Gonanda dynasty (II)

The Second Gonanda dynasty, or Restored Gonanda dynasty, was according to the Medieval author Kalhana, the last dynasty of Gonanda line of rulers of Kashmir. According to Kalhana's "Rajatarangini", this dynasty was followed by the Karkoṭa dynasty of Kashmir.
Description.
According to Kalhana's third book of the "Rajatarangini", the last Gonanda dynasty of Kashmir ruled for about 590 years, until the establishment of the Karkota dynasty. However the chronology is widely deemed to be faulty and on cross-vetting with coins and inscriptions from outside Kashmir, the names of some of the Gonanda rulers are found to roughly correspond with the Alchon Huns, who ruled hundreds of years later than the time-frame assigned by Kalhana. In Kalhana's narrative, names of some rulers are reshuffled and/or repeated multiple times across the first and third book, some stories are retrofitted and recycled, some reigns are impossibly long, and some rulers are telescoped into the past. 
According to a roughly literal reading of the "Rajatarangini", the first ruler of the succeeding Karkota dynasty, named Durlabhavardhana, belonged to a low caste and was employed by Baladitya, the last ruler of the Gonanda dynasty. Baladitya (apparently) had no male heir but a daughter Anaṅgalekhā and did not wish his territory to be annexed by in-laws. To avert such a possibility he married her to Durlabhavardhana, who had no royal lineage. However, after Baladitya's death, Durlabhavardhana ascended to the throne with help from a minister, and claimed descent from the mythical Naga king Karkotaka, establishing the Karkota Dynasty. This view is accepted by Witzel and Devika Rangachari.
The "Rajatarangini" also associates these kings with the Indian ruler "Harsha", probably Harshavardhana.
Coinage.
Several coins have been found in the region of Kashmir and around, which bear names consistent with the names of several of the Gonanda rulers listed by Kalhana: "Śrī Meghamah" (probably king Meghavahana of the "Rajatarangini"), "Śrī Pravarasenah" (King Pravarasena), "Śrī Tuysīna" (probably King Tunjina), and "Śrī Toramaņa" (the Kashmir ruler named Toramana). "Śrī Toramaņa" has the same name as the Alchon Hun ruler Toramana, but would be a different, later, ruler. These coins are quite rare, made of copper, silver, or debased gold, and generally follow Kushan and Kidarite designs.
The coins are beautifully minted, and are comparable in quality to the best coins of the Kushans or the Guptas. The style is comparable to the style of the sculptures found in Kashmir and dated to the 6th-9th centuries CE.
The coins show on the obverse a standing Shiva figures, variously accompanied by animals or "Gana" attendants, with the name of the king in the Brahmi script. On the reverse, the Goddess Ardoxsho or Sri Lakshmi appears seated, with a Kidara monogram to left, and "Jaya" in Brahmi to right. "Kidara" is the name of another Hunnic ruler, founder of the Kidarites, which further reinforces the connection of the Gonandas with the Hunas.
Late Kushan and Kidarite coins were also found in the hoards containing the Gonanda coins, especially coins of the late Kushan Empire ruler Shaka.
Overall, the coinage suggests that these rulers of Kashmir were descendants of the Huna kings, who had ruled northwestern India from the 4th to the 6th century CE.
Various degraded imitations of these coins were made, until the rule of the Kashmiri King Avanti Varman (855-883 CE).