Kashmir
Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
in the northern
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
during the 10th century.
She was the Queen Consort of Kashmir from 885 to 902 by marriage to Sankaravarman, the King of Kashmir. She served as Queen Regent of Kashmir during the minority of her son king Gopalavarman between 902 and 904. She was declared monarch in her own right in 904 as Sri Sugandha Deva, Queen of Kashmir, when all successors to the throne has died. She was dethroned by the Tantrins in 906 and they installed Partha as monarch. Sugandha continued to claim the throne of Kashmir and retreated to live in Haskapura (present-day Ushkur, Baramulla). In 914 she went to war against Partha and the Tantrins, but was imprisoned and later killed in a Buddhist monastery called ''Nispalaka Vihara''.
Queen consort
Sugandha was the daughter of Svamiraja, the king of a kingdom near Kashmir. Sugandha was married to Sankaravarman, who reigned as King of Kashmir from 885 CE until 902 CE. He had at-least three other wives, including one Surendravati, but Sugangha acted as his queen consort.
Sankaravarman died in 902 of a stray-arrow at Urusha (present-day
Hazara, Pakistan
Hazara (Hindko: هزاره, Urdu: ) is a region in northeastern Pakistan, falling administratively within Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is dominated mainly by the Hindko-speaking Hindkowan people, who are the native ethni ...
), whilst returning from a not-so-successful conquest, where Sugandha had also accompanied him. Following his death, he was succeeded by his son, Gopalavarman. While some of Sankaravarman's queens and servants died by
Sati
Sati or SATI may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi
* ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike
*Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer
*Sati, a character in ''Th ...
, the Dowager Queen Sugandha refused it in order to act as Queen Mother and regent for Gopalavarman. After Sankaravarman's last rites had finished, Gopalavarman was crowned the King of Kashmir.
Reign as regent
Although Sugandha was good at managing the affars of the kingdom, she took pleasure in bodily indulgences. Various historians accuse her of being intimate to her treasury minister Prabhakaradeva, who they describe as her paramour. Prabhakaradeva used to exercise the real powers of the King. He engaged in prolonged theft of state-treasures and was finally probed by Gopalavarman. In due course, Prabhakaradeva employed a relative Ramadeva to assassinate the king by practice of witchcraft. Gopalavarman died of a fever and Ramadeva died by suicide, after his conspiracy became public knowledge.
After Gopalavarman's death, his brother Sankata became King, but he died mysteriously after ten days. After Sankaravarman's lineage died out, Kashmir fell into a political turmoil. Courtiers started plotting a coup and public figures called a Maha-Panchayat to choose the kingdom's ruler. As Sugandha was quite popular among the people, she was proclaimed the sovereign of Kashmir.
Reign as monarch
In 904 CE, Sugandha assumed royal power and ruled Kashmir in her own right. Some historians believe that she did it apparently with an intention of securing it for her grandson — the yet-unborn child of Jayalakshmi. She ruled Kashmir for two years ( 904 – 906).
She hoped that she would be succeeded by her unborn grandson, the son of Gopalavarman, but her daughter-in-law Jayalakshmi's pregnancy resulted in a stillbirth. Sugandha, now in despair, wished that she be succeeded by one of her blood-relatives, Nirjitavarman, a grandson of Suravarman and a half-brother of Avantivarman, nicknamed "Pangu" (lame).
She nominated Pangu as the successor to the throne and in doing this, she had to seek the advice and permission of her ministers. Sugandha's choice was met with considerable resistance from the ministers as well as the Tantrins, on grounds of Nirjitavarman's lameness. Sugandha was dethroned by the Tantrins and they installed Nirjitavarman's ten-year-old son Partha as monarch instead.
Later life
Following her dethronement in 906 CE, Sugandha retreated to live in Haskapura (present-day Ushkur, Baramulla), and continued to claim the throne of Kashmir.
In 914, after eight years of exile in Haskapura, Sugandha was persuaded by the Ekangas, Royal bodyguards and other factions loyal to her, to wage a war against Partha and the Tantrins.Thapar, Romila. ''A History of India'', vol. 1. London:
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.
She was defeated and captured by the Tantrins. Sugandha was imprisoned and later killed in a Buddhist monastery called ''Nispalaka Vihara''. Kalhana observes: "Strange are the ways of fate, ever falling and rising".
Aftermath
In early medieval Kashmir, the rule of the Utpala dynasty in the Vale of Kashmir was dominated by the rivalry of two military factions, the Tantrins and the Ekangas. Their vying led to the installment of new monarchs and dethronement of others. Tantrins were a strong military class organisation. Tantrin foot-soldiers had formed a confederacy and were strong enough to punish or to favour the rulers of the kingdom. Ekangas are said to have been Royal bodyguards, who influenced the affairs of the court and the state. After Sugandha was defeated in 914 CE, and none of the succeeding rulers was able to assert their supremacy over the Tantrins.
Finally, feudal landowners, known as ''damaras'', were called put an end to the power struggle. They successfully destroyed the power of the Tantrins, after which the rulers of Kashmir were faced with the new problems of curbing the power of the landowners, as is evident from political events during the rule of
Queen Didda
Didda (1003 CE), also known as ''The Catherine of Kashmir'' was the ruler of Kashmir from 980 CE to 1003 CE. She first acted as regent for her son and various grandsons from 958 CE to 980 CE, and from 980 CE as sole ruler and monarch. Most knowled ...
.
Legacy
Some historians call her reign as the "golden age" of Kashmir. Historian Premnath Bazaz states that "She was loved by the people, trusted by the courtiers, and admired by the army".
Sugandha's reign constitutes the first concrete and historically verifiable reign of a female sovereign in Kashmir's history and ruled at the behest of her subjects.
During her reign, Sugandha built the towns of Sugandhapura and Gopalapura, the Vishnu temple Gopalakesava, and the monastery of Gopalamatha. She also built the Sugandesha Temple, located at Pattan, which has a square sanctum with a portico in front and a peristyle around.
Sankaravarman, along with Sugandha, dedicated two temples to Mahadeva, namely Sankara Gauresa and Sugandhesvara at the new capital of Sankarapura. These two stately temples are still standing today at modern-day Pattan.
Sugandha's coinage is an important corroborative evidence of her power and refers to her by the masculine epithet, ''Sri Sugandha Deva''.Ardochsho (Goddess Lakshmi) is seen seated in
Lalitasana
Lalitasana is a pose or mudra in Indian art and the art of dharmic religions in other countries. It is often called "the royal position" or "royal ease" in English, and is a relaxed pose typical in royal portraits and those of religious figure ...
in most of the coins and Sharda script is distinctly visible.
Queen Didda
Didda (1003 CE), also known as ''The Catherine of Kashmir'' was the ruler of Kashmir from 980 CE to 1003 CE. She first acted as regent for her son and various grandsons from 958 CE to 980 CE, and from 980 CE as sole ruler and monarch. Most knowled ...
*
Kota Rani
Kota Rani (d. 1344) was the last ruler of the Hindu Lohara dynasty in Kashmir.She was also the last female ruler of Kashmir. She was regent during the minority of her son in 1323−1338, and ruled as monarch in 1338−1339. She was deposed by Sha ...
*
Rajatarangini
''Rajatarangini'' ("The River of Kings") is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western part of India, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The ...