Kota Rani (d. 1344) was the last ruler of the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Lohara dynasty The Lohara dynasty were Hindu rulers of Kashmir in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, between 1003 and approximately 1320 CE. The early history of the dynasty was described in the ''Rajatarangini'' (''Chronicle of Kings''), a work wri ...

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 ...

.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

Shah Mir Shams-ud-Din Shah Mir () was a ruler of Kashmir and founder of the Shah Mir dynasty. Shah Mir is believed to have come to Kashmir during the rule of Suhadeva (), where he rose to prominence. After the death of Suhadeva and his brother Udayanad ...

, who became the first Muslim ruler of Kashmir.

Life

Kota Rani was the daughter of Ramachandra, the commander-in-chief of Suhadeva, the king of

. Ramachandra had appointed an administrator, Rinchan, a

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...

i. Rinchan became ambitious. He sent a force in the fort, in the guise of merchants, who took Ramachandra's men by surprise. Ramachandra was killed and his family was taken prisoner. To earn local support, Rinchan appointed Rawanchandra, the son of Ramachandra, as administrator of Lar and Ladakh, and married his sister Kota Rani. He employed

as a trusted courtier, who had entered Kashmir earlier and had been given an appointment in the government. Rinchan converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

and adopted the name of Sultan Sadruddin. He died as a result of an assassination after ruling for three years.

Reign

Kota Rani was first appointed as a regent for Rinchan's young son. Later she was persuaded to marry Udayanadeva by the elders. Udayanadeva died in 1338. Kota Rani had two sons. Rinchan's son was under the charge of Shah Mir and Udayanadeva's son was taught by Bhatta Bhikshana. Kota Rani became the ruler in her own right, and appointed Bhatta Bhikshana as her prime minister. Shah Mir pretended to be sick, and when Bhatta Bhikshana visited him, Shah Mir jumped out of his bed and killed him. According to the historian Jonaraja, she committed suicide and offered her intestines to him as a wedding gift. According to the Kashmiri historian Jonaraja, Shah Mir killed both of her sons.

Legacy

She was very intelligent and a great thinker. She saved the city of Srinagar from frequent floods by getting a canal constructed, named after her and called " Kute Kol". This canal gets water from

Jhelum River The Jhelum River (/dʒʰeːləm/) is a river in the northern Indian subcontinent. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir, to the Pakistani-administered territory of Kashmir, and then ...

at the entry point of city and again merges with Jhelum river beyond the city limits.

In popular culture

* Rakesh Kaul's historical novel ''The Last Queen of Kashmir'' is based on Kota Rani's life and legend. * In August 2019, Reliance Entertainment and Phantom Films announced that they would be making a movie on Kota Rani.

References

Bibliography