CHINAR SHADE : MY NEW BOOK KASHMIR: THE CROWN JEWEL OF INDIC CIVILISATION (ELEVEN ESSAYS)

“KASHMIR: THE CROWN JEWEL OF INDIC CIVILISATION” (Eleven Essays )

By Avtar Mota

Published in May 2024

Available …Worldwide on Amazon and Flipkart

Price Rs460/=

In India available at

https:// www.amazon.in/dp/B0D4M6TNR3

https:// www.flipkart.com/kashmir/p/itm5d171938b80d4?pid=9798894155456&affid=editornoti

https:// notionpress.com/read/kashmir-the-crown-jewel-of-indic-civilisation

Worldwide available at

USA …….. https:// www.amazon.com/dp/B0D45XXSMF

Canada…… https:// www.amazon.ca/dp/B0D45XXSMF

UK…………… https:// www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0D45XXSMF

France ……….https://www. amazon.fr/dp/B0D45XXSMF

Australia ……..https:// www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0D45XXSMF

Published Review ( The Daily Excelsior dated 9th June, 2024)

THREE EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK

(1)

Excerpt from the essay ,” KALHANA PANDIT AND HIS RAJATARANGINI”

“Kalhana writes that the world would be in darkness without the illumining work of the good poet (satkavikrityam andham jagattvam vina) , particularly the deeds of kings would be lost forever were it not for the poet who resurrects, vivifies and embodies their glory. Kalhana gives information about food prices, taxation and sufferings of the people because of flood and famine. He exposes the defects of Kashmir politics, sometimes dominated by greedy soldiers, intriguing priests, rapacious queens, rival ministers and so on. He shows that the petty politics of Kashmir included treachery, intrigues, murder, suicide and strife. Dr Sunil Chander Ray, author of the book “Early History And Culture Of Kashmir” believes that "in spite of historical materials in the early portions of his work, Kalhana's splendour of imagination, depth and range of thought and above all the power of centralizing many talents to a single purpose had given his Rajtarangini a literary immortality"

Kalhana had studied the "VikramankaDevaCaritam" of Bilhana, a fellow-poet of his period. He has not at times refrained from quoting his phraseology and style. Another earlier work which he has consulted is Bana's "Harshacharita". It is a well-known fact that this historical record of King Harsha-vardhana of Kanauj enjoyed popularity in Kashmir as Mammata in his Kavyaprakasa has quoted a passage from it. “

(2)

(2) Excerpt from the essay ,” ANCIENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF KASHMIR “

“Music has been a part of Kashmir’s social life since ancient times. The earliest proof of the popularity of music and dancing in Kashmir is provided by the archaeology. One can find it in terracotta tiles recovered from Harwan. A tile from Harwan shows three musicians while another shows a dancing girl. The tile showing three musicians also shows a flute , cymbals and a pair of drums . A musician playing on flute is visible on a carved stone of Marttanda Sun Temple. During every festivity, whether religious or semi-religious or seasonal (sowing, harvesting, spring, and new snowfall), the main item of celebration has been music; vocal and instrumental .The Nilamata Purana makes mention of professional singers and dancers active in ancient Kashmir. The Nilamata Purana also makes mention of Vadya ,Vaditra and Vadya Bhanda as the category of key musical instruments . The Nilamata Purana makes mention of Anaddha (percussion) and Tantri (string) instruments that were played on certain occasions. One can quote the relevant Slokas from the Nilamata Purana as under:-

(a) “Singing should be carried on and the instruments Anaddha and Tantri should be played upon ,”…….( Sloka 687-88a)

(b) “The musical instrument Tantri should be played upon while he is being sent . O descendent of Kasyapa , he must be followed the next day “….( Sloka 690)

If one reads Vishnudharmottara-Purana,a text popular in ancient Kashmir,one finds mention of Ghana ( cymbal ) ,Vitata ( percussion ) ,Tata ( stringed instruments ) and Susira ( wind instruments ) . The Natya-Shastra, classifies musical instruments into four groups: tata vadya (stringed instrument), sushira vadya (wind instrument), avanaddha vadya (percussion instrument) and ghana vadya (solid instrument). Every myriad instrument invented since then fits into one of these four timeless categories.”

