Kamrupi language

   ''Kamrupi language'' is the first Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Brahmaputra valley and North Bengal.¹ During medieval times, intellectuals and saints in the Brahmaputra Valley and its adjacent areas employed Kamrupi for literary purposes, alongside Sanskrit, for both prose and poetry. This differed from the practices of literary figures in central India, such as Vidyapati, who used Sanskrit for prose and Maithili for poetry.² Notably, in contemporary times, the South Kamrupi dialect has been effectively utilized by author Indira Goswami in her works, producing dramatic effects. Ambikagiri Raichoudhury, a renowned poet and nationalist hailing from Kamrup, also extensively used the Kamrupi language in his writings.³ 

 

    According to the census data of 1951 and 2011, the combined number of Kamrupi language speakers in the Undivided Kamrup district, referred to as the "Kamrup region," is estimated to be 1,177,587 and 6,000,000, respectively.^4 5

Etymology

    The appellation traced to Kamrup, the place where it is spoken. In Hindu mythology, Shiva burnt Kamadeva into ashes by a fiery glance of his third eye. Kamadeva eventually regained his life and his original 'form' (Rupa) here and the land where this took place become known as "Kamrup" ("Kamarupa").

Dialects

    The Kamrupi language has three dialects: West Kamrupi (Barpeta), Central Kamrupi (Nalbari) and South Kamrupi (Palasbari).⁶ The West Kamrupi dialect is spoken in Barpeta district and circumambient regions, Central Kamrupi dialect is spoken in Nalbari district and adjacent areas and South Kamrupi dialect is spoken in Palashbari and surrounding neighbourhoods.⁶

Script

Kamrupi Consonants

    The classical Kamrupi script was historically utilized for writing the Kamrupi language until the end of the first millennium. This script underwent a bifurcation into four distinct varieties in the second millennium, namely Bamoniya (employed by Brahmins), Katheli (utilized by Kayasthas), Lakhri (used by the common people of Kamrup),⁷ and Gadgaya (specific to Eastern Assam). The first three varieties were exclusively used for writing in Western Assam. However, since the nineteenth century, the Bengali script has been adopted for writing the Kamrupi language.⁸

 

Kamrup

    During the first half of the seventh century, the renowned Chinese traveler Hiuen-Tsiang visited Kamrup, which was under the rule of Bhaskar Varman at that time. He observed that the language spoken in Kamrup differed slightly from the languages spoken in central India. This linguistic distinction marked the emergence of what is now known as early Assamese or Kamrupi. This observation provided substantial evidence for Upendranath Goswami, who concluded that Assamese first made its way into Kamarupa, or western Assam, where it began to develop as a distinct language. Hiuen-Tsiang's remarks about the Kingdom of Kamarupa during the reign of Bhaskar Varman serve as vital historical records in this regard.Suniti Kumar Chatterji, another notable linguist, further supports this assertion by stating that one would expect a single, uniform language to have been prevalent in both North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal, as well as in West Assam (Kamarupa) during the seventh century. 

 

    This expectation arises from the fact that these regions and other parts of Bengal shared similar linguistic characteristics during that period. Originally, Kamrupi was spoken in the region of Kamrup and gradually spread to adjacent areas as the Kingdom of Kamrup expanded its boundaries through conquest. Its presence and influence extended beyond its traditional borders due to the territorial acquisitions of the kingdom.
 

Scholarly views

    Furthermore, the modern Bengali scholars like Suniti Kumar Chatterjee and Sukumar Sen have named the dialect of Bengali spoken in North Bengal as Kamrupi. Chatterjee writes, Assamese Kamrupi and Bengali Kamrupi is quite similar, the division possibly occurred due to political reasons and two forms dialect continuum. According to him, Magadhi Prakrit, keeping north of the Ganga river, gave rise to the Kamarupa Apabhramsa dialects of Western Assam and North Bengal. He divides Magadhan dialects regionwise as Radha, Varendra, Kamarupa and Vanga.

Dr. Sukumar Sen says, "Oriya and Assamese have intimate relations with Bengali. All three were the same language initially. There is not much difference between Kamrupi dialect of Bengali and Assamese. Assamese has differed from Kamrupi in the modern period because of inclusion of innumerable Deshi words". 

Upendranath Goswami wrote, "The Assamese language, coming from the west was first characterized in Kamrup or Western Assam whose boundary comprised in early times the whole of North-Bengal, including Cooch-Behar, Rangpur and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal".

According to Kanak Lal Barua, the Kamrupi dialect 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 Assam valley and whole of North Bengal with the addition of the district of Purnea. The language of the Buddhist Dohas is described as belonging to the mixed Maithili Kamrupi language.

Features

Kamrupi Vowels

Phonology

(a) The treatment of ks as kh which is a notable feature in O.I.A and the Kamrupi, has been found in Kamrup inscriptions, such as inscriptions of Ratna Pala where ksitimatha & khimatha was used.

(b) /X/ does not occurs finally in Kamrupi, it does in Eastern dialect. In non-initial position Old Indo-Aryan sibilants become /kh/ and sometimes /h/, whereas in eastern Assamese it become /x/, e.g. Akha (hope) and Axa (east Assamese).

(c) Medial vowels are thus rarely pronounced or largely slurred over.

