A Survey of the Ancient Hindu Rule

by Jia Lal Kilam

CHAPTER I
A Survey of the Ancient Hindu Rule

THE history of Kashmir, as elsewhere in India, begins with the story about the Brahman-Kshatriya alliance, one supporting the other for their common good. The Kshatriya ruling classes made rich endowments upon the Brahmanical institutions and the Brahmans in their turn sang their praises and helped in the creation of an ideology in their favour. The social polity which guaranteed to both an ascendency over others lasted as long as the tribal economy prevailed in the society. The history of this period in Kashmir naturally deals only with the exploits and achievements of these two classes. But such a state of affairs could not last for long. The society did at last emerge itself out of the primitive tribal communistic stage and even in Vedic times we find the birth of a rich trading class. This class by its contact with the outside world became the harbinger of a new set of ideas free from the shackles of rigid Brahmanical tenets. This gave rise to a system of materialistic thought even prior to the advent of Buddhism. In course of time, the trading classes gathered much political power and gradually organized themselves in guilds to protect themselves from the undue exactions of their Kshatriya rulers. They sought the alliance of the freed Shudras and husbandmen who had by now begun to own private property in land and goods. In course of time much of the political power fell into the hands of this new trading class and the social rigidity, which was the result of Brahmanical teachings invented to maintain the superiority of themselves and of the ruling classes, began to break down. This created a disturbance in the social equilibrium as it created many more classes. In the course of further development we find the different classes fighting with each other for asserting their superiority. At one time the Kshatriyas asserted their superiority over all other classes and at another time there was a feud between the people and the nobles. At last there came about an unprecedented struggle between the Kshatriyas and the Brahmans. In the mythological literature the Brahmans are said to have been led by Parasurama, and the Kshatriyas by Kartavirjarjuna. This great struggle is said to have lasted for about a hundred years and ended in a great disaster for the Brahmans, though at last they succeeded in gaining some concessions such as freedom from capital punishment etc. As already stated, the birth of a rich commercial class created a breach in the citadel of the tribal economy, and freed the peoples' thought from the thraldom of Brahmanical priest-craft, and it was but natural that the ruling classes should have turned now more towards them for help and support than their erstwhile allies the Brahmans, who in the changed circumstances could not be of much use. A struggle between Kshatriyas and Brahmans was therefore inevitable, in which the Kshatriyas were by far the successful party and the Brahmans in spite of securing some concessions, were forced to play the second fiddle. Freedom of thought now became an established fact. Heretical sects with a definite anti-Brahman bias began to grow. The Brahmans retorted by calling them as Anarya i.e., those who had deviated from the Vedic path. The seed of hetrodoxy was sown in Magdha Desha, and it was here that the teachings of the Buddha were firstly accepted. It is noteworthy that the founders, expounders and the leaders of Buddhistic thought were all of them from the Kshatriya class, who now allied themselves freely with freed Shudras and Vaishas as against the Brahmans, thus bringing into existence a new phase in class struggle i. e., religious struggle. This struggle lasted for a number of centuries, till Brahmanical counter-revolution succeeded in establishing its hold again, though not without making many concessions to Buddhism, such as installing the Buddha as an Avtara. In Kashmir, prior to the installation of Buddhism in the land as State religion, we come across with a string of kings, some of whom were very nice fellows who built towns, constructed canals, and helped agriculture and yet there were many others who freely partook of the moral anarchy that had become the order of the day. It is evident that even before Buddhism had set its foot in Kashmir, there was a great deal of revulsion in men's minds against the performance of the ritualistic ceremonies in a mechanical manner, and in the absence of an alternative programme of religion, moral and social anarchy was the result. But even as it was, there were preachers (probably Buddhists) who tried to wean the people from the path of sin and error. There were also kings who lived a Buddhist life, though without proclaiming themselves as such. Thus we come across with Durnadeo and Simhadeo - father and son - who ruled over Kashmir for a considerable period, and in whose reigns meat eating was banned, and the frivolities and other luxuries which attended the royal courts were completely banned. Similarly in the reign of Sundersen we find a preacher Nanda Gupta raising his voice against the prevailing moral disorder which had reached its peak by then. And Buddhism at - last succeeded. With the country passing into the hands of Asoka, Buddhism received a great encouragement. The rise of Buddhism and Brahmanical reactions to