Queen Didda of Kashmir remains a figure both luminous and unsettling, and perhaps the only formidable woman ruler of her times. She was a woman who defied the fire of sati , outwitted armies of men, and ruled a fracturing kingdom with Machiavellian precision.

To understand Didda the Terrible’s audacity, one must look at her times. The 10 th century AD was an age of turmoil in the Indian subcontinent — the post-Gupta world was a mosaic of fiefdoms and fragile dynasties. Society, steeped in the orthodoxy of caste and the subordination of women, permitted little agency to half its population.

Yet, Kashmir was, to an extent, an exception. Enriched by Buddhist compassion and Kashmiri Shaivite philosophy, the valley had cultivated a distinct ethos — one that allowed intellectual and spi

See Full Page