Kashmir
pilgrimage
centers
Amarnath
Amritsar
Ayodhya
Badrinath
Bodha
Gaya
jyothirlingas
kanyakumari
Khajuraho
konark temple
Madurai
Mathura
Pandharpur
Pashupatinath
Puri Jagannath
Rameswaram
Rishikesh
Sarnath
Satya sai baba
Shani Shingnapur
Srikalahasti
Shri
Lakshmi GoldenTemple
Tirupathi
Vaishno Devi
SadGurus
Akkalkot
Maharaj
Shripad
SriVallabh
Dwadasa
jyotirlingas
Somanath
Shrishailam
Omkareshwar
Vaidyanath
Maha
Kaleshwar
Kashi
vishwanath
Bhimashankar
kedarnath
Nageshwer
Trimbakeshwar
Grishneshwar
Shakti
peethas
Sightseeing
Agra
Ajanta caves
Delhi
Ellora caves
Goa
Jaipur
Kashmir
Manasarovar
Foreign Trips
Kashmir is the world best natural
beautiful place
Everyone prefer to visit hill stations and cool places and for
Indians the first preference is Kashmir, the paradise on the
earth.
Dal Lake
Sonamarg
Amarnath cave temple
Veshno Devi
Gulmarg
Tulip Garden
Bah Fort
There are many more places to visit in Kashmir and the land
is popular for lakes and natural beauty. Amarnath cave temple and
veshno devi are very popular pilgrimage centers in India and every
year these places are visited by millions of devotees. Kashmir, the
beautiful land is a perfect
destination
for tourists as it is easy to reach and comfortable to stay. The land is easy to travel as it is well connected by all the transport facilities such as by road, by air and by train also. The nearest railway station and airport is Jammu and you can take buses from Delhi and many major cities of India. For accommodation, there are number of hotels and resorts available but many tourists prefer to book holiday packages in advance so that they don’t have to worry about room availability.
Kashmir is the northwestern region of Indian subcontinent which is
also known as the “Heaven on the Earth” as the land is very
beautiful. Kashmir is geographically denoted only valley between
the Great Himalayas and Pir Panjal Mountain range. When Kashmir,
the word comes in mind the picture of beautiful land comes in mind
with snow capped mountains, mesmerizing waterfalls, panoramic
views, beautiful gardens, lovely houses boats and shikaras. The
valley is one of the most popular tourist’s destinations in India
having number of tourist’s attractions and the land itself is very
beautiful that everyone wants to visit. But sometimes it is very
risky to visit Kashmir because some areas are banned for the
tourists. Many sacred temples are also located in Kashmir and in
the nearby areas and therefore the region is visited by most of the
tourists from all over the world.
The state of Jammu & Kashmir is a region of widely varying
people and geography. In the south, Jammu is a transition zone from
the Indian plains to the Himalaya. Nature has lavishly endowed
Kashmir with certain distinctive favors which hardly find a
parallel in any alpine land of the world. It is the land of snow
clad mountains that share a common boundary with Afghanistan, China
and Pakistan; Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of the
Indian Union. Known for its extravagant natural beauty this land
formed a major caravan route in the ancient
times.
Trade relations through these routes between China and Central Asia
made it a land inhabited by various religious and cultural groups.
It was during the reign of Kashyapa that the various wandering
groups led a settled life Buddhism influenced Kashmir during the
rule of Ashoka and the present town of Srinagar was founded by him.
This place was earlier called 'Srinagari' or Purandhisthan. The
Brahmins who inhabited these areas admired and adorned Buddhism
too. From the regions of Kashmir Buddhism spread of Ladakh, Tibet,
Central Asia and China. Various traditions co-existed till the
advent of the Muslims.
The Mughal had a deep influence on this land and introduced various
reforms in the revenue industry and other areas that added to the
progress of Kashmir. In 1820 Maharaj Gulab Singh got the Jagir of
Jammu from Maharaj Ranjit Sigh. He is said to have laid the
foundation of the Dogra dynasty. In 1846 Kashmir was sold to
Maharaj Gulab Singh. Thus the two areas of Kashmir and Jammu were
integrated into a single political unit. A few chieftains who
formed part of the administration were of the Hunza, Kishtwar,
Gilgit Ladakh. During the Dogra dynasty trade improved, along with
the preservation and promotion of forestry.
