ʿAJEZ, NARAYAN KAUL

 

ʿAJEZ, NARAYAN KAUL, Kashmiri Brahman of the 17th-18th centuries, a poet and compiler of Moḵtaṣar-e tārīḵ-e Kašmīr (1710-11; see Storey, I/1, pp. 681-82). No biographical details are available. During the Mughal period Persian-language historiography flourished in Kashmir, drawing on a long tradition of Sanskrit historical writing there. Two notable 17th century works are the anonymous Bahārestān-e šāhī and the Tārīḵ-eKašmīr of Ḥaydar Malek. The Hindu ʿAǰez was asked by the governor of Kashmir to compare Ḥaydar Malek’s ornate work with some of the Sanskrit chronicles, and the poet prepared his Moḵtaṣar, an abridged version of the Tārīḵ-eKašmīr. The style of the work is relatively plain; while not original, it retains useful data, e.g., regarding the revenue of the various administrative districts (parganas).

Bibliography:

See also Radhay Nath Koul Golšan, Bahār-e golšan-e Kašmīr, Lahore, 1931, p. 49.

Marshall, Mughals in India, p. 53.

(A. Mattoo)

Originally Published: December 15, 1984

Last Updated: July 29, 2011

This article is available in print.
Vol. I, Fasc. 7, p. 701

Cite this entry:

A. Mattoo, “ʿAJEZ, NARAYAN KAUL,” Encyclopædia Iranica, I/7, p. 701; an updated version is available online at http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ajez-narayan-kaul (accessed on 25 April 2014).