the king was alive, in a bid to save them broke the gate with stones. The royal ladies thinking the rebels had broken in, leapt into the roaring fire that was kept in readiness. In the mayhem that followed the mobs of Damras and others went on a looting spree of the royal treasures and many of the surviving ladies too. The nervous king loosing all sense of judgment now looked on the remaining members of his coterie for their advice. Either fight or retreat to LoharaAdvised minister Canpaka(father of Kalhana). Instead the king sent the minister away asking him to go and find his son Bhoja.Then the King sent away several other ministers on the same mission. Desertion which had become rampant in the army now spread to nobles and ministers too. Even the Rajputras and aristocrats deserted the king till at last he was wandering from place to place and was refused safe refuge everywhere. He had only his faithful servant Prayaga as his sole follower. Wandering with an expectant heart he approached everybody who was somebody in his land for refuge. But none dared take the risk and they suggested that he escape to Lohara w hich the foolish king refused to listen to. Reduced to near starvation he was forced to seek shelter at a mendicants hut. But unfortunately for him the mendicant betrayed him to his enemies. Caught like a rat in the hole, he was attacked with lethal weapons by a party of rebels. It was then he showed his mettle,though late, as a warrior slaying several of his enemies w ith his short dagger. Outnumbered at last he fell dead. The assailants severed his head and sent it to Uccala, who out of disgust didnt even look at it and had it thrown into the fire. The headless body of the dead king was cremated without any ritual by a local officer. He was running in his forty-ninth year when slain in the year 1101A.C. This was the end of the dynasty that the highly ambitious Queen Didda had founded.

TARANGA EIGHT
The fall of the dynasty of Sahi extraction in 1101 was followed by Uccala son of a Brahmin, Mulla,who brought a welcome change in the social and economic conditions of the country. These changes however proved to be of a temporary nature. He was followed by his brother Sussala who was succeeded by his son,Jaysimha also known as Simharaja. This kings rule proved to be the flicker of a dying lamp as proved by events after his demise in 1155A.C. (Kalhana had stopped writing his book in 1149 A.D) 1- Jayamati the danseuse The musicians fell silent as the sound of Ghungroos got uneven and ultimately dissolved into silence. The famous danseuse Kanasaravati was strict when it came to the daily practice of her small troupe of young and not so young dancing girls. The dancers went to the

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changing rooms to remove their expensive silk costumes designed in imitation of Caranata dancers which had become the rage amongst Kashmiri kings and noblemen since the days of king Harsa. The sun was about to set for the day, the dancers one by one with folded hands took leave of Kansaravati, and proceeded to their homes. Hema popularly known as Hiba took the isolated dirt path to her little dwelling lost in the thoughts of her small family, thoughts that always haunted her lonely existence, thoughts of her father, her brave young brother and her husband who had all perished together when the mercenaries of the marauder Bhiksu had swooped on their thriving farm and the barn, reducing these to a burnt down graveyard. Hiba remembered in horror the day w hen the party of murderers sent by the king knocked down their gate a corollary to the kings pogrom to wipe off the upcoming Damras whom he reckoned a potential threat to his rule. W hile the three most important men in her life were desperately fighting the kings gang of murderers, the traumatized woman was fighting for her own life, in the midst of labor pains attended by two old ladies of the neighboring farms. All the noises had ceased, it was now dark. The compound was littered with several dead bodies and Hiba having lost lots of blood after an aborted delivery was lying unconscious. The two old ladies shocked by the happenings of the one ghastly hour sat immobile with their backs to the wall. W hen the silence of the night was broken by the howling of a pariah dog, one of the women summoned enough courage to light an oil lamp and shook the other old lady out of her daze. Both mustering courage opened the door to see the blood drenched bodies lying in the courtyard. Attending to the young Hiba they gave her some water to drink, cleaned up the mess and gradually broke the terrifying news to her; her father, brother, and husband all slain and her baby still born. Many years had passed but to Hiba the memories relived themselves almost everyday whenever she was alone.Well wishers and friends advised her to join the troupe of highly acclaimed danseuse Kansaravati where not only would she learn the art of dancing but also forget,though for only brief periods, the cruelties of fate. Today walking alone back from her practice session her melancholia had returned. She was deep in her painful thoughts when suddenly her reverie was broken by a babys wails emanating from under a bush. Looking around in the fast fading light, she saw a coarse wicker basket elegantly padded with a new born little angel of a girl in it. Picking up her new found treasure Hiba walked as fast as her legs could carry her and entered the one room home that was left of the once big barn. As the last rays of sun disappeared, she settled herself with the little treasure trove she had found. Jayamati, she named this beautiful baby. Henceforth Hiba devoted herself exclusively to bringing up the

