Question

Very short answer type question. Who was Kalhana?

Answer 1

Hint:
He was a well-educated and sophisticated Sanskrit scholar.
He wrote a historical book containing information about Kashmiri rulers from 1200 BC up to the 12th century CE.


Complete answer:
Kalhana was a Kashmiri writer and poet. He is best known as the author of Rajatarangini (River of Kings). The River of Kings is an account of the history of Kashmir and was written in Sanskrit between 1148 and 1149.
Kalhana was born to Chanpaka, who was a Kashmiri minister who served the King Harsa of the Lohara Dynasty. It is assumed that he might be born in Parihaspora in the early 12th century. Because of his immense knowledge of Sanskrit, it is also believed that he might have been a Hindu Brahmin. The introductions in each of his eight books of the Rajatarangini were prefaced with prayers to the Hindu deity, Shiva. Like many other Hindus in Kashmir, he too was sympathetic to Buddhism. The Buddhists also reciprocated this feeling towards the Hindus.
Kalhana was well versed with earlier epics like Vikramankadevacharita by Bilhana, Mahabharata and Ramayana. He referred to all these texts in his own writings. Kalhana was very dissatisfied with the earlier works of Kashmiri history and decided to present his own views on the same, and wanted to show how history ought to be written. Based on Kalhana’s records we know about the first Gonanda emperors and the kings in the following 1266 years.


Note:
The book includes the Gonanda dynasty ruling, being dethroned and then being restored.
It was followed by the Karkota dynasty, The First Lohara Dynasty and the second Lohara dynasty.
All information about these Dynasties are scattered in a collection of eight books. This collection is known as Rajatarangini.