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{{Short description|Ruler of Kashmir from 980–1003}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| title        = 
| name         = Didda
| image        = Queen Didda coin.jpg
| caption      = Copper coin featuring Queen Didda
| succession   = Queen of Kashmir
| reign        = 980 – 1003
| predecessor  = Bhimagupta ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 975 – 980)
| successor    = [[Samgrāmarāja]] ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 1003–1028)
| reign-type2  = [[Regency]]
| reign2       = 958 – 980
| succession2  = Queen Regent of Kashmir
| pre-type2    = Monarch
| predecessor2 = {{Plainlist|
* Abhimanyu II ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 958 – 972)
* Nandigupta ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 972 – 973)
* Tribhuvanagupta ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 973 – 975)
* Bhimagupta ({{abbr|r.|reigned}} 975 – 980)
}}
| successor2   = <!--Herself as Queen-->
| house        = {{plainlist|
* [[Lohara dynasty]] (by birth)
* [[Utpala dynasty]] (by marriage)
}}
| birth_date   = {{circa|924}}
| father       = Simharaja, King of Lohara
| mother       = 
| module       = {{Infobox person | child=yes
   | relatives     = [[Hindu Shahi#Bhimadeva: confrontations with Alp-Tegin and loss of Kabul|Bhimadeva Shahi]] <br /><small>(maternal grandfather)</small><br />Udayaraja <br /><small>(brother)</small><br />[[Samgrāmarāja]] <br /><small>(nephew)</small>
   }}
| spouse       = Kshemagupta
| issue        = Abhimanyu II
| death_date   = 1003 (aged 79)
| death_place  = 
| place of burial = 
| religion     = [[Hinduism]]
| regnal name  = 
}}
'''Didda''' ({{circa|924 CE}}{{spaced ndash}}1003 CE), also known as ''The Catherine of Kashmir'',<ref name=Cathy /> was the last ruler of [[Yashaskara Dynasty]] who ruled Kashmir from 980 CE to 1003 CE.<ref>Upinder Singh book</ref> She first acted as [[regent]] for her son and various grandsons from 958 CE to 980 CE, and from 980 CE as sole ruler and [[monarch]]. Most knowledge relating to her is obtained from the ''[[Rajatarangini]]'', a work written by [[Kalhana]] in the twelfth century.

== Life ==
Didda was a daughter of Simharāja, the King of Lohara, and a granddaughter on her maternal side of [[Hindu Shahi#Bhimadeva: confrontations with Alp-Tegin and loss of Kabul|Bhimadeva Shahi]], one of the [[Hindu Shahi]] of Kabul. Lohara lay in the [[Pir Panjal]] range of mountains, on a trade route between western [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] and Kashmir.{{sfnp|Stein|1989b|pp=293-294|ps=}}{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=104|ps=}}

At the age of 26,<ref name=live>[https://www.livehistoryindia.com/story/herstory/kashmirs-ruthless-queen-didda/ Kashmir's 'Ruthless' Queen Didda]</ref> she married the King of Kashmir, Ksemagupta, thus uniting the Kingdom of Lohara with that of her husband. Even prior to becoming regent, Didda had considerable influence in state affairs, and coins have been found which appear to show both her name and that of Ksemagupta.{{sfnp|Ganguly|1979|pp=68-69|ps=}}

=== Regent ===
When Ksemagupta died following a fever contracted after a hunt in 958, he was succeeded  by his son, Abhimanyu II. As Abhimanyu was still a child, Didda acted as regent and effectively exercised sole power.{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=105|ps=}} Compared to other societies of the period, women in Kashmir were held in high regard.{{sfnp|Kaw|2004|p=91|ps=}}

Her first task was to rid herself of troublesome ministers and nobles, whom she drove from office only to have them rebel against her. The situation was tense and she came close to losing control, but having asserted her position with support from others, including some whom she bribed, Didda displayed a ruthlessness in executing not only the rebels who had been captured but also their families. Further trouble erupted in 972, when Abhimanyu died. He was succeeded by his son, Nandigupta, still a young child himself, and this caused restlessness among the [[Damara (feudal landlord)|Dāmaras]], who were [[feudatory]] landlords and later to cause huge problems for the [[Lohara dynasty]] which Didda founded.{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=105|ps=}}

In 973, she 'disposed of' Nandigupta, in Stein's phrase, and then did the same to Tribhuvanagupta, his younger brother, in 975. This left her youngest grandson, Bhimagupta, on the throne, again with Didda as regent. Her desire for absolute power became untrammeled, especially after the death of Phalunga, a counsellor who had been prime minister of her husband before being exiled by Didda after Ksemagupta's death and then brought back into her fold when his skills were required. She also took a lover called Tunga at this time, and although he was a mere herdsman, this provided her with a sense of security sufficient that in 980 she arranged for Bhimagupta to be tortured to death and assumed unfettered control for herself, with Tunga as her prime minister.{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=105|ps=}}

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=== Monarch ===
Didda ruled as [[Queen regnant]] from 980 CE until her death in 1003 CE, at the age of 79.<ref name=live /> She is one of the very few female monarchs in Indian history.{{sfnp|Kalia|1994|p=21|ps=}} She is sometimes called the ''Catherine of Kashmir'', referring to the ruthless [[Catherine the Great]] of Russia, who ruled long and well with the help of her favourites, whom she periodically purged.<ref name=Cathy>{{cite web|url=https://www.greaterkashmir.com/todays-paper/kashmirs-women-rulers|title=Kashmir's Women Rulers |work=Greater Kashmir |date=4 August 2016 |access-date=26 June 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=18 January 2021 |title=Queen Didda: Between facts and fantasy |url=https://freepresskashmir.news/2021/01/18/queen-didda-between-facts-and-fantasy/ |work=Free Press Kashmir |access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>

