Kalhana’s Rajtarangini—how it got revealed?

(By: Kanwal Krishan Lidhoo)

(The author is indebted to Shri Ranjit Sita Ram Pandit, the author of “R A J T A R A N G I N I…THE SAGA OF KINGS OF KASHMIR’’

Kalhana’s Rajtarangini which has made Kashmir famous all over the world and accorded it unique credit  in terms of being the only region where there was an established tradition of historiography unlike anywhere in the subcontinent. Kalhana is not presumed to be the only historian. He definitely had predecessors whose accounts are unfortunately not forthcoming. Kalhana started working on Rajtarangini in Saka 1070 corresponding to 1148 A.D and completed it in 1150 A.D

Muslim, Christian Names associated with Rajtarangini

King Zain-ul-Abedin, the king of Kashmir, ( 1421 to 1472 A.D) the legendary Budshah was the first king who ordered the translation of this most important chronicle in Persian. He named it ” Bahr-ul-Asmar”. But only a portion of it could be translated.  After Kashmir was annexed by Mughal king Akbar he ordered one Abd-ul-Kaadir Al Badaaoni in 1594 A.D to work on its complete translation. Abul Fazal in his “ Ain-i-Akbari” while making an abstract of early history of Kashmir also makes a reference to Kalhana’s Rajtarangini. It was Haider Malik of Kashmir who belonged to a noble lineage in Kashmir, undertook the task of translation of Rajtarangini during Jahangir’s period and for the first time accorded Hijri dates to the line of Hindu kings mentioned by Kalhana.

French Physician Francoise Bernier, the only foreigner who visited Kashmir during the period 1664 onwards  refers to Haider Malik’s abridged Persian translation when he refers to “ histories of ancient kings of Kachemire”. Haider Malik’s translation after one hundred years again surfaces as a reference in missionary Le PiereTieffenthaler’s “Description de L’Inde’’, as summary of the ancient rulers of Kashmir.

During the early years of 19^th century, British scholar and Orientalist Sir William Jone’s attention was drawn to Kalhana’s work in 1819. In 1823, by permission of the Sikh ruler of Kashmir Maharaja Ranjeet Singh one Moore Croft succeeded in obtaining an original manuscript of Rajtarangini in Kashmiri upon which Asiatic Society of Bengal published an edition in 1835.

However, the first complete translation from original Sanskrit manuscript of only first six cantos (Part of a poem) was completed in 1835 in French  by one M.Troyer, Principal of Kolkata Sanskrit college. It is from this version that Shri Yogesh Chander Dutta for the first time translated Rajtarangini into English during 1879-1887.

Rectification of Mistakes

The journey of Rajtarangini even though the Sanskrit manuscript was complete was not without travails. Successive translators wilfully omitted huge portions of the historical chronicle either by convenience or by design and attributed strange reasons for the same. This is elucidated by Shri Sita Ram Pandit the mention of whom has been made in the beginning of the write-up. Shri Pandit traces this strange development from the days of Prof. Buhler and even Sir Auriel Stein when he says (to quote)”The distinguished explorer and scholar Sir A. Stein made a deep study of Kalhana’s work but his method of translation does not give an adequate conception of the work as a literary composition to the readers unable to study the original. Further his main interest in the chronicle was archaeological and topographical and he omitted to translate verses which according to him are in “Kavya style” and which contain rhetoric descriptions or didactic matter of a wholly conventional type”.

Thus we see it is Shri Sita Ram Pandit who completes the translation in 1934 after following Sanskrit manuscript available with Sir Auriel Stein and Pandit Durga Prasada.

Moti Lal Saqi on Rajtarangini

Moti Lal Saqi in his world famous book on Kashmir history titled “Aagar Neb” while deliberating on Pandit Kalhana mentions that during the process of writing Rajtarangini he had to rely upon twelve more such chronicles to consult as reference books and authenticate his account. In addition to Nilmat Purana, he names some such important chronicles written by Murta, Hil Raja, Padaamaraj, chivlakar and Kshemendra beside others.

About Ranjit Sita Ram Pandit

Shri  Sita Ram Pandit was a great scholar of Sanskrit, politician and barrister from erstwhile Rajkot in Kathiawar region, presently Maharashtra.  Husband of Vijay Laxmi Pandit, sister of Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India. Besides Rajtarangini, he also translated Kalidasa’s  “Ritusamhara” and Vishakdatta’s  “Mudrarakshasa”.