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The deceitful and treacherous murder of Sussala brought Jayasimha (who had been confined to prison by his suspicious father) to the throne of Kashmir. He was apprised of his father's assassination in the prison and resolved then and there to avenge it though he had only a few trusted men on his side at the moment, He was conscious of the danger from Bhikshachara and, in order to strengthen his position, he called back Panchachandra, son of Garga, from Lohara. Bhikshachara, too, was not slow to sense an opportunity for himself; he marched forth towards Srinagar, but his advance was retarded by heavy snowfall. This vital delay enabled Jayasimha to receive support from Panchachandra and the latter routed the 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, II, viii, 1349,356-62. 2. Ibid., II, viii, 1363-64. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 1373.

431 forces of Bhikshachara in a surprise attack. Jayasimha was now in the capital and able to gather around him a considerable force together with the support of Sujji and others. Bhikshachara, however, had not lost hopes he soon rallied his forces and marched towards Srinagar along with his Damara supporters. Jayasimha was now able to call upon. the services of Sujji, who defeated Bhikshachara on the banks of the Gambhira and inflicted heavy losses on the invaders. Furthermore, the Damaras supporting Bhikshachara were won over by bribes and Bhikshachara, now left alone, was compelled to retire from the Valley. Though Bhikshachara was forced to leave the Valley, he had not lost heart. There was trouble brewing amongst the supporters of Jayasinha. The rivalry between Sujji and Lakshmaka, the chief advisor of Jayasinha, compelled the former to leave the court and enter into a conspiracy with Bhikshachara to depose Jayasimha. This gave sufficient encouragement to Bhikshachara who, relying on the Damara support, thought of measuring his strength once again with the royal forces, without waiting 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, II, viii, 2. Ibid., II, viii, 1383, 88, 1402-14. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 1497. 4. Ibid II, viii, 1525. 5. Ibid., II, viii, 1651-53.

432 for Sujji who had left the Valley to dispose off the bone-remains of Sussala to the holy waters of the Ganges. The plan of invasion, however, could not be carried out as, firstly, the Damaras were held in check by Lakshmaka and, secondly, because of the 2 severity of the winter season. Tikks, an avowed. enemy of Jayasimha, took Bhikshachara to the fort of Banasala which was then under the control of a Khasa Chief, Bhagika, wherefrom Bhikshachara tried to incite the Damaras into revolt. Meanwhile Sujji returned back from his mission and was on his way to join Bhikshachara, Jayasinha and Somapala were now thoroughly alarmed, but through an emissary, they succeeded in persuading Sujji to proceed to Somapala's territory. This clever move was a severe blow to the ambitious plans of Bhikshachara. He was attacked by the royal troops led by The L Udaya. Unfortunate Bhikshachara was forced to shut himself into the fort of Banasala. His end was quite near. The Khasa Chief, who was his main support, also deserted him. The royal troops, unable to capture the fort, were soon reinforced and the Damaras, too, were 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana II, viii, 1622, 64. 2. Ibid., II, viii, 1663. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 1664-66. 4. Ibid., II, viii, 1669-73.

433 lured away by the King's lucre Bhikshachara, hemmed in on all sides by traitors and enemies, died fighting bravely after giving a glorious account of his steef. At long last, Jayasinha was able to get rid of his greatest rival and enemy, whom even his father had not been able to wipe off in a struggle extending over a period of about 10 years? Revolt at Lohara鈥擩ayasinha, however, was not destined to have an easy time. Soon after the episode narrated above, severe revolt broke out at Lohar. As narrated earlier, Balhana and Lothans, the two brothers, had been put behind bars at the stronghold of Lohara by Sussala. The treacherous officers of the castle, finding Jayasimha engaged in wars with Bhikshachara, freed Lothana, Salhane having died in the meantime and crowned him King. The officers also handed over the vast treasures secreted at the castle to Lothana. Preman, who was loyal to Jayasinha, offered some opposition, but failed miserably. When Jayasinha learnt the details of the happenings at Lohara through a trusted letter-carrier, he 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, II, viii, 1679-1719. 2. Ibid., II, viii, 1735-64. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 1704-05. 4. Ibid., II, viii, 1794-96. 5. Ibid., II, viii, 519. 6. Ibid., II, viii, 1795-1811, 1814-31.