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little girl.The child grew up to be a beautiful and intelligent girl and Kansaravati prevailed on the mother to give the girl a good education and train her to be a perfect dancer. Once the young Jayamati, while performing with her troupe at a noble mans mansion had a nasty experience with a couple of drunken Sahi prince- lings but a young man by the name of Uccala present there came to her rescue. The friendship of Jayamati and Uccala blossomed into mutual admiration and then love. But fate took a turn when Uccala, informed of the kings plan to have him and his brother eliminated, had to slip away at midnight. Secretly,he had sought refuge in the far off fortress of Lohara and was declared a fugitive in his homeland. Uccala having been given up for dead, the mother was persuaded by Kansarvati to give her daughter Jayamati in marriage to the minister Mandelosa, who however never married her and tricked her into being his mistress. Another turn of events took place when Uccala attacked Srinagar and Mandelosa was one of the first to be slain by the wrathful Uccala. After fighting several battles and w inning a prolonged war,Uccala became the king and Jayamati his wife. Proudly she shared the throne with him for about eight years. Bhiksacra or Bhiksu,the infant child of the slain king Harsa, had been kept and cared for, under the overall guidance of Jayamati. When Uccala became nervous about the plots to have him dethroned he thought it prudent to eliminate the Harsa offspring lest the rebels took advantage of the boy to stage a coup against him. The child was brought forth from the royal residence, tied with heavy stones and thrown into the river Vitasta to satisfy the bloody urgings of Uccala. Soon two rumors did the rounds one that Queen Jayamati had smuggled out the royal child and had him sent to Deccan Malva for education and care. The second being, that the child was saved from drowning and smuggled to Deccan. Whatever the truth, the relations between Uccala and Jayamati deteriorated from that time onwards. This led Uccala to marry princess Bijjala of Vartula who became his favorite consort henceforth. Both the queens met with a terrible end when Uccala was murdered in 1111 A.C. On their way to embrace the flames of the funeral pyre they were brutally mauled by an uncontrolled mob seeking the jewellery they wore. 2-Uccala-the betrayed hero. Out of filial love and generosity, Uccala, gave a long rope to his younger sibling Sussala in governance of the land. But the latter getting intoxicated by the heady cocktail of youth and power repeatedly transgressed all the boundaries of a rulers moral code of conduct and elementary human decency. With a sugar coated diplomatic gesture Uccala made his brother a full fledged king and sent him to rule the frontier fortress of Lohara.

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Out of gratitude to the powerful Damra lobby the king granted them various concessions and bestowed great power and influence on one of their leading personalities the ambitious Jankcandra. The son of deceased king Harsa, Bhoja, was granted royal protection under the insistence of Janakcandra ,the man who had played a leading role in Uccalas war against King Harsa. Astute Uccala perceived the logic behind Janakcandras support to the Harsa descendant. To Uccala it signalled the hidden treachery in the mind of Janakcandra who could one day use the boy as the legal heir to the throne and himself rule as the regent! To checkmate Janaka the king elevated him to the high office of warden of the frontier which predictably created a great rift amongst the clan of Damras. The other Damra leaders getting jealous of Janaka turned hostile to him. The chasm between the two Damra camps one day suddenly erupted into a bloody violence. Belatedly suspecting the kings hand in the eruption of violence directed against him, Janaka in a desperate bid tried to slay the king but instead lost his own life in the scuffle that followed. Feigning anger over the assassination of Janaka, the king took full advantage of the situation by banishing the rival Damra factions from the capital and ultimately persuaded them to give up their arms in both the regions of the kingdom, KramRajya and Madavrajya. A long period of peace and prosperity followed. The benevolent king would take personal rounds of the kingdom to know the pulse of people and welfare of his subjects. He relaxed the tax regimes and diverted all the penalty revenues to charity funds. The burnt down town of Nandiksetra and the Shiv temple at Harmukh were rebuilt. Strict measures were taken against corrupt kayasthas. The corrupt five headed hydra plaguing the country: Kayasthas, cadets of the ruling house,ordinances, ministers and hunger strikers were ruthlessly tackled, earning the king gratitude from the masses but deep seated enmity from the powerful vested interests. Reminiscent of ancient Roman emperors and their blood thirsty gladiators, kingUccalas favorite pastime became watching bloody combats of brave young men anxious to impress the king of their physical prowess. Every event ended in a few bodies being carried away at the end of a match. Most would be seriously injured but some were even dead. Though the king and the courtiers enjoyed the spectacle it became a source of constant anxiety to the cadet households and their camouflaged resentment against the king spread w ide. Last days of Uccala. The increasing number of Kaysthas of disrepute, and top counselors of doubtful credentials in the kingdom gave birth to a conspiracy for the slaying of Uccala. A noble by name of Chudda was the administrator in charge of Srinagar area, his brother was Radda. Both the brothers believed themselves to be descendents of King Yasakara and nursed secret ambitions of ruling the country some day. A senior Kayastha by the name of Sadda, in charge of treasury was discredited when an assistant of his disclosed how he had robbed the

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royal treasury. Publicly humiliated the wily Sadda was bidding his time to avenge his insult. Sensing the secret ambitions of the brothers Chudda and Radda,the villainous Sadda ignited their secret desire for kingship when an opportunity offered itself. Once the king desirous of seeing the flames of Svyambhu (the almost dead volcano of Khrewa) was proceeding to the village in the mountainous terrain named Vrahatcakra.He was accompanied by only a small entourage. The Candala robbers living in that area surrounded him but lacked the courage to attack the king. The king too on his part preferred to take a detour through unknown mountain paths, rather than risk a clash with the vastly bigger Candala group. This resulted in a rumor travelling at lightening speed to the capital that the king was no more. The brothers Chudda and Radda immediately rushed to take control of the state armory and engaged themselves in discussing as to who should occupy the throne. At this moment the wily Sadda struck,Who else but you, Chudda, is better suited and better endowed to occupy the throne than yourself . W hile Sadda was waxing eloquent and blowing up the ego of Chudda, news came that the king was fine and on his way back. The king on his return came to know of all these developments in his absence and turned hostile to the people involved. Several years back the brothers Chudda and Rudda had lived with their mother after the demise of their father in King Harsas time. The mother being still young, rumors of her illicit liaison with a neighbor had gained currency and the brothers on growing older, had murdered the concerned neighbor. When the case came before king Uccala he ordered that the punishment should be meted to their errant mother and accordingly her nose was chopped off. Now deeply annoyed with their behavior during his absence the king would send for them saying; call the sons of the woman with the cut nose. Sadda too lost his high post of treasury in-charge. In utmost secrecy the disgruntled elements hatched a plot to eliminate the king. Bhogasena was the valiant warden of the frontier who had fought victorious wars against rebels and also the kings brother Sussala who had turned rebellious. While reporting to the king the outspoken soldier expressed his great dislike for Sussala the Kings rebellious brother referring to him in derogatory terms. Little did he realize that blood is thicker than water, the king didnt like his brother being referred to in such a lowly manner by Bhogasena. Enraged the king relieved Bhogasena of his charge as warden of frontiers. The conspirators Chudda and Rudda seized the opportunity to win him over to their side, confiding in him their plans to assassinate the king. W hen Sadda was informed of the inclusion of Bhogasena in the conspirators group, he expressed great agitation and asked that the plan be executed that very night as otherwise Bhogasena might spill the beans. He was not wrong! When the court was closing, Bhogasena requested the king for a private audience but the king very curtly dismissed him saying, I know what you wish, but I am not going to reinstate you to the post of warden for frontiers. It remains a mystery how the conspirators all of whom were

