Rajatarangini
Historical chronicle of India
Rajatarangini, ( Sanskrit: “River of Kings”) historical chronicle of early India, written in Sanskrit verse by the Kashmiri Brahman Kalhana in 1148, that is justifiably considered to be the best and most authentic work of its kind. It covers the entire span of history in the Kashmir region from the earliest times to the date of its composition.
Kalhana was excellently equipped for the work. Uninvolved personally in the maelstrom of contemporary politics, he nevertheless was profoundly affected by it and stated the following to be his ideal:
That noble-minded poet alone merits praise whose word, like the sentence of a judge, keeps free from love or hatred in recording the past.
His access to minute details of contemporary court intrigues was almost direct: his father and uncle were both in the Kashmir court. Regarding the events of the past, Kalhana’s search for material was truly fastidious. He delved deep into such model works as the Harsacarita and the Brihat-samhita epics and used with commendable familiarity the local rajakathas (royal chronicles) and such previous works on Kashmir as Nripavali by Kshemendra, Parthivavali by Helaraja, and Nilamatapurana. He displayed surprisingly advanced technical expertise for the time in his concern for unconventional sources. He looked up a variety of epigraphic sources relating to royal eulogies, construction of temples, and land grants; he studied coins, monumental remains, family records, and local traditions. But his traditional conceptual framework, using uncritical assumptions and a belief in the role of the poet as an exponent of moral maxims, makes the idealizing content in his narrative, particularly for the early period, rather dominant.
Rajatarangini, which consists of 7,826 verses, is divided into eight books. Book I attempts to weave imaginary tales of Kashmir kings into epic legends. Gonanda was the first king and a contemporary and enemy of the Hindu deity Krishna. Traces of genuine history are also found, however, in references to the Mauryan emperors Ashoka and Jalauka; the Buddhist Kushan kings Hushka (Huviska), Jushka (Vajheska), and Kanishka (Kaniska); and Mihirakula, a Huna king. Book II introduces a new line of kings not mentioned in any other authentic source, starting with Pratapaditya I and ending with Aryaraja. Book III starts with an account of the reign of Meghavahana of the restored line of Gonanda and refers to the brief reign of Matrigupta, a supposed contemporary of Vikramaditya Harsha of Malwa. There too, legend is mixed with reality, and Toramana Huna is incorporated into the line of Meghavahana. The book closes with the establishment of the Karkota Naga dynasty by Durlabhaka Pratapaditya II, and it is from Book IV on that Rajatarangini takes on the character of a dependable historical narrative. The Karkota line came to a close with the usurpation of the throne by Avantivarman, who started the Utpala dynasty in 855. In Books V and VI the history of the dynasty continues to 1003, when the kingdom of Kashmir passed on to a new dynasty, the Lohara. Book VII brings the narrative to the death of King Harsha (1101), and Book VIII deals with the stormy events between the death of Harsha and the stabilization of authority under Kalhana’s contemporary Jayasimha (reigned 1128–49).
In style the Rajatarangini narrative is sometimes considered as versified prose on a massive scale, yet its strong structural appeal made it a model for later historians. In fact, the history of Kashmir was continued, along Kalhana’s line, down to some years after the annexation of Kashmir by the Mughal emperor Akbar (1586) in the following works: Rajatarangini (by Jonaraja), Jainatarangini (by Shrivara), and Rajavalipataka (by Prajyabhatta and Shuka). Neither in style nor in authenticity do these works approximate the quality of Kalhana’s Rajatarangini..
‘RAJATARANGINI’ OF KASHMIRI POET KALHANA
--A Unique History of Kashmir in Sanskrit Verse.
In the history of world literature probably there exists no other work apart from Kashmiri poet Kalahana’s ‘Rajatarangini’ which narrates the history of a country in verse form and sustaining general interest all through. The credit for this unique composition ‘Rajatarangini’, that too in Sanskrit, goes to the poet-Historian Kalhana who lived in Kashmir in the 12th Century. Kalhana’s chronicle is neither Voltaire’s ‘History of Russia’ nor Gibbon’s ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’. His was not only a serious contribution to history; it was preeminently a work of art or Kavya. Kalhana looked upon himself not merely as a historian but also as a seer poet.
