Hinglish

Kashmir

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 15: Empires and Kingdoms: 6th to 10th Centuries · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 15.3

Learn

In the Himalayan kingdom of Kāśhmīra, we learn of rulers from coins, inscriptions and Kalhaṇa's 12th-century Sanskrit poem Rājatarangiṇī, "the River of Kings". Kalhaṇa studied eleven earlier chronicles and many inscriptions, and said a good historian, like a judge, must be free from love or hatred. He praised Lalitāditya Muktāpīda of the Kārkoṭa dynasty as a firm ruler; later, Queen Diddā gained power through alliances and by ruthlessly removing rivals, while also building towns and temples.

Though mountainous, Kashmir stayed closely linked to the rest of India. It was a major centre of Sanskrit learning; the school of Kashmir Śhaivism produced scholars like Abhinavagupta, whose writing on philosophy and the arts influenced all of India. Buddhist monks and texts moved between Kashmir, Tibet and Central Asia, and Kashmiri sculptors and painters were in demand far away. Tradition says Ādi Śhankarāchārya, teacher of advaita, visited a hill above Srinagar; he set up four maṭhas at Badrinath, Puri, Dwarka and Sringeri, at the four corners of India.

Explore: Kalhaṇa's method or not?

  1. Sort each habit.

Remember

  • Kalhaṇa's Rājatarangiṇī tells Kashmir's history and sets high standards for historians.
  • Kashmir was a centre of Sanskrit learning, Śhaivism and Buddhist scholarship linked to all India.

Quick check

Rājatarangiṇī means …

  1. the River of Kings
  2. the Book of Gods
  3. the Song of the Sea
  4. the Path of Merchants
Answer

the River of Kings. Kalhaṇa wrote it in Sanskrit in the 12th century.

Think about it

Why would Śhankarāchārya set up maṭhas at four corners of India rather than in one central place?

One answer

To reach people in every region, draw pilgrims across the whole land, and tie the far corners of India together as one sacred geography.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.