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discredited in the court though not banished, gained access to the royal residence on that fateful night. They even had their armedCandals and Ta nt r i ns posted on the exit points and other vantage points of the residence. Also most of the servants were dismissed under some pretext or the other. As the moon rose high in the sky it was hidden by a cloud that spread across its face. The night became dark and the silence deepened all around, even the dogs far away in the city ceased to howl. As the demons of death were hovering over, the night was enveloped in a sinister silence. A light creaking sound announced the opening of a door; the king emerged from the inner apartment in an amorous mood accompanied by just a few attendants, on his way to the apartment of his queen Bijjala. When he reached the middle hall, the conspirators closed all the doors. Suddenly the king was stopped in his tracks when someone kneeled at his feet pretending to present a petition, then from behind, one person dragged the king by the hair and stabbed him with a dagger.The valiant king armed with a small dagger spun around and trying to fight his way out shouted for help but to no avail. He pierced Radda and tore open the abdomen of another conspirator. Dashing towards the door, he was attacked by Chadda. At that point he saw Bhogasena pretending to be busy painting on a wall. You too! O,Bhogasena why do you merely look on? moaned the king. The wounded king trying to climb the wooden banisters was struck by theCandals posted there at his knees. As the king fell all the assailants attacked him in a body and Sadda himself severed his head. Even at that occasion Saddas greed manifested itself and he cut off the fingers of the dead king to remove the rows of bejwelled rings that the king wore. In great hurry the lifeless body of the king was carried like a dead animals to a lonely spot at the confluence of river Vitasta with Mahasarit. There the body was consigned to flames without any formality or ritual. A great hue and cry rose in the palace which brought the loyal minister Garga rushing with an armed troupe to the palace. Gargas exemplary courage and devotion to Uccala prevented the throne from being occupied by any of the conspirators. Several of the conspirators who had survived the carnage carried out by royalists led by Garga in the palace, were caught by the angry citizenry and made to meet their end in much dastardly a manner like being forcibly drowned in a latrine drain or having bones broken while still alive. A few surviving conspirators managing to escape to far off places were horrified to observe an intense wave of hatred unleashed by their gruesome act. Preferring discretion to bravado they sought safe hideouts far from the capital. The king Uccala was forty one years old when he lost his life in the year 1111A.C. Garga has gone down in history as one of the most honest and patriotic man of arms.He refused to occupy the throne even when requested to do so by an overwhelming majority of citizenry. Sussla the younger brother of Uccala who ruled and lived in Lohara heard the sad news after two days of the event. The communication between him and Garga unfortunately got misplaced and misunderstood leading to great strife at a later time.

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Tantrins, Eklangas and several councilors combined to pressurize Garga into acceptance of Salhana a younger half brother of Uccala as the new king. Salhana being an unfit candidate for royalty was not acceptable to Garga but since there was none else readily available to fill the vacancy, Garga had ultimately to yield and allow Salhanascrowning as the king. Absolute anarchy followed king Uccalas death, funny it might sound though tragic it is, three persons occupied the royal throne in a span of one night and one day. These were Radda who was dethroned when the loyal troops under Garga killed him, then Garga occupied the throne till he found Salhana the youngest brother of Uccala and made him the king. A message from Garga reached Sussala younger brother of Uccala and ruler of Lohara advising him about the futility of his coming to Srinagara now as his Half brother had already been made the king. This message infuriated Sussala. Breathing fire the temperamental sussala left for the capital with very little preparation and only a nominal force at his command. Making a stop at Kashtavata(Kashtiwar) he sent his emissaries to Garga to woo him onto his side. Bhogasena the traitor against Uccala and once the commander of armed forces joined the Sussala camp. Garga in reply to offers of Sussala very rightly pointed out his inability to join the side where a traitor of his dead lord was accepted. It didnt take Sussala long to understand the gravity of Gargas charge and he had the traitor Bhogasena slain at night. Sussalas hesitancy in resuming his march towards Srinagara ended when his commander Sanjpala joined him with a sizable cavalry reinforcement. His onward march was impeded by Khasa rebels which in fact necessitated his withdrawal to the Lohara fortress for a brief period. Garga by now had emerged the most powerful man of Kashmira,the poor king having been relegated to a secondary position. But favoritism and corruption was taking a heavy toll of the economy. Garga made Damra baiting a matter of utmost priority and resorted to inhuman manner of eliminating them. Even the court nobles started fearing for their lives on account of Gargas unpredictable nature and the Damra resilience and thirst for vengeance. An extremely serious law and order situation arose. The anarchic conditions in Kashmir were an open invitation for Sussala to invade. When reports of his move towards Kashmir reached the court in Srinagra, the warden of the frontier was directed to march and stop the invasion. Instead he joined Sussla along with his forces. Having suffered under gross misrule the people of Kashmir were waiting and openly praying for Sussla to reach the capital at the earliest. Without facing any considerable resistance, Sussala reached the capital and occupied the throne. His half brother w ho had occupied the throne for a brief period of 4 months or so was imprisoned and later eliminated. The purging of all those elements that had betrayed his late brother Uccala became the top priority on the new kings agenda. So ruthless was his retribution that even small children of the families indicted were not spared .Many top nobles lost their positions of favor on mere suspicion of complicity.

