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Didda Rani-A Queen who mastered the art of State Craft
10/24/2016 10:23:10 PM
DR ROMESH RAINA
Didda Rani emerges on the Political scene at a time when Kashmir was passing through a turbulent phase of its History. It was a period of grave disorder and disturbing atmosphere. Hindu Polity of the state was manifesting signs of decline. Instability, moral decay and social degeneration had entered in all the conceivable areas of the society which deeply affected the course of social, cultural and Political life in Kashmir. The History therefore is a sordid record of conspiracies, plots, rebellions and murders. It is not very difficult to imagine as to what might have been the plight of the people who had been subjected to such atrocities.
Didda Rani's stay at the helm of affairs under such circumstances for such a long period of time testifies her administrative acumen and a thorough understanding of the Politics of her times. She is considered as a lady of powerful frame, beautiful, courageous and capable of taking on her adversaries. Her reign is recorded by the History as the most significant period of those times. This is because she was destined to play a significant and a game changer role.
DIDDA RANI-WHO
She was the daughter of Simharaja, Ruler of Lohara(Poonch)belonging to Gupta dynasty and not Kashmiri by birth. She was also the granddaughter of Bhimdeva Shahi Ruler of Kabul and married to Ksemgupta who ruled Kashmir from 950-958 AD. King Ksemgupta was a debauch who loved wine, women and hunting. Because of his habits he gradually lost the control of the affairs of the state and this paved the way for the queen to step in and to run the affairs of the State. This helped her to increase her area of influence and also pick up the threads of administration. This way she created a space for herself which ultimately turned out to be a process of learning the art of State craft for her. As a consequence, she dominated her weak husband.
Didda Rani and Chanderlekha were prominent among his wives. Chanderlekha was the daughter of the Prime Minister Phalgun but the King loved Didda Rani the most because of her beauty despite she being lame. She had a limp in her one foot. Because of his love for Didda , he was nick named as DiddaKshema. His rule was short lived as he got afflicted with plague which took his toll and died in Vamhmulla(Baramulla). As was the custom, all his co-wives offered themselves to the funeral pyre; Chanderlekha too was among them who after seeking permission from her father and Prime Minister Phalgun set herself on fire . Didda Rani also sought permission from Phalgun to to do so thinking that he would not grant her the necessary permission but she was proved wrong. It was only at the intervention of Narvahana war and peace Minister who saved her life by preventing her from committing sati in the broad interests of the State as he had by then witnessed her running the state quite competently.
Kshemgupta was succeeded by his infant son Ahimanyu. He was crowned under the guardianship of queen mother Didda Rani. She ruled as the regent of an infant King during 11thcentury and held sway over Kashmir for half a century. Her ascendance to the power and continuity initially demanded the support of Ministers, influential people and large sections of the society. She succeeded by enlisting the support from important quarters necessary for her survival and the welfare of the State.
DIVIDE AND RULE AS AN ACT OF DIPLOMACY
a) Initial years were a testing time for her. As the events unfolded, she rose to the occasion and scripted her own diplomatic skills to meet the challenges of administration. Though her Political journey is marked by deep palace intrigues and efforts to dethrone her but her matching response makes her a tall figure. She is recorded as a celebrated queen, more of a strong than benevolent monarch. She began her rule under the most trying circumstances by facing tense situations. Her first major challenge was to confront Phalgun as she nursed a deep grudge against him on two counts;
1 For having married his daughter Chanderlekha to the King Kshemgupta
2 For allowing her to commit suicide.
Her mind against Phalgun was further polluted by a backbiter Rakkaka. Phalgun was a far sighted astitute diplomat who sniffed the mischief and opted for voluntary self exile by leaving Srinagar and settling at Parnotsa(Poonch) along with his large number of troops. Didda was adamant to seek avenge by sending ushers to murder Phalgun. On hearing this he was soon joined by soldiers loyal to him, who prepared for a clash with queen. She and her counsillors on learning of impending fight faltered and offered no resistance. Two things saved the situation one diplomatic negotiations with Phalgun and his sense of loyalty and service to the throne. He ultimately laid down his arms in the temple of Varaha. This was her first major diplomatic victory which put her firmly in the saddle.
b) SCUTTLES THE PLOT TO OVERTHROW HER
Hardly had she recovered from Phalgun episode, large part of the capital was engulfed by the devastating fire. While managing the post fire situation, she was confronted with yet another conspiracy hatched by the two princes Mahiman and Pattala, sons of her husband's sister to overthrow her. They were soon joined by the warrior Himmaka, yasodhara and the Brahmin residents of Lalitadityapura. As a next step the rebels advanced towards Srinagar. Realizing the danger that lay ahead, security of the boy King Abimanyu assumed significance as such he was send to sanctuary of Sumantha.
