JK LATEST INFO

ANCIENT HISTORY OF J&K

RESTORED GONANDA DYNASTY
THE RESTORED GONANDA DYNASTY
• The Book III of the Rajtarangini tells us that the last
Gonanda dynasty of Kashmir ruled for about 590 years,
until the establishment of the Karkota Dynasty

• However the chronology is widely deemed to be faulty

and on cross-vetting with coins and inscriptions from
outside Kashmir, the names of some of the Gonanda
rulers are found to roughly correspond with the Alchon
Huns, who ruled hundreds of years later than the time-
frame assigned by Kalhana

• Several coins bearing names roughly consistent with

the names of the Gonanda rulers — Śrī
Meghamah (prob. king Meghavahana), Śrī
Pravarasenah (King Pravarasena), Śrī Tuysīna (prob.
King Tunjina), and Śrī Toramaņa (Toramana) — have
been recently discovered
THE RESTORED GONANDA DYNASTY

Abhimanyu I shifted his capital from

Kashmir to Rajouri during winters.
Meghavana ( Ruled for 34 years)
• Meghavahana was the son of Yudhisthira I's great-
grandson, who had been granted asylum by
Gopaditya, the king of Gandhara.
• Meghavahana banned animal slaughter and
compensated those who earned their living
through hunting.
• His queens built Buddhist viharas and
monasteries.
• Meghavana’s chief queen was Amrit Prabha, who
built ‘Amrit Bhawan’ Vihar (Present day Awanta
Bhawan) for foreign pilgrims and those who came
to Kashmir for learning in large numbers.
Shreshtasena (Pravarsena I/Tunjina II)

Hiranya Matrigupta
HUNS/ALCOHOLIC HUNS
• A violent tribe that inhabited various places in central Asia . Riding horses ,
Huns swarmed countries and indulged in killing , looting and other barbaric
acts to spread terror .
• Entering through Hindu Kush pass , White Huns attacked India during the reign
of Gupta kings somewhere in the middle of fifth century.
• Emperor Skandagupta is reported to have given a crushing defeat
to this first batch of Huns .
• This tribe now diverted their attack towards Europe. This group of white Huns
marched towards Europe and swarmed various countries .
• Not satisfied , another group of Huns led by TORAMANA again
attacked India entering through Hindukush pass.
• Toramana conquered Punjab , Rajputana and Malwa and ruled this
country for a brief period from 510 AD to 511 AD. He had his sway
over KASHMIR and DOAB as well
• Toramana was succeeded by his son MIHIRAKULA
MIHIRKULA (502 – 533)
• Mihirakula was a Hinduised Hun who ( as per some
historians ) demolished Bhudhist Viharas and demonstrated
sadistic tendencies .
• To deal with Mihirakula , Gupta kings put all their might
together and drove out Mihirakula from their land . Driven
out of the plains, Mihirakula now moved to Kashmir .
• The prince of Kashmir gave him an asylum but Mihirakula
overthrew the prince with intrigues and he sat on the throne.
• He could not enjoy his power for a long time, as he died of
disease in 533. A.D.
• It is recorded that Mihirkula never laughed. For ordinary and
petty issues he ordered slaughter.
• Many historians are tempted to call him THE INDIAN NERO.
• One story describes him as ‘trikotihan’, the killer of three crores.
Praversena II (60 years) – Restored Gonanda Dynasty
• Historical evidence suggests that a king named Pravarasena ruled
Kashmir in the 6th century CE ( Kalhana – 125 CE)

• He founded a city called Pravarapura/Pravasenpue, which is

identified by later historians as the modern city of Srinagar.
• Emperor Ashoka – Srinagar (Pandrethan – 3.5 km S-E of Srinagar)

• Yudhisthira II Baladitya
• Baladitya (apparently) had no male heir but a daughter
Anaṅgalekhā and did not wish his territory to be annexed by in-
laws. To avert such a possibility he married her to
Durlabhavardhana, a low-caste employee having no royal
lineage. However, after Baladitya's death, Durlabhavardhana
ascended to the throne with help from a minister