Literature of Kashmir has a long history, the oldest texts having been composed in theSanskrit language. Early names includePatanjali, the author of theMahābhāṣya commentary onPāṇini's grammar, suggested by some to have been the same to write theHindu treatise known as theYogasutra, and Dridhbala, who revised theCharaka Samhita ofAyurveda.

In medieval times, philosophers ofKashmir Shaivism includeVasugupta (c. 800),Utpala (c. 925),Abhinavagupta,Kshemaraja, andAnandavardhana. Within contemporary Kashmir literature there are many poets, including Asif Tariq Bhat^[1][2] Tashi Shah,^[3] Akeel Mohiuddin Bhat,^[4] Omair Bhat[1][2] and Zeeshan Jaipuri.^[5]

The below listed table marksKashmiri language poets in chronological order as per the book—A History of Kashmiri literature by Trilokinath Raina.^[6]

The use of theKashmiri language began with the workMahānaya-Prakāsha^[7] by Rājānaka Shiti Kantha (c.1250),^[8] and was followed by the poetLalleshvari or Lal Ded (14th century), who wrote mystical verses in thevaakh or four-line couplet style.^[9] Another mystic of her time equally revered in Kashmir and popularly known asNund Reshi wrote powerful poetry. Later cameHabba Khatun (16th century) with her own style. Other major names areRupa Bhavani (1621–1721), Paramananda (1791–1864),Arnimal (d. 1800),Mahmud Gami (1765–1855),Rasul Mir (d. 1870),Maqbool Shah Kralawari (1820–1877). Also, theSufi poets likeShamas Faqir,Wahab Khar,Soch Kral,Samad Mir, and Ahad Zargar. Among modern poets areGhulam Ahmad Mahjoor (1885–1952),Abdul Ahad Azad (1903–1948), andZinda Kaul (1884–1965).

During the 1950s, a number of well educated youth turned to Kashmiri writing, both poetry and prose, and enriched modern Kashmiri writing by leaps and bounds. Among these writers areDinanath Nadim (1916–1988),Amin Kamil (1923–2014),^[10]Sarwanand Kaol Premi (1924–1990),Rehman Rahi (born 1925),Ghulam Nabi Firaq (1927–2016), Ali Mohammed Lone^[11] (1928–1987),Akhtar Mohiuddin (1928–2001),Ali Mohammad Shahbaz, Avtar Krishen Rahbar (born 1933),Sajood Sailani, Som Nath Zutshi,Muzaffar Aazim.^[12] Some later day writers are Hari Kishan Kaul, Majrooh Rashid, Rattanlal Shant, Hirdhey Kaul Bharti,Omkar N Koul, Roop Krishen Bhat,Rafiq Raaz, Tariq Shehraz, Shafi Shauq, Showkat Shehri, M.H Zaffar, G.M Azad, Anis Hamdani, Barkat Nida, Shafi Sumbli, Bashar Bashir, Shenaz Rashid, Shabir Ahmad Shabir, Shabir Magami, Tariq Ahmad Tariq,^[13] andMoti Lal Kemmu.

Contemporary Kashmiri literature appears in such magazines as "Sheeraza" published by the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages, "Anhar" published by the Kashmiri Department of the Kashmir University, and an independent magazines/portals like "The Kashmir Tales".^[14] "Mountain Ink", Inverse JournalNeab International Kashmiri Magazine^[15] published from Boston,Vaakh (published by All India Kashmiri Samaj, Delhi) andKoshur Samachar (published by Kashmiri Sahayak Sammiti, Delhi).