Although there remained some discontent among the Dāmaras, Didda and Tunga were able to resolve the issues by force and by diplomacy, causing Stein to comment that {{blockquote|The statesmanlike instinct and political ability which we must ascribe to Didda in spite of all the defects of her character, are attested by the fact that she remains the last in peaceful possession of the Kashmir throne, and was able to bequeath it to her family in undisputed succession.{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=106|ps=}}}}

Vigraharaja had assumed control after he had murdered her parents. Udayaraja had to flee. She adopted a nephew, [[Lohara dynasty#Samgrāmarāja|Samgrāmarāja]], Udayaraja's eldest son to be her heir in Kashmir. From this decision arose the Lohara dynasty of Kashmir, although Vigraharāja even during her lifetime made attempts to assert his right to that area as well as Lohara. Her reign ended in 1003.{{sfnp|Stein|1989a|p=106|ps=}}{{sfnp|Stein|1989b|p=294|ps=}}

[[Mahmud of Ghazni]] did not raid Kashmir as far as 1013, while Didda died in 1003, ten years before [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] invaded.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thekashmirwalla.com/2021/01/did-didda-fight-ghaznavi-kangana-ranaut-is-wrong/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210115143015/https://thekashmirwalla.com/2021/01/did-didda-fight-ghaznavi-kangana-ranaut-is-wrong/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=15 January 2021|title=Did Didda fight Ghaznavi? Kangana Ranaut is wrong.}}</ref><ref name=fch>{{cite web|url=https://freepresskashmir.news/2021/01/15/fact-check-queen-didda-did-not-defeat-mehmood-ghaznavi-twice-as-claimed-by-film-makers/|title=FACT CHECK: Queen Didda did not face Ghaznavi in battle}}</ref> Didda did not embark on any adventure involving a conflict with any neighboring ruler during her rule.<ref name=fch /> It was during her successor [[Samgrāmarāja]]'s rule that [[Mahmud of Ghazni]] invaded Northern India. In 1015, Ghazni's expedition to Kashmir failed, due to the inability to capture the fort of Loharkot, inclement weather and mountainous geography of the region.{{sfn|Chandra|2006|p=18}}<ref name="Mohibbul Hasan">{{cite book|author=Mohibbul Hasan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUlwmXjE9DQC|title=Kashmīr Under the Sultāns pp31|publisher=Aakar Books|year= 2005|isbn=9788187879497|pages=31}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
* Ashish Kaul's historical fiction ''Didda: The Warrior Queen of Kashmir''  is based on Didda's life and legends.<ref name=ak>{{cite web|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/amitabh-bachchan-unveils-didda--the-warrior-queen-of-kashmir-by-ashish-kaul/1706473|title=Amitabh Bachchan unveils ''Didda – The Warrior Queen of Kashmir'' by Ashish Kaul}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ianslife.in/entertainment/amitabh-bachchan-unveils-didda-warrior-queen-kashmir-ashish-kaul|title=Amitabh Bachchan unveils 'Didda – The Warrior Queen of Kashmir' by Ashish Kaul}}</ref>
* In January 2021, [[Kangana Ranaut]] announced that she would be making a movie ''Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda'' on Queen Didda.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/kangana-ranaut-announces-manikarnika-returns-the-legend-of-didda-to-play-kashmiri-warrior-queen-101610616611739.html|title=Kangana Ranaut announces Manikarnika Returns: The Legend of Didda, to play Kashmiri warrior queen}}</ref>

== References ==
'''Citations'''
{{reflist|30em}}
'''Bibliography'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |first=Satish |last=Chandra |author-link=Satish Chandra (historian) |title=Medieval India: From Sultanat to the Mughals-Delhi Sultanat (1206–1526) Part 1 |publisher=Har-Anand Publication Pvt Ltd |year=2006}}
*{{citation |title=Aspects of ancient Indian administration |first=Dilip Kumar |last=Ganguly |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWgbE3r0aYcC |publisher=Abhinav Publications |year=1979 |isbn=978-81-7017-098-3}}
*{{citation |first=Ravi |last=Kalia |title=Bhubaneswar: From a Temple Town to a Capital City |publisher=Southern Illinois University Press |year=1994 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2YSPiKbmHkC |isbn=978-0-8093-1876-6 }}
*{{citation |title=Kashmir and its people: studies in the evolution of Kashmiri society |first=M. K. |last=Kaw |publisher=APH Publishing |year=2004 |isbn=978-81-7648-537-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QpjKpK7ywPIC}}
*{{citation |first=Mark Aurel |last=Stein |author-link=Mark Aurel Stein |title=Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir, Volume 1 |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1989a |orig-year=1900 |isbn=978-81-208-0369-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-dfT2D8mnukC}}
*{{citation |first=Mark Aurel |last=Stein |title=Kalhana's Rajatarangini: a chronicle of the kings of Kasmir, Volume 2 |edition=Reprinted |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |year=1989b |orig-year=1900 |isbn=978-81-208-0370-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KzxTkI9iAxkC}}
{{refend}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Didda, Queen}}
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Regents of India]]
[[Category:10th-century queens regnant]]
[[Category:Queens regnant of Kashmir]]
[[Category:11th-century queens regnant]]
[[Category:10th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:10th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:11th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:11th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:1003 deaths]]
[[Category:10th-century women regents]]
[[Category:10th-century regents]]
[[Category:Utpala dynasty]]