Wife of Damodara. She was pregnant at the time of her husband's death, and Krishna helped her ascend the throne.
Gonanda II
Son of Yashovati and Damodara. Ruled as a minor over Kashmir, during the Kurukshetra War. Killed by Parikshit.[5]
35 kings (names lost)
A manuscript titled Ratnakar Purana supposedly contained these names, and was translated into Persian by the orders of the later Muslim ruler Zain-ul-Abidin. The purported original manuscript as well as its translation are now lost. A Muslim historian named Hassan is said to have obtained a copy of the translation, and the later Muslim historians provided a fabricated list of 35 names ending in -Khan.[6]Some sources claim that after Gonanda II was killed, Parikshit handed over Kashmir to his second son Harnadeva. This gave rise to the Pandava Dynasty of Kashmir. Harnadeva lost a succession war against Janamejaya, and so he remained the King of Kashmir. The last ruler was Bhagavanta, who was defeated by Lava in 1752 BCE.[7]
Lava
A descendant of Gonanda I, who belonged to the Naga Dynasty and defeated King Bhagavanta of the Pandava Dynasty of Kashmir in 1752 BCE. He laid the foundation of Kashmira Naga Dynasty, a sub-division of the Gonanda Dynasty (I). He established a city named Lolora (Lolab) in Kashmir. According to the Rajatarangini, there were 84 lakh stone-walled houses in it.
Kusheshaya
Son of Lava
Khagendra
Son of Kushyendra
Surendra
Son of Khagendra. Surendra was the first Buddhist king of Kashmir who established the Buddhist culture of Saman culture in Kashmir.
Godhara
Belonged to a different family from Lava's dynasty (I.95)
Great-grandson of Shakuni and son of Shachinara's first cousin. Built a great city called Srinagara (near but not same as the modern-day Srinagar). In his days, the mlechchhas (foreigners) overran the country, and he took sannyasa. According to Kalhana's account, this Ashoka would have ruled in the 2nd millennium BCE, and was a member of the dynasty founded by Godhara. Kalhana also states that this king had adopted the doctrine of Jina, constructed stupas and Shiva temples, and appeased Bhutesha (Shiva) to obtain his son Jalauka. Despite the discrepancies, multiple scholars identify Kalhana's Ashoka with the Mauryan emperor Ashoka, who adopted Buddhism.[8] Although "Jina" is a term generally associated with Jainism, some ancient sources use it to refer to the Buddha.[9]
Devout Shaivite. Built a new city called Damodarasuda, and a dam called Guddasetu.
Hushka, Jushka, and Kanishka
Buddhist kings of Turashka origin (according to Kalhana). The third king is identified with Kanishka of the Kushan Empire.[11]
Abhimanyu I
A Shaivite during whose reigns Buddhists also flourished. Because of the rising Buddhist influence, people stopped following the Shaivite Nāga rites prescribed in the holy text Nilamata Purana. This angered the Nāgas, who heavily persecuted the Buddhists. To avoid this disorder, the king retired. A Brahmin named Chandradeva restored Shaivite rites by worshipping Shiva.
Gonanditya dynasty (I)
The Gonanda dynasty ruled Kashmir for 1002 years.[1]
Gonanda III founded a new dynasty. (I.191) He belonged to Rama's lineage, and restored the Nāga rites
Vibhishana I
53 years, 6 months
1147 BCE
Indrajit
35 years
1094 BCE
Ravana
30 years, 6 months
–
A Shivalinga attributed to Ravana could still be seen at the time of Kalhana.
Vibhishana II
35 years, 6 months
1058 BCE
Nara I (Kinnara)
40 years, 9 months
1023 BCE
His queen eloped with a Buddhist monk, so he destroyed the Buddhist monasteries and gave their land to the Brahmins. He tried to abduct a Nāga woman, who was the wife of a Brahmin. Because of this, the Nāga chief burnt down the king's city, and the king died in the fire.
Siddha
60 years
983 BCE
Siddha, the son of Nara, was saved from Nāga's fury, because he was away from the capital at the time. He was a religious king, and followed a near-ascetic lifestyle.