it gave rise to a long drawn struggle between the two rival ideologies. Powerful kings - both Buddhist and Brahman - sprang from this struggle. Some of them were great builders etc. Asoka himself built many stupas and founded the city of Srinagar. The rule of Asoka in Kashmir was followed by that of Jaloka, who is mentioned in Rajatarangini as his son. Buddhism not having yet planted its roots deep in men's minds, this prince reverted back to Brahmanism, built many temples, made rich endowments on them and besides a number of "men well versed in law and religion belonging to all the four castes", were imported from Kanauj where he had led a successful military expedition. It might seem that Brahmanical reaction was successful. But Buddhism was taking rapid strides towards its own success. The result was that not long after Jaloka had to make peace with the Buddhists and built a monastry for them, which he had once destroyed. During the reign of Kanishka, ''Budhism flourished in Kashmir and during his long reign Buddhist hermits were all-powerful in the country and the Buddhist religion prevailed without opposition." The great Nagarjuna said to be a Bodhisatva and described as one of the greatest philosophers of India lived in Kashmir during Kanishka's reign. It was during this period that Kanishka organized the great Buddhist Council, which was presided over by two eminent scholars of the day - Asvaghosha and Vasumitra. The Council was held at Kanishkapural in Kashmir and was attended by 500 monks from all over India. During Abhimanu's reign who succeeded Kanishka, Nagarjuna made converts to Buddhism and defeated the Brahmans in discussion and argument. Civil war soon followed and the Brahmans in alliance with a local tribe named Nagas inflicted death, disaster and other untold miseries upon the Buddhists. Chandracharaya, a renowed grammarian of Kashmir, led the Brahmanical side on the dialectical plane. Inspite of the Brahman opposition, Buddhism did not lose its hold on men's minds. Under its in fluence, Kashmir produced scholars of very great renown who carried Buddhism far and wide. Kumarajiva a great Kashmiri scholar went during the regime of the later Chin dynasty (A. D. 384-417) to China with the message of Buddha and gained a title of great honour from the Chinese savants. He is referred to in China as "one of the four suns of Buddhism" and is "credited with the introduction of a new alphabet. There are other Kashmiri Buddhist missionaries mentioned such as Shakyashri Badhra (405 A. D.) Ratnavera, Shama Bhatta etc. who went to China and Tibet to preach Budhism there. Brahmans at last regained their supermacy, though gradually. During the reign of Nara "thousands of monastries were burnt, and thousands of villages that supported those monastries were given over to the Brahmans." Brahmans having succeeded in establishing their supremacy set themselves in right earnest in strengthening themselves and their position. Many superstitious observances and practices were invented. Thought and culture were denied to everybody excepting themselves and the modern Hinduism in Kashmir began its growth. But this degraded the Brahmans themselves. During Mihirkula's reign many shameless practices are ascribed to them.
Gopaditya, sixth in line after Mahirkula, expelled from the country those Brahmans who had taken to irreligious and immoral practices and in their stead many Brahmans were invited from foreign countries. Brahmanism regained its supremacy completely. During Meghavahna's rule, Buddhism succeeded in regaining some of its former glory. But it was no better than the last flicker of a fading flame.
Thus ends the first phase, i. e., the struggle between Buddhism and Brahmanism in the history of Hindu Kashmir.
With the establishment of the Karkuta dynasty (627 A. D.) we arrive at a period of comparative historical authenticity. It was during this period that the Chinese savant Huentsang came on a pilgrimage to Kashmir. Buddhism was then in a condition of decay in Kashmir as becomes evident from his remark "that the kingdom is not much given to faith and the temples of the heretics are their sole concern." But to the learning of the priestly class he pays a glowing tribute when he says that "the country from remote times was distinguished for learning and their priests were all of high religious merit and conspicuous virtue, as well as marked talent and power of clear exposition of doctrine and though the priests of other nations were in their own way distinguished, yet they could not be compared with them so different were they from the ordinary class."
The most important king of the Karkuta dynasty was Lalitaditya Muktapida (697 A.D. to 733 A.D.) During his reign Kashmir reached the highest peak of military glory. He led successful military expeditions in the south as far as Kanauj wherefrom he was accompanied back by the great poet Bhavabhuti and held sway over a major portion of the Punjab in the south and Baltistan in the north. The successful military expeditions are borne out by a letter written in 712 A. D. by Dahar, the King of Sindh to Mahomed Bin Qasim, the first Muslim invader in which we come across with the following passage: "If I had sent against you the King of Kashmir on whose threshold the other rulers of Hind had placed their heads, who sways the whole of Hind, even the countries of Makran and Turan..."
