west; and Punach and Rajaori to the south. The other hill-states to the east and south-east are not mentioned; but there is good reason for believing that they also were tributary, and that the dominions of Kashmir in the seventh century extended from the Indus to the Râvi. The petty independent state of Kullu, in the upper valley of the Biâs river, was saved by its remoteness and inaccessibility; and the rich state of Jalandhar, on the lower Biâs, was then subject to Harsha Vardhana, the great king of Kanoj. But towards the end of the ninth century the Kangra valley was conquered by Sankara Varmma, and the sovereign power of Kashmir was extended over the whole of the Alpine Panjab from the Indus to the Satlej.* Hwen Thsang describes Kashmir as surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, which is a correct description of the valley itself; but when he goes on to say that its circuit is 7000 l, or 1166 miles, he must refer to the extended kingdom of Kashmir, and not to the valley, which is only 300 miles in circuit. But the extent of its political boundary, from the Indus on the north to the Salt range on the south, and from the Indus on the west to the Râvi on the east, cannot be estimated at less than 900 miles, and may very probably have reached the amount stated by the pilgrim. 1. KASHMIR. Hwen Thsang entered the valley of Kashmir from the west in September, A.D. 631. At the entrance there was a stone gate, where he was met by the younger brother of the king's mother; and after payRaja Tarangini,' v. 144. ing, easy and fickle in manner, effeminate and cowardly in disposition, and naturally prone to artifice and deceit. This character they still bear; and to it I may add that they are the dirtiest and most immoral race in India. Hwen Thsang states that the neighbouring kings held the base Kashmiris in such scorn that they refused all alliance with them, and gave them the name of Ki-li-to or Krityas, which would appear to be a term of contempt applied to evil-minded and mischievous persons, as enemies, traitors, assassins, etc. The term which I have heard used is KirMlechchhas, or the "Barbarian Kiras," and Wilson gives Kira as a name of the valley of Kashmir, and Kiráh as the name of the people. In the seventh century the capital of the country was on the eastern bank of the river, and about 10 li, or less than 2 miles, to the north-west of the ancient capital. Abu Rihân* calls the capital Adishtán, which is the Sanskrit Adhisthúna, or "chief town." This is the present city of Srinagar, which was built by Raja Pravarasena about the beginning of the sixth century, and was, therefore, a new place at the time of Hwen Thsang's visit. The "old capital" I have already identified with an old site, 2 miles to the south-east of the Takht-i-Sulimân, called Pûndrethân, which is the corrupt Kashmirian form of Puránádhisthána, or "the old chief city." Pán is the usual Kashmiri term for "old," as in Pán Drás, or "old Dras," to distinguish it from the new village of Drâs, which is lower down the river.† Near the old capital there * Reinaud, Fragments Arabes, etc.,' p. 116. † Wilson altered this spelling to Payin Drâs, which in Persian signifies "Lower Drâs," in spite of the fact that Pân Drás is higher up the river. west; and Punach and Rajaori to the south. The other hill-states to the east and south-east are not mentioned; but there is good reason for believing that they also were tributary, and that the dominions of Kashmir in the seventh century extended from the Indus to the Râvi. The petty independent state of Kullu, in the upper valley of the Biâs river, was saved by its remoteness and inaccessibility; and the rich state of Jalandhar, on the lower Biâs, was then subject to Harsha Vardhana, the great king of Kanoj. But towards the end of the ninth century the Kangra valley was conquered by Sankara Varmma, and the sovereign power of Kashmir was extended over the whole of the Alpine Panjab from the Indus to the Satlej.* Hwen Thsang describes Kashmir as surrounded on all sides by lofty mountains, which is a correct description of the valley itself; but when he goes on to say that its circuit is 7000 li, or 1166 miles, he must refer to the extended kingdom of Kashmir, and not to the valley, which is only 300 miles in circuit. But the extent of its political boundary, from the Indus on the north to the Salt range on the south, and from the Indus on the west to the Râvi on the east, cannot be estimated at less than 900 miles, and may very probably have reached the amount stated by the pilgrim. 1. KASHMIR. Hwen Thsang entered the valley of Kashmir from the west in September, A.D. 631. At the entrance there was a stone gate, where he was met by the younger brother of the king's mother; and after payRaja Tarangini,' v. 144. ing, easy and fickle in manner, effeminate and cowardly in disposition, and naturally prone to artifice and deceit. This character they still bear; and to it I may add that they are the dirtiest and most immoral race in India. Hwen Thsang states that the neighbouring kings held the base Kashmiris in such scorn that they refused all alliance with them, and gave them the name of Ki-li-to or Krityas, which would appear to be a term of contempt applied to evil-minded and mischievous persons, as enemies, traitors, assassins, etc. The term which I have heard used is KirMlechchhas, or the "Barbarian Kiras," and Wilson gives Kira as a name of the valley of Kashmir, and Kiráh as the name of the people. In the seventh century the capital of the country was on the eastern bank of the river, and about 10 li, or less than 2 miles, to the north-west of the ancient capital. Abu Rihân* calls the capital Adishtán, which is the Sanskrit Adhisthana, or "chief town." This is the present city of Srinagar, which was built by Raja Pravarasena about the beginning of the sixth century, and was, therefore, a new place at the time of Hwen Thsang's visit. The "old capital" I have already identified with an old site, 2 miles to the south-east of the Takht-i-Sulimân, called Pândrethân, which is the corrupt Kashmirian form of Puránádhisthána, or "the old chief city." Pán is the usual Kashmiri term for "old," as in Pán Drás, or "old Dras," to distinguish it from the new village of Drâs, which is lower down the river.† Near the old capital there * Reinaud, 'Fragments Arabes, etc.,' p. 116. Wilson altered this spelling to Payin Drâs, which in Persian signifies" Lower Drâs," in spite of the fact that Pân Drás is higher up the river. have been living as late as the previous year A.D. 719, which makes the error in the Kashmirian chronology amount to exactly thirty-one years. By applying this correction to the dates of his predecessors, the reign of his grandfather, Durlabha, will extend from A.D. 625 to 661. He, therefore, must have been the king who was reigning at the time of Hwen Thsang's arrival in Kashmir in A.D. 631. Durlabha, who was the son-in-law of his predecessor, is said to have been the son of a Naga, or Dragon; and the dynasty which he founded is called the Naga or Karkota dynasty. By this appellation I understand that his family was given to ophiolatry, or serpent-worship, which had been the prevailing religion of Kashmir from time immemorial. Hwen Thsang designates this race as Kili-to, which Professor Lassen and M. Stanislas Julien render by Kritya and Kritiya. They were extremely hostile to the Buddhists, who had frequently deprived them of power, and abolished their rights; on which account, says the pilgrim, the king, who was then reigning, had but little faith in Buddha, and cared only for heretics and temples of the Brahmanical gods. This statement is confirmed by the native chronicle, which records that the queen, Ananga-lekha, built a Vihára, or Buddhist monastery, named after herself, Anangabhavana; while the king built a temple to Vishnu, called after himself, Durlabha-swamina.* infer from this that the queen still adhered to the Buddhist faith of her family, and that the king was, in reality, a Brahmanist, although he may have professed a lukewarm attachment to Buddhism. I |