Rajatarangini
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rājatarangiṇī (River of Kings), a book written in Sanskrit by Kalhaṇa, contains an account of the life and history of Kashmir. It is believed that the book was written sometime during 1147–1149 CE. The book generally records the heritage of Kashmir, but 120 verses of Rājatarangiṇī describe the misrule prevailing in Kashmir during the reign of King Kalash, son of King Ananat Deva of Kashmir.
Kalhaṇa’s account of Kashmir begins from the epic period of the Mahabharata, but the recorded history of Kashmir, as retold by Kalhaṇa begins from the period of the Mauryas. Kalhaṇa’s account also states that the city of Srinagar was founded by the Mauryan emperor, Ashoka, and that Buddhism reached the Kashmir valley during this period. From there, Buddhism spread to several other adjoining regions including Central Asia, Tibet and China.
Five English translations of Rājatarangiṇī exist: by Ranjit Sitaram Pandit, by S.L. Sadhu, by H. H. Wilson (secretary of The Asiatic Society of Bengal in the early 19th century, and the first english translator of the Rajataragini), by Jogesh Chandra Dutt in the late 19th century, and the most comprehensive translation is by Aurel Stein, done in the early 20th century, and is in 3 volumes. Parts of the Rajatarangini were translated into Persian, and included in the Ain-i Akbari in the 16th century.
[edit] Television serial
A television serial based on this book has been completed by National Award winning director, Jyoti Sarup. The serial will be aired on Doordarshan in 2006. The serial is categorised under "classics". Other projects under this category were directed by directors like Gulzar and Basu Chatterjee.
