The 'Rajatarangini' (River of Kings), a Sanskrit chronicle written by Kalhana, is about the history of:

The "Rajatarangini" ("River of Kings"), a long Sanskrit poem written by Kalhana, is a history of the kings of Kashmir.

About the Rajatarangini:

• It was composed in 1148-1149 CE, during the reign of King Jayasimha of Kashmir.
• It has about 7,826 verses (shlokas), divided into eight books ("tarangas", meaning "waves").
• It traces the history of Kashmir from ancient, legendary times to Kalhana's own time.
• The early parts are based on legends and are less reliable, but the later parts, especially from the 7th century onwards, are considered historically accurate.
• NCERT mentions the Rajatarangini as an example of a historical work, and notes that Kalhana used a variety of sources, including inscriptions, documents, eyewitness accounts and earlier histories.
• Kalhana was often critical of rulers and their policies, which was unusual for court poets.
• It is regarded as the first true historical work in Sanskrit, and as a model of historical writing in ancient India.

About Kalhana:

• He was a Kashmiri Brahmana, the son of Champaka, a minister of King Harsha of Kashmir (not Harshavardhana).
• He was not a court poet, which gave him some independence.

Continuations of the Rajatarangini:

• Jonaraja: continued the history up to the 15th century (the reign of Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin).
• Shrivara: continued it further.
• Prajyabhatta and Shuka: continued it into the Mughal period.
• Its Persian translation was made at the order of Akbar (and earlier of Zain-ul-Abidin).

Famous rulers of Kashmir described:

• Lalitaditya Muktapida (8th century): a great conqueror, who built the Martand Sun Temple.
• Avantivarman (9th century): founder of the Utpala dynasty; his minister Suyya carried out flood-control and irrigation works.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Bengal, Gujarat and Rajasthan had other histories and chronicles; for example, the "Ramacharitam" of Bengal.