(3)

(3) Excerpts from the essay, “KASHMIR’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE SANSKRIT LITERATURE OF INDIA “

“The contribution of Kashmiris to the Sanskrit literature of India remains unparalleled .Even the Chitrasutra part of Vishnudharmotrapuran is believed to have been written by some Kashmiri Brahmin .The best commentators on Rasa and Dhvani theory of Natyashastra have been Kashmiris. Sharangadeva , a Kashmiri , left the valley during the rule of the Lohara Kings . He wrote Sangita- Ratnakara and established himself as one of the most influential medieval-era music theorists of the Indian subcontinent. Dāmodaragupta virtually created a literary genre, by composing the erotic work called the Kuṭṭanīmata-Kavya. In this work, satirical and didactic materials have been mixed. Dāmodaragupta acquired recognition as a poet, which is evinced by the citation of his verses, in works on rhetorics and anthologies. One cannot but be overwhelmed by the fact that almost all the major schools of Indian aesthetics were founded by Kashmiri theoriticians -the Alamkara School by Bhamaha, Riti School by Vamana, Vakrokti School by Kuntaka, Dhvani School by Anandavardhana and Auchitya School by Kshemendra. Patanjali, the commentator of Panini's Astadhyayi (the first treatise on Sanskrit Grammar) was a Kashmiri, and so was Pingala, the author of Pingala Sutra (a treatise on metrics and prosody). There are many remarkable writers of Kashmir who have contributed to scientific subjects like astronomy, medicine, agriculture, architecture, and other arts. For instance, Charaka, the author of a well-known medical treatise, Charaka Samhita, belonged to Kashmir. A comprehensive Sanskrit treatise on Agricultural Science (Krisi Shastra), namely Kasapa-munikathita-Kasyapiya-Krisi-sukti is ascribed to Kashyapa, a well-known sage of Kashmir. The study of Poetics cannot be perfect and complete without a mention of the Kavyaprakasa of Rajanaka Mammata which occupies a unique position in it. That it is both popular and erudite is clear by the numerous references to it by later writers. Śivasvāmin composed the Kapphanabhyudaya, in twenty cantos, another Mahākāvya produced in the land of Kashmir.Poet Jaynayaka, the writer of another text (with a historical description) Prithvirajvijay, was also a Kashmiri Brahmin.He came to Ajmer by obtaining the asylum in the court of Prithviraj Chauhan . Jaynayaka wrote a historical poem titled Prithvirajvijay, where the victory of Prithviraj Chauhan over Muhammad Ghori in the first Battle of Tarain (1191) was celebrated. Jayanayaka portrays Prithviraj as Sri Rama and his wife as Sita.”

(AVTAR MOTA )

This is what I B Zutshi writes about the book in his review...

BOOK REVIEW

KASHMIR : THE CROWN JEWEL OF INDIC CIVILIZATION

(Published in May 2024)

Author Avtar Mota

Distribution..Amazon / Flipkart. Worldwide

Price Rs 460/=

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Researching into roots of history and civilisation is not every body's cup of tea.

Working on such topics requires hard labour , intense research,linguistic skills , and historical knowledge .

Avtar Mota, a well known blogger, author,photographer and researcher possibly is most suitable person to work on such delicate subjects which deal with cultural and historical stories of people and their past .

One is bound to get trapped in emotions and subjectivity while working on subjects that constitute one's own past. It goes to the credit of Avtar Mota that he has not allowed himself to get swayed by emotions or lose objectivity . In the alternative , he has consistently upheld the available historical and other works, that are available on the subject that have been brought into the book under review .

The book remains Authors Magnum opus in the sense that it has not only consumed his five years of hard labour and his research faculties but his sensitivities as an author and researcher have been utilised to the full extent.The book has finally seen the light of the day.

The book exhaustively deals with the routes of Kashmir's civilisational march. These routed, as per the author remain twined with indic civilisation, to which Kashmir has contributed enormously.

Kashmir has produced many poets, critics, historians, aestheticians, logicians, chemists, musicians, rhetoricians, philosophers, grammarians, translators and Shaiva Darshana scholars right up to the 16th -century. Some among them rose to eminence the world over for their original contribution. We have shining examples of men like Rishi Vasugupta, Abhinavgupta, Khemraja, Utpaldeva, Kshemendra, Bilhana, Kalhana, Somadeva, Sharangadeva, Bhatta Narayana, Jayanta Bhatta, Rajanka Bhatta, Sivaswamin, Srivara, Bhallaṭa, Vamana, Jonaraja, Anandavardhana, Udbhata, Kuntala, Mahima Bhatta, Silhana, Abhinanda Bhatta, Panini,, Charaka, Bhamaha, Rudrata, Kuntaka, Mammaṭa, Dandin, Bhatta Nayaka, Bhatta Tauta, Ruyyaka, Muktakana, Jaynayaka, Damodaragupta, Mukula-Bhatta, Ratnaka, Jayaratha, Shobhakaramitra, Ghantaka, Kirtidhara, Harsata, and many more.

The Sanskrit poets and scholars from Kashmir have left nothing untouched for subsequent poets and scholars . Poetical works covering a wide diversity of themes viz; historical, religious, devotional, didactic, romantic, satirical and even erotic as well as philosophical treatises, expounding the views of a distinct school of Śhaivism that developed in Kashmir, works dealing with poetics and music, anthologies and lexicons, the works of the prolific writer Kṣhemendra, especially the Bṛhatkathāmañjarī and Somadeva’s Kathāsaritsāgara -all these and many other works on diverse topics, touching upon various aspects of human life constitute a rich legacy of which, any part of India may feel proud.

