Aryan migration to Assam

    The Aryan wave extended to Kamarupa directly from Videha (Mithila) and Magadha long before Lower Bengal became either habitable or fit for Aryan occupation. Kamarupa was therefore Aryanized long before central and lower Bengal.¹

    The Magadha empire was founded by Chandra Gupta in the fourth century B.C. About this time, or after, the whole of northern Bengal, to the south of the Jalpaiguri district and west of the Trisrota, was absorbed in the Maurya empire together with the Tamralipti region in the south west. The Mauryan empire of Asoka undoubtedly included northern Bengal between the Teesta (Karatoya) and the Kosi, for within this area stupas erected by Asoka were found by Yuan Chwang in the seventh century A. D. This area continued to be included in the Magadha empire at least till the sixth century A.D. During the rule of the Imperial Gupta's this stretch was known as Pundravardhana. To the east and north of Pundravardhana, Kamarupa continued as an independent kingdom ruled over by an indigenous line of kings who traced descent from rulers Naraka of Mithila and his descendents Bhagadatta and Vajradatta who were heroes mentioned in the epics. From epigraphic records, so far brought to light, it is possible to trace an almost unbroken genealogy of these kings from about the middle of the fourth century A.D down to the twelfth century or a period of nearly nine hundred years. Very few of the old Hindu kingdoms in India can present such unique genealogical records covering such a long period.

 

Inscriptions

    No less than twelve copperplate inscriptions, inscribed seals and rock-inscriptions recorded by various kings of Kamarupa during this period have been discovered and deciphered. Epigraphic records left by the famous Gupta emperor Samudra Gupta, Yasodharman, king of Malwa, who was a famous conqueror, Adityasena, who belonged to the line of "Later Gupta's of Magadha", Jayadeva, a well-known king of Nepal and some of the Pala kings and Sena kings of Bengal provide useful material for the history of Kamarupa during this period. The Raghuvaugsa of Kalidasa, the very valuable accounts of the Chinese writers, the Harsha-Charita of Banabhatta, the Raja-tarangini of Kahlan and the translations from Tibetan records, made available, also throw valuable light. The local epigraphic records constitute, however the most important foundation;on on which a reliable frame-work of history can be based. These can be enumerated as follows in chronological order:-

• The Nidhanpur copper-plate inscription of Bhaskar Varman (Circa 610 A.D.) discovered and deciphered by Pandit Padmanath Bhattacharya Vidya Vinod and published in Epigraphia Indica, Vols XII and XIX. One plate of this inscription is still missing.

• The Nalanda clay-seal of Bhaskar Varman,(circa 643 A.D.) deciphered by Mr. K. N. Dikshit and published in the journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, Vol. VI (1920).

• The Hayungthal copper-plate inscription of Harjara-Varman (circa 825 A.D.) discovered and deciphered by Pandit Padmanath Bhattacharya Vidya Vinod and published by him in his "Kamarupa Vansavali". Only the middle plate of this inscription has been discovered.

• The rock-inscription of Harjara-Varman near Tezpur (dated 510 Gupta era equivalent to 829 A.D.) deciphered by M. M. Pandit Hariprasad Shastri and published in the Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, December 1917.

• The Tezpur copper-plate inscription of Vanamala-Varman (circa 854 A. D.) deciphered by Pandit Kamala Kanta and published in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol. IX,1840.

• The Nagaon copper-plate inscription of Bala Varman III (circa 883 A.D.) originally deciphered by the late M. M. Pandit Dhireswara Bhattacharya Kaviratna and published in the `Assam. It was subsequently re-deciphered by Rudolf Hoernle and published in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (No. i of 1897).

• The Bargaon copper-plate inscription of Ratna Pala (circa 1025 A. D.) deciphered by Hoernle and published in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal (Part I of 1888).

• The Sualkuchi copper-plate inscription of Ratna Pala (circa 1026 A.D.) deciphered by Hoernle and published in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,(part I of 1898).

• The Guwahati copper-plate inscription of Indra Pala (circa 1038 A.D.) deciphered by Hoernle and published in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal(part I of 1897).

• The Guakuchi copper-plate inscription of Indra Pala (circa 1051 A.D.) deciphered by Pandit Padmanath Bhattacharya Vidya Vinod and published by him in his "Kamarupa Vansanavali".