434 tried to take effective steps to check the uprising from taking a serious turn. He promptly dispatched Rilhana, Udaya and Lulla to deal with the uprising. It was a diplomatic move as the King thought that by virtue of their being born at Lohara both Lulla and Udaya would win over the recalcitrant elements to his side. At the same time, he had sent Rilhana as in advance party for succour and himself proceeded along with his high officers towards Lohara. In the meantime, the rebel forces under Lothana, were also reinforced by the arrival of his son-in-law, Sura along with his forces. From the King's side help was sought from Somapala who was related to Jayasimha, but Somapala and Sujji declared to offer their help to the highest bidder. Subsequently, after Sujji and Somapala had gone over the side of the rebels, the royal troops, led by Lakshamaka had to beat a retreat Vanikavass to a village called Vanikavasa There, Lakshmaka was surprised in a night attack led by the wily Sujji and taken prisoner along with Lulla and others. Jayasimha had to bear a heavy loss in men and material and the expedition proved a disastrous failure. 1. R.T II, viii, 1836, 43. 2. Ibid II, viii, 1844-45. 3. Ibid II, viii, 1851, 54-61. 4. Ibid., II, viii, 1873-77. 5. Ibid. II, viii, 1879-99. 6. Ibid. II, viii, 1904-06.

435 Subsequent Developments Since the subsequent affairs at Lohara and its history had a deep and far-reaching effect on the history of the Valley, these may be summarily noted here. Jayasimha was unable to crush the rebellion at Lohara and Lothana now began to behave as an independent ruler of Lohara. Considerable wealth, stored there from the days of Sussala, had fallen into his hands and his position was somewhat secure. Unfortunately, within a month of his sensational victory against the royal troops, he lost his beloved wife Malla and his dear son, Dilha, and these bereavements upset his immensely. Sujji, whom Lothana had raised to the office of the Chief Minister, tried his best to console him and look after his interests. Jayasinha, in the meantime, purchased the freedom of the captive Lakshmaka by paying a huge sum of of 36 lakhs dinnaras. As the money came in his hands, L Sujji arranged the marriage of Lothana (to be solemnised later) with the daughter of Padmaratha, ruler of Kalinjara. Jayasinha, too, did not sit idle; he dispatched. the faithful Udaya to Lohara and the latter was able 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, II, viii, 1914-16. 2. Ibid., II, viii, 1918. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 915, 1923.

436 to create some dissension in the ranks of Lothana and win over through bribes some influential persons who were, obviously, jealous of Sujji Amongst them was Manika Jayasinha plotted to overthrow Lothana and place Mallard juna, a son of Sussala, on the throne and sent a secret missive to this effect to his allies at Lohara. But Lothana came to know of the plot and soon cast Mallard juna into prison along with others. A lull followed for a few months and Lothana, thinking that he was now secure, sent back sura, his son-in-law, who had come to Lohara to help hinf. Lothana now proceeded to Darpitapura to solemnize daughter the proposed marriage with the marriage of Padmaratha. The opportunity was too good to be lost. Manika, who soon succeeded in freeing himself and Mallarujuna, had the latter seated on the throne of Lohara?. The rebels, however, were wise enough not to fall in with the overtures of Jayasimha for fear of a general uprising against them and sought help from the neighbouring Thakurs who were able to ward off the attempts of Jayasimha's men from entering the castle, for 1. Rajatarangini by Kalhana, II, viii, 1928-31. 2. Ibla II, viii, 1930. 3. Ibid., II, viii, 1933-34. 4. Ibid., II, viii, 1935-36. 5. Ibid., II, viii, 1938. 6. Ibid., II, viii, 1939-40. 7. Ibid., II, viii, 1941.

437 Manika was suspicious of the King's designs and treated him rather contemptuously