"Kamrup" in national anthem of Bharat (India)

Was the word ‘‘Kamrup’’ included originally in the national anthem ''Jana Gana Mana'' composed by Rabrindranath Tagore? Was the word ‘‘Kamrup’’ deleted when the song was adopted as our national anthem? This controversy has been raging since when India became a Republic on January 26, 1950. AGP MLAs Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Phani Bhusan Choudhury raised the issue in the State Assembly. 

‘‘If the word ‘Kamrup’ was included in the original version of our national anthem, the Assam Assembly should take a resolution to include the word in the anthem,’’ said Choudhury. Choudhury pointed to a news item published in The Times of India on January 26, 1950 in which the notation (saralipi) of Jana Gana Mana was given, according to which the word ‘‘Kamrup’’ was present in the anthem in original. The Times of India had reprinted its issue of January 26, 1950 on January 26, 1997 as a supplement on the occasion of India’s 50th anniversary year of its Independence. ‘‘When, however, Tagore’s composition was adopted as national anthem, the word ‘Kamrup’ was replaced by the word ‘Sindhu’. Now the issue is that if the word ‘Kamrup’ was there in the original song, the Assam Assembly should take a resolution for the inclusion of the word in the anthem,’’ said Choudhury. He was supported by BJP MLA Monoranjan Das.

Arya

Ārya  is self designation, of ancient people from Aryavarta. This tribe speaks Vedic Sanskrit and Classical Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit in later periods.

Etymology

Arya is Sanskrit word which means "noble".

Aryavarta

The term Aryavarta means "land or abode of Aryas". Arya's are chariot riding people, advancing from lands much further north, to Aryavarta. Before reaching Aryavarta, they lay siege to and conquer the forts of another tribe. This forts are defences of indigenous people. It is surmise that Arya advancement lead to sudden disappearance of Indus Valley Civilisation.

Aryas and indigenous people

There is sharp social divisions between Aryas and indigenous people, due to cultural and religious differences. This lead to development of system of Varna's, akin to classes.

Ananta Kandali

''Ananta Kandali'' (1540–80), was Kamrupi Brahmin poet from Hajo, Kamarupa or current Kamrup district. His father, Ratna Pathaka, was a renowned scholar and expounder of the Bhagavata at the Madhava temple. Ananta Kandali's real name was Haricarana, but he is popularly known by his scholastic title `Ananta Kandali'.
A prolific writer, he gained many a literary distinction and acquired titles like `Ananta Kandali'. He became a disciple of Sankaradeva and attracted towards Vaisnava cult.

Works

His initial works consist of translation of chapters of Bk. VI and the latter part of Bk. II, covering 41 chapters of the Bhagavata Purana. His poetical works are Mahiravana Vadha (describing how Hanuman killed Mahiravana), who had abducted Rama and Lakshmana to offer them to the goddess Candi (this work was written with the pseudonym of Sricandra Bharati), Harihara Yuddha, Vrttrasura Vadha (on the killing of the demon Vrttrasura; it is based on the Bk. VI of the Bhagavata), Bharata-savitri, Jiva-stuti and Kumara-harana. The last poem narrates the romantic episode of Usa and Aniruddha, and the poet's fame rests chiefly on this work; in popularity Kumara Harana stands on a par with Sankaradeva's poem Rukmini Harana.

The poet's Sahasra Nama Vrttanta finds a prominent place in the Krtana. He also made metrical rendering into Kamrupi of the Bks. IV, V, VI, IX, and a section of Bk. X of the Bhagavata purana, already referred to. The translation of the Bhagavata is not wholly faithful to the original text; minor changes have been made here and there: for example, in Bk. VI, he explains fully the story of Dadhici, whereas in the original it has been only simply alluded to; in Bk. X, the poet describes the marriage of Revati and Balarama also; in the Parijata-harana and Usa-harana episodes, the poet follows Harivamnsa more than the Bhagavata; in the Rajasaya episode, he freely introduces descriptions from the Mahabharata.

He also composed a concise Ramayana full of Vaisnavite bias, as also a drama, entitled Sitar Patala pravesa, based on the Ramayana. In his version of the Ramayana, he tried to metamorphose the version of Madhava Kandali by identifying Rama with Vishnu and Krishna. Ananta Kandali was competent to write verse in Sanskrit, yet he decided to write it in the spoken language so that non-Brahmins and women could comprehend and appreciate his composition.

Cultural Development of Kamrup Kingdom

Kamarupa was most powerful and formidable kingdom in North East India ruling by Aryan rulers of Varman and Pala line from its capital in Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya in Western Assam and rulers of Mlechchha lines from its capital in Haruppeswara in central Assam. From its capitals, its culture and influence grown to nook and corner of the region.

Sources of information

With Jaya Pala, who was probably the son or grandson of Dharma Pala, the line of Kamarupa kings, tracing descent from Bhagadatta, comes to an end. It may therefore now conveniently take stock and discuss how far Kamarupa progressed materially and culturally during the rule of these kings from the fourth till the twelfth century A.D. The materials on which such a discussion may be based, with some degree of confidence, are however meagre. The account left by the Chinese pilgrim refers to conditions in the seventh century. The various copper-plate inscriptions however, though they were the works of panegyrists, afford some glimpse into the actual state of the country and the people practically throughout the whole period.

Early development

The most important development that took place in Northern India towards the close of the Upanishad period, not many centuries after the Mahabharata war, was the rise of Gautama Buddha and his religion, Within a couple of centuries after Buddha's nirvana his religion spread far and wide. It is difficult to believe that Pragjyotisha, which was so close to Uttar Kosala and Magadha, could remain free from Buddhistic influences, but though strange, have it from Yuan Chwang's account that in the seventh century A.D. the people of Kamarupa worshipped the Devas and did not believe in Buddhism. According to him, there were a few Buddhists in the country, but for fear of persecution they had to perform their devotional rites in secret. 

It seems that Yuan Chwang made an exaggerated statement, for, in his biography, Silabhadra is said to have informed him, before he started for Kamarupa, that the law of Buddha had not then widely extended in that country. This indicates that Buddhism was then prevailing in the kingdom but not to a wide extent. The king Bhaskar Varman was himself not a Buddhist though it is said that he treated accomplished sramans with respect. The eagerness and persistence with which he desired an interview with the Chinese Buddhist scholar in his own kingdom and his reluctance to part with the scholar show that he really had great respect for illustrious Buddhist professors. His Nidhanpur inscription begins, no doubt, with the adoration of his tutelary deity Siva but, immediately after this adoration, he proclaims the victory of Dharma, the sole friend of the Creation, the cause of prosperity in this and the next world, whose form is the good of others and which is unseen but whose existence is inferred from the results." Here is a clear reference to the Law of Buddha, Vidya Vinod would ascribe this reference to Bhaskar Varman's association with Sri Harsha who, though not himself a Buddhist, was a patron of Buddhism and who was, to a considerable extent, influenced by his Buddhist sister Rajyasri. 

This is not, however, probable for the inscription was recorded immediately after the conquest of Karnasuvarna, at least thirty years before Bhaskar Varman met either Yuan Chwang or Sri Harsha. Evidently the influence of Buddhism was felt in Kamarupa long before Bhaskar Varman came to occupy the throne. According to the Rajatarangini, the Kamarupa king of the fifth century, who was the father of Amritaprabha, was himself a Buddhist as his religious preceptor was a Tibetan Buddhist. The fact is that Buddhism spread into Kamarupa at a very early age but it was not widely accepted as a faith by the people at large. Gait, in his History of Assam, wrote:

"It was formerly thought that Buddhism had at one time great vogue in Assam, but this view seems to have been erroneous There is no trace of this religion in the old records and inscriptions."

The above statement will not stand scrutiny for, as stated above, the Law of Buddha is mentioned in the inscription of Bhaskar Varman himself. Similar mentions are found in the inscriptions of Indra Pala and Dharma Pala. Indra Pala's first inscription mentions a sasana or charter connected with the name of " Tathagata " which cannot but mean Buddha. It seems that close to the lands granted by this king there existed a chaitya or stupa, over some relic of Buddha, in favour of which an endowment was made by a previous king. It should refer here to the strong tradition current in Nepal and Tibet to the effect that the mahapari-nirvana of Buddha took place in Kusinara or Kusinagara, a town in Kamarupa. In fact Waddell identifies it with the modern town of Sualkuchi, some nine miles to the west of Guwahati and eight miles to the south of the temple of Hayagriva which is still visited by Bhutanese Buddhists. Kusinagara was, however, the chief town of the clan of Mallas who cannot, by any means, be associated with any part of modem Assam. Waddell's identification is evidently wrong. Very likely Kusinagara or Kosinagara was a town on the east bank of the Kosi as it emerged from the Nepal hills. It was therefore probably a town, on the Nepal border, within the modern district of Purnea which was, in the ancient times, included within Pragjyotisha. The Tibetan tradition was not therefore baseless. 