The King of Kashmir referred to in the letter is no other than Lalitaditya. He sent an embassy to China which was very well received there. He was a great builder. The world famous Martanda temple ruins bear eloquent testimony to his love of building and the gigantic irrigation schemes which he inaugurated added very greately to the cultivable area of the country. It appears that a feudal class had come into existence during these days. Its growth was distasteful for Lalitaditya and the instructions that he sent to his Government from an expedition in the north are so interesting that no apology is sought for quoting them here in extenso:
"The people who dwell in mountains should every year be punished without fault for if they get money and fortify themselves they will turn out formidable. Every care should be taken that there should not remain more food supply than is required for one year's consumption nor more oxen than are required for the tillage of their fields. Because if they come to possess more wealth, they would become formidable Damaras, strong enough even to disregard the King's Commands."
Further he impresses upon them that " when the villagers have clothes, wives, eatables, ornaments, elephants, horses and houses like the citizens..when soldiers are raised from one district only when Government officials establish marriage alliances with each other, then you should know that the lot of the people turns worse."
From the above it becomes abundantly clear that Lalitaditya looked with very great abhorence upon the growth of a powerful class amongst the rural population. A powerful challenging feudal class being in existence he wanted to break its power by all the possible means at his disposal. The conquests of Lalitaditya brought Kashmir nearer to the external world and must have given rise to a rich commercial class generally residing in cities and towns. Towards this class he exhibited a great deal of partiality, for it must have been they who supplied him with finances to conduct his warfare. So great was his revulsion against agricultural population that he exhorts his Government that not more than one year's rations should be allowed to remain with the villagers for fear lest they should become formidable Damaras.
But who are these Damaras who are often mentioned in the annals of Kashmir. For long the various Indologists held that the Damaras were a turbulent tribe who inhabited the northern districts of Kashmir but the consensus of authoritative opinion borne out by the Kashmir annals themselves is that the word " Damara" signified a feudal chief and did not connote a tribe though in course of time this term was used as synonymous with a turbulent person or group of such persons. Thus it becomes clear that class struggle in the time of Lalitaditya had entered a new phase in the history of Kashmir, i. e., feudal or land owning classes versus the growing rich commercial class. In his anxiety to support a growing commercial class, Lalitaditya seems to have lost all support of agricultural masses whom he suppressed lest they should become "formidable Damaras." He died while leading an expedition in the north and with his passing away the magnificent edifice of Government raised by him with so much exertion tumbled to pieces. A general disorder became now the order of the day excepting during the reign of Jayapira (764-795 A.D.). He was a great conquerer and lover of learning. Katayana's commentary on Panini was re-compiled. Vasugupta, the founder of Shaiva philosophy, belongs to this era; and so many other philosophers and poets of great renown. The Chinese pilgrim Ou-K'ong reached Kashmir during this period (759 A.D.). He took here his full vow as a regular monk. He stayed in Kashmir for about four years which time he spent in visiting holy places or studying Sanskrit. From his account it appears that Buddhism was still prominently existing if not flourishing. In this period we come across with Kayastha class who are described as kings, financiers and advisers. Being the financiers of the king, they naturally amassed huge political power. A struggle with Brahmans was inevitable and it is related that the Brahmans brought about the death of the king for his partiality towards this class. It is significant that any new class which sprang into prominence had to measure its strength with the Brahmans. The next eighty years have witnessed nothing but the installation and dethronement of puppet kings, risings of insurgent chieftains, and intrigues amongst rival cliques till we come across with another landmark in the history of Kashmir, the accession of Avanti Varman (855-883 A. D.). to the throne who is the founder of the Utpala dynasty.
During his reign Kashmir witnessed an unprecedented economic prosperity. Agriculture flourished, and the industries, commerce and trade were in a thriving condition. Extensive drainge and irrigation schemes were undertaken, and the country was freed from the danger of floods. A low caste Hindu, Suyya by name, assisted him in all these beneficent projects. Culturally Kashmir witnessed great advancement. Kayyatacharya Somananda, Muktakantha Swamin, Shiva Swamin and Ananda Vardhana and Kallata great Shaiva philosophers and authors, flourished during this period. The feudal barons are seen becoming more powerful than ever before. Dhanava Damara seized a number of villages bequeathed to some temples. This Damara had an infantry of his own, and was so powerful that he refused to come in royal presence though sent for and when he came he came under an armed escort. He was, however, killed for his over-bearing attitude under king's orders.
