History of Kanauj to the Moslem Conquest c15.s2.t3.1

c15.s2.t3.1

Chronology being the weakest spot in Hindu history, it is obviously difficult to fix the limits of Yaśovarman’s reign with any amount of accuracy. Smith was of opinion that he ruled from *circa* 728 to 745 A. D.,⁴ and Sankara Pāṇḍuranga Pandit in his learned introduction of the *Gauḍavaho* comes to the conclusion that “Yaśovarman must have reigned in the latter part of the seventh and the first part of the eighth century A. D.”¹ We may, however, first determine the period of Yaśovarman with reference to the chronological setting of his contemporary and rival, Lalitāditya of Kashmir, and then try to arrive at a closer approximation. The date of Lalitāditya can be worked out either by counting the years of all successive kings of the valley till he came to the throne, or by calculating back from the completion of Kalhaṇa’s *Rājatarangiṇī* to his accession. But as the dates and reigns of kings back from Jayasiṃha, the contemporary of Kalhaṇa, rest on a far more sure basis than those of the distant predecessors of Lalitāditya, we shall follow the latter method here.