History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c14.s3.1

v1.c14.s3.1

1. Kashmir is a large valley between two extensive ranges, almost impassable, of the Himalaya mountains. The river Vitastā passes through this valley and comes out into the plains of the Panjab through a narrow gorge, at which is placed the principal gateway into Kashmir. This has enabled Kashmir to shut entrance to it to foreigners, to such an extent that Kashmir may be shut like a castle. And Kashmir has always, unlike other Indian kingdoms, taken care to shut out foreigners. We read that the Gauda people who wished to take revenge on Lalitāditya, obtained entrance to Kashmir only on the pretext that they were going on a pilgrimage to the Śaradā temple. The three or four minor passages into Kashmir besides this chief one at Varāhamula (modern Baramulla) were also always shut and guarded.