The ‘Rajatarangini’ or ‘The River of Kings’ by Kalhana Pandita is the earliest extant history of Kashmir. A unique historical poem, written between 1148- 1150 A.D, the ‘Rajatarangini’ contains valuable political, social and other information pertaining to Kashmir and the rest of India. Among the extant works of Sanskrit literature, Kalhana’s Chronicle stands out for its comparatively exact chronology. It represents a class of Sanskrit composition which comes nearest in character to the Chronicles of Mediaeval Europe. In the words of the noted Historian H.G. Rawlinson “Rajatarangini is Hindu India’s almost sole contributor to History”. The Chronicle has contributed a good deal to the reconstruction of ancient Indian history.
Kalhana was s born early in the 12th Century A.D. in a place called Parihasapura, a town in Kashmir, in an aristocratic Kashmiri Pandit Brahmin family. It is learnt that his name ‘Kalhana’ is a Prakrit variation of the Sanskrit word ‘Kalyana’ which means ‘auspiciousness’. His father Canpaka was a Minister in the Court of one King by name Harsha who ruled Kashmir for sometime in the 12th century and who became famous as ‘The Nero of Kashmir’. The major portion of Kalhana’s life passed off in what was for Kashmir one long period of civil war and political turmoil. The commencement of the 12th Century brought important dynastic revolution in Kashmir which affected the political and social life of the country. King Harsha who ruled Kashmir between 1089-1101 initially secured prosperity and peace to the region but became a victim to his own Neroian style of working and disposition .The legendary democracy represented by the Damaras, hastily persecuted by Harsha, rose in revolt against the king and killed him. Thereafter the history of Kashmir steadily declined.
The Rajatarangini consists of 8,000 shlokas under eight chapters called ‘Tarangas’ which means ‘Waves’ in Sanskrit. It is different from the conventional type of history in the sense that Kalhana has offered a connected narrative of the ruling dynasties of Kashmir from the earliest times down to his own. He has adopted metrical form, not merely as a form of expression but as a literary-cum-historic postulate of his time. In the chronicle the poet has given proper dates for the historical events and has substantiated the events with authority from the year 813 A.D. onwards. The poet himself has declared that he completed the entire writing in two years between 1148 -1150 A.D.
The first three chapters cover an aggregate period of more than 1000 years and consist for the most part of bare dynastic lists of about 54 reigns. The first historical name in the Chronicle is that of King Ashoka---attested by Ashoka’s famous pillar inscriptions. There is also a reference to a King by name Pravarasena who is supposed to be the founder of Srinagar. It appears that he named his capital as Pravarapura which was changed to Srinagar during the reign of King Ashoka. At the time of the Chinese pilgrim
Hiuen Tsang’s visit to India [631-633 A.D.], the capital Pravarapura was a comparatively a new city.
Among the several dynasties that ruled Kashmir, the Karkota dynasty was a very powerful one Among the Karkota kings, Muktapida Lalitaditya [699-730A.D] shines forth as a very powerful monarch whose sway extended far beyond Kashmir and adjacent territories. He is credited with his victory over the Turks. His extensive conquests made the Kingdom of Kashmir, in Lalitaditya’s time, the most powerful empire that India had known since the time of the Guptas. It was during the reign of Lalitaditya that the oldest Sun Temple in India at Martanda in Kashmir was built. The ruins of this magnificent Sun Temple in Kashmir are a tourist attraction even today.
In Rajatarangini, Kalhana devotes about half of the Chronicle to that half of the twelfth century which lies between the downfall of Harsha and the date of the composition of the Chronocle.This lengthy treatment has the advantage that an authentic contemporary picture of the social, political and economic aspects of Kashmir is presented. The Chronicle reveals that some of the bravest generals were Brahmins, a healthy state of affairs which was later revived by the Marathas. According to Kalhana, untouchability was unknown to Kashmir. In the Chronicle, Kalhana presents an authentic picture of his contemporary social and political life. Hence, Rajatarangini is a vast mine of information about the past of Kashmir and the contiguous territories.
An abridged version of the Rajatarangini in Persian was brought out by one Hyder Malik in the year 1617 A. D during Emperor Jahangir’s reign. An edition of this work was published in Calcutta under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1835. The first complete translation from the original Sanskrit appeared in French. Sir Aurel Stein translated the Rajatarangini into English in 1900. A literal translation of the
Chronicle into English, complete and unexpurgated, was made by the late Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, husband of late Srimathi Vijayalakshmi Pandit
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Historical chronicle of India
Rajatarangini, ( Sanskrit: “River of Kings”) historical chronicle of early India, written in Sanskrit verse by the Kashmiri Brahman Kalhana in 1148, that is justifiably considered to be the best and most authentic work of its kind. It covers the entire span of history in the Kashmir region from the earliest times to the date of its composition.