• The first copper-plate inscription of Dharma Pala (circa 1092 A.D.) collected by the late Hem Chandra Gosain, deciphered by Pandit Padmanath Bhattacharya Vidya Vinod and published in his "Kamarupa Vansanavali".

• The second or Puspabhada copper-plate inscription of Dharma Pala (circa 1110 A.D.) deciphered by the late Hem Chandra Gossain and published by Pandit Vidya Vinod in his "Kamarupa Vansanavali".

• The rock-inscription in North Guwahati dated 1127 Saka equivalent to 1205-06 A. D. relating to the defeat of Mahammad-i-Bukhityar in Kamarupa. Col. Gordon read a paper on this inscription in 1918. A photograph of this inscription also appears in Pandit Vidya Vinod's "Kamarupa Vansavali". This inscription was referred to in paper on the "Earlier Muhammadan invasions of Kamarupa" read in the anniversary meeting of the Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti during 1931. General Jenkins collected and forwarded to the Asiatic Society of Bengal the inscription of Vanamala and another said to have been recorded by Dharma Pala in the thirty sixth year of his reign. The Society published the text of the Vanamala inscription but the one said to have been recorded by Dharma Pala was not published at all and it is not traceable now. Probably it was one of the Dharma Pala inscriptions now published by Pandit Vidya Vinod. All the inscriptions deciphered by Dr. Hoerale were sent to him by Sir Edward Gait who was then Secretary to the Chief Commissioner of Assam and was collecting materials for his "History of Assam" which was actually published.
  

 

Reference material

    The spread of Aryan culture into the northeastern regions of ancient India, particularly modern-day Assam and its surrounding areas, is documented in several ancient texts, including the Satapatha Brahmana, Aitareya Brahmana, Gopatha Brahmana, and Sankhyayana Grihasamgraha. Additionally, references in the commentaries on Kautilya’s Arthashastra provide evidence of economic interactions with this region during the third century BCE. These texts collectively highlight the gradual expansion of Aryan cultural, religious, and economic influence eastward, reaching areas such as the Brahmaputra Valley and regions beyond the Karatoya River.

 

Satapatha Brahmana

    The Satapatha Brahmana, a significant Vedic text associated with the Shukla Yajurveda, alludes to the eastward expansion of Aryan culture beyond the Karatoya River, a major river in present-day northern West Bengal and Bangladesh. This text, dated approximately to the first millennium BCE, suggests that Aryan cultural practices, including Vedic rituals and societal norms, were being adopted or adapted in regions east of the traditional Aryan heartland in the Gangetic plains. The mention of the Karatoya River as a geographical marker indicates that the cultural influence of the Aryans extended into what is now eastern India and possibly parts of modern Assam, signifying a significant eastward movement of Vedic traditions.⁴

Aitareya Brahmana

    The Aitareya Brahmana, part of the Rigveda and dated to around the 8th–6th centuries BCE, references the spread of Aryan culture into the prehistoric Brahmaputra Valley. This region, encompassing modern Assam and parts of northeastern India, was likely a frontier area during the Vedic period. The text suggests that Aryan settlers or cultural practices had penetrated this fertile valley, known for its rich biodiversity and strategic location. The Brahmaputra Valley’s integration into the Aryan cultural sphere likely involved the adoption of Vedic rituals, social structures, and linguistic elements, contributing to the region’s gradual Aryanization.

Gopatha Brahmana

    The Gopatha Brahmana, associated with the Atharvaveda, provides insight into the etymology of the term Kamarupa, a historical name for a region in ancient Assam. The text narrates the origin of the name Kamarupa, linking it to mythological or cultural traditions. Kamarupa (literally, "form of desire") is traditionally associated with the region around modern Guwahati in Assam, which became a prominent cultural and political center in later periods. The reference in the Gopatha Brahmana underscores the integration of this region into the broader Aryan cultural framework, possibly through the establishment of Vedic settlements or interactions with local populations.⁴

Sankhyayana Grihasamgraha

    The Sankhyayana Grihasamgraha, another Vedic text, refers to the region of Pragjyotisha as the "land of sunrise." Pragjyotisha, often identified with modern Assam, is depicted as a significant eastern territory in ancient Indian literature. The epithet "land of sunrise" likely reflects its geographical position in the far east of the Indian subcontinent, where the sun rises earliest. This reference highlights the region’s recognition within the Vedic cultural and geographical imagination, suggesting that Pragjyotisha was viewed as a distinct yet connected part of the Aryan world, possibly serving as a cultural and economic hub.⁵

