In the shadow of a priest’s refusal, a Buddhist prince kneeled before a Sufi, unlocking Kashmir’s gates to Islam and igniting a saga of queens, sieges, and shattered thrones.
Recent excavations at Zehanpora in Baramulla have unearthed Kushan-era stupas along the ancient Silk Route, confirming Kashmir’s role as a Buddhist hub of learning. But, the transition of Kashmir from a Hindu kingdom to Islamic rule is an equally fascinating story, written, ironically, by a Buddhist prince who came to the Valley as a refugee. Here is part one of the saga.
To tell the story of Kashmir from the very beginning is to move from geology into mythology, and finally into the brutal reality of the 14th century. This is the narrative of a sacred valley that was born from water, governed by gods, and eventually transformed by a man who was denied a home within its ancient walls.
THE LAKE OF THE DEMON
Millions of years ago, the Kashmir Valley did not exist as land. It was a vast inland sea known as Satisar (the Lake of Sati).
According to the Nilamata Purana and Kalhaa’s Rajatarangii, a demon named Jalodbhava dwelt within these waters, terrorising the surrounding mountains. The sage Kashyapa (the father of all Nagas) performed a great penance. He summoned the gods, and his son, Ananta Naga, struck the mountains at Baramulla with a trident, carving an outlet. The waters drained away, the demon was slain, and the lush valley emerged.
THE PHILOSOPHER KINGS
For a thousand years, Kashmir was the intellectual powerhouse of the region. It wasn’t just a kingdom; it was a fortress of the mind.
The Mauryan Entry (3rd Century BCE): Emperor Ashoka arrived, founded the city of Srinagar, and introduced Buddhism.
The Kushan Peak (1st Century CE): Under King Kanishka, Kashmir hosted the Fourth Buddhist Council. Here, scholars carved the Buddhist scriptures onto copper plates and buried them, marking Kashmir as the heart of Mahayana Buddhism.
The Imperial Zenith (8th Century CE): King Lalitaditya rose. He was the “Alexander of Kashmir.” He built the Martand Sun Temple, a structure so massive it was said to be built by giants. The Rajatarangini attributes vast conquests to Lalitaditya, including Central Asia, parts of Tibet, the Punjab plains, and eastern India.
THE 12TH CENTURY COLLAPSE
By the time Kalhaa wrote his masterpiece, the Rajatarangini (1148 CE), the “River of Kings” was becoming a swamp of blood.
The central authority had crumbled. The Damaras (landed barons) became more powerful than the kings. They looted temples, kidnapped princesses, and turned the valley into a patchwork of warring fiefdoms. The people were exhausted. The great irrigation works of the past were neglected, and famine began to haunt the mountains.
THE THREE REFUGEES
In the early 1300s, during the weak reign of King Suhadeva, three men entered Kashmir. They weren’t conquerors; they were fugitives. They were destined to rewrite the story of Kashmir.
Shah Mir: A Muslim from Swat, claiming descent from Arjuna, seeking a career in the Kashmiri court.
Lankar Chak: A chieftain from the Dardic north, fleeing a blood feud.
Rinchan: A Buddhist prince from Ladakh. His father had been murdered by the Baltis. He came to Kashmir not for a throne, but for survival.
THE MONGOL FIRESTORM
In 1320, Dulucha, a Mongol commander, swept through the mountain passes. King Suhadeva, the last legitimate Hindu monarch of the old line, proved to be a coward. He fled to Kishtwar, leaving his people to the Mongol sword.
“The valley was filled with the smoke of burning villages… the Brahmana and the Shudra were treated alike in death.” (Jonaraja, Dvitiya Rajatarangini).
When the Mongols left after eight months of carnage, they took 50,000 slaves, but they were caught in a blizzard and perished. The Kashmir that remained was a graveyard.
RINCHAN’S GAMBIT
In the chaos, Rinchan saw his chance. He was efficient, cold, and brave. He gathered his Tibetan followers and assassinated the Prime Minister, Ramachandra, at Lar. He then declared himself King.
To stabilise his rule, he married the daughter of the man he had just killed, the legendary Kota Rani. She was the personification of old Kashmir: beautiful, brilliant, and fiercely protective of her heritage.
THE REJECTION AND THE TRANSFORMATION
Rinchan knew he was a foreigner. He wanted to become a true Kashmiri King. He approached the chief priest, Devaswami, and asked to be converted to Shaivism.
Devaswami, trapped in the rigidity of late-era caste laws, refused. He told the King that a mleccha, a Tibetan/Buddhist, could not be granted a high-caste status.
Spurned by the Brahmins, Rinchan encountered Bulbul Shah, a Sufi saint. He converted, took the name Sultan Sadr-ud-Din, and became the first Muslim ruler of the valley.
THE LEGACY OF THE FALL
Rinchan’s reign broke the Brahmanical monopoly on state power. He paved a psychological path showing the Kashmiri people that the old gods had failed them during the Mongol invasion, but a new faith offered a different kind of protection.
Rinchan’s reign was a whirlwind lasting only three years (1320–1323). The old nobility never forgave the foreigner. A palace conspiracy left him struck down by a sword to the head during an uprising against his rule. Though he survived the initial attack, the wound eventually turned fatal.
As he lay dying, Rinchan made one final, calculated move. He entrusted his young son and his wife, Kota Rani, to his trusted minister: Shah Mir.
For over a decade, Kota Rani ruled Kashmir through strategic marriages, first as regent and then as sovereign. She stands as the last ruler of the Hindu Lohara line—the final Hindu queen after a Buddhist husband who embraced Islam.
In her all the syncretic strands of Kashmir converged just before the valley tipped irreversibly toward Islamic rule.
– Ends
Published By:
Karishma Saurabh Kalita
Published On:
Dec 29, 2025