In his inscription, Bhaskar Varman is said to have revealed the light of Aryan religion "Aryadharma" in his kingdom by dispelling the accumulated darkness of the Kali age. It is not sure that here also can detect a particular reference to the Law of Buddha. It may be that Arya Dharma meant the Buddhist or Brahmanic tenets as opposed to the tribal beliefs of the numerous non-Aryans who lived in the country. Bhaskar Varman and his predecessors were Saivas and not Buddhists or Jainas and, being also regarded as good Kshattriyas, they were naturally looked upon as the patrons and protectors of the Brahmans. In the neighbouring Magadha empire the rulers, like the Mouryas and the Guptas, were either Buddhists or patrons of Buddhism. The Mourya emperor Ashoka, with his missionary zeal for the propagation of the Buddhist faith, must have done all in his power to popularise this tenet within his empire without going to the length of persecuting Brahmans. This is why a large number of Brahmans immigrated to Kamarupa at an early period. As pointed out by Vidya Vinod, can find, in a single village in Kamarupa, more than 200 families of Brahmans about, in 500 A.D.

The kings of the dynasty of Salastambha, between the seventh and the tenth centuries, were perhaps more orthodox in their religious beliefs than their predecessors, the descendants of Pushya Varman. In the inscriptions of these kings do not find the slightest trace of any reference to the Buddhist faith. These kings were the worshipers of their tutelary deities "Kameswara Maha Gauri" mentioned in the inscription of Vanamala. They had their capital much further up the Brahmaputra in modem Tezpur. They therefore found the necessity of having another shrine like Kamakhya near their capital. The second Kamakhya temple, on the Kamakuta hill near Silghat, mentioned in the inscription of Vanamala, was therefore founded. In this inscription mention is made of the numerous temples in the country and the sound of incantations proceeding from the various places where Yajnas were performed. Vanamala himself rebuilt the large temple of Hatakeswara. This system still persists in the Siva temples of Hajo and Dubi in Kamrup and it may have been part of the Tantrik system. 

Whatever that may be, although Brahmanic rites were widely prevalent amongst the populace there is no doubt that Buddhism also flourished, for it is mentioned in the " Sankara Digvijaya " that Sankaracharya, the famous leader of the Brahmanic revival, in the beginning of the ninth century A.D., came to Kumarupa in order to defeat Abhinava Gupta, the noted Buddhist scholar, in controversy. Abhinava Gupta probably belonged to Kamarupa or at least flourished there in the ninth century. About the same time, or a little earlier, Kumarila Bhatta, another Brahmanic leader., flourished in India. It is believed by some that he was a native of Kamarupa. The fact that both Abhinava Gupta and Kumarila Bhatta, two well-known leaders of two opposite schools, flourished about the same time in Kamarupa, clearly shows that there were adherents of both Brahmanism and Buddhism in Kamarupa during the rule of the earlier kings of the line of Salastambha. 

Sculptured images on stones and terra-cotta plaques, which unmistakably represent Buddha and which can be assigned to the tenth or the eleventh century, have been found from excavations at Guwahati. One of them is a distinct image of Buddha on a thin stone-slab, the figure exhibiting the Abhay mudra. The other is a terra-cotta votive tablet with the image of- Buddha stamped on it.
It is true that both of these images are of a portable nature and might easily have been imported from outside the kingdom by some Buddhists. Terra-cotta plaques with the stamped image of Buddha, exactly similar to the one found at Guwahati and, as a matter of fact, impressed with the same stamp, have been found in large numbers in Bengal and Bihar. Evidently these were sold at places of Buddhist pilgrimages but their occurrence in Guwahati shows that there were then Buddhists in Kamarupa. Another important find from excavations in Guwahati is a large and heavy stone-slab containing the image of a deity with four faces and eight arms and a Chaitya above the head as tiara. The image is carved in the centre of the slab, all round being lotus-petals carved deep into the stone. One side of the slab is broken. The sitting pose of the deity is adamantine (vajrasana). It is probable that this is the representation of Mahapratisara, a Buddhist Goddess of the period of Tantrik Buddhism. According to the Sadhanamala, a Buddhist work, the Mahapratisara should have a Chaitya above the head. The image is however so corroded now that it is hardly possible to interpret it with confidence. In any case, the stone-slab on which the image is carved is certainly not portable. 

When the Salastambha dynasty was succeeded by the dynasty of Brahma Pala and the capital was removed to the vicinity of Guwahati the same tutelary deities, mentioned as "Maha Gauri Kameswara" in the inscription of Indra Pala continued to be worshipped by the kings.
Indrapala's first inscription states that his grandfather Ratna Pala established numerous Siva temples in the country and that during his reign the houses of Brahmans were full with riches presented by the king, the places where Yajnas were performed had numerous sacrificial altars and the sky was overcast with the smoke caused by numerous homs. It is said of Indra Pala himself that he was well-versed in the Tantras. It is clear therefore that Tantrikism had then been already introduced into the kingdom. This system, as an offshoot of Buddhism of the Mahayana school, developed about the ninth century under the Pala rulers of Magadha. 

It was the Pala king Dharma Pala who founded the Buddhist university at Vikramasila which became the famous centre of the Tantrik doctrines. From this centre Tantrikism probably spread into Kamarupa and Tibet. Babu Nandalal Dey wrote :

"The improvement which Nagarjuna introduced into original Buddhism in the first century A. D. and which was known by the name of Mahayana system, assumed a new phase on the revival of Brahmanical doctrines, during the early Gupta period and gradually developed into Tantrikism from the eighth century when the Pala kings began to rule over Magadha and Gauda. The worship of the images of Buddha and Bodhisvattas with their female energies (Sakti) and other Buddhist Gods came into vogue, which, during the continuance of the rule of these monarchs, still further developed into mysticism and sorcery. Tho mantra yogacharyas maintained the popular propensity for magic rites and mystic practices by the performance of marvellous feats. Hinduism also imbibed the spirit of the time and the Buddhist Tantrik rites were absorbed in its system.".

This is how Tantrikism originated. It ultimately spread into Kamarupa and established for itself a stronghold in Kamakhya. This disposes of Sir Edward Gait's supposition that Tantrikism originated in Assam. The Kamarupa kings, probably after Brahma Pala, adopted Tantrikism as their tenet and, as a result of this royal patronage, Kamakhya soon became a renowned centre of Tantrik sacrifices, mysticism and sorcery. That system of mystic Buddhism, known as Vajrayana and popularly called the "Sahajia cult ", found its way into Kamarupa as early as the tenth century, is corroborated from an unexpected source. 

It is found from Tibetan records that some of the eminent Buddhist professors in Tibet, of the tenth and the eleventh centuries, hailed from Kamarupa. Giuseppe Tucci states, on the authority of two Tibetan works viz "Grub To'b" and the "Bka ababs bdun ldan" that the noted Buddhist Siddha Minanatha, who was looked upon in Tibet as an avatar of Avalokiteswara, was a fisherman from Kamarupa . The statement of Mahamohopadhya Pandit Hararaprasad Sastri that Minanatha was a native of Bengal belonging to the "Nath" or weaver caste is evidently incorrect . It is also found from the same Tibetan records that Rahula, another Buddhist teacher in Nepal, was a Sudra from Kamarupa. It is said that he was a disciple of Nagarjuna who should not, however, be confused with the famous preacher of the Mahayana. The preceptor of Rahula was perhaps the Nagarjuna mentioned by Alberuni who stated that Nagarjuna flourished about 100 years before his time. Thus both Nagarjuna and Rahula can be placed about the middle of the tenth century. Nagarjuna was also a physician and alchemist. In the Kamrupi Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia there are still certain specific remedies which are associated with the name of Nagarjuna.. Besides Minanatha and Rahula, two other Buddhist teachers mentioned in Tibetan records viz. Mohidhar and Darik also very probably belonged to Kamarupa. Minanatha is supposed to have been the author of a work known as Akulaviratantra and he is mentioned in the Sabaratantra as one of the twenty four Kapalika siddhas. The fact that Minanatha, one of the 24 Kapalika siddhas, hailed from Assam leads one to suppose that the very revolting religious practices associated with the Kapalikaas, perhaps to some extent exaggerated by their opponents, were at one time in vogue in Kamarupa, at least among the lower classes of society, such as the fishermen. 

What connection these Kapalikas had with the votaries of the Sahajia cult is not known. There is however evidence to show that the Kapalika sect existed as early as the time of Asanga and Hari Varman about the fourth century A. D. Evidently both of these sects were off-shoots of Tantrik Buddhism and both practised similar rites. Abhinava Gupta, to defeat whom Sankaracharva came all the way to Kamarupa, was the author of two well-known works on Tantra viz, the Tantrasara and the Tantraloka. Evidently, in the ninth century, Abhinava Gupta had a great following in Kamarupa and that is why Sankaracharva found it necessary to fight him. These Tantriks have of course been painted in the blackest colours by the Brahman revivalists of an earlier age and by the Vaisnava reformers of a subsequent period, but a considerable mass of Tantrik literature has now become accessible to scholars some of whom do not seem to subscribe to the sweeping condemnation of Tantrikism as a tenet. Here is what Giuseppe Tucci, a competent authority, has got to say on the subject :-

"Very little attention has been paid up till now to Tantrik literature; and yet, apart from some exceptions, the Tantras contain almost nothing which can justify the sweeping judgment of some scholars who maintain that they represent the most degenerate form of Indian speculation. On the other hand, after a careful study, I cannot help seeing in them one of the highest expressions of Indian mysticism, which may appear rather strange in its outward form, chiefly because it do not always understand the symbolical language in which they are written " .

