The Fall of Hindu Rule: Suhadeva to Kota Rani (1301 to 1339)

The last Hindu dynasty of Kashmir ended in a single generation of troubles: a Mongol raid, a Buddhist who became Muslim king, and a Hindu queen.

Suhadeva (1301 to 1320)

• Suhadeva (also Sahadeva) was the last Hindu king of the Lohara line. He was a weak ruler.
• During his rule, three newcomers arrived: Shah Mir from Swat (1313), the Tibetan prince Rinchana and the Sufi Bulbul Shah (Sharfuddin).

Zulju's invasion (1320)

• In 1320 a Turk-Mongol army under Zulju (Dulucha) came in through the mountains. For about eight months it plundered and killed. Suhadeva fled to Kishtwar.
• Zulju is said to have left with prisoners. Many soldiers were reportedly lost in the snow on the way back.

Rinchana (1320 to 1323)

• Rinchana (Rin-chen), a Buddhist prince from Ladakh/Tibet, had come to Kashmir as a refugee. After Zulju left, he seized the throne.
• The Hindu priest Devaswami would not admit him into Hinduism. According to tradition he then met Bulbul Shah and became a Muslim, taking the name Sultan Sadr-ud-Din (first Muslim ruler of Kashmir).
• He married Kota Rani, daughter of the commander Ramachandra, whom he had killed.

Udayanadeva and Kota Rani (1323 to 1339)

• After Rinchana died (1323), Udayanadeva (brother of Suhadeva) became king and married Kota Rani.
• After Udayana died (1338), Kota Rani ruled as the last Hindu ruler. Shah Mir overthrew her in 1339, and she is said to have killed herself rather than be forced to marry him.

Decline of Hindu rule (1171 to 1339): more detail

• After the Lohara line ended, Kashmir was weakened by internal conflicts for about a century and a half, so that nothing could stop conquest by outsiders.
• Vuppagupta (1171 to 1180): after Vanitadeva, prominent citizens put Vuppagupta on the throne. His main hobby was the study of stones and pebbles.

Suhadeva (1301 to 1320)

• After a time of anarchy and confusion, he brought the whole kingdom under his authority and tried to set up a stable government with the help of his Prime Minister and commander-in-chief, Ramachandra.
• In his reign two foreign adventurers came: Shah Mir from Swat and Rinchana from Tibet. They later helped overthrow Hindu rule and bring in Muslim rule.

The rise of Rinchana

• Rinchana was originally a prince of Ladakh. He came to Kashmir and was protected by Ramachandra.
• About 1320, Dulucha, a Tartar chief from Central Asia, invaded and Suhadeva fled.
• Rinchana used this chance. He killed his rival Ramachandra and married Kota Rani, Ramachandra's daughter.

Rinchana as ruler (1320 to 1323)

• He restored peace, made the administration strong with the help of Shah Mir (appointed Prime Minister), gave equal justice to poor and rich and equality before law.

Rinchana's conversion

• To consolidate his position, he wanted to join the religion of his subjects. Shaivism was widely followed. He asked Sri Devaswami to admit him to Hinduism, but was refused.
• Shah Mir consoled him, and he embraced Islam, taking the name Sadruddin Shah.

Works of Rinchana

• He founded the town Rinchanapura.
• He built the first mosque in Kashmir, the Bud Masjid, and a hospice (khanqah) for Bulbul Shah (Sharf-ud-Din Rahman Shah).
• He started a free kitchen (langar) in Srinagar, which became known as Bulbul Langar.
• Bulbul Shah is said by some to have entered the valley in 1324 (in Rinchana's reign, other sources place his arrival earlier). He is buried near his khanqah at Bulbul Lankar, Srinagar.
• Rinchana died in 1323 and his infant son Haidar succeeded. Shah Mir and Kota Rani offered the throne to Udayanadeva, brother of Suhadeva.

Udayanadeva (1323 to 1338)

• An orthodox Hindu who spent most of his time in bathing, penance and prayer, and was not an able administrator.
• He married Kota Rani, widow of Rinchana.
• In his time Achala, a Turkish adventurer, invaded, and Udayana fled to Tibet. Shah Mir saved Kashmir. Udayana returned after Achala's death and died in 1338.

Kota Rani

• After Udayana's death she proclaimed herself ruler. She moved her headquarters from Srinagar to Inderkote (Sumbal, Bandipora). Shah Mir and other ministers obeyed her.
• Shah Mir besieged Inderkote and asked her to marry him and share the throne. She decided to fight and was taken prisoner (tradition adds that she ended her life).
• Shah Mir proclaimed himself ruler, with the title Sultan Shamsuddin Shah Mir.