Christian era, and is one of the first kings whose history
stands out clear of misty legends of demons and snakes,
goddesses and strong gods, was a Buddhist and made
himself famous by his wise laws and edicts, but his son
reverted to the worship of Siva, adopting once more
some of the practices of the earlier Nag or snake worship,
the traces of which are still to be found in the current
religion of the valley. Subsequently the rulers returned
to Buddhism, and history becomes misty till there
emerges the figure of the ferocious King Mihirakula
(515 a .d .) , who framed moral codes of a trying nature
for his people, and rejoiced in law-breaking, as it gave
rise to “ pleasant punishments.” This Nero was
succeeded by Gopaditya, of good reputation, and various
other princes of small influence, among whom Mitrigupta
seems to have been amiable and charitable.
Eventually Lalataditya came to the throne in 697,
and reigned thirty-seven years. We heard of him in
connection with the mighty temple of Martand, and
throughout his country he built buildings likely to outlast
anything their own age, though severely tried by
the fierce zeal of fanatics and the terrible powers of
Nature doing her worst with earthquake and flood.
He helped his people by bringing them water, and he
fed vast armies of them. He was a man of mighty deeds
and prodigious plans, and, having endowed his kingdom
with some of the grandest monuments of the known
world, catered for the wellbeing of his subjects, and, it
must be also admitted, horrified them by his cruelties
when intoxicated (for they seem to have been in the same
scale as his benefits when in sober mind), he departed,
in spite of prayers and entreaties, for Turkestan, to
conquer Central Asia, and there died, having bequeathed
a vast collection of wise laws and sapient observations
for the guidance of his successors.
King Avantivarma, of the ninth century, also left a
great reputation for sagacity. Though no soldier, he did
much towards encouraging useful works in the valley.
His son, Shan Karavarman, collected a vast army.
We are not told whether his subjects were men of greater
mettle than their present representatives, or whether
his soldiers were mercenaries, and how his cavalry was
mounted. He memorialised himself more thoroughly
by the temples he built at Patan. Apparently the army
thus assembled, deprived under later kings of legitimate
employment, turned its energies to civil wars, and the
history of this period is chaotic; rather that word should
be applied to the state of the brain after attempting to
grapple with its chronicles.
The one distinct figure of the time is that of
the Queen Didda, a lady of decided views and undecided
principles. Pettered, as others in the like position
have been since her time, she set herself to work to rid
herself of her entourage. Having had much influence
during her husband’s life, she proceeded after his death
to remove her minor son, whose guardian she was
supposed to be, also three grandsons; and finally
reigned alone and well, so that the kingdom was safeguarded
for a time from the internal strife which was
the ruin of the dynasty.
The country became more and more disintegrated.
Central power was at an end, and at the beginning of the
fourteenth century each party, in-turns, appears to have
put forth a candidate for the governorship, the badge of
office being the possession of Kuta Rani, daughter of
Ram Chand, commander-in-chief of the last Hindu king