SANSKRIT AND KASHMIR..I

                                           

( Abhinavgupta and his followers ..

A painting by Claudia Dose) 

SANSKRIT  AND KASHMIR 

Apart from Abinavgupta , Khemraja, Kumarjeeva, Dandin( not to be confused with scholar of same name from South India) ,Panini, Charaka, Damodargupta,Somadeva Vasugupta ,Kalhana, Bilhana, Rilhana,Ruyyaka, Manakhaka, Shivswamin, Lollata, Jonaraja, Srivara,  Kshemendra , Vamana, Bhahma ,Rajashekhra,Prakasendra, Shamboonatha, Jayanta Bhatta,  Anandvardhana, and many more known names, I have counted 700 plus Sanskrit Scholars from Kashmir till Lohara period who have enriched the literature of Sanskrit the world over. They were poets ,translators,scholars of Buddhism, rhetoricians,,aestheticians, Shaiv-Darshana scholars,philosophers, astrologers ,  commentators , grammarians and logicians . Even if many original works have been lost, there are too many   references to the lost works in many available Sanskrit manuscripts some of which have been digitalised by American and European Universities. I saw this upon my visit to Princeton and some more Universities in the US. I am told about this digitalisation in some Australian universities as well.

Sanskrit poetry was a pan-Indian phenomenon. Kashmir occupies a pivotal position in this pan-Indian phenomenon. The Kashmirian poets have left practically no facet of life, outside the ambit of their writing.

 I am of a firm opinion that if the contribution of  Kashmiris to the Sanskrit literature of India is removed,we shall be removing more than 50% of the Sanskrit  literature from the world. Most of the Hindu Kings from  Karkota, Utpala and Lohara dynasties were either lovers of fine arts or poets. Avantivarman , a poet himself ,  had about 70 Sanskrit scholars in his court some of whom were poets.

( Avtar Mota )

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