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These severe measures that made everybody who was anybody in the court insecure even rattled the blameless Garga w ho staged an armed revolt in protest. At his behest a massacre of royal troops took place at a place called Sureshwari, the confluence of Vitasta w ith Sindhu. The seriousness of the incident forced the King Sussala to personally lead his army against Garga, who unable to stand the retaliatory onslaught of the King surrendered. He also handed over the young son of late king Uccala whom he had so far kept as his captive, to King Sussala. Contrary to expectations of many, Garga was treated with utmost courtsey and inducted into the inner council of the King. This however resulted in the old faithful Surajpala being banished from the country. It wasnt long before the mercurial Garga on some provocation again started a rebellion but it was a feeble attempt w hich led to his arrest and death by strangulation. The blood letting had targeted many a leading Damras too, w hich turned the powerful Damra lobby against the King. Their anger manifested in loot and arson and breakdown of the law and order machinery. The Brahmins alarmed with the deteriorating state of affairs, resorted to their ages old practice of proceeding on hunger strike which unwittingly weakened the besieged King further. Sensing the conditions ripe for insurgency the incurable professional mutineers this time strengthened their position for a possible take over by roping in one prince by name of Bhiksu who was a grand son of the Late king Harsa, as a claimant for the throne. The King busy with his campaign of retribution was stooping lower by the day in his deeds of revenge. A Damra leader after being slain was sent to his family w ith the dead body decorated with lotus root stalks as if he was a dish for dinner. In yet another horror a noted rebels mother was sent to his village with her nose and ears chopped off. All such misdeeds further reinforced w ith much worse stories of gossip, greatly antagonized the public against King Sussala. The rebels had managed to smuggle the claimant to the throne Bhiksu into the country. The news was relayed by a dutiful commander to the king who surprisingly ordered that the Fox be allowed to march towards the capital without let or hindrance where I (the king) will be delighted to make a game out of him. The surprised commander dutifully carried out his orders and even helped the rebels carry Bhikshu across the difficult mountain passes. As the news of approaching rebels led by Bhiksu grew wide spread and louder so did the nervousness of King Sussala grow greater. The army defending the capital got demoralized owing to the openly expressed public support for Bhiksu and also because of lack of any armed opposition offered to the approaching rebels. Alarmed at the unexpected turn of events, Sussala sent his queen, the prince and other immediate family members at night to the fortress of Lohara. He himself accompanied them upto Husakapura at night and returned back to the palace. Bhiksu and his followers having reached Madahavrajya, were joined

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by the Damras. Working on a well prepared plan they started the hostilities by selectively slaying the top army brass, in and around the town of Hiranyapura. Soon laying siege to the capital, plunder and arson became an everyday affair. The King loosing the will to launch a counter offensive got immobilized in the confines of his ow n palace. History of desertions now repeated itself when top aides of the king started deserting him. Many a noble, it is said though seen attending the Kings court during the day were found queuing up for audience with the rebel figure head Bhiksu at night. Having given all hopes of retaining the kingdom, one early morning sensing an opportune time the king left the city w ith some followers in tow. Most of these followers deserted him during the arduous journey but he managed to reach the safety of Lohara fortress. It was the year1120 A.C. Bhiksu was crowned the king of Kashmira but the real powers were retained by his Prime Minister Bhimba. Instead of initiating any reforms or strengthening the administration the whole eco-political system went from bad to worse. The populace who had been expecting relief instead got grief at the hands of the new government. Law and order or w hatever was left of it collapsed totally as the Damras and Lavanyas ruled the streets and highways. The Brahmin association which earlier had been fasting for removal of Sussala now started their hunger strikes against the new regime and for recalling of Sussala back to power! The new regime soon perceived that the only hope of bringing stability to their rule lay in total annihilation of Sussala even if it involved attacking the fortress of Lohara. Feverish preparations were undertaken and a new army was raised which comprised of three distinct elements, the Kashmiri army, the tribal Khasas and for the first time Turks who by now had all converted to Islam, under one Salar Vismaya(possibly Ismail) A pitched battle was fought near Parnotsa(Poonch).The ageing Sussala once again showed his exemplary mettle in the battle field. The highly boastful Turks lost most of their men, the rest escaped as fast as their legs and the remaining horses could carry them. The Khasa having given up the fight at the very beginning of the battle, the defeated Kashmiris thought it prudent to join Sussala than be slaughtered in the hostile territory of Parnotsa. Now the victorious Sussala advancing towards Srinagara was joined by many nobles and grandees. Within a span of two or three days he made a sudden appearance before the capital. Looking ferocious, his face covered with his beard, his eyeballs rolling and nostrils flared wide open he reached the main square where swarms of people had collected to greet him. Full of disdain for the people, he now hardly acknowledged their greetings. When the traditional Lion throne was brought before him, the ferocious Sussala instead of occupying it broke it into smithereens which were given away to the servants. The miserable Bhikshu had already made good his escape.