The probability is that the esoteric teachings of the tenet were high and sublime but they were actually comprehensible only to a few, called Siddhas, whereas the common folk were mystified by the feats of sorcery performed by the lower order of the preachers who could thus trade on the credulity of the common people and compel them to submit to their demands. It is therefore well that these esoteric teachers and their practices were suppressed by the Brahmans and the Vaisnavas, of a later period, not so much with the help of the ruling kings but chiefly by appeal to the common people themselves. The influence of Kamrupi Buddhist preachers in Tibet incidently proves the close cultural connection between Tibet and Kamarupa in the early ages. It is find the Tibetan Buddhist scholar Stunpa acting as preceptor to a Kamarupa king, probably Bala Varman I, in the early part of the fifth century. The image of Buddha found at Guwahati, exhibiting the Abhaya Mudra, with its distinctly Mongolian physiognomy and a thick shawl covering the whole body, down to the ankles, seems to be unmistakably of Tibetan origin. It will appear from what have stated above that several noted Buddhist scholars, as well as critics of the Buddhist doctrines, flourished in Kamarupa between the eighth and the tenth centuries. 

It find from Yuan Chwang's biography that during his stay in Nalanda a learned pundit of Kamarupa went to engage in a controversy with the Buddhist scholars and professors assembled there. According to the account of the Chinese pilgrim, Bhaskar Varman was a lover of learning and Kamarupa was a seat of learning. He found that during the first half of the seventh century students from other parts of India came to Kamarupa for study. It has been pointed out that Visakha Datta, the author of the well-known drama Mudrarakshasam, who flourished towards the latter part of the seventh century, very probably belonged to that part of Kamarupa which lay between the Teesta and the Kausika . It is reasonable to suppose that he belonged to the colony of Nagar Brahmans settled in the Chandrapuri vishaya. This is indicated by his surname Datta. It is not therefore at all strange that Kamrupi pundits were honoured in other parts of India also. In the copper-plate inscription of Ananta Varman, the Ganga king of Kalinga (Circe 922 AD.) It find the mention of a Kamrupi pandit, named Vishnusomacharya, to whom Ananta Varman granted lands. This Brahman belonged to the Parasara gotra and his native village was Srangatika in Kamarupa. It is not possible now to identify this village in Assam or Northern Bengal with any degree of certainty.

The inscriptions of Vanamala and Ratna Pala, while describing their capitals, specially mention that they were abodes of many learned men, as these kings were patrons of learning. The Kalika Purana, a well-known work, gives the Sanskritized names of most of the rivers and hills of Brahmaputra valley. It gives a full account of the Naraka legend and the old city of Pragjvotishpur. It dwells upon the special merit and sanctity of the shrine of Kamakhya. There is hardly any doubt that this work, like perhaps the Yagini Tantra, was compiled in Kamarupa probably at a time when the kings claiming descent from Naraka were ruling, when the capital was in the neighbourhood of the old city of Pragjyotishpura and the shrine of Kamakhya and when Tantrikism was the prevailing tenet. It can therefore tentatively assign this work to the eleventh century when the kings of the dynasty of Brahma Pala, who claimed descent from Naraka and particularly distinguished themselves from the previous mlechha dynasty, were ruling. In the Kalika Purana the mantra given to consecrate the sword meant for the human sacrifice runs as follows :-

"Asir visasana Khadgastikhnadharo durasadah Srigarbho Vijayaschaiba Dharmapala namastute."

The sword is here eulogised as Dharma Pala meaning " protector of the faith ". However, it is possible to detect here a reference to king Dharma Pala of the Brahma Pala dynasty. It would not therefore be quite unreasonable to suppose that the Kalika Purana was compiled during his reign and perhaps under his auspices.

Chinese pilgrimage accounts

In the seventh century Yuan Chwang found that the language spoken by the people of Kamarupa differed only a little from that spoken in mid-India. This shows that the language then spoken in Kamarupa was a Sanskritic dialect. It was probably an eastern variety of Prakrit bearing close affinity to Maithili and it was no doubt the parent of modern Kamrupi or Assamese language. The Chinese traveller's account also makes it clear that, even at such an early age, the people in general had adopted an Aryan language and that therefore Aryans had settled in the kingdom and diffused their culture many centuries before his visit. The language used in the dohas, by the Buddhists of Kamarupa in the ninth or the tenth century, was not necessarily the actual spoken language. These dohas were composed in a language which was perhaps the lingua franca in Eastern India at that time. It find from the inscription of Vanamala that, towards the middle of the ninth century, he reerected the lofty (like a peak of the Himalaya) white temple of Hataka Siva which had fallen down. Probably the temple had been destroyed by an earthquake. It is evident that this temple was rebuilt with bricks and stones and was white washed. The inscription of Bala Varman III states that Vanamala erected a huge palace consisting of many rooms and decorated by carvings. Again in the Ratna Pala inscription it find it mentioned that in his capital at Sri Durjaya, towards the middle of the eleventh century, the disc of the sun was hid from view by the thousands of plastered turrets. The Indra Pala inscription states that Ratna Pala constructed numerous white temples of Siva throughout the kingdom. These references make it clear that architecture had reached a high state of perfection during the rule of these kings and also earlier. As a matter of fact, architectural remains, going back to first millennia, exist to this day. Although no regular archaeological exploration has yet been undertaken in Assam the existing remains are by no means inconsiderable. In sites of old cities like Guwahati, Tezpur, Silghat and Bishnath, one can notice scattered remains in abundance.

Standard of architecture

That both the builders and the sculptors of ancient Kamarupa reached a high standard can be judged from the few remains that have so far come to light without any regular exploration. The modern town of Guwahati, which represents the site of old Pragjyotishpura, was probably sacked and destroyed after the death of Bhaskar Varman when Salastambha usurped the throne. It ceased to be the capital for more than three hundred years during which period perhaps even the ruins largely disappeared. It is not known definitely whether the kings of the dynasty of Brahma Pala used it as their capital. 

In late 19th century, the foundations of an old stone and brick enclosure wall in the eastern part of this town were dug up in order to find out stones to be broken into road-metal. Numerous carved and chiselled stones were broken into fragments to provide road metal. Some were preserved, not by the authorities, but by individuals taking interest in relics of antiquities. Since the establishment of the Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti, some of these scattered relics have been collected and placed in the small museum of the Society. These collections include some sculptured images of deities, chiselled octagonal or hexagonal stone pillars, carved stone pedestals of pillars and finely carved panels containing figures of elephant-heads en face, lion-heads and human heads, used to decorate the outer side of the stone plinths of palaces or temples. The elephant-head en face is a peculiarity of Pragjyotisha as the kings invariably used the same emblem in the metal seals of their copper-plates. The rock-cut images of Vishnu and Ganesa found in or near Guwahati similarly go back to an early age. The shrine of Pandu contains five rock-cut figures four of which represent Ganesa and one represents a female deity, probably Durga. Two more figures cut in the open rock below, facing the Brahmaputra river, represent, according to Mr. Dikshit, the sun-god and Indra respectively . 

Numerous cuttings on rock are to be seen also on the western slope of the Kamakhya hill. These include miniatures of temples of the sikhara type with small lingas enshrined in them and also rock cut niches containing lingas and figures or Ganesa. On the west side of the Kamakhya temple is a modern temple, known as Ghantakarna, into the basement of which stone fragments of older temples have been built. One of these fragments, as described by Mr. Dikshit, "is a beautifully carved frieze in which the band represents a series of garlands and the lower scroll-work, in which some very spirited representations of animals occur. Only four animal figures of the series viz a buffalo, a deer, a lion and a tiger are extant, but the quality of the art manifested in them is unsurpassed in Assam". This is also undoubtedly a ancient piece of sculptured art. Mr. R. D. Banerji thinks that these carvings belong to the seventh or the eighth century A. D. The ruins existing in or near Tezpur are much more extensive and varied in character. The Dr. Bloch conjectured that the modem civil stations of Guwahati and Tezpur stood upon large mounds " which contain the remains of two ancient cities." In 1906, while foundations were being dug for additions to the Deputy Commissioner's office in Tezpur, the excavators came upon the remains of an ancient stone building. A large number of carved and sculptured stones were discovered. The majority of then were transferred to the compounds of the European officers and the tea-planters club for the purpose of decoration. Some of them were subsequently brought to the Cole Park and arranged there. The Mr. R. D. Banerji, Superintendent, Eastern Circle, Archaeological Survey of India, wrote as follows in the Annual Report for the year 1924 - 25.-