Awantivarman is the first Vaishnavite king of Kashmir and it is during his reign that temples were dedicated to Vishnu. He was succeeded by his son Shankara Varman (883-902 A. D.) who was an ambitious and oppressive ruler. He conquered the neighouring principalities including Gujrat which was then under the rule of one Alakhan, who by his name appears to be a Muslim, though till then the Muslims had not set their foot in the Punjab. He led an expedition to Kabul also as we shall presentiy see. He founded the city of Shankarpur now known as Pattan, built two temples there and starta woollen industry and converted it into a market for selling and buying cattle. During the reign of Shankara Varman the struggle between the Brahmans and other castes such as Kayasthas reached its climax. The power of Brahmans was broken. The sacred character of their citadels was violated. Offerings which were made to temples, incense meant to be burnt there and the villages bequeathed to them and the riches lying there were all appropriated by the king. He refused to talk in Sanskrit, and always used the language used by the people (Apabramsha). For this he is greatly blamed by the Brahman historians. But he encouraged industries, though at the same time he heavily taxed them. As against the industrialists, he treated the agricultural population with great scorn and for the first time in the history of Kashmir he introduced the institution of Begar (forced labour from villagers). The Kayasthas now became the dominant class who invented a number of taxes and allied themselves with the king. The Brahmans on their part have produced a huge mass of literature in which the Kayasthas have been reduced to a place of great scorn and redicule. With the death of Shankaravarman, general disorder set in which threw into prominence turbulent Kashmiri tribe, Tantrins. The Tantrins set up one king after another, according as they were bribed and courted until Chakravarman (922-933 A.D.) with the help of Damaras and Ekangas broke their power. When it is borne in mind that Damaras were the feudal barons and Ekangas the bodyguard of the king, the class character of the strife between them and the Tantrins who were common people representing popular upsurge and recently come into prominence can very easily be understood. But Chakravarmana was himself killed by some Damaras, and after some time the Utpala dynasty ceased to exist and was replaced by the first Lohara dynasty.
During this period, though very much disturbed, by political vicissitudes, Kashmir was culturally quite alive. Pradyumana Bhatta, Utpalacharya, Rama Kantha, Prajnarjuna Lacha man Gupta and Mahadeva Bhatta have made colossal contributions to Shaivite thought and some of them have been given a very high place of honour amongst ancient Indian philosophers.
The Lohara dynasty occupies an important place in the history of Kashmir, for it was during this period that Kashmir came in contact with the Muslim conquerers of India. During the reign of Sangram Raja (1003-1028 A.D.) it is recorded that the "Kashmirians crossed the river Toushi and destroyed the detachment of soldiers sent by Hammira to reconnoitre. But though the Kashmirians were eager for the fight, the wise Shahi repeatedly advised them to take shelter behind the rocks, but Tunga disregarded the advice. The general of the Turshkas was well-versed in the tactics of war, and brought out his army early in the morning. On this the army of Tunga dispersed." Hammira is the abbreviated form of Amirul-Mominin, a title used by Mahmud of Gazni for himself, and the Turshkas or Turks is the name given by Kalhana to the Muslims. This passage clearly refers to the last resistance which was offered by Trilochanpal to Mahmud in which Kashmir also sent a detachment of troops. As a result of Mahmud's invasion the Punjab passed into Muslim hands and most of the tribes on the borders of Kashmir embraced Islam. These people even after their conversion to Islam, continued to come to Kashmir. Some came as traders, some as tourists, and some came for proselytising the new faith. Some of them settled in Kashmir, and made some converts as well. But upon the politics of the country, they did not make any deep impression, at least for the time being.