Economic Interactions in Kautilya’s Arthashastra

    Commentaries on Kautilya’s Arthashastra, a seminal treatise on statecraft and economics from the third century BCE, mention the import of economic goods from Sonkuriha (also referred to as Suvarnakundya), a village located in the present-day Nalbari district of Assam. The reference to Sonkuriha indicates that this region was integrated into the broader economic networks of ancient India by the Mauryan period. Goods from Sonkuriha likely included valuable commodities such as textiles, spices, or forest products, which were traded across the subcontinent. This economic connectivity suggests that the northeastern regions were not isolated but actively participated in the commercial and cultural exchanges of the time, further facilitated by their incorporation into the Aryan socio-economic framework.7

Historical and Cultural Context

    The references in these texts collectively illustrate the gradual expansion of Aryan culture into the northeastern regions of India. This process likely involved a combination of migration, cultural assimilation, and economic integration. The Karatoya River and Brahmaputra Valley served as key geographical markers, while names like Kamarupa and Pragjyotisha became synonymous with the region’s cultural and historical identity. The economic interactions noted in the Arthashastra further highlight the region’s role in ancient India’s trade networks, connecting local economies with the broader Mauryan empire.

    The spread of Aryan culture leading to a syncretic cultural landscape. Vedic rituals, Sanskrit-based nomenclature, and economic exchanges, shaping the historical development of northeastern India. These textual references provide valuable insights into the dynamics of cultural and economic expansion in ancient India, underscoring the significance of the northeastern regions in the broader narrative of Indian civilization.

 

Sources

1. Barua, Kanak Lal (1933), Early History of Kamarupa, pp. I The Aryan wave extended to Kamarupa directly from Videha and Magadha long before Lower Bengal became either habitable or fit for Aryan occupation. Kamarupa was therefore Aryanized long before central and lower Bengal.
2. Sharma, Naliniranjan (1994), The Kāmarūpa School of Dharmaśāstra, Punthi Pustak, p.3 Moreover, the discovery of the copper plate-inscriptions issued by different kings of ancient Assam (Kamarupa) at different times brings to light the Aryan colour of the cultural heritage of Assam.
3. Barua, B.M (1947), The Indian Historical Quarterly - Volumes 23-24, Calcutta Oriental Press, p. 209 The above suggestion, that the first Indo-Aryan rule favourable to Brahmanism was founded in Kamarupa with Pusyavarman as the first ruler under Samudragupta received its support from these two facts
4. Niśipada Caudhurī (1985), Historical archaeology of central Assam, B.R. Publishing Corporation, p.2, ISBN 9780865907126, 0865907129
   
5. Pathak, Guptajit (2008), Assam's history and its graphics, Mittal Publications, p. 39, ISBN 9788183242516, 8183242510
   
6. Niśipada Caudhurī (1985), Historical archaeology of central Assam, B.R. Publishing Corporation, p.26, ISBN 9780865907126, 0865907129 Assam's early contact with Aryan India is revealed by the reference in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Kautilya's reference to Aryanized place-names in Kamarupa shows that during the Mauryan period, an Aryan wave entered the land.
7. Barua, Prafulla Chandra (1965), Fundamentals of Assamese culture, The Author, p. 20. Commentators of Kautilya's Arthashastra of third century B.C. viz. Bhattaswami and Kulluka Bhatta make special reference to the best specimens of Ksauma, Dukula and Patrorņa standing for pāt , mugā and edi from Kamarupa . An āgurān of śiśupāt could be concealed in ones palm. Modern Sonkuriha, a village in Uporborbhag mouza of Nalbari circle in Kamrup district has been identified with Suvarnakudya of the ancient times (Arthashastra).

Bhattadeva

Bhattadeva (1558-1638) (Baikunthanatha Bhagavata Bhattacharya) was the renowned Sanskrit scholar and father of Assamese prose. 