" On examination of the remains in the park at Tezpur and those preserved in the Planters' Association or Club at the same place I find that the carvings belong to three different periods of history and therefore must have belonged, at least, to three separate buildings. The most remarkable sculptures of the first group are two shafts of pillars at the entrance to the Planters' Club and a heavy lintel of a stone door-frame now lying in the public park. The shaft of one of these pillars is sixteen-sided, the upper end being ornamented with a broad band having kirtimukhas at the top and the lower with dentils. Over this band the shaft is round and appears to be lathe-turned like the upper parts of the Western Chalukyan columns of the Bombay Presidency. In the second pillar the upper part of the shaft is dodecagonal and near the top is divided into three raised horizontal bands two of which contain kirtimukhas and the third a series of diamond-shaped rosettes. In style, both of them belong to the same period and appear to have come from one and the same building. The lintel of the stone door-frame in the public park also belongs to the same period and most probably to the same building. It is divided into two different parts. The upper part represents five miniature temples with the phallic emblem of Siva in each of them. In the lower part it see a continuation of the ornamentation on the jambs, viz., two vertical bands containing meandering creepers and two others consisting entirely of rosettes which turn an angle and are continued on the soffit of the lintel. In the centre of the lower part of the lintel is a small niche containing a miniature image of Ganesa. It appears from the nature of the carvings that the temple to which these three architectural specimens belong was erected late in the tenth century A. D. The length of the lintel is 6' 10' and the breath 1 " 5 1/2".
"The second group of sculptures at Tezpur consists of specimens from a massive temple on the ruins of which the office of the Deputy Commissioner has been built. On each side of the entrance of the Planter's Club at Tezpur lie the door-sill and the lintel of the principal entrance to this enormous temple. The size of the lintel enables to determine the size of the door-frame and consequently of the principal entrance to the sanctum. The enormous lintel is 10' 3' in length and r' 8' in breath. There are three raised panels on it, one in the centre and one on each side and each of them is divided into a large niche in the centre with a smaller one on either side. The panel on the left contains a standing figure of Brahma in the central niche with an attendant on each side. The central panel is occupied by a figure of Surya with two attendants while the panel on the extreme right contains a standing figure of Siva with an attendant in each of the side niches. The space between these raised panels is divided into six niches, three to the left of the central panel and three to the right. They contain six divine figures which cannot be identified. All the niches are separated from each other by a round pilaster z' in height, the height of the lintel itself being 2’ 7 1/2."

According to the general practice in Hindu temples, the central niche or panel of the lintel of the stone door frame of the sanctum is generally occupied by the presiding deity of the temple. It appears certain, therefore, that this gigantic temple was dedicated to Surya or the Sun god. The sill of this door-frame is also of gigantic dimensions and shows a vase in the center flanked by two lions satatant. Each end is occupied by a niche containing a male and a female and flanked by a smaller and narrower niche on a recessed corner, containing a single human figure. It is a pity that the jambs of this enormous door-frame have not been discovered as yet. The large jamb in the public park appears to belong to a much later period. It is impossible therefore to deduce the height of the door-frame correctly, but it is obvious from the length of the lintel and the sill that the height of this door-frame could not have been less than 15'. If the height of the stone door-frame of the main entrance to the sanctum was 15' then the height of the interior of the chamber must have been 20' to 25`, leaving to imagine the total height of the spire or sikhara of the original temple, which must have been considerably over 100'. 

The majority of the carved stones in the public park at Tezpur are taken from the plinth mouldings and string-courses of the gigantic temple, the door-frames of which have been described above. The string-sourses were ornamented with kirtimukhas of various shapes and sizes and sunken panels containing ornamental rosettes and meandering creepers. Some of them are evidently portions of enormous capitals which were held together by metal clamps or dowels. In the center of some of these pieces there is a projecting niche flanked by round pilasters containing divine figures. In one of these niches it find a fat female squatting on the ground, holding a piece of cloth over her head, while a female stands to her left with her hands clasped in adoration. The second specimen of the same type contains the figure of a goddess holding a lyre in her hands, evidently Sarasvati, the goddess of learning. A third specimen contains the well-known group of Kamalatmika or Gajalakshmi, more commonly known in Bengal and Assam as Kamale-Kamini in which two elephants pour water over the head of a goddes from vases held in their trunks. A fourth specimen contains figures of Siva and Durga seated in the well-known conventional posture so common in images of this particular type in northern India. The outlines of the plinth mouldings show that the medieval architects of Assam employed the same motifs and figures as those in other provinces of northern India. 

Some of these ornaments appear in relief as diamond-shaped and circular rosettes, set in between arabesque work of a type known to from the temples of Orissa. The most remarkable specimen in the collection in the public park at Tezpur, however, is a slab taken from the upper part of the plinth mouldings. It is divided into a number of sunken panels by means of circular pilasters, each containing a male or female, two females or two males. Beginning from the right it find a man fighting with a lion, a male playing on a flute and a female dancing by his side, two males playing on conch shells, a male playing on a drum and a female dancing by his side, a female playing on a lyre and another dancing to her right, a male playing on a drum and another dancing to his left. This slab apparently formed part of a series of similar panels all round the lower edge of the walls of the sanctum. Another slab bears on it a conventional representation of the Chaitya-window pattern, so common in the temples of Central India, especially those in the Rewa State and at Khajuraho. The interior of the sunken panels is entirely covered with geometrical patterns with a half rosette in the center. The second group of sculptures at Tezpur belongs to a temple erected in the twelfth century A. D. if not later. 

The size of the stones indicates that the temple was very large in size and provided with a very tall spire. There are two specimens in the public park at Tezpur which appear to belong to another temple of some later date. One of these is a high door-jamb and the second a slab bearing three sunken panels occupied by very crude human or divine figures. The entire collection contains only a single specimen carved in the round, a lion, presumably on an elephant. The conventional representation of the lion shows that the inhabitants of the Assam valley were not very familiar with the king of beasts." As remarked by Mr. Banerji " Assam is the only province of India the history of the architecture and sculpture of which is still practically unknown." It is for this reason that it have made a lengthy quotation front the report of a competent authoriry on the subject. It is, however, in doubt whether Mr. Banerji's conjecture that the ruins in Tezpur town represent only temples is correct. The remains of the stone building dug up in the Kutchery compound may he of the palace of Vanamala which he erected in the ninth century. It cannot, however, agree with Mr. Banerji that any of the buildings mentioned by him was erected in the twelfth century for, towards the end of the tenth century, the capital Haruppeswara was, in all probability, abandoned by Brahma Pala. The buildings in Tezpur must therefore belong to the ninth century. 

 Further, the lofty temple the ruins of which he has described in the quotation given above and which, he conjectures was a sun-temple, may be the Himalaya like temple of Hataka Sulin which Vanamala is said to have recrected. In his report for the year 1925-26. Mr. Banerji gives a full description of the Bamuni Hill ruins to the east of Tezpur town. In his opinion the remains belong to a group of seven shrines. He wrote :

"Six of these shrines are situated in a large rectangular enclosure, namely, one in each of its four corners and two large ones in the centre, while the seventh stands to the cast. The pavements inside the garbhagrihas of both of the larger shrines in the middle of the enclosure are still intact. One of these central temples was originally smaller in size than the other. The larger temple faces the north and an antarala with a circular sculptured door-step intervenes between its sanctum and its mandapa, which must have been gigantic in size. The shaft of a pillar seen in the debris measures 10' 8" in length and I' 8" in diameter. I may also mention a cross-shaped bracket which measures 4' 6' x 4' 9" and a huge lintel ornamented with horned kirttimukhas which measures 6' 8" in length and 1' 8' in breadth. An image of Nataraja measuring 2' t" in height and 1' 6' in breadth, with one head and six hands was discovered among the ruins. Another lintel measures 12' 1' X 3' 6' x 2' 5". The door-jambs of the larger temple are lying on the top of the ruins and measure 5'4" in length and 2'4' in breadth. Each of them is decorated with a raised hand on each side with a row of miniature temples superimposed in the centre. The band on the left jamb hears a meandering creeper pattern and that on the right a row of rosettes alternately square and round. There are three miniature shrines in each horizontal row in the centre. There is a large panel bordered by two round pilasters with a trefoil arch on the top in the centre and an exactly similar panel or recessed corner on each side. The smaller panels contain male or female attendant figurines. The central panels contain the figures of the Man-lion, Parasurama, Balarama, Boar and Ramachandra incarnations of Vishnu. Many of the faces of the square brackets bear oblong panels with basreliefs. One of them bears the figure of a male and a female dancing side by side."