• Charaka,^{[16][17][18][19]} c. 300 BC. One of the most important authors inAyurveda.
• Nagasena,^[20][21] c. 2nd century BC. One of the major figures ofBuddhism, his answers to questions about the religion posed byMenander I (Pali: Milinda), theIndo-Greek king of northwesternIndia (nowPakistan), are recorded in theMilinda Pañha.
• Tisata, c. 500 AD. A medical writer.^[22]
• Jaijjata, 5th century, a medical writer and probably the earliest commentator (known) on theSushruta Samhita, later quoted byDalhana.^[23]
• Vagbhata,^[24][25] c. 7th century. Considered one of the 'trinity' (withCharaka andSushruta) ofAyurveda.
• Bhamaha,^{[26][27][28][29]} c. 7th century
• Ravigupta, 700–725. "Ravigupta is, perhaps, the earliest among the Buddhist philosophers of Kashmir..."^[30]
• Anandavardhana, 820–890
• Vasugupta, 860–925
• Somananda, 875–925
• Vatesvara,^[31][32] b. 880, author ofVaṭeśvara-siddhānta.
• Rudrata, c. 9th century
• Jayanta Bhatta, c. 9th century
• Bhatta Nayaka, c. 9th-10th century, considered bySheldon Pollock to be the greatest author onaesthetics in the pre-modern period
• Medhātithi, c. 9th-10th century, one of the most influential commentators of theManusmriti
• Utpaladeva, 900–950
• Abhinavagupta, c. 950–1020
• Vallabhadeva,^[33][34] c. 10th century. Wrote, amongst other works,Raghupanchika, the earliest commentary on theRaghuvamsa ofKalidasa.
• Utpala,^{[35][36][37][38]} c. 10th century. An important mathematician.
• Kshemendra, c. 990–1070
• Kshemaraja, c. late 10th century/early 11th century
• Kathasaritsagara, c. 11th century
• Bilhana, c. 11th century
• Kalhana, c. 12th century
• Jalhana,^[39] c. 12th century, the author ofMugdhopadesa (not to be confused with Jalhana who commissioned theSuktimuktavali)
• Sarangadeva, c. 13th century. Amusicologist, he wroteSangita Ratnakara, one of the most important text when it comes to Indian music.

After Sanskrit and before the coming Urdu, because of the adoration and patronising policy of Persian culture by theMughals, Persian became the literary language also of the region. Kashmir was very richly represented in that tradition, as already before the end of the 18th century "Muhammad Aslah's tazkira of the Persian-writing poets of Kashmir, written during the reign of the Mughal emperorMuhammad Shah (1131-61/1719-48), alone lists 303 poets".^[40] Late scholar fromPakistan,Pir Hassam-ud-Din Rashidi, edited, translated, and enlarged this work later, and had it published by theIqbal Academy.

The most famous of them was Muhammad Tahir Ghani (d. 1669), better known asGani Kashmiri, whose poetry was recently translated into English, for the first time, by Mufti Mudasir Farooqi and Nusrat Bazaz as 'The Captured Gazelle' in the world-renownedPenguin Classics list. Ghani influenced many generations of Persian-and Urdu writing poets in South Asia including Mir Taqi Mir, Ghalib and most importantly,Iqbal. Ghani's "forte" lies in creating delightful poetic images, usually by stating an abstract idea in the first hemistich and following it up with a concrete exemplification in the other. He also stands out for his multi-layered poems, which exploit the double meaning of words.

Another name in the field of Persian-language writers from Kashmir isShaykh Yaqub Sarfi Kashmiri (1521–1595), a 16th-centurySufi poet-philosopher who was internationally acknowledged and who had for students, amongst others, well-known religious scholarAhmad Sirhindi (more particularly, he taught himhadith)^[41][42] and Persian-language poet Mohsin Fani Kashmiri (d. 1671 or 1672) (himself the teacher of Ghani Kashmiri and author of the pivotal work ofcomparative religion, theDabestan-e Mazaheb).

Other of the well-known and influential Persian-language poets of Kashmir would include

• Habibullah Nowshehri (1556–1617)
• Mirza Dirab Big Juya (d. 1707)
• Gani Kashmiri (1630–1669)
• Mirza Beg Akmal Kamil (1645–1719)
• Muhammad Aslam Salim (d. 1718)
• Mulla Muhammad Taufiq (1765)
• Muhammed Azam Didamari (d. 1765)
• Mulla Muhammad Hamid (1848)
• Birbal Kachru Varasta (d. 1865)
• Pandit Taba Ram Turki (1776–1847), who was a celebrity as far as Central Asia.

Despite being a numerically small community, theKashmiri Pandits are influential in their contribution to Urdu literature. One important early example isDaya Shankar Kaul Nasim (1811–1845), a renowned Urdu poet of the 19th century, and hundreds of others followed his path.^[43]

Some eminent Urdu literary personalities of Kashmiri origins (from both the Valley and the diaspora) include (inchronological order):

