Glimpses of Kashmir History:*001

^{Sham S. Misri}

Pre-Historic Times

There is a very interesting story about how Kashmir came into existence. It is said that a long time ago the whole area where Kashmir is now located was filled with water. It was a lake. This lake was extremely large and was called Satisar. According to the oldest book on Kashmir, “Nil mat Puran", in the Satisar lived some demons. The leader of these demons was a ferocious demon called Jaldev or Jalod Bowa. He tortured and devoured the people, who lived near mountain slopes. These demons would not allow anyone to settle down on the banks of Satisar.  If any saint or seer came for meditation, they would disturb and trouble him.

Hearing the suffering of the people, a great saint Kashyap by name, came to the rescue of the people here. It is said that Kashyap Rishi undertook a long penance in order to achieve the destruction of these demons. The goddess Sharika was very pleased with him. She came in the form of a mynah with a pebble in her beak. She dropped the pebble on the demon leader, and the demon was killed.  The pebble turned into a big mountain. People claim that the present Hari Parbat      (he: ri: parbath ‘mynah mountain') is the same mountain. By and by, Kashyap managed to have the lake drained. It is said that the water of this lake was drained through Baramulla. When the lake was drained, the land appeared.  Kashyap did not live alone in Kashmir. He invited Brahmins from other places to join him. The people named the valley as Kashyap-Mar and Kashyap-Pura. The ancient Greeks called it "Kasperia".  In modern times the people of Kashmir call it "Kasheer".

The Brahmins would stay in Kashmir in the summer, but in the winter they would go to warmer places. It was hard and dangerous to live in Kashmir during the winter. Kashmir was still full of aboriginal groups, such as, the di: th   and pesa: ts. They continued to trouble the new settlers. Kashyap Rishi had a son, Nila.  He found a way to appease the di: th   and the pesa: ts. He asked the Brahmins to make a gift of food to the di: th and pesa: ts of Kashmir. The food was offered to them on special days. These special days are celebrated by Kashmiri’s even today: gada: bath, khetsi: mavas, and kavi: punim, are some of these days.

The story is not merely a legend. Many scientists believe that the present location of Kashmir was at one time a huge lake.
Pre-historic explorations have discovered the occurrence of glacial cycles in the valley. The chief Geological formation of the ice-age here are the “Karewas ".  

The Neolithic culture is indicated by the discovery of polished stone axes, hoes, pestle, and bone implements at Burzahom, ten miles east of, Srinagar. The Archaeological excavations done in 1960, found the silt beds, and pits indicating a settlement of early Pit dwellers whose date has tentatively been fixed at 3000 B.C.