Didda- The Warrior Queen of Kashmir

It feels good to see the younger generation enjoying historic fiction. During the past decade I have interacted with a few youngsters who showed interest in the history of our country. They have an unbiased view and expressed their desire in exploring the history of ancient India with different viewpoints.  This makes me feel positive about the kind of books which are being written in English in India today. Lot of Mythological stories with a different perspective are appearing and along with them there are books related to the Indian history which are also doing well in the market. “DIDDA – The Warrior Queen of Kashmir” is a book published in the year 2017 which tells the story of the crippled queen Didda who played an important role as an able administrator of Kashmir region.

First reference of Didda was found in Rajatarangini written by Kalhana in the twelfth century. She ruled Kashmir for forty four years and was a regent for her son and grandsons. Born to Simharaja who ruled Lohar she had a difficult childhood due to her disability. Being lame she was rejected by her own parents Deprived of the parental love,she was taken care of her maid Valga who used to carry her on her back and  helped her lead an excited life.  With a strong will and determination she mastered the Sword and was excellent in her moves in the battle field. Kshemgupta the king of Kashmir,  mesmerized by her beauty wishes to marry her. Even after knowing about her disability he agrees to make her his queen.

During that time Kashmir was facing a difficult period. Kshemgupta had a lot of internal battles within his kingdom and he was not an able administrator. At home he also has a wife Chandralekha and her over ambitious father Phalguna who wanted the throne for himself. Kshemgupta being an alcoholic and a womanizer could not have children and this left Chandralekha bitter and barren. Didda was living a lonely life till she was 26 and her parents have already lost hopes about her marriage. But when Kshemgupt agrees to marry her Didda understands that her time has changes. After coming to Kashmir and finding out the truth of her husband’s health, she is determined to give him an heir. She seeks the blessings of Rajguru and the miracle saint Abhinav gupt.  Didda later gives birth to a Son and becomes the precious queen of Kshemgupta. He was so much in love with his queen, that he had ordered coins made with his name along with Didda’s printed on them. These coins have been excavated from the archaeological ruins and prove the story right.

Kshemgupta introduces Didda to his able friend Naravahan who helps Didda to conquer the internal enemies of the state. Proud about his wives accomplishments,  Kshemgupta spends time hunting and enjoying. On an hunting expedition he is wounded and dies after a few days. Phalgun now plans to get rid of  Didda, and announces that both the queens are going to give their lives on the funeral pyre according to the custom of Sati. Phalgun is ready to sacrifice his own daughter chandralekha for power. Didda realizes this and refuses to take part in Sati.  Chandralekha jumps into the pyre alone and Didda takes up the rule of the kingdom.

She suffers a lot to protect Abhimanyu and fights a lot of battles to keep Kashmir safe from the enemies. She shows ruthless energy while trying to protect her son and the kingdom. Naravahan gets attracted towards Didda and gives his life after losing her confidence. Didda gets Abhimanyu married to Vasundhara who becomes insecure under Didda and plots against Didda banishing her from the kingdom. Abhimanyu believes that his mother is a witch and he takes part in the plot only to be murdered mercilessly later.

Didda comes back to the kingdom to avenge her son’s death and becomes the queen once again. This time her grandson is placed on the throne. The book in details gives all the different wars Didda has to take part during this time. Her will to protect her progeny and her kingdom gives her strength to carry on the struggle. At one stage a tribal man Tunga rescues her from an assassination attempt and it is said that she reciprocates to his kindness with her love. The final days of Didda are full of struggle and wars but she fights her battles in life and on the battle field as a true warrior.

Didda always suffered the consequences of being a woman in a male dominated society. She had to work hard to prove herself to be the able ruler of Kashmir. She is dominant, clever, aggressive and ruthless in her administration and these traits helped her to survive the long difficult years as Queen of Kashmir. She was a woman who disagreed to all the norms set in a society for a conventional woman. She was therefore misunderstood, misjudged and always lived in a state of insecurity. The people of Kashmir took a long time to actually believe her to be their ruler. Her own son for whom she had to endure a great deal misjudged her and banished her from his kingdom. He also believed that Didda will kill his sons to be the queen and lived a life of mistrust and agony. He could not understand his mother who appeared ruthless and power conscious. He failed to understand that she was protecting him all through and took her to be power thirsty. The only friends who understood Didda were her teacher Vikram sen who taught her the art of warfare and made her an able warrior and Abhinav gupt who acted as her spiritual guide all through her turbulent years. Vikram Sen prepared Didda physically to rule the kingdom while Abhinav gupt gave the required spiritual strength and helped her to practice detachmet and concentrate on a single goal of protecting her kingdom amongst all odds and turmoil.

There were many attempts made by the family members to kill Didda and her infant Son. Didda survived them all. She bribed people when necessary, fought battles when needed and behaved ruthlessly with her enemies and eradicated all possible danger to herself and her son. She lived like a Watch dog until her son became the adult king but his own insecurities and his wife’s jealously towards Didda kept her away from Abhimanyu and her dear Kashmir for a few years. Didda took this insult without complaining and endured all her hard ships visualizing a bright future for her son.

But when Abhimanyu gets killed in a conspiracy she becomes the ruthless queen once again. Her grandsons died prematurely and she was blamed and suspected for witch craft. She endured all these with a hardened heart and made her third grandson Bhimgupt the next king of Kashmir who also could not become the king of Kashmir due to his untimely death.

It was Tunga who helped her win battles with the others later. People say that Tunga and Didda were lovers too. The writer does not dwell into details but explains how Tunga became her confidant and helped her during a lot of difficult times. She selected Sangramaraja her nephew as the next heir and with Tunga’s help made him the future king of Kashmir before retiring from her duties due to ill health and old age.

It is said that after the death of Didda her trained army with Sangramaraja as their leader was the only one which could defeat Mohammad Ghazni and pose a threat to him to conquer Kashmir.

During those days when women were subjected to their domestic lives, Didda rose against all odds to be the queen of a difficult region. She proved her worth by a lot of victories and political skills. Her meticulous planning, administration and needed ruthlessness always proved her worthy to be the leader. She was ever devoted to her maid Valaga and also built a temple with her name as an honor to her. When she was not waging wars or defending her country she was building temples and homes for her people. There was a great amount of construction done during her period which establishes her architectural taste and interest.

She was therefore known as the Catherine of Kashmir by historians. She lived surrounded with enemies and dedicated her life to protect her family. After losing her only son and three grand children in her life time, she still did not give up her fight and stood firm as a rock protecting her subjects from the enemies within and beyond her kingdom. When things were difficult she did not hesitate to call Phalgun the father of Chandraleka and her long standing enemy to help her protect Kashmir. She knew that as a man of royalty he would understand the need to stand together to fight against a common enemy. She used her wit and intelligence when needed and was a perfect negotiator. All this, she achieved in a crippled state and proved that physical disability does not necessarily be a hindrance to reach to the final stage of success. From being a neglected daughter she rises to the position where she not only saves her husband’s kingdom but also comes to help her Father and her grandfather in need.

Didda’s life is an inspiration to all those who understand and respect the struggle and the fighting spirit of an individual amongst all odds in the utmost difficult circumstances. Ashish Kaul gives a beautiful description of Queen Didda through this novel which is definitely a good read.

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