• Mir Tafazzul Hussain Khan Kashmiri (1727–1800), originally fromKashmir,^[44][45][46] born inSialkot^[47] where his parents moved and himself based inLucknow where he served asPrime Minister (ordiwan) to theNawab of OudhAsaf-ud-Daula thanks his erudition. He was called "khan-e-allama" (the Scholarly Khan)^[48] due to his deep scholarship on many subjects but is best known today for having translatedSir Isaac Newton'sPhilosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica fromLatin intoArabic.^[49]
• Mufti Sadruddin Khan 'Azurda',^[50] 1789–1868, apart from being theGrand Mufti ofDelhi, he was also a personal friend toGhalib (whose own mother was from Kashmir)^[51] and himself a poet of note in Urdu as well as in Arabic and Persian. He also wrote atazkira (biographicalanthology of poets).
• Momin Khan Momin, 1801–1852, considered one of the three pillars of theDelhi school of Urdu poetry, withGhalib andZauq.^[52] Other fields where he was competent includedmathematics,geomancy,astrology,chess ormusic.^[53][54][55]
• Daya Shankar Kaul Nasim, 1811–1845
• Ratan Nath Dhar Sarshar, 1846–1903
• Muhammad Iqbal, 1877–1938
• Agha Hashar Kashmiri, 1879–1935 (called "the Shakespeare of Urdu" for his works as playwright)
• Brij Narayan Chakbast, 1882–1926
• Aziz Lucknawi, 1882–1935
• Khalifa Abdul Hakim, 1896-1959 (a philosopher who has the honour of writing the only book on themetaphysics of Persian mystical poetJalaluddin Rumi)^[56]
• Patras Bokhari, 1898–1958
• Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum, 1899–1978
• Muhammad Din Taseer, 1902-1950 (short-story writer, literary critic and Iqbal scholar. Father of slain Pakistan'sPunjab governorSalman Taseer and first individual from the Sub-continent to get a PhD in English Literature fromCambridge University)^[57]
• Shaikh Abdullah, 1905–1982
• Meeraji, 1912–1949
• Saadat Hasan Manto, 1912–1955
• Agha Shorish Kashmiri, 1917–1975
• Syed Akbar Jaipuri (Mujahid-E-Urdu), 1923–1998
• Razia Butt, 1924–2012
• Anwar Shemza, 1928–1985
• Hakeem Manzoor, 1937–2006, prominenturdu writer, poet and administrator.
• Obaidullah Aleem, 1939–2008
• Muhammed Amin Andrabi, 1940–2001, a scholar who belonged to theTraditionalist School ofmetaphysics, inspired by authors likeIbn Arabi,Muhammad Iqbal,Frithjof Schuon,Seyyed Hossein Nasr andHenry Corbin.^[58]
• Allama Mustafa Hussain Ansari, 1945–2006
• Abid Hassan Minto
• Muhammad Asim Butt, novelist, translator and critic.
• Muhammad Younis Butt, writer of the most popular political satire show in Pakistan,Hum Sub Umeed Se Hain
• Rasheed Amjad
• Shahid Nadeem

• Amar Nath Kak
• Chandrakanta (author)
• Omkar N. Koul

• I. K. Taimni
• M. P. Pandit, prolific writer who authored some 150 books and as many articles exposing in English the thought ofSri Aurobindo.
• Chiragh Ali, reformist Islamic scholar
• Taufiq Rafat, called the 'Ezra Pound of Pakistan'^[59] for both his innovative writings and his position as one of - if not the - greatestEnglish-language poets of Pakistan.
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
• Krishna Hutheesing
• Gopi Krishna
• Subhash Kak
• Nayantara Sahgal
• M.J. Akbar
• Hari Kunzru
• Kailas Nath Kaul
• Salman Rushdie
• Agha Shahid Ali
• Mirza Waheed
• Nitasha Kaul
• Basharat Peer
• Adeeba Riyaz
• Khalid Bashir Ahmad

• List of Kashmiri poets
• List of topics on the land and the people of Jammu and Kashmir
• Kashmir Shaivism
• Kashmiriyat

• Kaul, J. L. (1970).Kashmiri Literature (Three Special Lectures). Special Lecture Series. Vol. 31. Mysore:University of Mysore.
• Kachru, Braj B. (1981).Jan Gonda (ed.).Kashmiri literature. A History of Indian Literature. Vol. VIII, Fasc. 4. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
• Raina, Trilokinath, ed. (2002).A History of Kashmiri Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi.
• Zutshi, Chitralekha (2014). "The Kashmiri Narrative Public: Textuality, Orality, and Performance".Kashmir's Contested Pasts: Narratives, Sacred Geographies, and the Historical Imagination. Delhi: Oxford University Press. pp. 240–297.doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199450671.003.0006. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

• Culture of Kashmir
• Indian literature by language
• Kashmiri literature
• Literature by language
• Pakistani literature

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