Kalhana was excellently equipped for the work. Uninvolved personally in the maelstrom of contemporary politics, he nevertheless was profoundly affected by it and stated the following to be his ideal:
That noble-minded poet alone merits praise whose word, like the sentence of a judge, keeps free from love or hatred in recording the past.
His access to minute details of contemporary court intrigues was almost direct: his father and uncle were both in the Kashmir court. Regarding the events of the past, Kalhana’s search for material was truly fastidious. He delved deep into such model works as the Harsacarita and the Brihat-samhita epics and used with commendable familiarity the local rajakathas (royal chronicles) and such previous works on Kashmir as Nripavali by Kshemendra, Parthivavali by Helaraja, and Nilamatapurana. He displayed surprisingly advanced technical expertise for the time in his concern for unconventional sources. He looked up a variety of epigraphic sources relating to royal eulogies, construction of temples, and land grants; he studied coins, monumental remains, family records, and local traditions. But his traditional conceptual framework, using uncritical assumptions and a belief in the role of the poet as an exponent of moral maxims, makes the idealizing content in his narrative, particularly for the early period, rather dominant.
Rajatarangini, which consists of 7,826 verses, is divided into eight books. Book I attempts to weave imaginary tales of Kashmir kings into epic legends. Gonanda was the first king and a contemporary and enemy of the Hindu deity Krishna. Traces of genuine history are also found, however, in references to the Mauryan emperors Ashoka and Jalauka; the Buddhist Kushan kings Hushka (Huviska), Jushka (Vajheska), and Kanishka (Kaniska); and Mihirakula, a Huna king. Book II introduces a new line of kings not mentioned in any other authentic source, starting with Pratapaditya I and ending with Aryaraja. Book III starts with an account of the reign of Meghavahana of the restored line of Gonanda and refers to the brief reign of Matrigupta, a supposed contemporary of Vikramaditya Harsha of Malwa. There too, legend is mixed with reality, and Toramana Huna is incorporated into the line of Meghavahana. The book closes with the establishment of the Karkota Naga dynasty by Durlabhaka Pratapaditya II, and it is from Book IV on that Rajatarangini takes on the character of a dependable historical narrative. The Karkota line came to a close with the usurpation of the throne by Avantivarman, who started the Utpala dynasty in 855. In Books V and VI the history of the dynasty continues to 1003, when the kingdom of Kashmir passed on to a new dynasty, the Lohara. Book VII brings the narrative to the death of King Harsha (1101), and Book VIII deals with the stormy events between the death of Harsha and the stabilization of authority under Kalhana’s contemporary Jayasimha (reigned 1128–49).
In style the Rajatarangini narrative is sometimes considered as versified prose on a massive scale, yet its strong structural appeal made it a model for later historians. In fact, the history of Kashmir was continued, along Kalhana’s line, down to some years after the annexation of Kashmir by the Mughal emperor Akbar (1586) in the following works: Rajatarangini (by Jonaraja), Jainatarangini (by Shrivara), and Rajavalipataka (by Prajyabhatta and Shuka). Neither in style nor in authenticity do these works approximate the quality of Kalhana’s Rajatarangini..
Rājatarangiṇī
(Rājataraṃgiṇī "The River of Kings") is a metrical historical chronicle
of north-western Indian subcontinent, particularly the kings of
Kashmir, written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri Brahman Kalhana in 12th century
CE.
The work generally records the heritage of Kashmir, but 120 verses of Rājatarangiṇī describe the misrule prevailing in Kashmir during the reign of King Kalash, son of King Ananta Deva of Kashmir. Although the earlier books are inaccurate in their chronology, they still provide an invaluable source of information about early Kashmir and its neighbors in the north western parts of the Indian subcontinent, and are widely referenced by later historians and ethnographer.
The Rajatarangini was written in Sanskrit by Kalhana, who was a Kashmiri Brahmin. The Rajataringini provides the earliest source on Kashmir that can be labeled as a "historical" text on this region. The broad valley of Kashmir, also spelled Cashmere is almost completely surrounded by the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range.
