Rise of the Kashmir Kingdom

The Kashmir Valley becomes a flourishing cultural and geopolitical centre, gradually expanding into northwestern India and parts of present-day Punjab, establishing trade links to the Gangetic Plains. Kashmir’s position also grants it the status of a Himalayan crossroads, with its kings raiding parts of present-day Xinjiang and Tibet. The period sees the emergence of Kashmiri Shaivism, based on principles of Shaiva-Shakta Tantra. It is also an important centre for Mahayana and Tantric Buddhism, and Pancharatra Vaishnavism, with elites building a number of stupas and temples in the Kashmiri architectural style, which draws from the cosmopolitan architecture of ancient Gandhara (in present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan). The courtly costume and cultural norms of Kashmir are adapted by other polities in the neighbourhood, including those of present-day Ladakh. Surviving bronze votive sculptures from the eighth and ninth centuries depict iconography that suggests the dominance of both Buddhism and Shaivism in the Kashmir Valley.