Kashmir and Kalhaṇa

Far to the north, in the mid-8th century, a new power rose in the Himalayan kingdom of Kāśhmīra (Kashmir). Besides inscriptions and coins, we know its rulers from Kalhaṇa, who wrote the Rājatarangiṇī — 'the River of Kings'.

Kalhaṇa, a Kashmiri scholar and poet, wrote this long poem in Sanskrit in the 12th century, telling the history of Kashmir's rulers from the beginning to his own time. Among them, Lalitāditya Muktāpīda of the Kārkoṭa dynasty is seen as a firm ruler.

In the late 10th century, Queen Diddā made her power secure through alliances — and, Kalhaṇa says, by ruthlessly getting rid of rivals, even her own grandsons. She also founded towns, built temples and restored many more. Kalhaṇa records both the building and the cruelty.

Look at how Kalhaṇa worked. He wrote that the old stories had become broken and scattered, so he studied eleven earlier works by other scholars and checked them against inscriptions — records of temple openings, royal land grants and so on — to correct their errors. That is exactly what a historian does today.

Kalhaṇa also wanted to draw moral lessons from history. He wrote that rulers who harass their people perish with their families, while good fortune follows even the descendants of those who restore order. And he set a rule for himself: a good historian's words should be like a judge's, free from love or hatred.

Ādi Śhankarāchārya, the 8th-century teacher of the advaita vedānta philosophy, is said to have visited the hill near Srinagar that now bears his name. He taught that brahman (pure consciousness) is the ultimate reality and the world we see is māyā (illusion). He set up four maṭhas (monasteries and centres of learning) at Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka and Sringeri — at the four corners of India.

Though mountainous, Kashmir stayed well connected with the rest of India. It was a major centre of Sanskrit learning, philosophy and the arts. A school called Kashmir Śhaivism produced great scholars like Abhinavagupta, whose writings on philosophy, poetry and art influenced all of India. Kashmir was also a bridge for Buddhist learning, and its artisans, sculptors and manuscript painters were in demand far beyond.