Early life

Bhattadeva was born to Chandra Bharati and Tara Devi in a Brahmin family of Bheragaon/Bheragram in Barpeta of Kamrup.1 After finishing his education he became a disciple of Damodaradeva and succeeded him as the head of Patbausi Satra at Barpeta. He established the Vyasakuchi Satra some time later where he died. He is best known for Katha Bhagavat and Katha Gita, though some minor works like Saranamalika and Prasangamala are also ascribed to him.

Works

Though Bhaktiratnakar-Katha, the Kamrupi1 translation of Sankar Deva's Sanskrit composition Bhaktiratnakar by Gopala Charana Dvija preceded the works of Bhattadeva. Bhattadeva's prose had an influence in the development of a high and dignified style. Bhattadeva's and Gopala Charana Dvija's 16th century works are considered to be the earliest examples of prose in Indian languages. Bhattadeva's erudition in Sanskrit grammar and literature, and his command over the Bhagavata earned him the title of Bhagavata Bhattacharya.

Bhattadeva began translating the Sanskrit Bhagavata into Kamrupi prose at the bidding of Damodaradeva, who wanted it to be accessible to the common man. He rendered Katha Bhagavata in a discursive style that is dignified and balanced^. He maintains the same sense of dialogue in the Katha Gita. Though he uses short sentences, popular vocabulary and the expressive cadence of the colloquial, he uses Sanskrit vocables heavily and his language is an elevated one. After completing the Bhagavata and the Gita, he rendered the Bhaktiratnavali into elegant prose. He also compiled a book of devotional verses in Sanskrit gleaned from the Upanishads, Puranas and Samhitas illustrating all the elements of Bhakti. The work, Bhakti-Viveka reveals extensive knowledge and erudition of Bhattadeva, from the vedic to the puranic literature. Bhattadeva's contributions are not confined to prose literature, he wrote poetry also.

Sources

1. Medhi, Kaliram (1936), Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language, Publication Board, Assam, p.78 Bhatta Deva stood in the same relation to Sri Damodar Deva, as Madhava Deva  to Sri Sankara Deva. He maybe truly styled the father of Assamese prose. He was a contemporary of Madhava deva and was born in Bheragaon in the Barpeta sub-division. The most important of his works are the Katha Bhagavata and Katha Gita
2. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, Department of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Gauhati, p.6 Rama Sarasvati, Ananta Kandali, Sridhara Kandali, Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, Dvija Kalapacandra and Bhattadeva, the father of Assamese prose, all hailed from the present district of Kamrup. In the writings of the early Assamese writers mentioned above reflections of the Kamrupi dialect are evident.

Kamrupi literature

    ''Kamrupi literature'' is the literature written in the Kamrupi language. The Kamrupi is ancient eastern most Indo-European language which literature flourished from first millennium A.D. This article primarily deals with some of the literature from Kamarupa and adjoining areas written in Kamrupi.

    Yuan Chwang, in the seventh century A.D. found that the dialect of Kamarupa differed only a little from that of Magadha or mid India. The Kamrupi was originally a variety of eastern Maithili and it was no doubt the spoken Aryan language throughout the kingdom which then included the whole of the Brahmaputra valley and the whole of northern Bengal with the addition of the Purnea district of Bihar. It is not therefore at all strange that the language of the Buddhist dohas, composed in Kamarupa during the tenth and the eleventh centuries, should be a mixed Maithili-Kamrupi language bearing close resemblance to modern Assamese language, the direct offspring of the Old Kamrupi language. Perhaps these dohas were composed in a language which could be easily understood throughout Eastern India.

    The earliest Kamrupi literature was unwritten and consisted of nursery songs, pastoral ballads sung by cowherds, songs of boatmen, songs describing the twelve months, songs for propitiation of the goddess of small-pox (Sitala) and wedding songs. Naturally the composition and language of these songs and ballads differed somewhat from district to district. Those collected and published by the University of Calcutta in the first volume of the work known as "Asamiya Sahityar Chaneki" were not necessarily the ones current throughout the kingdom of Kamarupa. Grierson published, in the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, a version of the "Kanya Baromahi Geet" current in northern Bengal towards the end of the last century. This very song is still current in Assam in a somewhat varied form. It is quite possible that when northern Bengal was a part of Kamarupa the same version of the song was current throughout Kamrup, Goalpara and Rangpur. The mantras or incantations uttered to exorcise ghosts, to cure snake-bites or to perform feats of sorcery as well as the wise sayings or aphorisms ascribed to Daka Purusha belong to this category of unwritten literature. The late Pundit Hem Chandra Goswami thought that the aphorisms of Dak were first reduced to writing about 800 A.D. Some of these aphorisms refer to trading on the Arracan coast when the sea stretched from the southern slopes of the Garo Hills. It can therefore easily assign Daka to a very early period. He belonged to the village of Lehi-Dangara in the Barpeta district.