The ruins discovered at Parbatia, to the west of Tezpur town, are far more interesting. The following is Mr. Banerji's description of these ruins:

" Close to the modern civil station of Tezpur is the small village of Dah Parbatia which possesses the unique distinction of having within its limits the ruins of the oldest temple in Assam. The ruins consist of the remains of a brick-built temple of Siva, of the medieval period, erected upon the ruins of a stone temple of the later Gupta period, circa sixth century A. D. The former collapsed, during the earthquake of 1897, revealing the stone door-frame of the older structure. At some subsequent date the local villagers built a crude, hut on the mound, which had collapsed at the time of my visit. The mound is nearly 20' above the surrounding ground and is entirely covered with large rubber trees and small undergrowth. The door-frame stands in front of a large block of stone with a square cavity in its centre. Most probably the older linga was fixed in this hole. The carving, on the door-frame is characteristic of the style of the early Gupta schools of sculpture, of which so many examples have been discovered at various sites excavated by Sir John Marshall in northern India. The carving on the jambs consists of high reliefs in the lower part and four different vertical bands of carving in the upper. In the lower part of each of the jambs is the figure of a female deity whose divine nature is indicated by the halo behind her head. Each of the goddesses stands with a garland in her hands in an elegant posture and these two figures appear to represent Ganga and Yamuna, so common in door jambs of ancient Gupta and mediaeval temples. These two larger figures are attended, in each of the jambs, by a number of smaller ones. At the bottom of the jamb on the right are two female figures, one standing with a Chamara and the other kneeling in front, with a flat receptacle containing flowers. A third female figure is seen with a chamara behind or to the right of the main figure. To the left of the halo it find a nayi kneeling and to the right two geese flying towards the main figure. The lower part of the jamb on the left is not so well preserved as that on the right. Here it find a female standing with an indistinct object to the left and another to the right or in front of the main figure, the lower part of which is damaged. On this jamb also is the figure of a saga kneeling to the right of the halo of the main figure and two geese flying to the left of it. The upper part of each of these jambs is separated into four long narrow vertical bands two of which are continued on the lintel. The first of these begins from the head of the naga or of the nagi and consists of a meandering creeper with extremely beautiful ornamental foliage in the interspaces and the second of a straight vertical stem from which issue a number of lotus leaves and other conventional flowers. Two dwarfish figures are observed at the, bottom holding on to the stem. The third band is made up of four super-imposed panels containing human figures standing on oblong bosses bearing ornamental foliage on their surfaces. At the top, each of these hands ends in a vase with ornamental foliage hanging from its corner. A pilaster, square in section, rises from the vase and ends in a cruciform capital, with a sprawling gana on each of its arms. The fourth hand consists of a vertical row of ornamental rosettes. As in the case of the Gupta temples at Bhumra in the Nagod State, Nachna-Kuthara in the Ajaigadh State and at Deogarh in the Jhansi district, the lintel is larger in size than the door-frame, extending a little on each side of the jambs. Two of the inner bands of carving on the jambs are continued as horizontal bands at the bottom of the lintel and exhibit in the centre in high relief a beautiful flying male figure holding a garland in its hands. Above these two ornamental bands is another band in higher relief containing a number of Chaitya-windows so common in the Gupta temples at Bhumra and Deogarh. In this case there are five Chaitya-windows in all, arranged in a row on the surface of the lintel Three of these windows are large while two are comparatively smaller in size. The one on the extreme right contains the figure of a male seated on a throne, with four hands, two of which are broken. One of the left hands holds a damaru, the peculiar small drum of diva while the' space below the throne shows the waves of the sea. The window between this one and the central one contains a horse-headed male figure, with two hands, kneeling. The central Chaitya-window is the largest of all and has a suparna, the mythical deity half man and half bird, on either side. The Chaitya-window itself is occupied by a figure of diva, in the form of Lakulisa, seated with a rope tied round his leg. A female is holding a cup to his left while another stands to the right. The window between the central one and that on the extreme left contains the figure of a man seated and playing on a flute while over his head is seen the hood of a snake. That on the extreme left contains in its medallion a beautiful image of Surya seated cross-legged holding lotus flowers in both of his hands. The attendant to the left holds a pen and an ink-pot while that on the right holds a staff of the orthodox description. The door jambs are 5'3' in height and 1'4' in breadth while the lintel measures 3'9' in length and 1'3' in breadth. The artist's sense of proportion, the beautiful symmetry of the figures and ornamental devices and the excellence of execution tend to prove that this door lintel belongs to the same period as the great schools of sculpture which existed at Pataliputra and Benares in the fifth and sixth centuries A.D."

The temple at Parbatia is therefore not only the oldest but the finest piece of architectural work in Kamarupa. This temple must have been built by a predecessor of Bhaskar Varman in the fifth or the sixth century A.D. During the clearance of the ruins of this temple a number of terracotta plaques, showing a seated human figure in each, were discovered. According to Mr. Banerji the moulding of the torso and the general technique proves beyond doubt that these plaques cannot be later in date than the sixth century A.D. Two of these plaques reveal the existence of a modified form of the acanthus motif in Assam in this early age. This device has been noticed in some of the Gupta temples of other parts of northern India notably at Bhumra and Nachna Kuthara. Another striking feature of this piece of work is the-pose of the figures of Gangs and Jamuna which seems to be characteristically Greek while in their anatomical correctness these figures resemble Hellenic art more than anything else. 

Relics of ancient architecture and sculpture are not confined to Guwahati and Tezpur. They are to be found in many other places. Two images were discovered on the Golaghat-Dimapur road. One of them is an image of Vishnu which is now preserved in the museum of the Kamaruppa Anusandhan Samiti. With regard to this image Mr. K. N. Dikshit wrote :-

"It is a very fine example of the ninth century art of Assam and is inscribed in characters similar to those of the Harjara inscription from Tezpur. The right hands and the feet of the image have broken off, and the halo behind the head is lost. The left upper hand holds the conch and the left lower the gada. Vishnu has all the usual ornaments, the kaustubha and srivatsa symbols, the sacred thread and the long cable-like garland reaching to the knees (vanamala). The expression of the face and the treatment of the lower lip and the crown are characteristic of the late Gupta sculpture. The inscription is engraved on the right side of the image and consists of four lines in very corrupt Sanskrit verse" .

Ruins of ancient edifices have been found in Bishnath and also in Negriting. In the last named place the medieval temple was actually built on the mound containing the ancient stone-built temple. Both in Umananda and Aswakranta in Guwahati the medieval temples were built with stones and carved images belonging to more ancient temples. The Ananta-Sayi Vishnu of Aswakranta is a piece of of sculpture of very high merit. It belongs probably to the tenth or the eleventh century. Another very fine piece of sculpture, now deposited in the museum of the Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti, is an image of Vishnu of the Yogaswami variety sculptured on black schist. The image exhibits the Dhyana mudra and is surrounded by ararana devatas such as Durga, Ganesa and Kartikeya with the winged Garuda: below it. With regard to this image Mr. K.N. Dikshit wrote

"the presence of Ganesa and Mahishamardini on the right leads to the inference that the idea was to depict Vishnu in the centre of the five gods (Panchadevata). ; The deities on the left one-should have expected to be Siva and Surya, but actually they are different. The upper figure is apparently in the attitude of Hanuman or some attendant of Vishnu while the lower one resembles an 'ascetic seated cross-legged. It is likely that the figure represents the donor as a devotee."

There is a collection of stone images and other architectural fragments preserved at the entrance of the Sub-divisional officer's residence in Sibsagar. These are believed to be the remains of a Vishnu temple, in the neighbourhood, dating approximately from the tenth to the eleventh century A. D. According to Mr. Dikshit " the sculptures follow in the main the artistic traditions of the school represented by the Tezpur and Bamuni Hill temples of Central Assam, which are assigned to the ninth and tenth centuries ". Very probably the ancient temple near Sibsagar was constructed by the Kamarupa kings of the tenth or the eleventh century and it is thus evident that even till the eleventh century the Kamarupa kings exercised their rule as far as the easternmost corner of the Assam valley. Mr. Dikshit also remarks that "the affinities of Assamese art would seem to lie more with the schools of Bihar and Orissa than with the contemporary Pala art of Bengal. This is not unnatural as of the streams of influence that have moulded the culture of Assam, the strongest current has always been from North Bihar and Mid-India". 

Silsako

The cultural affinities between Mithila and Kamarupa have already been alluded. Another instance of the architectural and engineering skill of the people of Kamarupa in ancient times was the construction of stone bridges over rivers. There is still a small stone bridge in the western part of North Guwahati which is called Silsako. The other Silsako (stone bridge) was over a channel of the Barnadi, an important transit point from west. Bridge was destroyed by the great earthquake of 1897. It appears that this bridge was constructed without lime and mortar and such construction was no doubt necessitated by the heavy rainfall in the country and the luxuriant vegetation which attacks all masonry structures in which mortar is used. Hannay, who in 1851 saw and measured the bridge, wrote as follows :

"From the great care taken in the chiselling, squaring and fitting up of the component parts of the whole, as well as the great size and weight, the work is one of great strength and solidity. And this accounts for the good state of preservation in which it find it in the present day ; for with the exception of the masonry of the abutment at each end, in which large trees have taken root and displaced the stones, the rest of the structure may be said to be entire. From a fracture in one of the pillars I observed that. the upper blocks were kept in their places by means of iron pins firmly wedged into the lower ones; four apparently through the centre and one on each side of the_square of the shaft, and although not visible, other portions of the work may be iron-clamped ; the slabs of the platform were marked with clamping holes and on the edge of the outside slabs are three square holes (3 inches square) which were no doubt intended for the wooden supports of a balustrade. Several frieze-carved blocks are also lying near the end abutment from which I imagine the entrance of each may have been ornamented or these may have been gateways." "The design and style of architecture of this bridge evidently belongs to a remote period in the annals of Kamrup and, in its original structure at least, must be co-eval with the erection of the ancient Brahmanical temples the remains of which are found so widely scattered throughout the length and breadth of Assam ; the works of its former Brahmanical kings, a race long ago extinct in the annals of modem Hinduism and of whom the present race in Assam know nothing ".

