During this period Kalhana wrote the third book of Rajtarangani in which he has made a reference to the wisdom of king Meghwahan. Meghwahan was born in Gandhar. Gandhar, at that time, was an important centre of Buddhism. Buddhism had spread upto Afghanistan and Turkey because of the efforts of Kanishka. Thus Meghwahan started a strange campaign for the spread of Buddhism which in the history of the world is novel and incomparable. He decided to ban human killings in the entire world (Rajtarangani -3/27). After banning killing of animals in Kashmir he went towards the south upto Sri Lanka to make this prohibitive order effective. Meghwahan camped on the southern bank of the sea. One aborigin (Shabr) was keen to perform human sacrifice. That time Meghwahan offered himself for the sacrifice and this had caused a major transformation in the mind of the aborigine who gave up indulging in human sacrifices. (Rajtarangani-3/57). He had offered his body for sacrifice to make sincere efforts to save the life of a Brahmin boy. (Rajtarangani-3/78). The king had alienated even the demons from the acts of violence. The king got issued a proclamation not only in Kashmir but in the whole of India that whosoever he may be, living beings are not meant for killing or sacrifice. (Rajtarangani-3/88).
The wife of Meghwahan, Amritprabha, was the daughter of king of Assam. That time Assam and Bengal were under the influence of Vaishnavism. Therefore, the advent of this sect in Kashmir was the result of efforts of Amritprabha. This faith could not become as influential as Shaivism. There was no conflict or differences between it and Shaivism or Buddhism. Amritprabha had built Amrit Bhawan named monestery for providing comfort and facilities to Buddhist monks. It was called Yukaang Vihar. The flagstaff of the flag that would be hoisted on the palace was gifted to king Meghwahan by the king of Sri Lanka. It is an example of unity in India from the Himalayas to the distant south.
King Durlabhvardhan
After the Meghwahan period, the 254-year rule of Karkota dynasty on Kashmir is regarded as a golden era. The founder of this dynasty, Durlabhvardhan (625 A.D.), ascended the throne of Kashmir. The fourth book of Kalhana's Rajtarangani begins from this period. The history of Karkota dynasty is factual and solid. The famous Chinese traveller, Huen Tsang, reached Kashmir in 631 A.D. He remained in Kashmir for two years as a state guest. He has made a mention of the reign of Durlabh-vardhan in his article. According to him, Takshilla, Hazara, Poonch and Rajouri and other distant areas were under the influence of the king. He was a powerful king who ruled a vast kingdom. The route from Kashmir to Kabul was under his control. But he was not fully independent. Emperor Harshwardhan, whose capital was Kanoj, exercised simple power on Kashmir. The economic condition in Kashmir was good. The valley was rich with fruit and flowers. Buddhism had good publicity impact.
It is clear from the account of Huen Tsang that the king of Kashmir would come under the central rule. Those modern historians, who take pride in saying that there was never any central rule in India, should learnt from it.
.JPG)
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