The work generally records the heritage of Kashmir, but 120 verses of Rājatarangiṇī describe the misrule prevailing in Kashmir during the reign of King Kalash, son of King Ananta Deva of Kashmir. Although the earlier books are inaccurate in their chronology, they still provide an invaluable source of information about early Kashmir and its neighbors in the north western parts of the Indian subcontinent, and are widely referenced by later historians and ethnographer.
The Rajatarangini was written in Sanskrit by Kalhana, who was a Kashmiri Brahmin. The Rajataringini provides the earliest source on Kashmir that can be labeled as a "historical" text on this region. The broad valley of Kashmir, also spelled Cashmere is almost completely surrounded by the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal range.
Kalhana states that the valley of Kashmir was formerly a lake. This was
drained by the great rishi or sage, Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of
Brahma, by cutting the gap in the hills at Baramulla, derived from
Sanskrit वराहमूल (Boar's Molar), वराह (Varaha) meaning Boar + मूल (Mula)
meaning deep or root.Kalhana (कल्हण) (c. 12th century CE), a Kashmiri
Brahmin, was the author of Rajatarangini, and is regarded as Kashmir's
first historian.[dubious – discuss] In fact, his translator Aurel Stein
expressed the view that his was the only true Sanskrit history. Little
is known about him except from what he tells us about himself in the
opening verses of his book. His father Champaka was the minister (Lord
of the Gate) in Harsha of Kashmir's court.
Kalhana in his opening Taranga of Rajatarangini presents his views on how history ought to be written. From Stein's translation.The author of the Rajatarangini history chronicles the rulers of the valley from earliest times, from the epic period of the Mahābhārata to the reign of Sangrama Deva (c.1006 CE), before the Muslim era. The list of kings goes back to the 19th century BCE.[5] Some of the kings and dynasties can be identified with inscriptions and the histories of the empires that periodically included the Kashmir valley, but for long periods the Rajatarangini is the only source.
The work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas (waves).
Kalhaṇa's account of Kashmir begins with the legendary reign of Gonarda, who was contemporary to Yudhishthira of the Mahābhārata, but the recorded history of Kashmir, as retold by Kalhaṇa begins from the period of the Mauryas. Kalhaṇa's account also states that the city of Srinagar was founded by the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, and that Buddhism reached the Kashmir valley during this period. From there, Buddhism spread to several other adjoining regions including Central Asia, Tibet and China.
Kalhana in his opening Taranga of Rajatarangini presents his views on how history ought to be written. From Stein's translation.The author of the Rajatarangini history chronicles the rulers of the valley from earliest times, from the epic period of the Mahābhārata to the reign of Sangrama Deva (c.1006 CE), before the Muslim era. The list of kings goes back to the 19th century BCE.[5] Some of the kings and dynasties can be identified with inscriptions and the histories of the empires that periodically included the Kashmir valley, but for long periods the Rajatarangini is the only source.
The work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas (waves).
Kalhaṇa's account of Kashmir begins with the legendary reign of Gonarda, who was contemporary to Yudhishthira of the Mahābhārata, but the recorded history of Kashmir, as retold by Kalhaṇa begins from the period of the Mauryas. Kalhaṇa's account also states that the city of Srinagar was founded by the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, and that Buddhism reached the Kashmir valley during this period. From there, Buddhism spread to several other adjoining regions including Central Asia, Tibet and China.
Kalhana's History of Kashmir
‘RAJATARANGINI’ OF KASHMIRI POET KALHANA
--A Unique History of Kashmir in Sanskrit Verse.
In the history of world literature probably there exists no other work apart from Kashmiri poet Kalahana’s ‘Rajatarangini’ which narrates the history of a country in verse form and sustaining general interest all through. The credit for this unique composition ‘Rajatarangini’, that too in Sanskrit, goes to the poet-Historian Kalhana who lived in Kashmir in the 12th Century. Kalhana’s chronicle is neither Voltaire’s ‘History of Russia’ nor Gibbon’s ‘The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire’. His was not only a serious contribution to history; it was preeminently a work of art or Kavya. Kalhana looked upon himself not merely as a historian but also as a seer poet.