The situation was tense and the apprehensive Queen while seeking the services of her advisors and Ministers found to her disbelief that they had shifted their loyalties except war and peace Minister Narvahana who stood by her side. Without waiting for the consequences, she herself took the charge of the battle field to fight the rebels. She could realize the war cannot be won merely on the physical strength. She therefore used diplomacy of divide and rule to the perfection. She was ably supported by Narvahana as he was well versed with the strategy of war, he offered bribes( Heaps of Gold and much wealth)to the Brahmins of Lalitadityapura. It was a crucial diplomatic step to win over the Brahmins as they constituted the main stay of support of the rebels. This victory gave her an immense confidence and made her position unassailable. To strengthen her position further, she won over yashodhara by making him the Supreme commander of the Army. Kalhana describes this victory as
'' she whom none believed had the strength to step over a cattle track-the lame lady traversed in the manner of the son of the wind "
Queen witnessed yet another defiance by Shahi chief Thakkana of Udabhandpura who showed disobedience towards her. Yashodhara was ordered to proceed to handle the Shahi militarily. He defeated the Shahi and brought him to his knees. Didda was happy at the outcome but because of the pursuance of generous policies towards her enemies, she therefore pardoned Shahi and re-instated him. This set in motion a chain of events. Didda was again poisoned by Rakkaka and other courtiers against Yashodhara who did not like his rise. They fabricated the charges of bribery against Yashodhara by alleging that he had accepted money from Shahi to re-instate him. Without ascertaining the truth, Queen decided to banish him as a punishment.
Yashodhara seething with anger, as he was expecting a royal reception, instead impending exile made him to raise the banner of revolt against the Queen. He sought the help of Ermantaka and Himmaka. This fresh rebellion proved more threatening than the earlier ones. She had again to shift the King Abimanyu to safety as a priority. Seeing the disarray in the Royal Army, Queen was besieged in the Palace as the possibility of situation getting out of control was looming large. Narvahana again rose to the occasion along with other supporters and saved the day for the Queen. He re-inforced the Royal Army. As a consequence Rajkulla Bhatta a General in the Army fought bravely and won the war for the Queen. This hard fought encounter hardened her resolve to punish the culprits. Didda avenged her affront by capturing Ermantka and yashodhara and executing them, exterminating their families. This incident increased the profile of Narvahana before the Queen who conferred on him the title of Rajanaka(present day Razdan) as a debt of gratitude.
ADMINISTRATIVE OVERHAUL
Growing in confidence she made sweeping changes in the administration
Appointed Narvahana as Prime Minister
Appointed Rakkaka as Commander in Chief of Armed Forces.
Purged the court of old corrupt Ministers and courtiers.
Appointed Sindhu(son of Palanquin bearer Kuyya) as Ganja, a newly created special post in the Department Treasury. He turned out to be the most corrupt and to escape the punishment, he succeeded in poisoning the ears of Queen against Narvahana by describing him as the impediment and centralizing all the powers.
Narvahana felt desperate as Queen started avoiding him and refusing to meet him under one pretext or the other. Feeling frustrated, he committed suicide.
After the absence of Narvahana, she earned the wrath of powerful and influential Damara Chief threatening her downfall and he was beyond inducements. In the absence of seasoned Narvahana, things looked to go out of control.
The services of Phalgun were again sought, even though the normalcy was restored but he proved ineffective to control the situation.
PERSONAL LIFE
Her personal life is dominated by ambitions and hunger for power. Her reluctance to hand over the reigns of the state to King Abhimanyu who was her only son is demonstrative of her cruelty. However her subsequent actions speak about her life loudly
Abhimanu succumbs to the disease of consumption in 972. This momentarily upsets and shocks her.
Places her grandson Nandigupta on the Throne who is son of Abhimanyu and gets rid of him by killing him through witchcraft. Another grandson also meets the similar fate.
Places another grandson Bhimgupta on the throne.
Around this time Phalgun dies and Tunga a herdsman from the hills of Poonch gains access to the Queen and subsequently becomes her paramour. He is also rewarded with the post of Prime Minister. With his rise Bhimgupta too is tortured to death in 981.
Tunga's military achievement is measured by defeating Prithvipala, the chief of Rajapuri(Rajauri). He led the Army and entered through a different route surrounding Prithvipala unopposed which resulted in his defeat.
PUBLIC UTILITY SERVICES
She was momentarily shaken by the death of her only son Abhimanyu and it lasted almost a year. Her steel frame and hard exterior showed signs of melting. As a consequence, took to religion for solace. During the period she built number of Vishnu temples and founded cities. She repaired almost all the temples damaged by fire. Her notable contribution includes;
One temple in memory of her deceased son named as Abhimanyuswamin
Two other temples in her name known as Diddasvamin
Installed number of Vishnu images at Shadipur
Built a temple in the name of her father called Simhaswamin
Built one sacred structurecalled Diddarnatha. Presently remembered as Diddamar situated between Nawakadal and Safakadal.
TRANSITION
Realizing fully well that she was ageing and nobody from her own dynasty was living to succeed her. She soon started looking for her successor and her choice narrowed down to Samgramaraja the son of her brother Udyaraja. Samgramaraja was appointed yuvraj by Queen Didda. She leaves her mortal frame in 1003 AD and Samgramaraja becomes the King.
While concluding, we are driven to construe that despite her colorful personal life, she brought much needed stability to the state. Most of her energies were utilized to repel the attacks of invaders, quash the public revolts and crush the rebellion of Damars. It needs an iron fist and courage to do so. She therefore mixed brutality and ruthlessness as an act of diplomacy to the advantage of the State. Her reign is not matched by any of the contemporary rulers of her times. It is not an exaggeration to say that she has secured a place for herself in the History.
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