Jyapida (751-782 A.D.)

A Great Hero

Kalhana, who has written the ancient history of Kashmir, called Rajtarangini, writes that Lalitaditya was a great, noble and famous king of Kashmir who made large number of conquests and ruled over Kashmir from 724 A.D. to 760 A.D. His son was Vajraditya and his youngest son was Jyapida alias Vinayaditta. He defeated his elder brother Samranpida and ascended the throne. Jyapida's reign can be divided into two parts. In the first part he ruled with kindness and justice and established peace and order in the country. The people achieved prosperity in every field. But in the last years of his life he became a tyrant and indulged in loot and plunder.

As soon as Jyapida sat on the throne, he made his aim to follow on the footsteps of Lalitaditya. He resolved that he could like him make conquests and make Kashmir affluent and prosperous. Kalhana says that Jyapida was very noble and loved justice. The first notable thing that he did was that he established peace and order and also made good arrangement for the governance of the country. He collected a large army and set out on expeditions.

Many soldiers who were not so loyal and were restless to go to their homes, left him day by day but this brave king determined that he would show his personal bravery. Kalhana, who has narrated at length his fights and conquests, has written that like Lalitaditya he was full of valour and strength and possessed great courage. Many coins of his time have been unearthed on which his second name Vinayaditya is inscribed but there is hardly any evidence of his conquests about which Kalhana makes mention.

Kalhana writes that Jyapida in his early expedition conquered many places upto AI lahabad. At Prayag or Allahabad he gave in charity 10,000 horses and wealth as alms to the priests. On the bank of the Ganges he got built a memorial which still existed in the life time of Kalhana. After this he put his army under the command of his minister Devasarman and

Himself entered incognito all alone in the city of Panudarvardhana which was in the possession of Jayanta. In this city there was much peace and prosperity and people were affluent. He was highly pleased to see the condition of the people. In this city a ferocious lion would come every night and eat men and animals. Jyapida killed this lion without the aid of arms. The king of the city came to know that this lion had been killed by Jyapida. The king had no son but only a daughter, named Kalyani Devi. He married herto Jyapida. After that both the king and Jyapida subjugated all the neighbouring kings.

On his return to Kashmir, Jyapida defeated the king of Kanauj, Vajrayudha. When Jyapida arrived in Kashmir, he found that during his three years' absence his first wife's brother had usurped his throne. He fought and defeated him at Subseletra. Kalhana mentions that all the people from far and near came and joined his army. During the fight a Candala soldier of Jyapida, named Shri Deva, killed Jojja, who was drinking water from a gold pot astride a horse. As soon as Shri Deva saw the latter he threw a stone at him with such a force that he died on the spot.

It is well worthy to mention about the construction activities of Jyapida. He founded a city named Jaipura near the Wular lake. This city is today known as Andarkot. He also constructed a fort there. It was surrounded by a marshy land and it was difficult to conquer it. In the later history of the valley many important battles were fought there. Two more towns were founded by Jyapida. One was named as Dvarvati which was near Jaipura. The second one was called Malhanpura which at present is called Malur. It is situated at a distance of six miles from Srinagar on the left bank of the river Jhelum. The two queens of the king, named Kalyani Devi and Kamla Devi, also founded two towns. One was known as Kalyanpur and the other Kamalapur. One of his ministers called Jayadita constructed a matha in Jaipura.

The king was a patron of art and literature. He invited scholars and learned men from other countries. He reestablished the education of the classical language. He himself studied grammar under the guidance of a learned man, named Kshera. His special Pandit was one great scholar Bhatta Udbhatta, whom he paid one lakh dinars daily. He appointed as his special minister one poet Damodhar Gupta who has written Kuttanimatta. There were poets and authors like Manoratha, Sankha Danta, Katika and Samdhima who occupied places of honour in his court. Among the ministers of Jyapida was Vaman, one of the two authors of the famous book Kashikavrtti. This book is a commentary on Panini's grammar. He also raised the status of Thakkiya, a writer from low position and helped and patronised him for his knowledge and learning. We know some of these people from their books and references.

The rule of the later years of Jyapida which, according to the calculation of Kalhana, lasted from 75I A.D. to 782 A.D., was n,,, worthwhile. In Rajtarangani it is mentioned that under the leadership of Jyapida his army attacked Bhim Sen, the king of the northern region. But he imprisoned Jyapida who, however, escaped from the prison by a subtle plan, pretending that he was suffering from a terrible infectious disease. It is said that he then attacked Nepal's ruler Aramudi but he was carried away by the sudden spate in a river and his enemies arrested him. He was imprisoned in a strong fort but he fled away due to the loyalty and self sacrifice of Devasarman, a minister. Devasarman killed himself so that Jyapida could take the help of his dead body after jumping from the fort and be able to cross the river, where the army was waiting for him. But neither Bhimsen nor Aramudi was traced. However, considering the confusing and chaotic condition prevailing in northern India, it does not seem impossible that he fought in those areas.

The result of all these expeditions was that his slender resources were nearly exhausted and the money in the treasury also dwindled, particularly when he could not get anything by loot or plunder or by levying tax which he expected. The story that a Naga deity of the Wular Lake directed him to a copper mine nearby shows how much in need of money he was so that he could carry on the administration and pay the salaries of his soldiers. There is nothing surprising in the fact that in the last years of his life he became very cruel and squeezed out every penny from his people. In this respect he was helped by his Revenue minister, Shiv Das. Continuously for three years he took control of the produce from the land which included the portion of the peasants as welt. Murder and loot became quite rampant. The people felt miserable. The one who ought to have been their defender, turned out to be their plunderer and murderer. Brahmins became special victims of his cruelty. Many migrated and the rest, who remained in Kashmir, perished. Many resorted to voluntary starvation. Afterwards the king became the victim of God's wrath.

Kalhana writes the scene of his death in a dramatic style. He says that the Brahmins of Tula Mula came with grievance to the king but they were insulted in his presence. At this the Brahmins got angry and one Brahmin, whose name was Iti, cursed him, "O' king, let the pillar of throne fall on you and you get killed". Kalhana says that the gold post of the throne fell on the king and he became seriously wounded and the wounds grew into fatal ulcers and consequently he died after five days of agony.