ABSTRACT
The strong and positive allegiance that was engendered by popular religious beliefs and practices for a number of ruling dynasties, has rightly come to be seen as one of the basic issues towards understanding the nature of the state in the history of medieval Kashmir. From early times, along with other factors, religion enabled rulers in Kashmir to uphold the view that they were the sovereign rulers of the region. In order to give legitimacy to their dominion and control over the entire stretch of Kashmir, each of the Shahmir Sultans depended not only on the nature of their relations with the local political elites such as the Tantrins, Lavanyas, Magres, Rainas, Dammaras but also on Islam and its preachers. This chapter focuses on the central function of the state in medieval Kashmir in relation to surplus produce and perpetuation of state dominance through heavy dependence on both Brahmanism and Islam.