    The earliest written puthis in the Kamrupi language date from about the second quarter of the fourteenth century. During this period flourished two poets, viz, Hema Saraswati and Haribar Bipra. Hema Saraswati composed the "Prahlad Charitra" based on the Vamana Purana while Haribar Bipra translated the Aswamedha Parva of the Mababharata. Kaviratna was the author of the "Jayadratha Vadha". His home was at Sila, a village within the Barpeta district. The writings of all these three poets are still extant. To a some what later period belonged Madhava Kandali and Rudra Kandali. The former versified portions of the Ramayana and the latter composed, in Kamrupi verse, portions of the Mahabharata. Sankara Deva who was born in 1449 A.D. refers to Madhava Kandali as one of the reputed poets belonging to an earlier age. It may therefore place both Madhava Kandali and Rudra Kandali towards the end of the fourteenth century. In his Ramayana, Madhava Kandali himself states that his other name was Kaviraj-Kandali and that though he could easily compose verses in Sanskrit he composed the Ramayana in local verse for the benefit of the people at large. Madhava Kandali wrote also another poem entitled "Devajit." 

    Sixteenth century, witnessed a great development of the vernacular literature of Kamarupa. The Yogini Tantra, a well-known Sanskrit work which gives the boundaries of the kingdom of Kamarupa as it existed during the rule of the Pala kings probably written in Kamarupa during the first pact of the sixteenth century. To this period it must also assign the compilation of the Behula Upakhyana by Durgabar Kayastha, a native of Kamakhya.
The story of Behula and Chand Sadagar appears to be common to both Bengal and Kamarupa. The ballads connected with this story must have been current in western Kamarupa and the rest of northern Bengal long before the verses were reduced to writing by Sukavi Naravan probably in the thirteenth century and by Durgabar in the early part of the sixteenth century. The ballads of Sukavi Naravan's composition are still sung in Kamrup and they are known as Suk Nanis or Suk-Narayanis to this day. Sukavi Narayan was very likely a poet of Kamarupa who described the sea-voyages of a Kamrupi trader named Chand Sadagar whose home was in Chaygaon in modern Kamrup, on the south bank of the Brahmaputra but, strangely enough, both Sukavi Narayan and Chand Sadagar have been claimed as natives of Bengal. The songs of Durgabar are still known as Durgabari.

    Pandit Siddhanta-Vagisha compiled in Sanskrit, the eighteen volumes of a work on smriti known as the Kaumudi. Another Pandit wrote a more authoritative work in smriti known as Smriti-Sagara in four volumes. The famous Bengali smarta Pundit Raghunandan mentioned this work as the "Kamaruvi nibandha". This valuable work has now disappeared. Sridhara compiled a treatise on astronomy while Purusottama Vidyavagish compiled a Sanskrit grammar known as Ratnamala which is still regarded as a standard work. This period marks the Vaishnava period of vernacular literature. Among the reputed writers of this period were Sankara Deva, Madhava Deva, Rama Saraswati, Ananta Kandali, Chandra Bharati, Sridhara Kandali, Pittimbar Dvija, Gopala Misra, Chandrachura Aditya, Vishnu Bharati, Ramcharan Thakur, Krishnananda Dvija, Damodara Dasa, Ratnakara Misra, Ramananda Dvija, Bhusana Dvija, Norottama Thakur, Gopinath Pathak, Ramrai Dasa, and Sriram Jadumani. Nearly' all mentioned writers composed verses but Bhatta Deva wrote in prose. His "Katha Bhagavata" and the "Katha Geeta" constitute perhaps the earliest vernacular prose composition in Kamarupa. Sankar Deva was a prolific writer in vernacular verse and a poet of high order. His most popular works were the Kirtan" and the Dasam meant to popularize his own tenet. Sankar Deva also wrote a Sanskrit work eititled Bhakti Ratnakara. The two most important works of Madhava Deva were the Nama Ghosa and the Bhakti-Ratnavali.