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The reign of King Sussala thenceforth was dogged by misfortunes Civil unrest followed by a devastating fire in 1123 A.C, that consumed most houses of the capital was followed by a famine and internecine wars plunged the country for several years into a period of unheard of miseries. Yasoraja a distinguished noble was raised to pinnacle of power but having to listen to harsh words of admonishment spoken in a coarse language by the King, he deserted his employer to join the rebel camp. Further desertions of highly placed counselors from the Kings camp became a regular feature resulting in the Kings total loss of faith in ministers of Kashmiri origin. This was the reason for the rise of a Pathan from Swat Valley (NWFPof Pakistan) by the name of Prajji. In due course of time he became the Generalissimo of the Kashmir army. The all round atmosphere of uncertainty and distrust set the King to think of a new major policy change. The announcement that Prince Jaysimha his son would be heading a new Government sent ripples of hope throughout the country. But before actual executive powers had been transferred to the prince, mischievous courtiers had successfully poisoned the mind of the King against the prince,resulting in abeyance of the proposed abhisheka ceremony. The king already unsettled by desertions at high places now even viewed his son with suspicion. Utpala was a son of a watchman belonging to a poor village who had managed to obtain training as a combatant and thereby found a job with one of the famous nobles Tikka. Being one of the main rebel suspects,the King had kept a watch on Tikka and his friend Bhikasara. A chance meeting with Tikkas employee Utpala highly impressed the King. Encouraging the Youngman to visit him often the King spared no efforts to cultivate the young mans relationship. When Utpalas wife delivered a child the King sent very expensive gifts to her which set the young woman to ponder over the kings extreme generosity. Her suspicions aroused she cornered her husband to find out from him the Kings reasons for being so generous to them. After a long session with her husband she learnt that her husband Utpala had been commissioned by the king to slay his employer Tikka as also Tikkas friend Bhiskara. The quick witted lady immediately retorted back, " and the moment his dirty deeds are done, the very King w ho is prodding you today will have you branded a traitor and a murderer of your master. Her assessment appealed to the young Utpala who then on his wifes directive narrated the morbid plan to Tikka his employer. Ti kka rewarding him adequately entrusted him with the commission to slay the King since he had by now earned total trust of the intended victim and could even ask for a private audience. The nave King who had laid a death trap for others himself fell into it and was slain by the very man he had selected as the death messenger for his enemies and ironically in very similar a manner as he had planned for his intended victims, in the year 1128 A.C The severed head and the body of Sussala were sent to his old enemy Bhiksu who exhibited absolute lack of any sense of decency. W hile contemplating to have the body of the slain King subjected to novelways of undignified disposal,he had the

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head of the slain king sent toRajapuri for vulgar exhibition and with the purpose of striking terror in the minds of the Raja and his court there. Saubhagyalekha the daughter of Uccala and queen of Rajouri instead of getting cowed down raised a strong banner of resistance against any disrespect being shown to her slain uncle. Her strong opposition prevented any dishonorable acts that the ruling class of Rajouri might have planned about disposing the head of the dead king. Showing extreme ferocity she compelled her husband the Rajapuri ruler and his courtiers to cremate the head w ith all respect and formalities that an ex King deserved. The unfortunate dead king Sussala had thereby the unenviable and tragic distinction of being cremated at two different places, the head in Rajapouri and his torso in Srinagar. 3The last flicker of a fading kingdom.

Jaysimha(1128-1155A.D.) Filial vengeance

A pall of gloom had set on the capital on hearing the surprised assassination of King Sussala.His son Simhadeva ( Jaysimha) dazed and shocked on hearing the shattering news could not help taunting the assembled braves and nobles who had failed to save the life of his father and their liege lord. Keeping his plans to himself and controlling his anger he quietly dismissed the advice tendered by some of them to abandon the capital immediately in the dead of night before the renegades organized themselves for a forced entry into the capital. Swearing silently to himself to avenge his fathers death the young prince dismissed the assemblage without divulging his quickly conceived plans. The dark night deceptively calm on surface let few people sleep or rest. With barbarians at the gates of their beautiful city the tense populace moved to and fro, anxiously listening to and adding their versions of the innumerable rumors floating around. Few expected a normal day which was only a few hours away. Awake, the young prince now a king was wondering how the several army commanders spread all over the domain could move over snow bound roads and the mountains to reach the capital in time. His immediate concern however was to devise ways of keeping the enemy at bay till hi s armies reached him. Soon after the dawn the young king by a stroke of genius called a mass meeting of the nobles and the public at large.Delivering a fiery speech full of brave words he touched the hearts of his populace and put their fears at rest. Showing a unique diplomatic streak, he made a public announcement declaring a general amnesty to those who might have been tempted to loot and indulge in acts of arson the day before or even wittingly or unwittingly been of any help to the renegades. The wave of public opinion turned in his favour, the people reacted to his address with untold fervor even forcing the sulking soldiers and armed civilians to come forth to the aid of the new king.

