Chandrapida

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (Retd.)

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Chandrapida (684-693 AD) (चंद्रापीड) was was a king of Kashmir for 8 years. He was born in Cholistan, which was neighbouring state of Malwa Punjab. He was married in Shivi people of Udyana.

Variants

• Chandrapira
• Vajraditya

Shiva's name

Chandrapida is also one of the names of Shiva mentioned the List of Shiva's thousand names.

Account of Korean Buddhist Hui Chao

Buddha Prakash mentions .... [p.130]: The Panjab became independent under a ruling house with its capital at Jullundur. In the first quarter of the-eighth century, the Korean pilgrim Hui Ch’ao (704–787) toured through this country and noted that its king had 300 war-elephants and lived at a city which he built on hill side. His account shows that, this king of Jullundur was an important power in North India, but the kings of Kashmira and Middle India frequently invaded and annexed his territory forcing him to retire to the hill retreat. One drawback of this kingdom, according to him, was the dearth and scarcity of horses, the king having only 100 and the chiefs three to five. This may be due to the fact that the sources of horse supply were cut in the north by the Turki Shahis and in the west by the Muslim invaders of Sind as well as by the king of Middle India Yashovarman, who had conquered and controlled Rajasthan and Hariyana, as Vakpati states in his Gaudavaho.

The Korean pilgrim states that the kings of Kashmira and Middle India frequently invaded and annexed the territory of the kingdom of Jullundur. The king of Kashmira at that time was Chandrapida (713-722) of the Naga or Karkota dynasty, who also possessed a force of 300 elephants according to that pilgrim, and the king of Middle India, having his capital at Ke-na-chi-tzta (Kanauj), was Yashovarman, about whom he writes as follows ;

“The territory of this Central Indian king is very broad, the inhabitants here are populous. The king possesses 900 elephants, the rest of great chiefs, each possesses two to three hundred elephants. The king himself often led troops

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[p.131] in battles, frequently fought with other rulers and the Central Indian king is always victorious” (Fujita Toyohaohi, Hui-Ch'ao wong wu-t'ien-chu-kuo chuan chien-shih, p. 10) translated by Jan Yun-hua, ‘Some Fresh Reflections on Yashovarman of Kanauj and Muktapida of Kashmira, Journal of Indian History, Vol. XLV (April 1967.)

This king, called Yi-sha-fu-mo, is reported to have sent one Bhadanta, named Po-ta-hsin (Bhaṭṭasena ?) to the court of the Tang in China between November 4 and December 3, 731 A.D. with presents of local products. The Gaudavaho represents him as a conqueror of the whole of India.

Yashovarman followed a vigorous policy in regard to the Panjab also. The Gaudavaho (verse 484) refers to his conquest of Rajasthan (Marudesha), and Hariyana (Shrikantha-Kurukshetra). Hui Ch’ao mentions his frequent invasions of the kingdom of Jullundur and annexations of its territory and the Nalanda Inscription (Epigraphia Indica, Vol. XX, pp.37-46) suggests his conquest of Western Panjab after which he appointed a governor with the title of Udicipati (lord of the north) and mārgapati (warden of the marches) there. This Udicipati-mārgapati is called pratita-tikina (one who has rivalled or excelled the tikin) showing that he took arms against the Turki Shahi rulers of the North-West. The discovery of Yashovarman’s coin in the Manikyala stapa also indicates his influence over that region. In spite of a clash of interests over the Panjab, particularly the kingdom of Jullundur, Yashovarman maintained workably good relations with the kings of Kashmira, obviously to stem and stave off the menace of the Tibetans who were pressing on Baltistan. This is clear from the account of an embassy under Bhadanta Wu-li-to sent by Lalitaditya Muktapida, who came to the throne of Kashmira after his brother Tarapida in 726, to the court of the Tang emperor Hiuen-Tsung on May 10, 733. The Hsin Tang-slut (New History of the T’ang Dynasty) states that the envoy of Kashmira presented a memorial to the Chinese emperor conveying the following message of Lalitaditya:

“I, an humble subject of Your Majesty, along with the king of Central India, control the five principal routes of communication of Tibet having fought against the Tibetans with constant victories. If Your Majesty, the Heavenly Khan, will despatch the Imperial armies to Po-lu (Baltistan), I

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[p.132] would be able to supply food to two hundred thousand soldiers. Moreover, there is a dragon pool in the country named Mo-ho-poto-mo ( Mahapadma). I wish to build a memorial building for Your Majesty, the Heavenly Khan. I, therefore, pray for an Imperial appointment by proclamation”.

In Rajatarangini

Rajatarangini mentions ....Chandrapida: [p.64]: Durlabhavardhana's son Chandrapida, otherwise called Vajraditya, ascended the throne : he performed many good deeds, and was a very virtuous king. He equally possessed power and forgiveness, and similar opposite qualifications. He was rich without the concomitant vices ; he equally favored all, and did nothing that frightened his people , and was so modest that he felt ashamed when any one praised him for his good works. He held his ministers under due subjection ; and in disputes he always sacrificed his own interest lest he did wrong to others. He made many clear and just laws. Here must end the description of the virtues of the king for fear of prolonging my narrative.

ठाकुर देशराज

ठाकुर देशराज ने लिखा है ....चंद्रापीड - यह पंजाब के मालवा देश के पड़ोसी चोलिस्तान के क्षेत्र के लोगों में पैदा हुए थे। संस्कृत के प्रसिद्ध ग्रंथ कादंबरी में इनका विस्तृत वर्णन दिया हुआ है। इनका विवाह उद्यान के शिव लोगों में ही हुआ था।