    There is much controversy as to the authorship and date of a work known as Dipiki Chanda. Internal evidence points to the compilation of the work after the death of Sankara Deva. The author is said to have been a king called Purusottama Gajapati. Several local writers have attempted to locate him somewhere in Assam but all have failed to notice the fact that Purusottama Gajapati was a well-known powerful king of Orissa who ruled from 1476 to 1497 A.D. and whose kingdom, or rather empire, extended from the Hugli district in modern Bengal as far as the Guntur district of the Madras Presidency. He was the son of Kapilendra Gajapati and the father of Pratapa Rudra, the last powerful Gajapati who ruled from 1497 to 1541 A. D. and who was a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya. Purusottama Gajapati was a devout Vaisnava and he may have written the work known as Dipika Chanda in order to ridicule the later Buddhist cult and the Tantrik system. There was close connection between Kamarupa and Orissa in the sixteenth century on account of the existence, in the latter country, of the famous temple of Jagannatha at Puri. It is possible that an local Vaisnava came across the book and translated it into vernacular verse. The title Gajapati could not have been assumed by an ordinary king. It was assumed by Kapilendra, the father of Purusottama, who possessed, according to the Muslim account Burhan-i-maasir, two hundred thousand war elephants.

    The late M. M. Pandit Haraprasad Shastri was presented by the staff of the Nepal Durbar Library with copies of two works one of which was the Dakarnava. Pandit Sastri says that this work, though almost entirely written in Sanskrit, contains some verses in a curious form of Prakrit. He writes:

"I was anxious to get a copy of the work because in Bengal there are numerous agricultural sayings known as Dakar Vachana in an old form of language. I am enquiring all my life as to who this Daka was, without getting any satisfactory explanation from any quarter. This work may give a clue to the meaning. It says Daka is Vireswara and is the masculine of Dakini, mischievous imp, much dreaded by the credulous people of Bengal. Now we know that Vira is a votary of the left-handed worship. So this Daka of our proverbs was probably a saint of the left-handed form of worship. I have examined the verses in the curious dialect in the work but it will require a more careful examination than I can give at present".(Report on the search of Sanskrit Manuscripts 1895 to 1900).

    It is rathar strange that a well-informed scholar like Pandit H. P. Shastri could not had out that Daka was a native of Kamarupa and that the "old form of language" met by him was nothing else than old Kamrupi. As a matter of fact however, the Dakarnava, was not related with Daka Purush the famous author of proverb. It is probably a Tantrik work dealing with the propitiation of Daks and Dakinis (male and female evil spirit).

    The Assam Government collection of Sanskrit and Kamrupi manuscripts now deposited in the library of the Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti, includes quite a good number of works. These are mostly works on astronomy, astrology, mathematics, proverbs, riddles, mantras, medicine, history or traditions and also tantras. Among the Sanskrit works the most note-worthy are Abhuta Sara book dealing with the propitiatory rites for ascertaining mischief likely to be caused by the occurrence of strange events, the Apaduddhdra Mantra, a tantrik work, the Astabargi Dasa, an astrological work, the Graha Vija Jnana an astronomical work, Graha Aryda, a treatise on eclipses, the Graha Puja Vidhi, the Graha Stava and the Graha Snana Mantra, all works on planetary worship and the Hastamuhtavali. a treatise on the art of dancing. The author of the last named book was one Subhankara Kavi. A copy of this work was recovered by Pandit H. P. Sastri from Nepal and another was found in Mithila. This also indicates close cultural intercourse between the adjacent kingdoms of Kamarupa, Mithila and Nepal in the old days.

