Lalitaditya Muktapida
| Lalitaditya Muktapida | |
|---|---|
| King of Kashmir | |
| Reign | r. c. 724 CE–760 CE |
| Predecessor | Durlabhaka (Pratapaditya II) |
| Successor | Kuvalayapida |
| Spouse | Kamaladevi, Chakramardika |
| Issue | Kuvalayapida, Vajraditya II |
| Dynasty | Karkoṭa |
| Father | Durlabhaka-Pratapaditya II |
| Religion | Hinduism, Buddhism |
Lalitaditya alias Muktapida (IAST: Lalitāditya Muktapīḍa; r. c. 724 CE–760 CE) was the most powerful ruler of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir region in the Indian Subcontinent.
The 12th century chronicler Kalhana characterizes Lalitaditya as a world conqueror, crediting him with extensive conquests and miraculous powers in his Rajatarangini. According to Kalhana, Lalitaditya defeated the central Indian king Yashovarman, and then marched to eastern and southern parts of India. He subjugated several more rulers on his way back to Kashmir, and then subdued several northern kings. Based on a reconstruction of Kalhana's account, the art historian Hermann Goetz (1969) theorized that Lalitaditya managed to create a short-lived empire that included major parts of India as well as present-day Afghanistan and Central Asia. Goetz' analysis was accepted and cited widely by subsequent authors writing on the history of Kashmir. However, Kalhana's account is not supported by the records of Lalitaditya's neighbouring rulers; in fact, the Tang dynasty chronicles present him as a vassal of the Tang emperor. As a result, several other scholars have dismissed Kalhana's account as legendary exaggeration.
Despite these exaggerations, Lalitaditya is generally accepted as the most powerful king of his dynasty. He commissioned a number of shrines in Kashmir, including the now-ruined Martand Sun Temple. He also established several towns, including a new capital at Parihasapura, although he also maintained the dynasty's traditional capital at Srinagara.
The main source of information about Lalitaditya is Rajatarangini, a chronicle of the rulers of Kashmir, by the 12th century Kashmiri writer Kalhana. Lalitaditya also finds a brief mention in the New Book of Tang (Xin Tang shu), a record of the Tang dynasty of China. This text mentions him as "Mu-to-pi" or "Muduobi" (a variation of Muktapida). The 11th century Persian chronicler Al-Biruni mentions a Kashmiri king called Muttai, who was most probably Lalitaditya ("Muttai" being derived from the Apabhramsha form of "Muktapida").
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