Wonderful!! I see this every time I go to White Orchid books in Bangkok and think of buying it. Now I don't have to agonize any more!

Read Book Online : VOLUME 1 - http://www.archive.org/stream/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12/Rajatarangini-JogeshChunderDuttVol1#page/n0/mode/2up VOLUME 2 - http://www.archive.org/stream/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12/Rajatarangini-JogeshChunderDuttVol2#page/n0/mode/2up VOLUME 3 - http://www.archive.org/stream/kingsofkashmira03kalhuoft#page/n3/mode/2up

Download pdf Book : VOLUME 1 - http://ia600109.us.archive.org/17/items/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12/Rajatarangini-JogeshChunderDuttVol1.pdf VOLUME 2 - http://ia600109.us.archive.org/17/items/RajataranginiOfKalhana-English-JogeshChunderDuttVolumes12/Rajatarangini-JogeshChunderDuttVol2.pdf VOLUME 3 - http://www.archive.org/download/kingsofkashmira03kalhuoft/kingsofkashmira03kalhuoft.pdf

Many thanks for the collection of Kashmir-related books and trivia. I've heard that Ranjit Sitaram Pandit's translation of Rajatarangini is very good too. Anyone who's read it here?

The French version : Radjatarangini; histoire des rois du Kachmir. Traduite et commentée par M.A. Troyer Read Book Online : http://www.archive.org/stream/radjataranginihi01kalh#page/n7/mode/2up Download pdf Book : http://ia600308.us.archive.org/35/items/radjataranginihi01kalh/radjataranginihi01kalh.pdf

Kalhana: The author & his philosophy Kalhana (कल्हण) (c. 12th century CE) a Kashmiri Brahmin was the author of Rajatarangini, and is regarded as Kashmir's first historian. In fact, his translator Aurel Stein expressed the view that his was the only true Sanskrit history. Little is known about him except from what he tells us about himself in the opening verses of his book. His father Champaka was the minister (Lord of the Gate) in Harsha of Kashmir's court. Kalhana in his opening Taranga of Rajatarangini presents his views on how history ought to be written. From Stein's translation[2]: Verse 7. Fairness: That noble-minded author is alone worthy of praise whose word, like that of a judge, keeps free from love or hatred in relating the facts of the past. Verse 11. Cite earlier authors: The oldest extensive works containing the royal chronicles [of Kashmir] have become fragmentary in consequence of [the appearance of] Suvrata's composition, who condensed them in order that (their substance) might be easily remembered. Verse 12. Suvrata's poem, though it has obtained celebrity, does not show dexterity in the exposition of the subject-matter, as it is rendered troublesome [reading] by misplaced learning. Verse 13. Owing to a certain want of care, there is not a single part in Ksemendra's "List of Kings" (Nrpavali) free from mistakes, though it is the work of a poet. Verse 14. Eleven works of former scholars containing the chronicles of the kings, I have inspected, as well as the [Purana containing the] opinions of the sage Nila. Verse 15. By looking at the inscriptions recording the consecretations of temples and grants by former kings, at laudatory inscriptions and at written works, the trouble arising from many errors has been overcome. Despite these stated principles, and despite the value that historians have placed on Kalhana's work, it must be accepted that his history was far from accurate. In the first three books, there is little evidence of authenticity and serious inconsistencies. For example, Ranaditya is given a reign of 300 years. Toromanu is clearly the Huna king of that name, but his father Mihirakula is given a date 700 years earlier[3]. It is known, however, that Mihirakula was the son of Toramana. The chronicles only start to align with other evidence by book IV, Structure of Rajatarangini Chronicle The author of the Rajatarangini history chronicles the rulers of the valley from earliest times, from the epic period of the Mahābhārata to the reign of Sangrama Deva (c.1006 CE), before the Muslim era. The list of kings goes back to the 19th century BCE[4]. Some of the kings and dynasties can be identified with inscriptions and the histories of the empires that periodically included the Kashmir valley, but for long periods the Rajatarangini is the only source. This work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas (waves). Kalhaṇa’s account of Kashmir begins with the legendary reign of Gonarda, who was contemporary to Yudhisthira of the Mahābhārata, 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. Read more at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rajatarangini

beautiful ... long waited ... thnx a lot

Rajatarangi is a beautiful work. It has been translated into Kannada and books were for sale at the Sahitya Sammelan in Bangalore. I could not buy one because of the heavy rush. I must buy the Kannada one too.

Its an excellent book detailing the history of kashmir upto almost mid 1100 AD. Though ages of additions and deletions might have led to the loss of the originality of the author's script, the current versions in circulation still provide a more or less authentic picture of the past era. Moreover, it also provides a great lesson in terms of --- what happens to bad rulers and how people react to their downfall (either with joy or with indifference).

Later after kalhana, jonaraja wrote the extension chronicling the details of the royal dynasties and kings (including the famed zain-ul-abadin) upto mid 14th century. After him 2 more authors made further additions to the book.

Not sure about 4 however three Raja-Tarangini are available, first from Kalhan, next from Jonaraja and last from Shuka. All of these can be bought from Chaukhamba Publication New Delhi who are a reputed publisher of Sanskrit and Indology books.

Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir By Kalhaṇa, M.A. Stein http://books.google.co.in/books?id=RX8RPlmygxkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=M.+A.+Stein&hl=en&ei=iWt4TcyKLIfNrQf_mIDFBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

Kashmir in Ancient Sanskrit Literature by Dr. B. N. Kalla Koshur Samachar Historical document For the history, as well as for the early geography of the valley, Kalhana's Rajtarangini is a very important historical document. In the first Taranga of his work, he gives us an account of the legends relating to the creation of Kashmir and its sacred river, the Vitasta, and refers, besides, to the most famous of the many Tirthas in which Kashmir was abundant. For the historical geography of Kashmir is the mass of incidental references of topographical interest scattered throughout his work. Ancient Kashmir was really rich in holy places and the objects of pilgrimages were planted throughout the valley. According to the Rajtarangini, Kashmir was a country where there was not a space as large as a grain of sesamum without a Tirtha. The springs (Naag in Kashmiri), which had their tutelary deities in the form of Nagas, the streams and the rivers, in particular sacred legends attached to each of them, innumerable places connected with the worship of various gods and goddesses - all these and many more have been frequently mentioned by Kalhana. They have some topographical importance as they enable us to trace with more or less certainty the early history of most of the popular places of pilgrims visited up to present day. The marvellous accuracy of Kalhana's topographical knowledge about some of the Tirthas tends to show that he visited them personally. A number of references made by Kalhana regarding the origin of towns, cities, villages, estates and shrines are also of topographical importance. His knowledge about the birth of these towns and shrines seems to have been gathered from the inscriptions, recording the consecration of temples and grants of land by former kings. Read more at : http://www.koausa.org/Languages/BNKalla.html

@rbsi.thanks for this wonderful treasure. i simply love to read this.

Wonderful book! The very name "Rajatarangini" is "roma-harsha"-fying. Again a request: Those who can afford - do buy a copy from publishing houses to support the publishers. A friend of mine recently mentioned that several Indology publishers are just languishing with not enough buyers and either throwing away their priceless books or not publishing them anymore.

Vasudevan : Lets hope these posts on RBSI stirs up enough interest in atleast a few of us... to buy the real books from Indology Publishers and Rare Book sellers.

Historical Period Book