Utpalaksha
30 years, 6 months
923 BCE
Son of Siddha
Hiranyaksha
37 years, 7 months
893 BCE
Son of Utpalaksha
Hiranyakula
60 years
855 BCE
Son of Hiranyaksha
Vasukula (Mukula)
60 years
795 BCE
Son of Hiranyakula. During his reign, the Mlechchhas (possibly Hunas) overran Kashmir.
Mihirakula
70 years
735 BCE
According to historical evidence, Mihirakula's predecessor was Toramana. Kalhana mentions a king called Toramana, but places him much later, in Book 3.[12] According to Kalhana, Mihirakula was a cruel ruler who ordered killings of a large number of people, including children, women and elders. He invaded the Sinhala Kingdom, and replaced their king with a cruel man. As he passed through Chola, Karnata and other kingdoms on his way back to Kashmir, the rulers of these kingdoms fled their capitals and returned only after he had gone away. On his return to Kashmir, he ordered killings of 100 elephants, who had been startled by the cries of a fallen elephant. Once, Mihirakula dreamt that a particular stone could be moved only by a chaste woman. He put this to test: the women who were unable to move the stone were killed, along with their husbands, sons and brothers. He was supported by some immoral Brahmins. In his old age, the king committed self-immolation.
Vaka (Baka)
63 years, 18 days
665 BCE
A virtuous king, he was seduced and killed by a woman named Vatta, along with several of his sons and grandsons.
Kshitinanda
30 years
602 BCE
The only surviving child of Vaka
Vasunanda
52 years, 2 months
572 BCE
"Originator of the science of love"
Nara II
60 years
520 BCE
Son of Vasunanda
Aksha
60 years
460 BCE
Son of Nara II
Gopaditya
60 years, 6 days
400 BCE
Son of Aksha. Gave lands to Brahmins. Expelled several irreligious Brahmins who used to eat garlic (non-Sattvic diet); in their place, he brought others from foreign countries.
Gokarna
57 years, 11 months
340 BCE
Son of Gopaditya
Narendraditya I (Khingkhila)
36 years, 3 months, 10 days
282 BCE
Son of Gokarna
Yudhisthira I
34 years, 5 months, 1 day
246 BCE
Called "the blind" because of his small eyes. In later years of his reign, he started patronizing unwise persons, and the wise courtiers deserted him. He was deposed by rebellious ministers, and granted asylum by a neighboring king. His descendant Meghavahana later restored the dynasty's rule.
Other rulers
No kings mentioned in this book have been traced in any other historical source.[12] These kings ruled Kashmir for 192 years.[1]
Pratapaditya was a relative of a distant king named Vikrmaditya (II.6). This Vikramaditya is not same as the Vikramaditya of Ujjain, who is mentioned later as a patron of Matrigupta.
Shared the administration with his queen. The couple sheltered their citizens in the royal palace during a severe famine resulting from heavy frost. After his death, the queen committed sati. The couple died childless.
Vijaya
8 years
67 BCE
From a different dynasty than Tungjina.
Jayendra
37 years
59 BCE
Son of Vijaya: his "long arms reached to his knees". His flatters instigated him against his minister Sandhimati. The minister was persecuted, and ultimately imprisoned because of rumors that he would succeed the king. Sandhimati remained in prison for 10 years. In his old age, the childless king ordered killing of Sandhimati to prevent any chance of him becoming a king. He died after hearing about the false news of Sandhimati's death.
Sandhimati alias Aryaraja
47 years
22 BCE
Sandhimati was selected by the citizens as the new ruler. He ascended the throne reluctantly, at the request of his guru Ishana. He was a devout Shaivite, and his reign was marked by peace. He filled his court with rishis (sages), and spent his time in forest retreats. Therefore, his ministers replaced him with Meghavahana, a descendant of Yudhishthira I. He willingly gave up the throne.
Meghavahana was the son of Yudhisthira I's great-grandson, who had been granted asylum by Gopaditya, the king of Gandhara. Meghavahana had been selected the husband of a Vaishnavite princess at a Swayamvara in another kingdom. The ministers of Kashmir brought him to Kashmir after Sandhimati proved to be an unwilling king. Meghavahana banned animal slaughter and compensated those who earned their living through hunting. He patrnozed Brahmins, and set up a monastery. His queens built Buddhist viharas and monasteries. He subdued kings in regions as far as Sinhala Kingdom, forcing them to abandon animal slaughter.
