Haracharita Chintamani is a mahakavya or great epic of the 13th century CE. It was composed in the thirty two sargas (cantos) by Rajanaka Jayaratha – as per some texts the name is Jayadratha. Haracharita Chintamani, as the name itself suggests, retells many legends about Shiva and his manifestations.
Rajanaka Jayadratha was the son of Srngararatha and great-grandson of the brother of Sivaratha, minister of King Uccala of Kashmir (1101 – 11 CE).
The stories and legends in Haracharita Chintamani related to several sacred places in Kashmir. The local names recorded by Rajanaka Jayaratha agree closely with those mentioned by Kalhana, in his Rajatarangini, indicating that the names used by Kalhana were current during that period.
The plain and authentic narration in Haracharita Chintamani of the different local legends is very valuable in identifying sacred places in the Kashmir region referred to in Nilamata Purana.
Some of the important legends described in this work are the manifestation of Shiva as a fiery linga, swallowing of the deadly poison that emerged from the milky ocean as it was being churned, manifestation of the Bhagavan Shiva in his hermaphoridite form, favor extended to Daksha, Upamanyu, Shukra and Jimutavahana manifestations as Pingaleshwara and Kapeshwara, origin of Ganesha, the descent of Ganga and the story relating to Shivratri.
The legend of Kapeshwara, described in the fourteenth sarga of this work, has become very popular.