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Just a few kilometers away,Bhiksu the leader of renegades flush with the news about King Sussals murder prepared to enter the city with the unruly mass of his camp followers including Damras, the cavaliers,freebooters and even burglars. Many of his greedy followers presuming him already to be the king mobbed him seeking written favors and property entitlements thereby delaying his departure. Dame luck too expressing annoyance caused a heavy snow fall thereby making the routes to the capital un- passable. Nature favoring the king by causing an unforeseen delay in the march of the enemy, provided a valuable chance for the new king to consolidate his weak position in the capital, an opportunity that neither he nor his army commanders were slow to exploit. Commander Pancacandra son of Garga was the first to arrive with his troops and taking a nearby renegade camp by surprise forced them to disband and flee away from their consolidated positions. Commander in chief Sujji having heard about the assassination of the king started his ill fated march after initial hesitation from the station of Medhacakrapura. Targeted constantly by the Damra guerillas all along the route, he was lucky to reach the capital after loosing most of his men and stores. Commander Sriraka and his force too suffered repeated attacks of the insurgents all along the route. He was however lucky to escape alive despite an arrow piercing his neck during his forced march. The Damra efforts to prevent Royal troops from reaching the Capital to the new Kings aid did not prove entirely fruitless as many of the commanders were immobilized by the rebels and could not reach their destination. However the desertions in their camp, first initiated by one of their leaders Dhanya,did start taking a toll of the Bhiksu led rebels. Their plight was worsened further by the sagacity of the new king w ho won over to his cause many of the influential Damra personalities. Avantipura witnessed a massacre of the rebels when Sujji stormed the rebel stronghold with a reorganized Royal force and rescued a loyalist force there under the command of Bhasa. The rebel leader and claimant to the throne Bhiksu still nursing his dream of the Kashmir throne regrouped his forces at Vijesvara, hoping to launch his attack at the fag end of the winter. In response to this, Sujji assembled his troops on the seemingly impassable bank of Gambhia. There being no bridge to cross, the enemy in an euphoric state contented themselves w ith showering of arrows onto Royalists. As planned one night Sujji quietly crossed the river having procured boats from Avantipura and making a boat bridge without the enemy getting any the wiser. Bhasa leading another Royalist column crossed Vitasta in front of Vijayesa and forced the rebels into flight. An envoy sent by an opportunist prince,Sompala desirous of the spoils of war was caught in the surprise debacle of the rebels. He is recorded to have sworn at his master saying, " Where have I been sent by that son of a serving maid? His craving for high ranks is like the longing of a jackal for a lioness. Damodra was yet another place where a grim battle was fought

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causing the deaths of many young braves from both sides. Bhiksu the rebel leader now bereft of any hope to win the throne that he coveted so much headed for self exile in Chamba ,Kangra regions and finally sought refuge in the fortress of Lohara which was the refuge of all disgruntled elements. But even here he was hounded by the king. The combination of bribery and intimidation persuaded the Khasa to betray their asylum seeker who died bravely trying to defend himself against the assasins.Credit deserves to be given to king Jaysimha w ho had his body cremated with all due ceremony in contrast to what the dead man had done to the kings body! Four months of bloody war following the death of his father had seasoned the young king more than four years of training would not have achieved. With reigns of power firmly in his hands,Jaysimha ultimately attended to the confidence restoration of the people. Srinagar had lost many dwellings and the cream of learned men had left the country. The streets were infested with burglars and the state administration was paralyzed, all these problems became the top priority concerns of the king.

Warrior Sujji,the Pathan Generalissimo. Hailing from the Pathan stock of the present day NWFP of Pakistan,this brave General of Kashmiri forces authored brilliant victories and fought consistently the attempts of Northern barbarians to sneak into and nibble at territories of the state. His ever increasing importance in the court of Kashmir caused annoyance and anxiety to many ministers of the court especially the very capable but unfathomable Chamberlain Laksmaka. Well measured doses of distorted truths and half lies administered by the master diplomat Laksmaka into the ears of the king were fruitful in turning the king indifferent to the plain speaking soldierly Sujji. Feeling neglected and by- passed, the tough soldier resigned in a huff and declared his intention of proceeding for pilgrimage and also to carry the ashes of late king Sussala for immersion in the Ganges. Secretly however he wished the king expresses his anxiety and prevent him from leaving the kingdom. But when the time of departure arrived to Sujjis dismay, there was no such gesture from the king or the court. After his return from his dip in Ganges the heart broken General had no other option but to establish his camp in the dreary terrain of Lohara, the territory of chief Lothana and wait for the tide of fortune to bring him some luck again. In desperation at one given point he even seriously thought of joining hands with his old foe Bhiksu but the project never took off. In another desperate attempt he conveyed to his ex employer, the King, the need for money and promised to buy peace with the assertive Lothana. In yet another attempt he offered the Khasa Raja ,Lothana, in exchange for monetary benefit.

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The loss of Kashmirs salubrious climate and its wonderful cuisine was telling heavily on the ageing Sujji. However he bravely fought the small Kashmiri force sent to tame him with his band of Kashmiri,Khasa and Indus region followers. A surprise attack by him sent the Kashmiri royal forces scurrying away showing their red trousers right unto their buttocks. Many of their officers got caught naked having discarded their heavy garments for a comfortable night. In this scuffle his arch rival the Chamberlin Laksmaka too was taken a prisoner! But Sujji the gentlemanly soldier not forgetting his noble bearings and chivalrous traits covered his face with a scarf and to everyones astonishment declared, " I respect him as a Brahad Raja and expect all of you to behave likewise. Returning the surprised Chamberlin his clothes and presenting him w ith a horse the old man was set free, only to be held prisoner by the Loharas. The release of the Chamberlin from the Loharas cost the King Jaysimha a tidy sum of Thirty six lac Dinnaras by way of ransom money. Greatly upset with Lothana the king tried several diplomatic maneuvers but all to no avail. Harassed by rebels on all sides and lacking a capable army commander to handle the situation efficiently. Now it was the kings turn to make overtures to Sujji and his Chamberlin offered the post of minister of justice to Sujji.But the tide of fortune had now come full circle and it was Sujji who refused to be tempted by such a ministerial berth. Surprisingly the Chamberlin Laksmaka removing his head garland had it offered to Sujji thereby surrendering the supreme posting in the court to him, an offer that no one including Sujji could refuse. But new found power soon went to the head of this brave Pathan. His behavior became increasingly irritating or even humiliating to others in the court. Once in a rage he even had a Brahmin beheaded over an imagined slight. On another occasion when entering the kings presence the attendant as per the court etiquette of the times had his hand on the neck of Sujji while announcing him, the latter lost his cool and badly thrashed the poor attendant. The king was greatly perturbed by his frequent brawls.Sujji had become an embarrassment and a liability to the king, who was under great pressure to have Sujji eliminated. The task was entrusted to a bright brave young man Sanjappala who accomplished the dirty deed in Sujjis own well guarded residence. Sujjis death condemned by the king as a hideous act was followed by elimination of his brother, his brother in law, his nephew and even his son Sajjala The hunger strike that sparked a revolution. The civil wars however did not end with these killings, the kingdom continued to suffer the curse of civil stri fe. One Citraratha who happened to be the minister of frontier was intensely disliked by the public on account of almost inhuman taxation. Protesting against him the Brahmins of Avantipura went on a hunger strike. Foolishly the minister in retaliation had the pasture lands ordered out of bounds to cowherds for grazing. This extreme step prompted a cowherd to commit self immolation which triggered a strong reaction from the youth. One of the youths addressing others and urging them to violent acts of protest said, absolute power