Both sculptural and architectural skill degenerated during the medieval period as, until the medieval kings were thoroughly Hinduized, the art lacked royal support and encouragement. The result was that when in the seventeenth and the eighteenth centuries the medieval kings set themselves to rebuilding the Hindu temples the Assamese sculptors of the day, known as Silakutis, were hardly equal to the task. Their sculpture was distinctly inferior. The finer images that it now see mounted on some of these post-medieval temples were actually recovered from old ruins. In some instances the medieval kings did not disturb the mound of ruins at all but erected an inferior brick structuxe on the top of it, the scattered old stones being commonly used for steps leading up to the mound. There is clear evidence to prove that quite a good number of carved and sculptured stones, chiselled bases, columns and capitals belonging to an older age found scattered or recovered from old ruins were utilized by architects of more recent times in reconstructing temples demolished either by the subsequent invaders or by earthquakes. Old bricks also have been similarly utilized. Such old bricks and also pottery, belonging to a period much earlier than the advent of the medieval rulers, can also be met with here and there. The collection of pottery in the museum of the Knmarupa Anusandhan Samiti, recovered from excavations in Guwahati town, includes certain specimens which exhibit the ceramic art of a bygone age may be a very old age, possibly pre-Aryan but here also lies a field of study entirely unexplored. Remains of military fortifications like Garhs and of works of public utility such as embanked roads and tanks, belonging to the ancient period, are still in existence. 

The large rectangular tank in Guwahati, known as the Dighli tank, is clearly of ancient origin. The Dighli tank in Guwahati is believed to date back to the time of Bhagadatta for, it is said, the tournament of archery, arranged in connection with the marriage of Bhagadatta's daughter Bhanumati, was held on a platform erected over this tank. It is said that a fish was tied aloft at the end of a long pole and the great archer Karna looking at the image on the water aimed overhead and pierced the eye of the fish with his arrow. He thus won the.tournament and obtained the hand of Bhanumati but, at his request, she was married to Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas. It is on account of this relationship that Bhagadatta sided with Duryodhana in the Mahabharata war. The Hajarapukhri in Tezpur is a large tank excavated by Harjara Varman in the ninth century. Masonry buildings, roads and fortifications constructed by the kings of Kamarupa were not confined to modern Assam. They existed also in that part of modern Bengal which was included in the old kingdom of Kamarupa. One can find in the accounts of Buchanan Hamilton and Glazier and also in the contributions to the journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in the last century, many references to cities, temples, roads and fortifications erected by these: kings long before the rise of medieval kings.

Warfare technology

It have already alluded to the development of arts and industries during the time of Bhaskar Varman, the extensive use of iron in making weapons of war and armours for men and even elephants and the building of large war-boats which constituted an important arm during the attack on Karnasuvarna both by land and water. Even till the time of the medieval rulers the soldiers of Assam were proficient in naval warfare. Harjara Varman's rock inscription, in the early part of the ninth century, shows that the boats maintained by the king were numerous and, even in so wide a river as the Brahmaputra, regulation of boat traffic was found to be necessary in order to prevent collisions between the royal barges and the boats of fishermen. Vanatnala's inscription states that the royal boats were beautifully carved, painted and decorated and also fitted with musical instruments.

Metallurgy

Iron was plentiful as in the adjacent hills iron-ore could be had in abundance and iron-melting by a crude process was known. Of the more precious metals, gold and copper could be obtained within the kingdom-itself. From time immemorial, till very recent times, gold-washing had been practised in the rivers of Assam. The Subansiri (Suvarna-sri) derives its name from the gold that it carries. Even the water of the Brahmaputra was known to contain gold for it find a clear mention of it in the inscription of Vanamala wherein it is stated that the river carried the gold dust caused by the friction of huge gold-bearing boulders of the' Kailsa mountain. Jaya Pala, the last king of the dynasty of Brahma Pala, offered, according to the Silimpur inscription deciphered by Mr. Basak, to make a gift of gold equal to his own weight to a learned Brahman over and above 900 gold coins. It is evident therefore that gold was, by no means, a rare metal in the kingdom in the old days. Incidentally, the reference in the Silimpur inscription proves that the Kamarupa kings used to mint gold coins though unfortunately no such coins have yet been discovered. The inscription of Ratna Pala mentions the existence of a copper-mine within the kingdom which the king worked with profit. Evidently copper was used for coinage also. Harjara Varman's ordinance, inscribed on the rock, prescribed a penalty of 100 cowries for infringement of the regulations. This shows that the cowri was a legal tender but it does not mean that metal coins were not then in circulation. In the vicinity of Sadiya existed a temple having a root made of coppersheets and this temple was dedicated to the goddess Durga called Tameshwari mai. This temple was erected by the premedieval kings.

Crops

Rice was then, as now, the staple crop. The extent of the lands, granted by the various inscriptions, was stated in terms of the yield of paddy. Yuan Chwang noticed that cocoanut and jack trees were numerous. As a matter of fact cocoanut thrives within the present districts of Goalpara and Kamrup. As regards the cultivation of areca nut and betel leaf in Kamarupa, it find a mention not only in the Nagaon inscription of Bala Varman III but also in the Aphshad inscription of Adityasena (circa 672 A. D.) wherein the betel plants being in full bloom on the banks of the Brahmaputra is stated. The Nagaon inscription describes the arecanut trees within Pragjyotishpura being wrapped by the betel creepers (pan), a system of growing pan which persists till today. Pragjyotishpur was, even in the ancient times, noted for its betel-nut groves which subsequently gave the name Guwahati to this town. The presents sent by Bhaskar Varman to Sri Harsha, about 6o6 A. D. included sugar in the form of liquid molasses in earthern pots. This indicates that sugarcane was cultivated even in the most ancient times. The other more important products of the kingdom as stated by Yuan Chwang, and also mentioned in some of the inscriptions, were Aguru or agaressence, musk, silk-fabrics and elephants.

Trade and Commerce

There is evidence to show that from the earliest times the people of Kamarupa traded with the people of other parts of India. This trade was carried on by a class of people called Sadagars and the main trade routes were the river Brahmaputra and the various navigable tributaries feeding it. It appears that the Sadagars of Kamarupa carried their merchandise in large boats down the Brahmaputra and reached the sea after skirting round the Garo Hills. They crossed this sea and traded in seaports like Tamralipti. The bardic tales relating to Behula mention that Chand Sadagar, whose trier ghor in Chaygaon, built of stones, existed till recent times, used to trade in seagoing boats. 

It appears that the Kalitas of Assam were then the Sadagars and the gold coins or rather pieces with which they used to buy goods were known as Kaltis. The name of this coin is mentioned in the "Periplus of the Erythrian sea" a Greek account of the first century A. D. wherein it is supposed that a gold-mine existed then in this part of India. As a matter of fact, the gold was obtained by washing in the Brahmaputra, Subansiri and other rivers. 

In one of the aphorisms of Dak, who is placed about the eighth century A. D, mention is made of the profitable trade with the people of Lanka. Probably this Lanka is not to be identified with Sri Lanka but with the country on the Myanmar coast which Yuan Chwang named Kamalanka and which, according to him, lay to the south-east of Samatata on a bay of the sea. Perhaps traders from Champa, Kamarupa and Vanga visited this coast for purposes of trade.

See also

• Ancient Kamrup
• Early Period of Kamrup kingdom
• Kamrup of Bhaskar Varman
• Kamrup Kingdom – Late to End Period
• Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti

The Kamrup Kingdom – Late to End Period

''Kamarupa - Late to end period'' was a period of Kamarupa Kingdom from commencment of Pala Dynasty by Brahma Pala to last ruler of dynasty Jaya Pala.

Foundation of Pala Dynasty

According to the inscription of Ratna Pala, when Tyaga Singha of Mlechha dynasty died leaving no heir to succeed him the people elected Brahma Pala to be their king. It find here a parallel to the tradition that in order to remove the anarchy in Magadha and Gauda the people of those countries elected Gopala, the first Pala ruler of Magadha, as their king about the end of the eighth century. Such election by popular vote was clearly a myth. The fact is that both Gopala in Magadha and Brahma Pala in Kamarupa were actually adventurous upstarts who, finding the throne vacant, collected a following and proclaimed themselves as kings. As there was no one else strong enough to dispute the pretensions of Gopala or Brahma Pala the people had no other alternative but to accept them as their rulers. 

