History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.s2: 1—Political Condition of Kashmir

History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.s2

Language: English

1—Political Condition of Kashmir

v1.c14.s2.1

The political condition of Kashmir was not very different from that of the rest of India but there are certain peculiarities which appear from the Rājatarangiṇī and which are worth noticing separately. It is to be pitied that no inscriptions or copperplate grants have been found in Kashmir to assist us in this work, notwithstanding the fact that numerous temples were built and Agrahāras to Brahmins given by almost every king and queen and minister. Invaluable contemporaneous records are thus not available. But the Rājatarangiṇī itself is based on many previous histories and the author says he has consulted grants and inscriptions also, as he could probably very easily do, being a government officer himself. His work, therefore, as we have before observed, is reliable to a great extent from the Karkota dynasty onwards i. e. during our period and we give below such information as can be gathered from it relating to the form of goverment in Kashmir.

v1.c14.s2.2

The government was of course as usual despotic, the powers of the king who was anointed by the Brahmins and who sat on a consecrated throne, being unlimited. His power was thus derived from the religious ceremony, in other words from God and was attested to by the Brahmins. These kings belonged to the Kshatriya, Vaiśya or Brahmin castes; but whatever their original caste they married into royal families of India and became Kshatriyas for all practical purposes. They were usually both valiant and learned men. No cowardly or ignorant man appears in the list of Kashmir kings. They usually dispensed justice impartially but were tyrannical in their exactions. In their private life they appear to have been very licentious. In fact it was then believed that kingly power was granted by God for earthly enjoyment to one who had in his previous life performed the most torturesome austerities. They, therefore, in this life went to the opposite extreme and threw themselves headlong into sexual enjoyment. Even the best Kashmir kings appear to have had several nay hundreds of queens, wives and concubines for carnal pleasure (with probably the single exception of Anantarāja who was satisfied with one wife only.) This conduct is singular and is not reflected in the history of other kingdoms. (Perhaps we have no veracious and outspoken historian like Kalhaṇa for them). It resembles rather the Mahomedan and Roman practices than Indian. In the Christian history of the west, however, the beneficial influence of christianity with its principle of monogamy cannot but be admired. Copying the conduct of kings, queens whether wives or widows were often as licencious, but examples of noble women are not wanting. The wonder is that both ill-behaved and well-behaved queens immolated themselves on the funeral pyres of their husbands. Such is the force of custom and the intense power of the human desire for the good opinion of the world.

v1.c14.s2.3

The king was assisted in the administration by ministers appointed at will who were usually both able as well as unscrupulous. The names of ministers are somewhat different from those in other countries. There does not appear to be any chief minister (indeed as in the polity of other countries in India.). But the minister called Dvārādhipa or master of the royal door in Kashmir seems to be the most important person. He was so to speak the High Chamberlain and had the control of the access to the king (VIII 576). Then there was the Kampanādhīśa which office cannot be well understood. He was probably the head of the army (579 ditto), and there was the Nagarādhīśa or head of the capital city (580), There was also the head of the treasury and the foreign minister Sāndhivigrahika is also mentioned (these two are general names and not special to Kashmir like the first three). There was again an officer of Ganjas which may be taken to be markets. Now markets are often said to be opened by kings, queens and ministers in their names. These places are places of barter and commerce and the head officer of them had the revenue collection of Sāyar or custom duties and also the regulation of trade under him and was thus a great power. The king had over these officials absolute power of appointment and dismissal. There was also an Akshapatalādhyaksha or chief of land revenue records. None of these officers was hereditary but sons of ministers usually became ministers in one or another department.

v1.c14.s2.4

Very great opprobrium attached to the name of the Kāyasthas. It is not quite clear if this was a separate caste in Kashmir. The greater ministers were usually Brahmins or Kshatriyas or of families belonging to the royal caste or clan. But the Kāyasthas in Kashmir appear to include all revenue collection officers. Probably they formed a class among themselves. They were always the most willing instruments in the hands of oppressive kings on whom, however, the blame for oppression must really rest. These officers and and officers of armies and the soldiers called Tantris were also very corrupt and Utkocha or bribe is a word that coustantly occurs in the Rājatarangiṇī.

v1.c14.s2.5

There is one department mentioned in the Rājatarangiṇī which it is difficult to understand. It is called Karmasthāna and its officer was also an important officer. Perhaps it meant the public works department. All coustruction of buildings, temples, mathas etc. must have been in his charge and as head of a great spending department the officer must have had splendid opportunities for embezzlement.