From scrutiny of some ancient texts from Kashmir, one comes to know that ancient temples in Kashmir were not only housing deities but were storehouses of paintings and manuscripts as well. They were the centres for the dissemination of religious thought, literature, music and other arts. When Temples of Avantipura, Vijyeshwara, Kali-Shri, Maha-Shri, Tarapida, Vishnu Ranaswamin, Marttanda, Parihaspura, Bhima-Keshva, Naran-nag, and many more were demolished, many precious manuscripts were also destroyed along with priceless paintings and sculptures. Unfortunately, most of the works of Sanskrit scholars from Kashmir faced neglect from every corner. Many were destroyed during the period of Sultans especially when Sikandar Butshikan put all his energy into the destruction and demolition of Temples of Kashmir.It goes to the credit of many Kashmiri Pandits who saved many manuscripts at their individual levels for many centuries. The European scholars collected them from Kashmiri Pandit households, got them translated and shifted them to museums and libraries for proper custody.

From the book one comes to know that the Natya-Shastra guidelines have Influenced the sculpture art in ancient Kashmir. So have the Gandhra and Gupta styles influenced Kashmir’s art and sculpture. The Shilpshatra, Vastu-shastra and temple architecture of ancient India influenced the structural style of Kashmirian temples. This is starkly visible

in the demolished temple structures or ruins or sculptures retrieved from these structures and now lying in the SPS Museum, Srinagar and many other museums within the country and the world over. The Chitrasutra guidelines were also implemented in ancient Kashmiri Paintings. The Bhumishoba ( known as Vyoog in Kashmiri ) and Grihshobha ( known as Krool in Kashmiri ) decorations and paintings of ancient India are still in vogue among the Kashmiri Pandits even in their exile.

According to Avtar Mota, 'if the contribution of Kashmiri Pandits to the Sanskrit Literature of the world is removed, more than fifty percent of Sanskrit Literature of the world will be removed ' .The ancient musical instruments of Kashmir, the sacred water bodies of Kashmir, the sacred trees of Kashmir, the journey of Kashmiri shawls to Europe and Russia, the contribution of Kashmiri artists for the development of Pahari Miniature Art in India, the contribution of Punjabi Khatris towards the development of trade and commerce in Kashmir, Vanvun singing of Kashmiris right from Vedic age and some more engrossing topics constitute the core topics of the book. The critical assessment of Kalhana's work as poet, historian and narrator is a master essay in this book. Not only is it eye-opener , it also throws bright light on hitherto unknown facets of Kalhana's creativity.

The topics in the book have been dealt purely from an academician's and researcher's point of view. Those interested in Kashmiri culture and its contribution to the indic civilisational ethos may find this book Illuminating. Those peddling fake or false narratives need also to read it to know the truth.

The book is available in india at http: www.amzon.in/dp/BOD4M6TNR3

( IB Zutshi )

This is what Prof Ratan Parimoo writes about the book

" Congratulations for your great book, "Kashmir: The Crown Jewel of Indic Civilization". It is truly a great book and deserves a larger and impressive format. Lot of wonderful information about Kashmir 's past which will make every Kashmiri feel proud about our rich heritage, establishing integrated relation with Indian culture. Explanation of Tarkhan was very revealing. You have also shown that 'oral history ' and 'racial Memory' are equally valid in academic research. It has indeed been a happy absorbing reading. " .......*Ratan Parimoo

PS

*Prof. Ratan Parimoo is one of India’s leading art historians as well as an accomplished painter and teacher. Beyond his post at M.S. University, Baroda, as a professor of Art History and Aesthetics and the dean of the department for twenty five years, Prof. Parimoo has been shaping modern art discourse in the country since he was a young man. In 1956, he cofounded the Baroda Group of Artists with peers including G.R. Santosh, K.G. Subramanyan, Shanti Dave, N.S. Bendre, and Jyoti Bhatt, to expand on the postcolonial aesthetics piloted in Santiniketan the previous decade and evolve the meaning of contemporary art in India by integrating living traditions with modern techniques.

This is what eminent scholar , Dr SS Toshakhani writes about the book :-

"Received a copy of your brilliantly written book ‘Kashmir: The Crown Jewel of Indic Civilisation’ All the essays are well researched and intellectually stimulating. Feel happy that I have a whole shelf of your books now."

Dr. S. S. Toshakhani is a noted scholar, author , poet and critic from Kashmir, known for his extensive contributions to Kashmiri literature and culture. His works often delve into the rich heritage of Kashmir, exploring its literary traditions, historical narratives, and cultural dynamics. Dr. Toshakhani has been influential in preserving and promoting the linguistic and cultural identity of Kashmir through his scholarly writings, research, and educational endeavours.