Rajatarangini

''Rājataraṅgiṇī'' (Sanskrit: राजतरङ्गिणी, romanized: ''rājataraṅgiṇī'', IPA: �ɑː.d͡ʑɐ.t̪ɐˈɾɐŋ.ɡi.ɳiː ) is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of Indian sub-continent, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE.

List of kings

Book 1 : Gonanda dynasty (I)

The total reign of the following kings is mentioned as 1266 years.

Gonanditya dynasty (I)

The Gonanda dynasty ruled Kashmir for 1002 years.

Book 2 : Other rulers

No kings mentioned in this book have been traced in any other historical source. These kings ruled Kashmir for 192 years.

Book 3: Restored Gonandiya dynasty

Book 4: Karkota dynasty

Book 5 : Utpala dynasty (Part-I)

Book 6 : Utpala dynasty (Part-II)

Book 7: First Lohara dynasty

Book 8: Second Lohara dynasty

Evaluation

Literary

Kalhana was an educated and sophisticated Sanskrit scholar, well-connected in the highest political circles. His writing is full of literary devices and allusions, concealed by his unique and elegant style.

Historical reliability

Despite the value that historians have placed on Kalhana's work, there is little evidence of authenticity in the earlier books of ''Rajatarangini''. For example, Ranaditya is given a reign of 300 years. Toramana is clearly the Huna king of that name, but his father Mihirakula is given a date 700 years earlier. Even where the kings mentioned in the first three books are historically attested, Kalhana's account suffers from chronological errors.

Kalhana's account starts to align with other historical evidence only by Book 4, which gives an account of the Karkota dynasty. But even this account is not fully reliable from a historical point of view. For example, Kalhana has highly exaggerated the military conquests of Lalitaditya Muktapida.

Sequels

; ''Rājataraṅgiṇī'' by Jonarāja
: During the reign of Zain-ul-Abidin, Jonarāja authored a sequel by the same name. Also known as ''Dvitīyā Rājataraṅgiṇī'' ("second Rajatarangini"), it gives an account of Kashmir from c. 1148 CE to 1459 CE.

; ''Jaina-Rājataraṅgiṇī'' by Śrīvara
: After Jonarāja's death in 1459, his disciple Śrīvara Paṇḍita continued his work. He titled his work ''Jaina-Rājataraṅgiṇī'', and it is also known as ''Tṛtīyā Rājataraṅgiṇī'' ("third Rājataraṅgiṇī"). It gives an account of Kashmir from 1451 CE to 1486 CE.

; ''Rājāvalipatākā'' by Prājyabhaṭṭa
: Prājyabhaṭṭa's ''Rājāvalipatākā'' gave an account of Kashmir from 1486 to 1513. His work is lost.

; ''Caturthī Rājataraṅgiṇī'' by Śuka
: Śuka continued Prājyabhaṭṭa's lost work, resulting in the ''Caturthī Rājataraṅgiṇī'' ("fourth Rājataraṅgiṇī"). It begins after the end of Bhaṭṭa Prājya’s Rājāvalipatākā in 1513, while Fatḥ Šāh was still exercising his second reign, and ends in 1597 with the construction of the Naganagarī city fort just before Emperor Akbar’s third visit to Śrīnagara.

Translations

A Persian translation of ''Rajatarangini'' was commissioned by Zain-ul-Abidin, who ruled Kashmir in the 15th century CE.

Horace Hayman Wilson partially translated the work, and wrote an essay based on it, titled ''The Hindu History of Kashmir'' (published in ''Asiatic Researches'' Volume 15). Subsequent English translations of Kalhana's ''Rajatarangini'' include:

* ''Rajatarangini: The Saga of the Kings of Kashmir'' by Ranjit Sitaram Pandit (The Indian Press, Allahabad; 1935)
* '' Kings of Kashmira'' (1879) by Jogesh Chandra Dutt
* ''Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kaśmir'' by Marc Aurel Stein
* ''In the Guise of Poetry — Kalhaṇa Reconsidered''. In: Śāstrārambha. Inquiries into the Preamble in Sanskrit. Edited by Walter Slaje. Preface by Edwin Gerow. (AKM 62). Wiesbaden 2008: 207–244.
* Critically Edited by Walter Slaje with an Annotated Translation, Indexes and Maps

* Four contemporary historical lives of rulers of an Indo-Persian sultanate. Newly published with annotated translation

* Republished with an annotated translation


Translations in other languages include:

* ''Rajatarangini'' with Hindi commentary by Ramtej Shastri Pandey (Chaukhamba Sanskrit Pratishthan, 1985)
* ''Rajatarangini of Kalhana'', edited by Vishwa Bandhu (1963–65); a later addition includes the texts of Jonaraja, Srivara and Suka (1966–67)
* ''Rajatarangini'', Hindi translation by Pandit Gopi Krishna Shastri Dwivedi
* '' Histoire Des Rois Du Kachmir: Rajatarangini'', French translation by M. Anthony Troyer
* ''Rajatarangini'', Urdu translation by Pandit Thakar Acharchand Shahpuriah
* Rajatarangini, Telugu translation by Renduchintala Lakshmi Narasimha Sastry

Adaptations

Several books containing legendary stories from ''Rajatarangini'' have been compiled by various authors. These include:

* S.L. Sadhu's ''Tales from the Rajatarangini'' (1967)Machwe, Prabhakar, and Samyukta. 1969
Indian Literature
12 (2). Sahitya Akademi: 72–74.
* Devika Rangachari's ''Stories from Rajatarangini: Tales of Kashmir'' (2001)
* Anant Pai's Amar Chitra Katha series:
** ''Chandrapeeda and other Tales of Kashmir'' (1984)
** ''The Legend of Lalitaditya: Retold from Kalhana's Rajatarangini'' (1999)

A television series based on ''Rajatarangini'' named ''Meeras'' began in 1986 in Doordarshan, Srinagar.

See also

*Chach Nama, similar treatise about Sindh

Notes

References

Bibliography

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* {{cite book , title=Culture and Political History of Kashmir: Medieval Kashmir , author=Prithivi Nath Kaul Bamzai , year=1994 , isbn=9788185880310

External links

Rajatarangini of Kalhana
– English translation by Jogesh Chunder Dutt

Rajatarangini: The Saga of The Kings of Kasmir
– English translation by Ranjit Sitaram Pandit

Rajatarangini and the Making of India's Past
– Webcast of a talk by Chitralekha Zutshi

History books about India
1140s books
12th-century Indian books
History of Kashmir
12th-century Sanskrit literature
Kashmiri literature
Indian chronicles
Indian literature