v1.c14.s2.6

The king's darbar was, as in oldest times, the court of justice and kings are described as most zealously hearing every morning the complaints of Arthis or plaintiffs. The vivādas or cases were inquired into with the assistance of fixed jurors who are called stheya and sometimes even these stheyas were partial and just kings by curious artifices found out the truth. In a case of treasure deposited with a person one king is said to have detected misappropriation by the defendant by inspecting the sealed deposit and finding therein rupees stamped with the name of kings who had not even come to the throne at the time of the deposit. This also shows that each king struck coins in his own name when he came to the throne as in these days. The coins are called Dinnāras (with a double n). And these were of gold and silver as well as of copper. The servants of government were paid so many copper Dinnāras a day, a court poet as already stated being described (of course by exaggeration), as receiving one lakh of Dinnāras every day.

v1.c14.s2.7

The king could not have always presided in the court of justice and there was always a Rājasthānīya or deputy of the king appointed. (Stein also translates Rājasthānīya by Chief Justice VII 573). There was again a Dandanāyaka for the state who was probably the chief police officer with the jails in his charge and thus he was the master of punishments. Both these officers and others previously mentioned such as the Dvārādhipati, Ganjadhipa etc. were persons expected to lead military expeditions and were in fact generals and warriors also. For the king sent any one of them according to his pleasure to chastise rebels. Of course kings usually led armies in person on all important occasions.

v1.c14.s2.8

The kingdom seems to have been divided into districts which were called Rājyas. The Madavarājya and Kramarājya so often mentioned in the Tarangaṇī were clearly divisions of Kashmir and their chief officers were usually king's relatives for they are often called Rājas also. There were no Tehsils or Parganas as are now called below the Rājya but the usual revenue unit was the village. Village officers are not mentioned, but there must have been the usual ones. The heads of villages appear to be generally Dāmaras, a warlike and turbulent race which required often to be kept in check by severe punishments such as impalement or śūlāropaṇa. But they often also supplied peasant voluntary armies to the king. The revenue of the state must have been derived in kind.

v1.c14.s2.9

There were certain other officers called Diviras; who they were it is difficult to find. Stein translates Divira by writer or secretary. It may be stated that these secretaries of the king (Diviras) are mentioned even in Valabhi grants. Then again the military officers or men called Tantris and Ekāngas are also ununderstandable. These names are not found elsewhere. Are the Ekāngas equivalent of the Ekāndas of the Maratha armies? Or do we recognise in them the Yekangbaj of Ahmednagar Mahomedan warriors who fought with one weapon only, mentioned by Fehrista? "They made both offence and defence with the same sword."

v1.c14.s2.10

The kingdom of Kashmir had a few subordinate feudatory states always dependent upon it and these appear to be Lohara, Uraśa and Rājapuri (kingdoms mentioned even by Hiuen Tsang as subject to Kashmir in 630 A. D.) In the time of Kalaśa in 63 (4163 Lauk. = 1087 A. D.) eight kings came together to pay respects to him and there were great celebrations. (The minister Vāmana is described as having so successfully made arrangements for their reception and entertainment that nothing was left to be desired). These were Kirtini king of Abbapura, Asaṭa king of Champa, Kalaśa son of Tukka king of Ballāpura, Sangrāmapāla king of Rajapuri. Utkarsha king of Lohara, Munja king of Uraśa Gambhīraśinha of Kāndeśa and Uttamarāja king of Kāshthavāta. These appear to be small kinddoms on the frontier of Kashmir. They had usually marriage relations with the Kashmir royal families. Where these states were situate we cannot clearly determine.

v1.c14.s2.11

The sorrounding independent states were Gurjara in the south, Shahi or Kabul in the west, Turushka in the north and the Darada in the east. The Daradas (also sometimes spelt Darad) seem to have had constant conflicts with the Kashmiris.

v1.c14.s2.12

Kashmir was always famous for its learned men and the kings usually were patrons of learning. King Harsha was a great pandit himself; so also Jayāpīda. The settlements of Brahmins were numerous and had Agrahāras or inam villages assigned to them. These were in fact learned Universities well endowed by kings. The Kashmir pandits were famous throughout India. Their names have a peculiar turn worthy to be mentioned. They always ended in ṭa. or ṇa. such as Udbhata, Mammaṭa, Lavaṭa and so on or Salhaṇa, Kalhaṇa, Bilhaṇa and so on. Kashmir names generally strike us as peculiar in these days, but they are not of Turkish origin.

Linked texts (1)

Rājataraṅgiṇī — Kalhaṇa, Sanskrit