A History of Sanskrit Literature

by Arthur Anthony Macdonell

History.

No work of a directly historical character is met with in Sanskrit literature till after the Muhammadan conquest. This is the Rājatarangiṇī, or “River of Kings,” a chronicle of the kings of Kashmir, begun by its author, Kalhaṇa, in 1148 A.D. It contains nearly 8000 çlokas. The early part of the work is legendary in character. The poet does not become historical till he approaches his own times. This work (ed. M. A. Stein, Bombay, 1892; trans, by Y. C. Datta, Calc., 1898) is of considerable value for the archæology and chronology of Kashmir.