Early History
For a better understanding of the common kinship of Muslim and Hindu Kashmiris a brief introduction to the history of the region is important.
The Mauryan emperor Ashoka is credited with having founded the city of Srinagar. Kashmir was once a Buddhist seat of learning, with the Sarvāstivādan school dominating. East and Central Asian Buddhist monks are recorded as having visited the kingdom. In the late 4th century AD, the famous Kuchanese monk Kumārajīva, born to an Indian noble family, studied Dīrghāgama and Madhyāgama in Kashmir under Bandhudatta. He become a prolific translator who helped take Buddhism to China. His mother, Jīva, retired to Kashmir. Vimalākṣa, a Sarvāstivādan Buddhist monk, travelled from Kashmir to Kucha and there instructed Kumārajīva in the Vinayapiṭaka.
Read more about this topic: Kashmiri Muslim Tribes From Hindu Lineage
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