Lalitaditya

The Just, Mighty and Magnificent King of Kashmir (724-760 A.D.)

Lalitaditya-also known as Muktapida-whose reign in Kashmir lasted from 724 to 760 A.D., was really a great king. During his reign Kashmir rose to such heights as she had never before, nor since has, known. When he came to the throne, the country was in a shocking condition as a result of the misrule of his brother but he brought peace, prosperity and national glory to the country.

The illustrious king was the son of Raja Pratapaditya, the king of Kashmir and born of the "mistress of a fabulously wealthy and magnificent merchant whose wondrous beauty had attracted the attention of the king".

Lalitaditya is known as a great warrior and conqueror. Like Alexander the Great, Lalitaditya had the ambition of conquering the whole world and his reign of thirty seven years is noted for his many expeditions and conquests. Lalitaditya gave wide extension to his dominions. He forced the king of Kanauj and all other chiefs in the hills of the Punjab to submit; he was victorious over the Turks and the peoples of the Central Asia, returning after twelve years to drive the Tibetans from Baltistan. The chronicler is of the opinion that his army was chiefly recruited from the north and most of his generals including his commander-in-chief, Chankunya, also came from the same region. Bamzai, the historian, says: "That it appears that due to the decline of the T’ang rule, the Kashmir ruler attracted many an adventurer and Lalitaditya was not slow in taking advantage of their experience and martial abilities. For example, it is clear that Chankunya must have acquired fame as a military commander even before he joined the services of Lalitaditya since he bore the Chinese title of Can-Kiin-General".

Lalitaditya's first expedition was towards the kingdom of Kanauj which was ruled by Yasoverman. The latter could not oppose the brave armies of Lalitaditya and submitted peacefully but during the drafting of the final treaty he created hitches that resulted in resumption of the hostilities and dethronement of Yasoverman. Finally, the whole of his territory was brought under the direct rule of the Kashmir king.

After this victory Lalitaditya subdued the entire of Gaudas (Bengal) and the southern territories of India including the seven Konkans. In the west also he subdued the entire territory of Dwarika.

A call for help reached Lalitaditya from Deccan in Cir. A.D. 735-36. Indira I Rashtrakuta had abducted the Chalukya princess, Bhavagana from Khaira (Gujarat) and forced her to marry him. After his death in 735 A. D. the Ratta queen was soon in difficulties. With the secret connivance Lalitaditya crossed the passes into the Deccan without resistance, found Chalukyas friendly allies and overran the Rashtrakuta territories. Karka II (Kakka Kayya) of Lata (Southern Gujarat), Kathiawar, Malwa and Marwar, shaking the tottering power of the Maitrakas of Valabhi and of the Mauryas of Chittorgarh.

Lalitaditya turned his attention towards the north of Kashmir. He led the victorious army through Dardistan to the Tukhara country (Turkhistan). He gained easy victory, for the Chinese Empire under which they had come was falling to pieces due to the end of the T'ang rule and the internal civil wars and dissensions.

Lalitaditya then undertook the subjugation of the Tibetans. Bamzai says, "Rajtarangini mentions a few expeditions, but apart from the definite conclusion that Ladakh and some western provinces were brought under the sway of the Kashmir king, the complete overthrow of the Tibetans is rather doubtful".

Lalitaditya and his soldiers longed for more conquests and left for Central Asia. His people besought him to come back but he died in Turkistan after a reign of nearly forty years. Kalhana mentions two legends about his death. According to one version, he committed suicide in order to escape being captured when separated from his army and was blocked on a mountainous route. According to the second version, Lalitaditya perished through excessive snowfall in Aryanaka (modern Iran).

No doubt, the conquests of Lalitaditya are preponderant but even then he would rank among the great kings because of his great architectural works, his intense love of learning and patronage of scholars and his humane and secular outlook.

Lalitaditya and his queens founded numerous towns. He built the towns of Suniscatapur, Darpitapur, Phalapura and Parontsa. The first two towns no longer exist but Phalapura may now be traced to a village near Shadipura. Parontsa town is now called Poonch. A big Vihara and a Buddhist temple was built by him at Hushkapura (modern Ushkur). Lalitaditya is said to have founded a town at Lokpunya (modern Lokabhavan) on the Anantnag-Verinag road.

But the most remarkable constructions of Lalitaditya which have made his name immortal and brought acknowledgement to the architectural talents of Kashmir, are the temple of Martand and the city of Parihaspura. Among the great architectural wonders of the world Martand temple occupies an eminent place. It not only depicts the sublime architectural ability of Kashmir but is "built on the most sublime site occupied by any building in the world-finer far that of the site of the Parthenon, or the Taj or of St. Peters, or the Escurial-we may take it as the representative or rather the culmination of all the rest and by it we must judge the Kashmiri people at their best".

The greatness of Lalitaditya as a builder is established by his founding the city of Parihaspura, near modern Shadipura. Kalhana describes at length the series of great temples built by the king at this town. "The extensive though much inspired ruins with which I was able to identify these structures at the site of Paraspura, show sufficiently that Kalhana's account of their magnificence was not exaggerated", says Stein.

The valley had been till then subjected to floods as deposits of silts and rocks would block the flow of water of the river at Baramulla. Lalitaditya got the river cleared of the slit and the water flowed quickly and in this way the level ofwater in other parts of the valley became low. The vast areas of swamps were reclaimed for irrigation. He raised bunds round the low-lying lands and also built numerous irrigation canals. The result was that the production of crops increased which in turn increased the prosperity of the people.

Lalitaditya's greatness is also depicted by his secular outlook.

Although he was a follower of Hinduism, he showed equal respect for Buddhism and other cults. He founded many viharas and monasteries for Buddhists. His commander-in-ch ief was a Buddhist and so were many of his other officials.

He was a patron of learning and scholarship and many learned persons from many lands adorned his court. He brought from Kanauj the two famous poets Bhavabhuti and Vakpatiraja and gave them honour and installed them in his capital in Kashmir.

Though he was a great conqueror and philanthropist but much has been imagined and has been passed down as fact. It is said that he had built a gigantic cauldron from which one hundred thousand men could be fed each day, which seems to be preposterous.

But he had another side of his character. When intoxicated he would issue the cruelest orders. In a fit of drunken madness he ordered that the beautiful city that Pravarsena had built should be set on fire and he stood and rocked with crazy laughter as he watched the city of Srinagar go up in flames. But luckily his wise ministers had burnt heaps of straw and grass instead of the houses and thereby had saved the city.

Before his departure from Kashmir on his last expedition, from which he never returned, he left for his subjects certain instructions which are preserved in The Rajatar. He warned them against civil wars and cautioned them about the upkeep in both repairs and provisions of their forts. He laid down laws for those of his subjects who lived in the mountains, that discipline must be strict, that the cultivators should never be left with more grain than they could consume in one year and that they should not have more cattle or more ploughs than was absolutely necessary, since this would result in their covering and taking that ground which belonged to their neighbours. The king must never tolerate nepotism among his officers":

The editor of the Keys to Kashmir says: "The glorious reign of Lalitaditya served as a beacon light to the Kashmiris of later generations, particularly during the many depressing days of political subjugation."