Jammu & Kashmir - History
Many historians and locals believe that Jammu was founded by Raja
Jamboolochan in 14th century BCE. During one of his hunting
campaigns he reached the Tawi River where he saw a goat and a lion
drinking water at the same place. The king was impressed and
decided to set up a town after his name, Jamboo. With the passage
of time, the name was corrupted and became "Jammu". According to
one "folk etymology", the name "Kashmir" means "desiccated land"
(from the Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = desiccate). According
to another folk etymology, following Hindu mythology, the sage
Kashyapa drained a lake to produce the land now known as
Kashmir.
With a fertile soil and temperate climate, the valley is rich in
rice, vegetables and fruits of all kinds, and famous for the
quality of its wool. Kashmir has been inhabited since prehistoric
times, sometimes independent but at times subjugated by invaders
from Bactria, Tartary, Tibet and other mountainous regions to the
North, and from the Indus valley and the Ganges valley to the
South. At different times the dominant religion has been Animist,
Buddhist, Hindu and (after the period of the history)
Muslim.
The Rajatarangini is the first of a series of four histories that
record the annals of Kashmir. Commencing with a rendition of
traditional 'history' of very early times (3102 BCE), the
Rajatarangini comes down to the reign of Sangrama Deva, (c.1006 AD)
and Kalhana. The second work, by Jonaraja, continues the history
from where Kalhana left off, and, entering the Muslim period, gives
an account of the reigns down to that of Zain-ul-ab-ad-din, 1412.
P. Srivara carried on the record to the accession of Fah Shah in
1486. The fourth work, called Rajavalipataka, by Prajnia Bhatta,
completes the history to the time of the incorporation of Kashmir
in the dominions of the Mogul emperor Akbar,
1588.
Jonaraja (c. 15th century) was a Kashmiri historian and Sanskrit
poet. His Dvitiya Rajatara?gini is a continuation of Kalhana's
Rajatarangini and brings the chronicle of the kings of Kashmir down
to the time of the author's patron Zain-ul-Abidin (r. 1423-74).
Jonaraja, however, could not complete the history of the patron as
he died in the 35th regnal year of him. His pupil, Srivara
continued the history and his work, the Tritiya Rajatara?gini
covers the period 1459-86.
In his Dvitiya Rajatarangini, Jonaraja has vividly described the
decline of the Hindu ruling dynasty and the rise of the Muslim
ruling dynasty in Kashmir.
The Rajatarangini (The River of Kings) is a metrical chronicle of
the kings of Kashmir from earliest time written in Sanskrit by
Kalhana. It is believed that the book was written sometime during
1147-1149 CE. The work generally records the heritage of Kashmir,
but 120 verses of Rajatarangi?i describe the misrule prevailing in
Kashmir during the reign of King Kalash, son of King Ananta Deva of
Kashmir. Although the earlier books are far from accurate in their
chronology, they still provide an invaluable source of information
about early Kashmir and its neighbors, and are widely referenced by
later historians and ethnographers.
In the Rajatarangini, a history of Kashmir written by Kalhana in
mid-12th century, it is stated that the valley of Kashmir was
formerly a lake. This was drained by the great rishi or sage,
Kashyapa, son of Marichi, son of Brahma, by cutting the gap in the
hills at Baramulla (Varaha-mula). When Kashmir had been drained,
Kashyapa asked Brahmans to settle there. This is still the local
tradition, and in the existing physical condition of the country,
we may see some ground for the story which has taken this form. The
name of Kashyapa is by history and tradition connected with the
draining of the lake, and the chief town or collection of dwellings
in the valley was called Kashyapa-pura name which has been
identified with the Kao-1r6.nupos of Hecataeus (apud Stephen of
Byzantium) and Kaspatyros of Herodotus (3.102, 4.44). Kashmir is
the country meant also by Ptolemy's
Kao-ir,~pta.
Kalhana (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 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.
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