Lalit Aditya Muktapida was the youngest son of Raja Durlabhaka (Pratapaditya) of Karkota dynasty and Rani Narendraprabha. His elder brothers were Chandrapida (Vajraditya) and Tarapida (Udayaditya). The Karkota dynasty ruled over the Kashmir valley and some parts of northern Indian sub-continent. He became the ruler after his brother Tarapida. Around this time (8th century), the Gupta Empire had ended, so this was a perfect time for him to launch conquests to expand his kingdom. He recruited Chinese mercenaries and strategists, as they their technology was way better then what they had in India. His first victory was over King Yashovarman of Kannauj, who ruled over the area of Gangetic plains. This followed by another victory over Gaur (Bengal). Then he attacked the Rashtrakutas in Deccan. But he did not establish his supremacy over there instead got huge war booty from the campaigns in Deccan and South. Then he started marching towards central Asia, as the Chinese control and Sassanian Empire in Iran had weakened over these areas. But he had to return back to Kashmir, as the Tibetans had attacked Kashmir. He tried to take help from the Chinese, but they did not do anything to help him. He had to fight the Tibetans on his own.

He was also a great administrator and far-sighted personality. Kashmir had always faced floods continuously due to the silting of Jhelum. He cleared all the silting and created canals to bring waters from very far regions. He also reclaimed the swamps and built Bunds (an embankment or causeway) for the farmers to cultivate the fields over there. It is also said that he founded several cities such as Parihaspur (Paraspore), his capital. It is 22 kms away from Srinagar. He also built a lot of temples dedicated to Vishnu, Shiva, Surya (Aditya or Sun god), as well as stupas and statues for Buddha. The biggest example of this is Martand Sun Temple, which five miles away from Anantnag in Kashmir.

All this information, I have taken from Kalhana's Rajataringini, and a little bit help from the historians. In Rajataringini, His rule mentioned to be from 724 CE to 761 CE. He was the only Hindu king who made managed to make Akhand Bharat a reality. I will write a detailed account in next book of mine, which might come out shortly.