After Brahma Pala became king it was perhaps given out that he was a king chosen by the people, like Gopala, and, it seems that in imitation of the Pala rulers of Magadha and Gauda, he assumed the surname Pala. The writer of the Ratna Pala inscription, in order to make the story of popular election look more probable, added that Brahma Pala was it scion of the Bhagadatta dynasty and that is why the choice of the people fell upon him. It is stated in the Ratna Pala inscription that Brahma Pala was it warrior who could single handed overcome his enemy in battle. He was evidently a powerful and resourceful leader; otherwise he could not have secured the throne. He was a young man when he became king, for it was after his accession that he married Kula Devi by whom he had it son named Ratna Pala. It is not know whether Brahma Pala had a long reign like his son but it appears that when Ratna Pala grew up Brahmapala abdicated in his favour, probably to avoid it dispute relating to succession.

Outside invasions

It seems that during Brahma Pala's reign Kamarupa was attacked by Jatavarman, son of Vajravarman of the Varman dynasty which ruled probably in Eastern Magadha when the Pala power began to wane. This invasion is mentioned in the Belava copper-plate inscription of Bhojavarman, the grandson of Jatavarman, who thereby granted lands in the Paundra bhukti, the grant being issued from the victorious camp at Vikramapura. It is stated in verse 8 of this inscription that " seizing the great glory of Prithu son of Vena, espousing Virasri the daughter of Karna, extending his supremacy among the Angas, conquering the fortunes of Kamarupa, putting to shame the strength of the arms of Divya, crippling the dignity of Gobardhan and giving away all his wealth to Brahmans he (Jatavarman) extended his own paramount suzerainty." Divya mentioned above has been identified to be the Kaivarta leader who successfully rebelled against the Pala ruler. It appears that Jatavarman invaded Kamarupa and defeated its king but could not annex the kingdom. It is probable that after this defeat Brahma Pala abdicated in favour of his son Ratna Pala who appears to have removed the capital to Guwahati, on the banks of the Brahmaputra, and, after fortifying it, called it Durjaya or impregnable.

Capital

It may be that Brahma Pala himself had removed the capital from Haruppeswara to Guwahati and that his son Ratna Pala simply strengthened it by erecting necessary fortifications. Such strengthening of the defences of the capital was found to be necessary in view of the defeat sustained by his father. Pandit Vidyavinod supposes that when Salastambha founded his dynasty he removed the capital to Haruppeswara where all the kings of his line down to Tyaga Singha ruled. When the people elected Brahma Pala, a lineal descendant of Bhagadatta, as their king, he re-transferred the capital to Pragjyotishpura (Guwahati) or its neighbourhood. Ratna Pala after fortifying this city called it Sri-Durjaya. It is clearly stated that this city was on the Brahmaputra. The lands granted by Ratna Pala's first inscription and by both of Indra Pala's inscriptions were, as stated in these inscriptions, on the uttar kul i.e. on the north bank of the river. From this specific mention of the uttar kul Vidyavinod supposes that the capital was on the south bank of the river. Between Tezpur and Guwahati there is no other suitable site on the south bank of the river where a fortified city could be built. The identification of Sri-Durjaya with Guwahati is therefore almost inevitable. 

There is two copper-plate inscriptions of Ratna Pala, known as the Bargaon and the Sualkuchi grants. It is satisfactory that both these grants state the regnal years in which they were recorded. The first grant was recorded on the Vishnupadi Sankranti in the twentyfifth year of the king's reign. The second one was recorded in the following year. It is stated in these records that Ratna Pala was a warlike and powerful prince and that "by reason of the elephants pearls, carried forth by the impetus of the unrestrainable stream of blood running from the split foreheads of the elephants of his enemies` his, Ratna Pala's, battle field looked beautiful like a market-place strewn with the stores of merchants and ruby-coloured through the blood of the slain. A very glowing account is given of the splendour and the strength of the fortifications of Ratna Pala's capital named Durjaya. It is stated that though the capital was 

"crowded with a dense forest, as it were, of arms of his brave soldiers who were han kering after the plunder of the camps of all his enemies, yet was it fit to be inhabited by wealthy people (merchants). In it the disc of the sun was hid from the view by the thousands of plastered turrets which are rendered still whiter by the nectar-like smiles of the love-drunk fair damsels standing on them. It is adorned by learned men, religious preceptors and poets who have made it their place of resort. 
Like the cloth which protects the kings broad chest, its boundaries were encompassed by a rampart, furnished with a fence strong like that used for the game-birds of the Sakas, fit to cause chagrin to the king of Gurjara, to give fever to the heads of the untameable elephants of the chief of Gauda (Gaudendra), to act like bitumen in the earth to the lord of Kerala, to strike awe into the Bahikas and Taikas, to cause discomfiture to the master of the Deccan country (dakshinatya).''
It is rendered beautiful by the river Brahmaputra. Such is the town in which the Lord of Pragjyotisha took up his residence and which he called by the appropriate name of Durjaya. In that town, which emulated the residence of Vasava, the King the Parameswara Parama-bhattaraka Maharajadhiraja, the illustrious Ratna Pala, who meditates at the feet of the Maharajadhiraja, the illustrious Brahma Pala, may he prosper." 

 The above extract is from Rudolf Hoernle's translation.Pandit Vidyavinod has pointed out that on certain points Hoernle's interpretations are not quite correct. The name of the poet who composed the verses of the inscription does not appear but the high literary merit of the composition is beyond question. The reference to Gurjara, Gauda and Kerala does not mean that Ratna Pala had actually any conflict with the kings of these countries, as supposed by Hoernle. It was simply meant to emphasize the strength and excellence of the fortifications. The inscription mentions that the king had certain copper-mines within his kingdom for it is said that "he delights in making his copper mines lucrative". These mines probably existed and still exist in the Garo or the Khasi Hills. In spite of what the court panegyrist has recorded, there is little doubt that about this time the Kamarupa power was on the decline.

Line of Kings

Ratna Pala had a long reign for about thirty years as his second grant was given in the twenty sixth year of his reign. His son was Purandara Pala. From some of the verses in the Indra Pala inscription, found at Guwahati, Hoernle supposed that Purandara Pala died during the life time of his father Ratna Pala who was therefore succeeded by his grandson Indra Pala . This supposition has been confirmed by the subsequent discovery of the inscription of Dharma Pala wherein it is stated that Pundara Pala died as juvaraja. In the Indra Pala inscription Purandara Pala is described as a poet. In this inscripion also the capital is said to have been Sri Durjya. It is also stated that Purandara Pala "had the distinction of obtaining for wife the princess Durlabha who was descended from the royal races of the extensive kingdoms conquered by the victorious arms of Jamadagnis son". It is not possible to find from this reference from what quarter princess Durlabha came. Parasurama is said to have overthrown all Kshattriya kings and so it can be surmised that Durlabha was a Kshattriya princess, the daughter of some well-known king of northern India of that time, otherwise she would not have been so glorified. 

Vidyavinod says that some Brahmans were settled near Parasurama Kunda where a Hindu kingdom may have existed and Purandara Pala may have married a princess of that kingdom. It seems that this surmise is not correct. It is stated that "when king Indra Pala sat on his throne the mosaic floor of his audience hall looked like a fruit-covered tree by reason of the strewn-about jewels that fell from the crowns of the princes as they voluntarily stood reverently bowing before him with joined hands". It is also said that during his virtuous reign the earth was "greatly flourishing" and that he "had a residence of corresponding virtues, a town full of elephants, horses and jewels and impregnable to the attacks of any royal dynasty, whence it was named Sri Durjaya". 

There is two inscriptions of Indra Pala the first being recorded in the eighth year and the second in the twenty-first year of his reign. This shows that Indra Pala had also a fairly long reign. He was succeeded by his son Go Pala who ascended the throne probably about the middle of the eleventh century. In the first inscription of his grandson Dharma Pala it is stated that Go Pala was a powerful prince who was also liberal in his gifts. His son Harsha Pala succeeded him. It is recorded that the blood of his enemies killed by him in battle appeased the thirst of the Rakshasas. This indicates that Harsha Pala was involved in war. In the Vikramanka Charita by Vihlan it is stated that the Chalukya prince, Vikramanka invaded Kamarupa about this time. Harsha Pala married Ratna, a lady of high rank and had by her a son named Dharma Pala who has left two copper-plate inscriptions both of which have been published by Pandit Vidyavinod in his "Kamarupa Sasanavali:"'. The first was recorded in the third regnal year and by this Dharma pala granted lands to a Brahman, named Himanga, who appears to have been an expert in archery, and who was a native of village Krosanja in Sravasti. In the Silimpur stone slab inscription of Prahasa, deciphered by Mr. R. G. Basak, which must be posterior in time to the Dharma Pala inscription, mention is made of the locality called Sravasti which Mr. Basak locates within Northern Bengal. Pandit Vidyavinod has attempted to prove that this locality was within Kamarupa and that from this place some Brahmans migrated to Pundra (Northern Bengal)'. In the second inscription, the genealogy of Dharma Pala is drawn from Go Pala though in the first inscription it was drawn from Brahma Pala. It can be found from this inscription that the queen of Go Pala was named Nayana. Another important fact found from this inscription is that the adoration of Siva does not occur in it. The regnal year in which this inscription was recorded is not stated but there is hardly any doubt that it was recorded towards the end of his reign for it contains an exhortation from the king himself which runs as follows:- 

"Oh future kings, listen to this prayer of mine. Give up your false pride in your sovereignty which, like the flash of lightning, lasts only for a short while but do not give up Dhcarma which leads to eternal bliss."