The ‘Rajatarangini’ or ‘The River of Kings’ by Kalhana Pandita is the earliest extant history of Kashmir. A unique historical poem, written between 1148- 1150 A.D, the ‘Rajatarangini’ contains valuable political, social and other information pertaining to Kashmir and the rest of India. Among the extant works of Sanskrit literature, Kalhana’s Chronicle stands out for its comparatively exact chronology. It represents a class of Sanskrit composition which comes nearest in character to the Chronicles of Mediaeval Europe. In the words of the noted Historian H.G. Rawlinson “Rajatarangini is Hindu India’s almost sole contributor to History”. The Chronicle has contributed a good deal to the reconstruction of ancient Indian history.
Kalhana was s born early in the 12th Century A.D. in a place called Parihasapura, a town in Kashmir, in an aristocratic Kashmiri Pandit Brahmin family. It is learnt that his name ‘Kalhana’ is a Prakrit variation of the Sanskrit word ‘Kalyana’ which means ‘auspiciousness’. His father Canpaka was a Minister in the Court of one King by name Harsha who ruled Kashmir for sometime in the 12th century and who became famous as ‘The Nero of Kashmir’. The major portion of Kalhana’s life passed off in what was for Kashmir one long period of civil war and political turmoil. The commencement of the 12th Century brought important dynastic revolution in Kashmir which affected the political and social life of the country. King Harsha who ruled Kashmir between 1089-1101 initially secured prosperity and peace to the region but became a victim to his own Neroian style of working and disposition .The legendary democracy represented by the Damaras, hastily persecuted by Harsha, rose in revolt against the king and killed him. Thereafter the history of Kashmir steadily declined.
The Rajatarangini consists of 8,000 shlokas under eight chapters called ‘Tarangas’ which means ‘Waves’ in Sanskrit. It is different from the conventional type of history in the sense that Kalhana has offered a connected narrative of the ruling dynasties of Kashmir from the earliest times down to his own. He has adopted metrical form, not merely as a form of expression but as a literary-cum-historic postulate of his time. In the chronicle the poet has given proper dates for the historical events and has substantiated the events with authority from the year 813 A.D. onwards. The poet himself has declared that he completed the entire writing in two years between 1148 -1150 A.D.
The first three chapters cover an aggregate period of more than 1000 years and consist for the most part of bare dynastic lists of about 54 reigns. The first historical name in the Chronicle is that of King Ashoka---attested by Ashoka’s famous pillar inscriptions. There is also a reference to a King by name Pravarasena who is supposed to be the founder of Srinagar. It appears that he named his capital as Pravarapura which was changed to Srinagar during the reign of King Ashoka. At the time of the Chinese pilgrim
Hiuen Tsang’s visit to India [631-633 A.D.], the capital Pravarapura was a comparatively a new city.
Among the several dynasties that ruled Kashmir, the Karkota dynasty was a very powerful one Among the Karkota kings, Muktapida Lalitaditya [699-730A.D] shines forth as a very powerful monarch whose sway extended far beyond Kashmir and adjacent territories. He is credited with his victory over the Turks. His extensive conquests made the Kingdom of Kashmir, in Lalitaditya’s time, the most powerful empire that India had known since the time of the Guptas. It was during the reign of Lalitaditya that the oldest Sun Temple in India at Martanda in Kashmir was built. The ruins of this magnificent Sun Temple in Kashmir are a tourist attraction even today.
In Rajatarangini, Kalhana devotes about half of the Chronicle to that half of the twelfth century which lies between the downfall of Harsha and the date of the composition of the Chronocle.This lengthy treatment has the advantage that an authentic contemporary picture of the social, political and economic aspects of Kashmir is presented. The Chronicle reveals that some of the bravest generals were Brahmins, a healthy state of affairs which was later revived by the Marathas. According to Kalhana, untouchability was unknown to Kashmir. In the Chronicle, Kalhana presents an authentic picture of his contemporary social and political life. Hence, Rajatarangini is a vast mine of information about the past of Kashmir and the contiguous territories.
An abridged version of the Rajatarangini in Persian was brought out by one Hyder Malik in the year 1617 A. D during Emperor Jahangir’s reign. An edition of this work was published in Calcutta under the auspices of the Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1835. The first complete translation from the original Sanskrit appeared in French. Sir Aurel Stein translated the Rajatarangini into English in 1900. A literal translation of the
Chronicle into English, complete and unexpurgated, was made by the late Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, husband of late Srimathi Vijayalakshmi Pandit
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EDITED BY ........ASHOK KOUL
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