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leads to extreme exploitation of masses resulting from extreme stubbornness. The blight of stubbornness needs to be faced by the strongest means; Physical extermination of a vile individual is justifiable if it brings tranquility to many. A sacrifice of the self is well wor th the effort if it punishes the wicked tyrant. The normally peaceful Brahmins were now inflamed with the fire of revolt. The situation took a turn for the worse with the hatred being mainly directed towards the minister Citraratha. It was clear that the man had learnt no lessons from the fate of Sujji who too had incurred the Brahminic wrath. Stalking of the minister by some frenzied youths started in right earnest. It wasnt easy to get to him as he was closely and heavily guarded day and night while travelling or while at rest. The youth Vijaya who had taken it on himself to slay the tyrant, was a man of steely resolve undaunted by all the visible obstructions to his mission. Risking his life and the fate of his mission the brash young man did not miss the fleeting short glimpse of his target passing under a staircase in the royal palace. Hitting on the ministers head with his short sword he rendered his prey unconscious but failed to take his life. Citracaratha the minister did survive the attack but led the life of a vegetable in melancholia and insanity. The bold Vijaya confessed to his crime and was killed by a posse of soldiers, several of whom got maimed and even killed in the melee. Dardistan campaigns. The country between Northern Kashmir and northern Pakistan which included Chitral,of Swat valley and portions of Giligat right upto the Kishen Ganga river, does not have a national identity of its own in the present day political maps. But in the bygone times, during the reign of SimhaRajya it posed serious threats to the sovereignty of the prosperous Kashmir kingdom. It was populated by a racial mixture predominantly that of Aryan stock, of tough physique but poor materialresources. In early 12th.century A .D w hen Jaysimha ruled the Kashmir kingdom,the Dardi Raja Yasodhara passed away, presenting a tempting political opportunity to the Kashmiri king. Kashmir connived at turning several claimants of the Dard throne as puppets but this move instead of making things easier for Kashmiris triggered a power struggle across the mountainous country. A minister of the deceased Raja by the name of Viddasiha playing for high stakes first conquered the heart of the widowed Rani. The young son of the Raja was gradually reduced to a ceremonial parsonage devoid of executive powers. Viddasiha ruled the roost without any let or hindrance on part of the Rani who was grossly infatuated by Viddasahas amorous advances. Another ambitious minister,Paryuka hoisted the second son of the Raja as a contestant for the throne. The ruler of Kashmir mindful of his own vested interests backed Paryuka in the power struggle of Dards. A military confrontation became inevitable when the Kashmiri king

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sent an expeditionary force which however was led by an inexperienced young man, the younger brother of minister Sajja. Lacking knowledge of the terrain, nature and disposition of the opponents and other essential military inputs the fate of the expeditionary force under a rank amateur was sealed even before it could make any contact with the enemy lines. The force shamefacedly retreated after the very first confrontation at a place known as Dudhagahata. To add to the discomfiture of the Kashmiri king, the warring Dard factions concluded a peace treaty amongst themselves and worse still declared the Kashmiri king as their common enemy. Not content with the success of his moves the wily Dard minister Viddasiha succeeded in goading Lothana to claim the fortress of Lohara, a protectorate of Kashmir. Lothana now emerging as a committed aspirant for the territoty of Lohara lost no time in securing strong alliances with the powerful Kulak lobby of Damras led by Alamkara cakra. The Dards were already committed to helping him. Other disgruntled enemies of Kashmir king lying low so far now found an opportunity to be part of a new strong rebellion. One of the most notable of these elements was the disgruntled son ,Bhoja, of Salhana. The rebels chose the surroundings of Fort Sharda encircled by rivers Kishanganga and Madhumati(now Neelam Valley of Paki stan) as their head quarters. The deteriorating situation and its serious implications were not lost on the wise Simharaja who sent forth a strong force under the command of Dhanya to tackle the rebel -enemy nexus. For nearly four months Dhanya stayed put facing the enemy lines but feared initiating an offensive. Heavy snow fall had immobilized the royal army while the opposing Dard rebel forces vied with each other to strike first. But they were plagued by the sinking mutual trust of Damras and the rebel prince- lings. The stalemate ultimately ended when king Simharaja assumed the supreme command and wisely trashed a suggestion of Dhanya to sue for peace. Contrary to expectations of his army, the king exhorted his forces to surround the enemy and press an invasion. The unambiguous orders of the king had an electrifying effect on the men. Gen. Dhanya stormed the enemy fortress, the casualties on both sides rose very high. Retreat, regroup and storm was the strategy followed by the king which resulted in the besieged garrison loosing the will to fight. Their supply routes via the river too had been cut and now they lacked even enough water to drink. Bhoja the princely rebel holed up in the besieged fortress learnt about the faithless wife of his co conspirator Alamca cakra passing the secret fortress plans to her paramour Sasthacandra fighting on the kings side. The scandal leaked in the camp resulting in further loss of morale but the aggrieved husband Alamca cakra, managing to suppress his inner turmoil kept a Buddha like composure around himself. Bhoja was ordered to leave the camp in the midst of the night. Dismayed to see innumerable flares of the royal forces keenly watchful of the area around the fort, Bhoja postponed his plan to leave the besieged fort till after daybreak.