Son of Shreshtasena, assisted by his brother and co-regent Toramana. The king imprisoned Toramana, when the latter stuck royal coins in his own name. Toramana's son Pravarasena, who had been brought up in secrecy by his mother Anjana, freed him. Hiranya died childless. Several coins of a king named Toramana have been found in the Kashmir region. This king is identified by some with Huna ruler Toramana, although his successor Mihirakula is placed much earlier by Kalhana.[12]
Matrigupta
4 years, 9 months, 1 day
120 CE
According to Kalhana, the emperor Vikramditya (alias Harsha) of Ujjayini defeated the Shakas, and made his friend and poet Matrigupta the ruler of Kashmir. After Vikramaditya's death, Matrigupta abdicated the throne in favour of Pravarasena. According to D. C. Sircar, Kalhana has confused the legendary Vikramaditya of Ujjain with the Vardhana Emperor Harsha (c. 606–47 CE).[14] The latter is identified with Shiladitya mentioned in Xuanzang's account. However, according to M. A. Stein, Kalhana's Vikramaditya is another Shiladitya mentioned in Xuanzang's account: a king of Malwa around 580 CE.[15]
Historical evidence suggests that a king named Pravarasena ruled Kashmir in the 6th century CE.[12] According to Kalhana, Pravarasena subdued many other kings, in lands as far as Saurashtra. He restored the rule of Vikramaditya's son Pratapshila (alias Shiladitya), who had been expelled from Ujjain by his enemies. Pratapshila agreed to be a vassal of Pravarasena after initial resistance. He founded a city called Pravarapura, which is identified by later historians as the modern city of Srinagar on the basis topographical details.[16]
Yudhishthira II
39 years, 8 months
185 CE
Son of Pravarasena
Narendraditya I (Lakshmana)
13 years
206 CE
Son of Yudhishthira II and Padmavati
Ranaditya I (Tungjina III)
-
219 CE
Younger brother of Narendraditya. His queen Ranarambha was an incarnation of Bhramaravasini. The Chola king Ratisena had found her among the waves, during an ocean worship ritual.
Vikramaditya
42 years
519 CE
Son of Ranaditya
Baladitya
36 years, 8 months
561 CE
Younger brother of Vikramaditya. He subdued several enemies. An astrologer prophesied that his son-in-law would succeed him as the king. To avoid this outcome, the king married his daughter Anangalekha to Durlabhavardhana, a handsome but non-royal man from Ashvaghama Kayastha caste.
Akbar (1586–1605), Under Akbar's regin Mughal army was finally successful in annexing Kashmir in 1586, robbing its independence and reducing it to the status of a subah (province) of their empire.
^Obverse: Shiva Pashupati ("Lord of the Beasts"), making a mudra gesture with right hand and holding filleted trident; behind, a lioness or tiger. Trace of legend Meghana... in Brahmi. Reverse: Goddess seated facing on lotus, holding lotus in both hand, Kidara monogram to left, Jaya in Brahmi to right.
^Obverse: Standing king with two figured seated below. Name "Pravarasena". Reverse: goddess seated on a lion. Legend "Kidāra".
^"Rajatarangini"Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 17 December 2011.
^
1st Edition
Cold War in the High Himalayas
The USA, China and South Asia in the 1950s
By S. Mahmud Ali
Copyright 1999( When tribal Pathan militias from Pakistan's North-West Frontiers joined Sudhan Pathan rebels fighting for freedom, Hari Singh fled to Jammu and reportedly signed a letter of accession to India.) Page 19
[1]
^ abcdefghijRandhawa, M. S. (2013). Basohli Painting (2nd reprint ed.). Lodhi Road, New Delhi: Additional Director General, Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 102. ISBN9788123018065.
^ abcdSeth, Mira. "1: Background". Dogra Wall Paintings in Jammu and Kashmir (illustrated ed.). Oxford University Press. pp. 1–9. ISBN9780195615494.