    The Yuddha Jayanava Dasa, Jyotisha Chakra, Jataka Chandrika, Kerali, Jyotisha Darpan, Jyotisha Ratnamala and the Jyotisha Muktavali are all astrological works pertaining to preparation of horoscopes. The Mantra Prakasa and the Mandaladhyaya are Tantrik works. The Samudrika is a treatise on palmistry. The Shatachakra by Purnananda Paramahamsa is also a Tantrik work dealing with astral physiology. Besides the above there are numerous works on Hindu religion and religious rites based upon the Smrita Sastras. Of the works in the vernacular language of Kamarupa the most important are Bhamvati, an astrological work by Kavirajt Chakravarti, the Ghora Nidana, a treatise on horse and treatment of equine diseases, Gukarati, a collection of mantras to ward off charms practised by Tantrik Buddhists who defy the authority of the Vedas, the Hara-Gauri Sambada, an important book which, like the Yogini Tantra, gives, in the guise of prophesies, the history of ancient Kamarupa, the Jyotish Churamani by Churamani Kayastha, a work on Arithemetic and land-Surveying, the Kamratna Tantra," an Kamrupi translation of a Tantrik work of that name ascribed to Gorakshanath, a celebrated Buddhist Siddha who flourished in the fourteenth century and the Kitabata Manjari by Bakul Kayastha written in Saka 1356 equivalent to 1434 A.D. This last named work is a poetical treatise on arithmetic, Surveying and book-keeping. The book teaches how accounts are to be kept under different heads and how stores belonging to the royal treasury are to be classified and entered into a stock-book. The bhandaragaradhikara of the Kamarupa kings mentioned in the Nidhanpur inscription were generally Kayasthas who were trained in book-keeping and accounts. Bakul Kayastha was the greatest mathematician of his time in Kamarupa. Suryahari Doibogna, the author of the Darrang Raj Vamsavali, wrongly placed him a century later making him translator of the famous arithmetical book of Lilavati, the well-known lady mathmatician. Another remarkable work on erotics is a collection of mantras used to secure the love of young damsels. There are several books containing mantras for the cure of fever, snake-bite, small-pox etc.

    It will appear from the above that the manuscripts collected represent literary activities covering a very wide range of subjects. Works dealing with astronomy and astrology are numerous. The conclusion that can be drawn is that Pragjyotisha, as its name implies, was, from the ancient times, a noted seat of learning in these two subjects and that the temple of the nine planets on the Navagraha hill near Guwahati was meant not merely for planetary worship but also, perhaps, as an observatory. The Tantrik works collected support the fact that Kamarupa was a stronghold of Tantrik Buddhism between the eighth and the fifteenth centuries. In Bengal and Bihar the Muslim conquerors, shocked by the debased practices of the Sahajia panthis, killed a good number of Kapalikas and burnt their books found in Odantapuri. Many of them escaped to Nepal and Tibet. In Kamarupa they continued to practise their rites undisturbed till the rise of Sankara Deva in the fifteenth century who roused public opinion in Assam against Tantrikism to such an extent that the followers of the cult were compelled to abandon most of their revolting rites preciously practised openly. The small number of Tantrik works collected is due to the fact that the Tantriks scrupulously observed the injunction of their preceptors to conceal their books, "Kula Pustakani Gopayet". It was with a great deal of persuasion that the owner of the manuscript entitled Kamaratna Tantra, mentioned above, was induced to hand it over to the Government collection. Further, after the spread of the Vaisnava cult of Sri Sankara Deva far and wide, Tantrikism fell into disrepute and Tantrik works were therefore probably destroyed in large numbers. A Tantrik work called Deva Damara was found by Pandit H. P. Shastri in Mymensing now in Bangladesh. The mantras of this work, meant to propitiate the 24 classes of demigods are in Kamrupi. This is not strange as Mymensing was always within Kamarupa.

Kamrupi Dholiya

Kamrupi Dholiya are expert professional drummers from undivided Kamrup district. Though associated with playing dhols or drums, are too known for mixing acting and acrobatic skills with same. Spontaneity of expressions and quickness of mind and feet were the hallmarks of Kamrupi Dholiya's. Drumming is accompanied by songs and acting skills.

Kamrupi crafts

Kamrupi crafts are traditional crafts from Kamrup. Brass and Bell Metal products of Kamrup are famous for their beauty and strength of form and utility. Brass is an important cottage industry with highest concentration in Hajo while Sarthebari is well known for its bell metal craft. The principal items of brass are the kalah (water pot), sarai (a platter or tray mounted on a base), kahi (dish), bati (bowl), lota (water pot with a long neck) and tal (cymbals). Gold, silver and copper too have formed part of traditional metalcraft in Kamrup, and the State Museum in Guwahati has a rich collection of items made of these metals. Gold is generally used in ornaments.