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At day break a Damra helped him and an accomplice slip down from the fort ramparts with the aid of a rope on to a large rock. During the day the two fugitives hid themselves behind the rock not daring to go down to the plains. They spent five days in this state on and behind the rock subsisting on a few coarse barley cakes they had by way of provisions and dropping their excreta like two birds perched high on a tree. On the sixth day of their ordeal the skies poured rendering their continued existence almost impossible owing to the extreme dampness and cold. Shouting desperate appeals to the Damra watchman in the fort, they persuaded him to pull them up and lodge them in a solitary cell of the fort. Morale of the rebel camp had by now touched a new low, the desertions from their ranks had gone so high that the Royal troops assigned an officer to supervise the surrender of rebel deserters. It took the Kashmiri minister of justice all his diplomatic charm and a heavy loaded purse to persuade the Damra to surrender and take their leader Lothana a prisoner but the prize catch Bhoja managed to escape into the hills around the sanctuary of Goddess Sharda with a firm resolve to fight the king at another time and another place. Viddadisha the Dard minister was following the war of Kashmiris with the rebels at Sharda closely. He had invited a large number of chiefs from up north to face and break the backbone of Kashmiri royalprowess. His call found many enthusiasts from amongst Yavnnas (of Greek descent),Turaccas(Turks most of whom had turned Muslims by now)and chiefs from Kafiristan who still clung to their Pagan rituals. The rebel Kashmiri prince Bhoja managed to reach the Dard camp after sneaking away from the Damra fort. The vast force comprising of knights and soldiers speaking several different languages advanced to meet their adversaries at a location of their choice. But fate willed otherwise, the deluge caused by a cloud burst stopped them in their tracks as it did the opposing force of the Kashmiri army. King Simha Raja sensing the gravity of the situation had all his forces including the reserves, thrown into the battle field. The skirmishes stared when the rebel leader Lothaka attacked Surapura. The commandant of the watch station there however succeeded in sending the rebel forces to their watery graves in the nearby river. Lothaka did fight like a man possessed and was withdrawn by his friends from the battle field with great difficulty. His plans to attack Padampura drew limited response from his colleagues and the men under his command. Another military leader Rilhana dispatched by the king to neutralize Lothaka fell on the enemy ranks and mowed them down like they were bundles of grass. Unmindful of the enemy attack in his rear it only goaded him to an unprecedented show of swordsmanship and high valor. The exemplary show of guts and resultant gore unnerved the enemy into inaction. On the third day of the blood bath when additional royal troops arrived in aid of Rilhana, the rebel Lothaka slithered away like a

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frightened snake. On yet another front the combined attack of Dards and Tusskars was faced by Sasthcandra.The glistening swords and the impressive cavalry of the foreign forces met more than their match in the furious onslaught of the young Sasthacandra and it wasnt long before their formations disappeared into the mountain w ilderness, their heads bowed down with shame. The Dard leaders as also the fugitive Bhoja disappeared from the scene. The wise Kashmiri king Jaysimha instead of advancing and wrecking the whole of Dardistan offered to their chief Vaddisha an honorable way out; demanding the surrender of Bhoja the disgruntled Kashmiri prince. The terms agreed to,Bhoja was coaxed back to Srinagari where to his utter surprise he was given a royal treatment due to a prodigal on return to his home.

Dichotomy of Simharajas reign. The picture of a kingdom flourishing in all respects while fighting wars and suppressing the inner revolts at the same time sounds paradoxical. Practically the entire reign of Simharaja(Jaysimha) of around twenty years is embellished on one hand with economic developments and a record of military ex peditions. Even the incompleted projects of ex rulers like Lalitadittya and Avantivarman were completed or renovated during this period. The cities built during Pravarsena got face lifts. Some noble men and their w ives too accomplished construction feats worth being recorded. The wife of a minister Rilhana, besides her development activities has left behind an interesting story of her pet cat. So famous became the cat that a vihara constructed by the lady got famous by the cats name rather that of the lady. It is said that after the demise of the lady the poor pet went into a sever depression losing her appetite to the extent that she died of starvation soon after the demise of her mistress. Unfortunately the name of the pet cat got forgotten over the passage of time. A great Matha built at Simhapura housed the foreign scholars mainly belonging to Indus region and the southerners known locally as the Dravidian Brahmins. A strong sense of stability and prosperity prevailing within the kingdom had shed away its poverty and desolation, and enabled it to re emerge with its traditional glory and prosperity. So richly was the land endowed and so well administered that even occasional crop failures went unnoticed by the public. The civil administration had undergone a sea change after the passing away of the old Chamberlin Laksmaka. The powers of the Prime minister having been decentralized, the resultant administration proved smoother to function. This picture of civic welfare and political calm is paradoxical when we see the country was all the time engaged in armed maneuvers, of course mostly on the outer fringes of the kingdom. It seems most of the army commanders and Rajputras having been kept on tenterhooks with missions against neighboring states

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of Rajapuri,Lohara or even the far off land of Dards by the machinations of the king did spare serious mutinies orcoups taking place in the kingdom. Ending the episodes by repeating the saying of Kalhan wont be inappropriate: Such is Kashmir, the country which may be conquered by force of spiritual merit but not by armed force; where the inhabitants in consequence fear more the next world.

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