This hankering for something eternal must have grown in his old age. The mention of "dharma" is rather striking. The Kamarupa kings from Indra Pala to Dharma Pala were followers of the Tantrik tenet and about that period Kamakhya had become an important seat of Tantrik Buddhism. The dharma mentioned in this inscription very probably referred to the "Sahajia dharma" or the Vajrayana cult then prevalent in Kamarupa. In both these inscriptions the name of the king as given in the seal is "Pragjyotishadhipati Maharajadhiraja Sri Dharma Pala Varma Deva" but although he is called "Lord of Pragjyotisha" it is stated in the second inscription, that he ruled at "Kamarupanagar". In his first inscription his capital is not mentioned. Pandit Vidyavinod supposes that before Dharma Pala had commenced his reign the capital of the kingdom had been shifted to further west beyond the Brahmaputra valley. The capital of the kingdom was not removed from Pragjyotishpur or Guwahati to west before the middle of the thirteenth century. 

Bukhtiyar's disaster in Kamarupa in 1206 A.D. was recorded within the boundaries of Pragjyotishpur in a rock inscription. The next Muslim invasions by Iwaz in 1226 A.D. and by Tughril Khan Malik Yuzbeg in 1255 A.D. seem to have proceeded as far as Guwahati and this is supported by the find at Guwahati in 1880, of two coins, one of lwaz dated 2nd Jumada 621 A.H. and another of Tughril minted at Lakhnauti dated Ramzan 653 A. H. There is hardly any doubt therefore that the capital was at Guwahati or its immediate neighbourhood till at least 1255 A.D. If it was then at further west the Muslim invasions would not have proceeded in the direction of Guwahati. The surmise is that the capital named Kamarupa-nagar, the "city of Kamrud" of the Muslim chroniclers, was at North Guwahati near the temple of Aswakranta. The Kamarupar Buranji mentions the tradition that a king named Dharma Pala had his seat of government there. 

The modern town of North Guwahati possesses temples, roads, bridges, fortifications and moats which are clearly of ancient origin. There are two temples on the Aswakranta hill. The upper temple contains the image of Vishnu lying on Ananta-Sajya. It is one of the finest specimens of sculptural skill in Kamarupa about the beginning of the twelfth century. The western part of the town is called Sil-Sako because it still contains a small stone-built bridge over a stream. The eastern part is known as Raja-duar (king's gate), which shows that the Raja's palace was there. The second copper-plate of Dharma Pala was actually found in the village of Rangmahal about two miles to the north of Raja-duar. This is another indication that the capital was then at North-Guwahati. In Rajaduur itself exists the rock-inscription, dated 1127 Saka, proclaiming the destruction of the Turkish army of Mahammad Bukhtiyar. It is therefore extremely probable that North Guwahati continued to be the capital from the time of Dharma Pala till about 1260 A.D. when the seat of government was transferred to further west. Pandit Vidyavinod's conjecture that the capital Kamarupa-Nagar was away from the river because the Brahmaputra is not mentioned in the inscription of Dharma Pala does not seem to be at all reasonable. And from a stone-slab inscriptioun found on the hill in Raja-duar, abutting on the Brahmaptttra, it can found that this small hill was the abode of Sri Chandra Bharati, a well-known Kamrupi poet of the sixteenth century. These facts go to show that North Guwahati was latterly the capital and that South- Guwahati or Pragyotishpur, subsequently called Sri-Durjaya, ceased to be the capital long before. It would therefore appear that North Guwahati or Kamarupa-nagar was the capital of Kamarupa for about 160 years from circa 1100 A.D. to 1260 A.D. Dharma Pala was succeeded probably by Jaya Pala whose name we find from the Silimpur inscription. 

 It appears that there was a pious Brahman named Prahusha in the Svamvaka village of Pundra who though persistently pressed by Jaya Pala, a powerful king of Kamarupa, refused to accept from the king the tulapurusha gift consisting of gold equal to the weight of the donor and also a gift of landed property. It appears that about the first part of the twelfth century, probably during the reign of Jaya Pala, Ratna Pala king of Gauda conquered Kumarupa. This is mentioned in the Rama Charita, by Sandhyakara Nandi' wherein it is stated that a general of Rampala named Mayana conquered Kamarupa. Relying on R.D. Banerji's statement, in his paper on the "Palas of Bengal", to the effect that Rama Pala was succeeded by his second son Kumara Pala about 1097 A.D., Pandit Vidyavinod states that Rama Pala conquered Kamarupa probably about 1095 A. D. when Dharma Pala was the king of Kamarupa. This statement cannot be accepted as correct. Of course the learned Pandit's theory is that after defeating Dharma Pala the king of Gauda snatched away only the south-western part of Kamarupa which was placed under the control of a vassal-king named Tingyadeva and that Dharma Pala and his successors continued to rule over the rest of Kamarupa. It seems Pandit Vidyavinod's theory is incorrect. 

Here shall mention that the chronology of the Pala rulers of Bengal is still uncertain. It has not been definitely proved that Kumarapala succeeded Ramapala before the end of the eleventh century. On the other hand it is quite possible that Ramapala had a very long reign and that he was succeeded during the second quarter of the twelfth century. The Kamauli inscription, which must have been recorded very soon after Kumara Pala's death is, on palaeographical evidence, placed towards the middle of the twelfth century. On the other hand it is fairly certain that Kumara Pala had a very short reign. All these circumstances go to show that Ramapala reigned probably till 1130 A.D. and that his conquest of Kamarupa took place about 1125 A.D. when Dharma Pala could not have been reigning. It is therefore seems that it was Jaya Pala, the son of Dharma Pala, who was overthrown by Ramapala. It will appear therefore that the names of all the kings of the dynasty of Brahma Pala have been found from the inscriptions of Dharma Pala and the Silimpur inscription referred to above. These kings ruled in due order of succession from about 985 A.D. till about 1125 A.D., when the last king Jaya Pala was overthrown by the Pala ruler of Bengal and a vassal named Tingyadeva was set up on the throne. The dynasty of Brahma Pala therefore ended with Jaya Pala.

Kamrup

The "Kamrup" is historical region, which in its height engulfed entire Brahmaputra Valley, western part (of valley) serving paramount role as capital and base, North Bengal as western and parts of Bangladesh as southern boundary. Contemporary Kamrup region not enfold such vast territories, is roughly equivalent to Kamapitha division of classical period and Undivided Kamrup district of modern times.

References in epics

Kamrup-Kamakhya temple

Ramayana and Mahabharata allude this region as Pragjyotish, not as Kamrup. Puranas written after Mahabharata mentions same Pragjyotish as Kamrup. Vishnu Purana narrates Kamrup spread 450 miles in all directions from Kamakhya. Kalika Purana says Kamakhya as nucleus of Kamrup. Yogini Tantra composed thereafter gives the geographical area of Kamrup as whole Brahmaputra Valley, Bhutan, Rangpur (Bangladesh), Mymensing (Bangladesh) and Cooch Behar .

Historical accounts

Madan Kamdev

First millennium common era marks expansion of geographical, political and cultural influence of Kamrup than never before. Chinese pilgrimage Yuan Chwang (Hsuan-Tsang), also a Sanskrit expert, gives intricate account of ancient Kamrup. Spending a period of three months in Pragjotishpura (Guwahati), he espied the life, culture and politics in Kamrup. 

Ancient divisions

Silsako bridge

Primeval Kamrup was diverged in four pithas (geographical divisions) (1) Ratnapitha between the Karatoya and the Svarnakosa (North Bengal & Goalpara region); (2) Kamapitha between the Svarnakosa and the Kapili (Kamrup region); (3) Svarnapitha between the Puspika and the Bhairavi (Central Assam); (4) Saumarapitha between the Bhairavi and the Dikrang (Eastern Assam).

Medieval period

In medieval times eastern Assam ceased to be its part; in absence of local rulers, it became an battlefield of different powers trying to control over it, but none can hold Kamrup for long, thus it remain unmarred by any foreign cultural influences, including in its language. In this time of hostility, also saw rise of major literary activities. Chandra Bharati, Bhattadeva , Ananta Kandali , Madhava Kandali , Sankardeva and others composed epics in Kamrupi language.

Pre-modern

Colonial period seen Kamrup shrinking than never before, limited to an administrative district with severance of North Bengal areas.

Modern

Gauhati

Twentieth century marks major industrial development of Kamrup. Guwahati , the largest city of region, became major urban core. Thus, cultural and political capital of ancient Kamrup became major hub of culture and business again.

See also

• Kamrupi culture
• Ancient Kamrup
• Kamarupa pithas
• Kamrup kingdom
• Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti