History of Kashmir Digital Rare Book:History of KashmirBy Pandit Anand KoulPublished in Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal – 1910 Image:View of a temple around Wangut in the Sindh Valley, Kashmir – 1869By John Burke Source: Bonhams
Digital Rare Book:Gita Govinda of JayadevaWith an English introduction by Dr.M.V. Krishna RaoPublished by Satsangha Seva Samithi, Bangalore – 1900 Image:An illustration depicting Radha enveloped in Krishna’s embrace Radha and Krishna are pictured in their bedchamber whose adjoining terrace opens out into a lotus pond with distant hills visible in the background. School of SajnuOpaque watercolor heightened with gold on paper / image 9 5/16 by 6 7/8 in. (23.6 by 17.4 cm.) / circa 1790-1800 / India, Kangra Sajnu was an artist who originally hailed from Kangra, but later migrated to the court of Raja Isvari Sen (r. 1788-1826), the ruler of Mandi. Sajnu was a master of the stylistic conventions of the Kangra Valley. His lyrical works are characterised by their exceptionally delicate treatment of facial features, an extensive use of white and a preoccupation with geometric compositional devices, all seen in the present work. W. G. Archer comments that in some cases Sajnu’s jagged angular rhythms violate realism for geometric drama (W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from the Punjab Hills, Vol. 1, 1973, p. 316). This is manifest in the plethora of canted forms cascading through the picture plane and even in the exaggerated crook of Krishna’s arm within which Radha rests. Read / Download
This video is shared from Youtube channel of Sh Sanjay Raina
A rare book, published in 1885 Enjoy Reading
Special thanks for Mr Lalit Kaul for compiling this wonderful calendar for the community.
“A History of Kashmiri Pandits” by Justice Jia Lal Kilam, was first published in 1955. It was very well received, much for its record of the socio-political & historical importance. The scholars & general readers appreciated the publication within the Kashmiri pandit community & outside as well. The contents of the publication are relevant even today, not only by way of filling the void. It also provides valuable source material on the past history of Kashmir, with particular reference to the Kashmiri pandits as the earliest settlers of that ancient and beautiful land. It further provides background to the current turmoil of this illustrious & oppressed community. Download reference : https://archive.org/details/a-history-of-kashmiri-pandits-jia-lal-kilam/page/n3/mode/2up DOWNLOAD HERE
The Bhagavad Gita , often referred to as the Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture, which is part of the epic Mahabharata. It forms the chapters 23–40 of book 6 of the Mahabharata called the Bhishma Parva. The work is dated to the second half of the first millennium BCE. Typical of the Hindu synthesis, it is considered one of the holy scriptures of Hinduism. The Bhagavad Gita is set in a narrative framework of dialogue between the Pandava prince Arjuna and his charioteer guide Krishna, an avatar of Lord Vishnu. At the start of the Kurukshetra War between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, Arjuna despairs thinking about the violence and death the war will cause in the battle against his kin and becomes emotionally preoccupied with a dilemma. Wondering if he should renounce the war, Arjuna seeks the counsel of Krishna, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to “fulfil his Kshatriya (warrior) duty” for the upholdment of dharma. The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue covers a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon moral and ethical dilemmas, and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war that Arjuna faces.The setting of the text in a battlefield has been interpreted as an allegory for the struggles of human life. Summarising the Upanishadic conceptions of God, the Gita posits the existence of an individual self (Atman) and the supreme self (Brahman) within each being. The dialogue between the prince and his charioteer has been interpreted as a metaphor for an immortal dialogue between the human self and God. Commentators of Vedanta read varying notions in the Bhagavad Gita about the relationship between the Atman (individual Self) and Brahman (supreme Self); Advaita Vedanta affirms on the non-dualism of Atman and Brahman, Vishishtadvaita asserts qualified non-dualism with Atman and Brahman being related but different in certain aspects, while Dvaita Vedanta declares the complete duality of Atman and Brahman. As per Hindu mythology, the Bhagavad Gita was written by the god Ganesha, as told to him by the sage Veda Vyasa. The Bhagavad Gita presents a synthesis of various Hindu ideas about dharma, theistic bhakti, and the yogic ideal of moksha. The text covers Jñāna, Bhakti, Karma, and Rāja yogas, while incorporating ideas from the Samkhya-Yoga philosophy. The Bhagavad Gita is one of the most revered Hindu texts and has a unique pan-Hindu influence. Numerous commentaries have been written on the Bhagavad Gita with differing views on its essentials. Note : The content posted belongs to respective publishers / authors. These are purely for Personal use and should not be used for any commercial purposes. Download
Pandit Govind Kaul Born in 1846 in Srinagar as the eldest son of Pandit Balbhadra Kaul, a universally respected scholar of his times (1819-96), Govind Kaul (G.K) had scholarship running in the family. His grandfather, Pandit Taba Kaul, too was a reputed scholar, having family ties with the famous Pandit Birbal Dhar who persuaded Ranjit Singh to free Kashmir from the tyranny of Afghan rule. G.K. and Birbal Dhar’s grandson Ramjoo Dhar, maintained the ties as friends. G.K. not only studied Persian and Sanskrit in keeping with the family tradition, he also acquired a good knowledge of English as well as western ways of life. To keep the record of history straight, it must be stated that G.K. and Ramjoo Dhar learnt English much before Pandit Anand Kaul and Pandit Shiv Ram Bhan. G.K. came to know a good deal about world affairs also through Ramjoo Dhar who held an important administrative position . Soon G.K. acquired fame for his erudition, particularly as a scholar of Alamkara Shastra (poetics), Vyakarna (grammar), Nyaya (logic), and Shiva Sutras. He was equally well versed in the knowledge of the epics and the Puranas. By the time he was 28, G.K. was already regarded as a scholar of considerable stature. In 1874, he was appointed incharge Translation Department set up by Maharaja Ranbir singh. It was around that time that he undertook, jointly with Pandit Sahaz Bhatt, to translate the Sanskrit chronicles of Kashmir into Hindi- a project which he, unfortunately, was not able to complete. With the winding up of the Translation Department in 1884, it was a trying time for G.K. He lost his job and could not find any alternative avenue to pursue his scholastic goals. Eventually, he had to settle for a teacher’s job at the state run Sanskrit Pathshala in Srinagar. But that too did not last and he was again without a regular job. In the meanwhile, however, George Buhler, that doyen of European Indologists, had spotted the Pandit for his great learning and eruditon. It was Buhler’s commendatory reference that attracted Sir Aurel Stein’s attention towards G.K. and he solicited his assistance in translating Kalhan’s Rajatarangini-a job that G . K along with Pandit Sahaz Bhatt did with utmost competence from 1888 to 1896, and to stein’s great satisfaction. G.K. went into another collaboration with Stein and fellow scholar Sahaz Bhatt when they classified and catalogued more than six thousand Sanskrit manuscripts for Maharaja Ranbir Singh’s library at Raghunath Temple, Jammu. Yet another contribution G.K. made was to compile Kashmiri folk tales with Stein, which the latter formally edited with George Grierson and publishcd in 1917 as ” Hatim’s Tales”. The tales, supposedly told by one Hatim Tilawony, were interpreted by G.K. G.K. also rendered assistance to Grierson in the compilation of his Kashmiri dictionary, but did not live to see the work completed. Grierson went on to reeord later that G.K’s assistance to him was “one of the many debts he ever owed to Stein”. On G.K’s death in June 1899, a shocked Stein lamented that G.K., ”like another Kalhana departed as my best Indian friend beyond all hope of reunion in this Janma”. Paying fulsome tributes to him, Stein wrote: “Whenever Govind Kaul was by my side, whether in the dusty exile of Lahore or alpine coolness of Mohand Marg in Kashmir, I was in continuity with the past as the historical student of India. His personality embodied all that change of ages indicated and showed as the mind and psyche of India.” Profile posted above Credit : N.S. KASHMIR RESEARCH INSTITUTE BONUS Essential for those who want to learn Kashmiri Words and Meanings from this Jewel of more than 600 pages Click here to download a rare book : HATIMs TALES ( Courtesy : Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts )
Kalhana’s Rajatarangini – A Chronicle of the Kings of KashmirTranslated by Marc Aurel SteinPublished by Archibald Constable& Co., London – 1900 Volume 1 Rajatarangini (Rājataraṃgiṇī, “The River of Kings”) is a metrical legendary and historical chronicle of the north-western Indian subcontinent, particularly the kings of Kashmir. It was written in Sanskrit by Kashmiri historian Kalhana in the 12th century CE. The work consists of 7826 verses, which are divided into eight books called Tarangas (“waves”). The Rajataringini provides the earliest source on Kashmir that can be labeled as a “historical” text on this region. Although inaccurate in its chronology, the book still provides an invaluable source of information about early Kashmir and its neighbors in the north western parts of the Indian subcontinent, and has been widely referenced by later historians and ethnographers. Little is known about the author Kalhana (c. 12th century CE), apart from what is written in the book. His father Champaka was the minister (Lord of the Gate) in the court of Harsha of Kashmir. In the first Taranga (book) of Rajatarangini, Kalhana expresses his dissatisfaction with the earlier historical books, and presents his own views on how history ought to be written: Verse 7. Fairness: That noble-minded author is alone worthy of praise whose word, like that of a judge, keeps free from love or hatred in relating the facts of the past. Verse 11. Cite earlier authors: The oldest extensive works containing the royal chronicles [of Kashmir] have become fragmentary in consequence of [the appearance of] Suvrata’s composition, who condensed them in order that (their substance) might be easily remembered. Verse 12. Suvrata’s poem, though it has obtained celebrity, does not show dexterity in the exposition of the subject-matter, as it is rendered troublesome [reading] by misplaced learning. Verse 13. Owing to a certain want of care, there is not a single part in Ksemendra’s “List of Kings” (Nrpavali) free from mistakes, though it is the work of a poet. Verse 14. Eleven works of former scholars containing the chronicles of the kings, I have inspected, as well as the [Purana containing the] opinions of the sage Nila. Verse 15. By looking at the inscriptions recording the consecrations of temples and grants by former kings, at laudatory inscriptions and at written works, the trouble arising from many errors has been overcome. Click here
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