Lalitaditya Muktapida- Alexander Of India

Lalitaditya Muktapida was a great Indian King in 8th century, he was one of the bravest kings of India who resisted attacks by Arabs and also he was known as Alexander of India.

It is really sad that we Indians suffer from collective amnesia when it comes to recalling our great past.

King Lalitaditya of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir ruled for 37 years from 724 to 761 CE. His rule is considered to be the golden age of Kashmir when art, architecture, culture flourished. Deu to his conquests writers has termed him as Alexander of India. Do you know The great king of Kashmir Liladitya Muktapida had one of the biggest empires in world history??

Rise of Karkotta Dynasty-

Lalitaditya of Karkotta dynasty rose to power in 724 CE. During his rule of 37 years (724-761), he established himself as one among the greatest soldier-statesmen of all time. While presiding over his vast empire, he took it to unprecedented heights of prosperity and influence, giving a fillip to art, culture, architecture and literature. The well-being of his people remained his life-long passion. Though a Shaivite himself, he was sympathetic to the philosophy of Buddha, whose influence in Kashmir at the same time substantial. A good amount of what we know about Lalitaditya comes from the Rajatarangini (‘River of Kings’) composed by Kalhana, a renowned 12th-century historian from Kashmir. We only know that he ascended the throne of Kashmir (which, in the early 8th century, was being ruled by the Karkota dynasty) as the youngest son of his predecessor, King Durlabhaka. At that time, the relatively small Karkota Empire had sway over what is now Jammu and Kashmir along with parts of modern-day Punjab and Haryana. Lalitaditya’s ascension paved the way for a soon-to-come golden age in Kashmir. A peak of expansion and the birth of a new power on the subcontinent. This great son of India who hailed from Kashmir was none other than The great king Lalitaditya Muktapida of Karkota dynasty, the mightiest Indian king of his times and beyond. Believed to be the youngest of the three sons of Kashmiri king Durlabhaka (alias Pratapaditya), Lalitaditya ascended the throne in 724 AD at a time when Karkota dynasty ruled the present-day Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and Haryana. 

During most of his rule, Lalitaditya was known to have embarked on numerous aggressive campaigns. In fact, most of his rule centred around military conquest. Various Chinese, Turkish and Tibetan sources describe him as a very skilled warrior, adept at the art of warfare. The ever undefeated King of Kashmir who tasted victory everywhere he went; even the Chinese, the Turkish and the Tibetan legends referred to him as a great conqueror; he was the first Indian king who gave a befitting reply to the invading Arabs; one of the few Indian kings who were able to capture Central Asia; the Kashmiri King whose influence spread even to South India and played an important role in the foundation of the Rashtrakuta empire there, which became one of the most powerful kingdoms to have ever existed in South India; the king who blasted the myth that Indians were never able to capture any foreign lands. 

Many people like to think that India was historically a weak nation; a nation that couldn’t stand up for itself under the threat of invasion. I have always believed that when united on a single front, Bharat was impenetrable. Lalitaditya is believed to have allied with the then-subjugated King Yashovarman of Kannauj in defending his territory against both the Umayyad/Turkish invaders and the Tibetans at the same time. He fended off all the invasions and ended up employing Turkish mercenaries in his army.  Lalitaditya not only stopped the Arabs from entering India but also conquered parts of Iran and extended his Kingdom up to Tibet and China. Very early in his youth, the great warrior king had understood that Kashmir was facing two enemies at the same time; one was the Arab caliphate which had captured Sindh after defeating Raja Dahir and the other was the Tibetan empire. It was getting difficult to ward off both the invasions at the same time. So, the strategist king allied with Yashovarman of Kannuj to defend India from the invasions of both Tibetans and Arabs.

Under Lalitaditya’s rule, many great architectural masterpieces were also commissioned. According to Kalhana, Lalitaditya built several great cities like Parihasapura (compared to Indra’s own abode in Kalhana’s words), Sunishchita-Pura (believed to have been built prior to Lalitaditya’s first conquests) and Parnotsa. According to Kalhana, Lalitaditya also had a shrine built in every town, village, river, sea and island. He would even have images of the deity attendants fill the halls of the shrines, decked out in gold and silver. Many Buddhist shrines were also commissioned during Lalitaditya’s rule (e.g. multiple viharas/stupas in what is now Ushkur, J&K). But the greatest of all his architectural achievements was none other than the Martand Sun Temple. Unfortunately, the temple was once destroyed by Sultan Sikandar Butshikan

Lalitaditya’s successful efforts to protect Kashmir and India is something which the Indian nation can and should never forget. But it is really sad that the story of this greatest of Kings remains virtually dead and finds no place in history books of schools and colleges even in the post-independent India.

Ironically, as in life so in death, Lalityadita’s death remains a mystery. There are two versions relating to the death of this bravest son of India and Kashmir, One version is that he perished during a military campaign in Aryanaka (Eastern Iran) due to heavy snowfall which occurred out of season. The other version, which is unlikely of a brave warrior of his stature, is that he committed suicide after being separated from his army on a difficult mountain route. But I don’t believe in the second version as what I know his, he was not a week person to commit suicide. Whatever may have happened, in reality, India lost one of its greatest sons, who made us all proud.

The only logical reason I can think of for why Lalitaditya is not mentioned is to avoid controversy. Claiming that Lalitaditya and his empire were an essential part of Indian history can be interpreted as believing that the ‘disputed’ Kashmir region is also fully Indian.