Rajatarangini

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Rajtarangini (River of Kings), a book written in Sanskrit by Kalhana, 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 Rajtarangini describe the misrule prevailing in Kashmir during the reign of King Kalash, son of King Ananat Deva of Kashmir.

Kalhana’s account of Kashmir begins from the epic period of the Mahabharata, but the recorded history of Kashmir, as retold by Kalhan begins from the period of the Mauryas. Kalhan’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.

Nayantara Sahgal translated Rajtarangini to English.

[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 TV in 2006. The serial is categorised under "classics". Other projects under this category were directed by directors like Gulzar and Basu Chatterjee.