Sangram Raja was succeeded by his son Hari Raja (1028 A. D.). In spite of the great anxiety exhibited by Lalitaditya to suppress them, the Damaras had by now amassed huge power and found themselves in a position to flout the king's authority. We have seen that side by side with the feudal chiefs that had become powerful enough during Lalitaditya's reign and which necessitated that ruler to adopt extraordinary measures for their suppression, a class of industrialists had also sprung into existence, who received a special measure of encouragement from their rulers. The rulers in their warfare required financial support which was given to them by the industrial classes, and who as a result found greater markets available in the newly acquired territories. A struggle was therefore inevitable which took the shape of Damaras (feudal lords) versus the rulers. During the reign of Ananta (1028-1063 A.D.) the Damaras rose in rebellion, but were ruthlessly crushed by the king. The king defeated the Raja of Chamba through whose territories the road to Eastern Punjab passed, but failed in Hazara which connected Kashmir with Western Punjab and Afghan territory. After him came Harsha ( 1080 - 1101 A.D.). This prince who was a jumble of contraries, appears to have represented in himself the confusion of times. He was cruel and kind-hearted, liberal and greedy and cunning and thoughtless. But he was a great lover of learning and encouraged learned scholars, from abroad to settle in Kashmir. The Damaras again rose in rebellion, but the king crushed them with great ruthlessness. But they soon made common cause with his two cousins, Sushala and Uchchala who rose in rebellion against the king. By his extavagance and other ill-advised expenditure, Harsha had weakenened himself financially. To replenish his treasury, he embarked upon a policy of exhorbitant taxation and even robbed the temples of their valuables. This naturally created a great deal of resentment amongst his subjects and his none-too-loyal officers. To meet such unforeseen contigencies, he opened a new leaf in the annals of Kashmir. Hitherto the kings of Kashmir relied solely upon their Ekanga and Tantrin soldiers. But Harsha enlisted Muslims and organized the army on a new model. Each group of hundred soldiers was placed under the charge of a Muslim commander thus making it impossible for his soldiers to hatch plots, or run away from the battlefield. From Harsha's time onwards, the Muslims as a class appeared in the political field. For long did they keep themselves allied with the rulers of the country and helped them in maintaining themselves on their tottering thrones. Their fighting qualities and the royal patronage made the Muslims a powerful factor in the body-politic. But it took them another two centuries before they became the masters of the country. During these two centuries, the Hindu rule lingered on more dead than alive, crippled and weakened by internecine strifes of the nobles and the restiveness of the upper classes and the resentment of the bulk of the population. After the fall of Harshal Uchchala (1101-1111 A. D. ) mounted the throne with the help of the Damaras. He fell out with them soon probably because he could not fulfil their extravagant demands and dealt a crushing blow to them. In the reign of Sushala (1111-1228) who followed Uchchala the Damaras again rose in rebellion. They attacked and plundered the city of Srinagar and reduced the king to such a plight that he had to flee for his life to Poonch. Bikhshachara, a distant cousin of Sushala was selected for the kingship by the rebellious nobles. He was in constant fear of Sushala and was very suspicious even of his supporters. He organized a cavalry force manned mainly by the Muslims. Kalhana records the brag of this force in the following words: " Every individual Turshka (Muslim soldier) showed a cord and said that he would bind and drag Sushala with it." But records the historian Kalhana, " The Turshka soldiers dropped their ropes in fear and were destroyed by Sushala in a short time. The Turshkas gone, Bikhshachara was defeated and Sushala again became the king." He was followed by Jai Singh (1128-1155 A.D.). During his reign there was general disorder created by rebellions of warring chiefs, but the king could cope with it and even defeated a detachment of foreign troops which were about to raid the country. His successors were either weaklings or idiots, unworthy of the kingly duties they were called to discharge. Another tribe known as Lavanyas now came into prominence. During the reign of Gopadeva (1171 to 1180 A. D.) the Brahmans gained a great deal of supremacy, but were thwarted by the Lavanyas who sided with the king. During the reign of Rama-deva (1252-1273 A. D.) some Bhattas (Brahmans) who had helped in his investiture as king, having been insulted by him, conspired to install somebody from amongst Khashas on the throne of Kashmir. But their conspiracy did not long remain a secret and an orgy of destruction and plunder was let loose upon them. Some were killed and others suppressed with atrocious mercilessness, and to save themselves the cry was raised everywhere 'Na Batoham..' "I am not a Bhatta." This is the first onslaught recorded in history against the Brahmans of Kashmir. There is nothing very important amongst his successors except that intrigue and insurgency and civil war went on unabated. The whole polity was undermined by internecine deadly struggle and it did not take much time for a crisis to develop which ended the ancient Hindu rule for all time.
Kashmir though cut off by impregnable mountain barriers from the rest of the world had always very deep cultural and political relations with her neighbours. She had her diplomatic relations with China and other countries in the north. Lalitaditya led his armies as far as Gobi desert in the north. For long the exploits of Lalitaditya which have been narrated in the Raj Tarangni quite in detail were treated by scholars as a mere figment of the imagination of Kalhana, but Sindh ruler Dahar's letter to Bin Qasim to which reference has been made earlier has set at rest all the controversy on this score. Dahar's letter finds its place in Chhachhinama which is an account of the war between Dahar and Bin Qasim given by an Arab eye witness. The nearest Hindu Kingdom to Kashmir was that of Kabul. With Kabul, Kashmir was tied with bonds of religion, but she had also political relations with her which lasted for a number of centuries as will be presently seen. Reference may in this behalf be made to Alberuni an Arab scholar who came to India with Mahmud of Gazni in the beginning of 11th century and stayed on in India for a number of years. Alberuni has left a book on India in which he has given with great scholarly precision an account of the social, political and economic conditions of the then India. Alberuni writes that "the Hindus had kings residing in Kabul..The last king of this race (Kshatriya) was Lagutarman and his wazir was Kallar, a Brahman. Lagutarman had bad manners and worse behaviour, so the Vazier put him in chains and occupied the royal throne. After him ruled Brahman kings named Samand, Kamalu, Bhim, Jaipal, Anandpal and Tarojanpal (Trilochanpal).'' Out of the seven Brahman kings of Kabul mentioned by Alberuni, we find mention of four in Kalhana's Raj Tarangini with this difference that Kalhana 'calls the first king Lalliya and not as Kallar as Alberuni calls him, the other three being Kamluka, Bhima and Trilochanpal. Kalhana wrote his history in 1148 A. D. about 125 years after the fall of Trilochanpal, who according to Alberuni was killed in 1021 A. D. There is one thing very interesting about the Hindu Kings of Kabul, and that they were known as Shahs and their dynasty as Hindu Shahis of Kabul.
About the time when Lalliya, the Brahman Vazier of the last Kshatriya king, usurped the throne of Kabul, there reigned Kashmir a strong ruler by name Shankara Varman. His reign lasted from 883 A.D. to 902 A.D. Shankara Varman was as noticed earlier a sagacious ruler, who made his country great, both militarily and economically. He started many industries and greatly encouraged trade and commerce though he is described also as an oppressive ruler whose exactions from the people as taxes were exhorbitant. One thing very important about him was that he established a direct relation with the common people and talked their language instead of Sanskrit. For all this he is very much criticized and taunted by Kalhana, the Brahman author of Rajtarangini. But by such methods ' he must have secured a substantial backing from his people. Whether it was for securing markets for the articles of Kashmir manufacture or simply to win military glory, Shankara Varman went out of Kashmir at the head of a military expedition, and conquered all the neighbouring principalities including Gujrat which was according to Rajtarangini ruled under the overlordship of Kabul by a king named Ala Khan. Lalliya, the Brahman ruler of Kabul, came to the help of his vassal, Ala Khan, but was defeated and driven out of his own country. The easy victory which the Kashmir ruler Shankara Varman achieved over Lalliya has to be attributed to the fact that Lalliya was a usurper with no title to the throne and had therefore struck no deep roots in men's minds and consequently must have received very little help from the people. Rut the occupation of Kabul by an outsider stirred the patriotism of the people of Kabul and a resistance movement was the result. The people of Kabul were then, as they are now, very patriotic and seldom brooked interference from outside. They fought Arabs and other Muslim rulers from 663 A.D. to 1021 A.D. but never accepted their suzerainty. Every student of history knows that during this period of about four hundred years India remained safe from any intrusions - or invasions from the North-west. The occupation of Kabul by Shankara Varman only led to a grim struggle which reached its climax during the reign of Gopal Varman (902 to 904 A.D.) who succeeded Shankara Varman; and another military expedition was sent by the Kashmir ruler under a General by name Prabhakar Deva to restore order and tighten the grip. The Kashmir- General though successful did not press his victory too far. He had realized by his experience that the people of Kabul could not be kept for long under subjection. He started negotiations with them and agreed to install Lalliya's son by name Toramana on the Kabul throne. This was done and Toramana ascended the Kabul throne though under a new name or title, Kamluka, which was given to him by Prabhakar Deva. As already seen, Alberuni in his list of Kabul kings describes him as Kamlu. Henceforth the relations between Kabul and Kashmir became very cordial and in course of time marriage relations came to be established between the ruling dynasties of the two countries which further strengthened the mutual bonds of amity and concord. Kshema Gupta who ruled Kashmir from 951 - 959 A.D.; married the grand-daughter of Bhima who is described by Alberuni as the fourth Brahman King to rule Kabul after Lalliya. We have it on the authority of Kalhana that this Kabul King Bhima came to Kashmir and stayed there for some; time and built a temple dedicated to Vishnu which was given the name of Bhima Keshava. The dedication of a temple to Vishnu would show that the Hindu Shahis of Kabul were Vaishnavites and not Buddhists as some take pleasure in describing them as such. The temple of Bhima Keshava is even now existing in a village now known as Bumzu near Mattan, though as a Muslim Ziarat, and is now known as Ziarat Bam Din Sahib.
The name of Bhima's grand daughter was Didda who ruled Kashmir after her husband's death as sole sovereign from 980 A.D. to 1003 A.D. She appointed her brother's son Sangrama Raj as heir to the throne. By now the Turkish king, Subaktagin had occupied Ghazni and Kabul Shahis came face to face with a rising power which within a short period liquidated the Hindu Shahi rule at Kabul. But the struggle was grim and a stout resistance was offered both by Jaipal and his son Anandapal and his grandson Trilochanpal. It may be that Kashmir also participated in these wars, as Queen Didda of Kashmir was closely related to Jaipal, son of Bhima. But Rajtarangini is silent on that. But to the final resistance which was organized by the last Shahi King, Trilochanpal, Kashmir also made her contribution. This time Sangram Raj, (1003 - 1028 A.D.) Diddas' son, was on the Kashmir throne. The Kashmir ruler sent well-equipped force under a Minister by name Tunga. But unfortunately the methods of warfare of Tunga and Trilochanpal were different. Trilochanpal was in favour of using the traditional Kabul methods of war are which consisted of retiring into mountain fastnesses and therefrom start depredations on the enemy, cutting his line of communications and harassing his rear. Trilochanpal counselled the adoption of such methods. But the Kashmir General who was both vain and inglorious did not heed the advice and came down to the plains and engaged in battle with Mahmud. Kalhana gives a graphic description of this battle. Says he that Trilochanpal and some Kashmiris of royal blood fought very bravely, but the chances of victory, thanks to the tactical blunder made by Tunga receded back very far. The last resistance movement on the Kabul soil was finally crushed. The defeat of Trilochanpal had very far reaching effects. The Punjab fell an easy victim to Mahmud who occupied it as a Province. The whole of India now lay bare before any invader who might have chosen to creep in, though far another two centuries no serious invasion was either planned or made.
After the fall of Trilochanpal, his sons, Rudrapal, Diddapal, Kshempala and Anangpala went to Kashmir and settled there under rogal patronage. Here also they distinguished themselves by their deeds of valour. Not long after they had settled in Kashmir, that the country was attacked by some warlike tribes from the north. All the four Pal brothers took part in the defence of Kashmir and distinguished themselves by their acts of bravery. Thereafter nothing is heard about the descendants of Trilochanpal, excepting that Harsha, a Kashmir king, was involved in a civil war and one of his Ranis who was connected with Trilochanpal, distinguished herself in actual warfare. What type of kings were these great Brahman Shahi rulers of Kabul becomes clear from a remark of Alberuni who says that:

"The Hindu Shahiya dynasty is extinct and of the whole house there is not the slightest remnant in existence. We must say that in all their grandeur, they never slackened in the ardent desire of doing that which is good and right, that they were men of noble sentiment and noble bearing."

Kalhana in his Raj Tarangini expresses grief over the fall of Trilochanpal in the following pathetic words:

"We have described the prosperity of the Shahi country during the days of Shankara Varman. Now we think in our minds with great grief, where is the Shahi dynasity with its ministers, its kings, its great grandeur ? Did it exist really or did it not ? Tunga returned to his own country Kashmir, totally defeated, and left the whole Bharata land open to the descent of the Turshkas."

He further expresses his anguish in these words: "The very name of the splendour of Shahi kings has vanished. What is not seen in dream, what even our imagination cannot conceive, that destiny accomplishes with ease.

                                                    POSTED BY :                   Vipul Koul