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The
Earliest use of Kashmiri in literature is found in Kalhana’s Rajatarangini
(12th century AD) in which a three-word phrase of
Kashmiri Apabhramsa is used. However, the earliest composition in
Kashmiri appears to be the Mahanayaprakasa
of Sitikantha Acharya, which belong to the period 1200-1500 AD.
Another work of unknown date called Chumma-sampradaya
also provides the oldest specimen of Kashmiri literature. The 14th
century Saiva woman-saint Lal Ded or Lalla Didi has written many
compositions in Kashmiri which are still very popular, both among
Hindus and Muslims. The
sayings or shruks of another mystic poet Sheikh Nuruddin (1377-1440 AD) have
been collected in the book Nurnama
or Rshinama. Utthasoma, Yodhabhatta and Bhatta Avatara were the important
Kashmiri poets in the court of Zainul Abidin (1420-1470 AD).
Utthasoma’s treatise on music called Manaka,
Yodhabhatta’s Jainacharita
and Jainaprakasa and Avatara’s Jainavilasa
were important works of this period.
Banasuravadha is
considered as the earliest epic poem in Kashmiri.
The
period 1500-1800 AD witnessed the continuous development of
Kashmiri literature. Hubba Khatun (1551-1606 AD) was a very remarkable poetess,
whose lyrics on love and romance called lol
still captivate the Kashmiri people. Rupabhavani and Aranimal were
other great poetesses of Kashmir. Sahib Kaul, a Hindu poet who
lived during the time of Jehangir, wrote Krishnaavatara
and Jananmcharita. The Ramayana was adapted into Kashmiri by Prakasarama (or
Divakaraprakasa Bhatta) in his Ramavataracharita
in the late 18th century. He later wrote its sequel the
Lavakusacharita.
Mir Abdullah Baihaqi’s Koshir-Aqaid and Mukhtasar
Waqayah also belong to this period, which saw many Persian
works like Laila-Majnu
and Shirin-Khusro being adapted in Kashmiri.
In
the period after 1800 AD, Kashmiri literature came under the
influence of Urdu and English, apart from Sanskrit and Persian
giving rise to new ideas and styles.
Mahmud Gami, Maqbul Shah, Paramanand and Wahhab Pare were
some of the early poets of this period. Mahmud Gami produced
note-worthy works like Yusuf-Zulaikha,
Laila-Majnu and Shirin-Khusro.
He also wrote a large number of ghazals.
Paramanand wrote many narrative poems like Radhaswaymvara,
Sudamacharita and Sivalagan
based on Sanskrit Puranas. Abdul Wahab Pare (1845-1913) adapted
Firdausi’s Shahnama into Kashmiri and also translated the Akbarnama. Another competent period of the same period was Lakshman
Ju who authored Nala-Damayati
and a number of ghazals
and short poems in Kashmiri. The Sikandarnama
of the 12th century poet Nizami was translated into
Kashmiri by Maulavi Siddiqullah.
K.F.Burkhard and G.A.Grierson were the two European
scholars who promoted Kashmiri literature during this period. The
other important works of this period include Krishna Razdan’s Sivaparinaya;
Dinanath’s Krishnavataralila;
Waliullah Mattu’s Himal Ta
Nagaraya, Azizullah Haqqani’s Gazliyat-i-Haqqani
and Ramzan Bath’s Akhnandana.
Pirzada Ghulam Ahmad Mahjur (1885-1952) was one of the earliest
nationalistic poets of Kashmir who wrote several lyrical and
patriotic poems with political themes.
Nandalal Kaul was a famous poet and dramatist of Kashmiri.
He wrote noteworthy dramas like Satach
Kahwath, Ramun Raj, Dayalal and
Prahlada Bhagat. The Bhagwad
Gita was rendered into Kashmiri by Pandit Narayan Khar.
Important
Kashmiri poets of the post-Independence period include Abdul Ahmad
Azad, Dinanath Nadim, Amin Kamil, Ghulam Rasul Nazki, Rahman Rahi,
Abdul Haqq Barq and Nur Mohammed Roshan.
Dinanath Nadim’s poems like Yirada,
Ba Gyavna Az and Zindabad
Shyamji brought new vigour into Kashmiri verse.
He also wrote an opera called Bambur
Yambarzal in 1953, for which he won the Sahitya Akademi Award
in 1967. Nadim joined hands with Roshan and produced another opera, Himal
ta Nagaraya in 1956. Rahman Rahi is also a recipient of the
Sahitya Akademi Award (1962) for his Nauroz-i-Saba. Another writer, Akthar Mahiuddin also won the Sahitya Akademi
Award in 1958 for his collection of short stories Sathsangar. He also has
to his credit two novels, Dod
Dag and Zuv ta Zolana,
and another collection of poems called Swanzal.
Motilal Kemmu is a renowned dramatist who wrote powerful
plays like Trunov, Mangay and
Manjuli Nika. |
