Jayapida(753–82) to Unmattavant (937–39) and again by Suhadeva
(1301–20), kings are described as “oppressive” and “avaricious” by historians
like Kalhana and Hangloo.^41 Meanwhile, brahmans had been given con-
siderable lands by said kings in keeping with the pattern found in other
regions where the “state” used brahmans as their advisers and rhetoricians.
Neither brahmans nor others of the landed aristocracy were taxed as
severely; as a result, by the fourteenth century the economy of Kashmı ̄r was
flowing upward into the hands of rulers and aristocracy.
Matters became worse when disunity set in amongst the dominant
groups. Revolts by tantrins and other sects and hunger strikes by brahmans
became frequent. There was a struggle for power by the tenth century
which pitted rulers against brahmans. Kings hated what they perceived to
be the dominance and greed of brahmans, which led a number of them
fromSamkarvarman(883–902) to Hars.a(1089–1101) to plunder temples.
Meanwhile, Sarva ̄stiva ̄da Buddhism, which had been the dominant form
of Buddhism in Kashmı ̄r, had fallen on hard times. It was accused of corrup-
tion and superstition by brahman and king alike. Buddhist viha ̄rasby the
thousands were destroyed by such kings as Nara and Mihirakula. No unified
religious traditions were available to replace Buddhism, as inter-sectarian
rivalries were rife.
To be sure, a significant tradition of S ́aiva philosophy developed in Kashmı ̄r
thanks to the teachings of such as Abhinavagupta, but this was designed to
encourage the pursuit of wisdom and spiritual discipline as a way to attain
release, measures hardly accessible to the common people. Into this relative
religious vacuum came Islam. For centuries, Muslim traders and craftsmen
had been entering Kashmı ̄r for purposes of doing business. A number
of these began to settle by at least the thirteenth century. Among those who
represented the character of Islam were Su ̄fı ̄ saints who spoke of the social
equality espoused by Islam and the notion that human beings were the
sacred creations of god. These Su ̄fı ̄s lived amongst the poor, spoke their
language, setting examples of piety and, for the most part, avoiding any
attempt to convert people.
It was the fourteenth century before Islamic rule became a part of the
Kashmı ̄rı ̄ landscape. One Shahmir(1339–42) established cordial relations
with brahman chiefs, even marrying his daughter to one of them. The first
five sultans of this dynasty were relatively low key in their espousal of Islam.
They patronized Su ̄fı ̄s to teach and established institutions like the madrasa
as a place for learning about Islam. It was Sultan Sikander(1389–1414)
who took more drastic measures. Following a policy used by Hindu kings
a century earlier he demolished temples and confiscated the wealth of brah-
man establishments. It is said that there were conversions, even by brahmans,
to Islam in the wake of these actions. Indeed, Sikander’s actions were abetted
Developments in the Late Medieval Period 153