(d) In Kamrupi, two consecutive /a/ are tolerated (star: /taɹa/ (Kamrupi), /tɔɹa/ (eastern dialect)). In Eastern Assamese if a word has two /a/ sounds side-by-side, the first /a/ turns into an /ɔ/ or /ɛ/. . 

(e) Epenthetic vowels are the rule in Kamrupi, with even diphthongs and triphthongs appearing in initial syllables (haula Kam; haluwa St) (keuila Kam; kewaliya E Ass).

(f) High vowels are feature of Kamrupi, in contrast to predominance of medial vowels in Eastern dialect. Kapur, tule, mul, tamul and khalu in Eastern Assamese as against Kapor (cloth), tole (raises), mol (worth), tamol (betel-nut) and khalo (i have eaten) in Kamrupi.

(g) The eastern dialect favours de-aspiration as against aspiration of Kamrupi in same phonological context.

(h) One of the most prominent features of Kamrupi is the use of initial stress, as opposed to penultimate stress in the eastern dialects, which effectively shortens the word (kumra (Gourd) in Kamrupi  and komora in eastern dialect). 

Morphology

(a) Western Assamese shares morphological peculiarities with North Bengali. The plural suffixes in Western Assamese -hamra and -gila have parallel forms in North Bengali -amrah, the remote demonstrative plural and -gila, -gla.

(b)The plural suffixes of Kamrupi are very different from the eastern Assamese (Kamrupi: -gila, -gilak; Standard: -bor, -bilak). Kamrupi plural suffixes has continuity from ancient times, as opposed to late medieval appearance of bor and bilak in Eastern Assam.

(c) Standard uses -loi in the dative case ending, Kamrupi uses the dative-accusative case ending -k or the locative -t (Kamrupi: gharot/gharok zau; Standard gharaloi zao). The third personal affix in the past tense is -lak (Kamrupi: xi khalak; Eastern Assamese: xi khale).

(d) The instrumental sense -di in Kamrupi is increasingly accepted in the Eastern Assamese now (Kamrupi: hatedi; Standard: hatere).

Similarities with Assamese language

Dr. Nirmalendu Bhowmik, while conversing about resemblance of Kamrupi with Assamese language based on Eastern Assam, observes that regardless of some similarity in morphology, there is absolutely no parallelism in terms of phonology, though both languages shares few common words.

History

A eleventh century work by Kamrupi litterateur Rama Saraswati

     

    The Kamrupi language, despite its current status as a dialect of Bengali and Assamese, has its roots in the Magadhi Prakrit, along with other old Indo-Aryan languages of the eastern region such as Radhi, Vanga, and Varendri. It emerged from this ancient language and eventually gave rise to the modern Assamese language in the eastern part of India.^{9 10} Kamrupi was the predominant language used in ancient and medieval Assamese literature,^11 12 until the arrival of American Christian missionaries in the mid-19th century who introduced the usage of the eastern variety for translating the Bible.^{13 14} The earliest examples of Kamrupi writings and literature can be found in copper plate seals issued by Kamrupi rulers, which were discovered in different parts of Eastern and Northern India. These seals serve as valuable historical documents that shed light on the linguistic landscape of the region during that time.^{15 16 17}
 

    Charyapada is a collection of 8th-12th century Vajrayana Buddhist caryagiti, or mystical poems. Being caryagiti (songs of realization), the Charyapada were intended to be sung. These songs of realization were spontaneously composed verses, that expressed a practitioner's experience of the enlightened state. A manuscript of this anthology was discovered in the early 20th century, by Haraprasad Shastri in Nepal. It provides the examples of the Kamrupi and other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages. The authors of the Charyapada, the Mahasiddhas or Siddhacharyas, belonged to the various regions of Kamrup (Assam), Gauda (Bengal), Kalinga (Orissa) and Mithila (Bihar). A Tibetan translation of the Charyapada was also preserved in the Tibetan Buddhist canon.

    In eighth century, celebrated litterateur Daka of Lehidangra village of Barpeta district composed  authoritative Dakabhanita. The notable medieval Kamrupi literary figures are Rama Saraswati, Ananta Kandali, Sridhara Kandali, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, Kalapachandra Dvija and Bhattadeva, the father of Assamesc prose. Hema Saraswati and Haribara Vipra are two other well known Kamrupi poets. Hema Saraswati composed the "Prahlad Charitra" based on the Vamana Purana, while Haribara Vipra translated the Aswamedha Parva of the Mahabharata. 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 Assamese 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.

See also

• Old Kamrupi language
• Kamrupi script
• Kamrupi literature
• Kamrup
• Kamrupi culture
• Standardisation of Kamrupi language
• A Study on Kamrupi (1958 thesis by Dr. Upendranath Goswami)
• The Dark Age of Kamrupi language

References

1. Goswami, Upendranath (1970),  A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 4 "Assam from ancient times, was known as Kamarupa till the end of the Koch rule (17th century) and ancient Kamarupa comprised the whole of North Bengal including Cooch-Behar, and the Rangpur and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal. Its permanent western boundary is said to have been the river Karatoya in North Bengal according to the Kalika Purana and Yoginitantra, both devoted to geographical accounts of ancient Kamarupa. So the Aryan language spoken first in Assam was the Kamrupi language spoken in Rangpur, Cooch-Behar, Goalpara, Kamrup district and some parts of Nowgong and Darrang districts. As also put by K.L. Barua "the Kamrupi dialect 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 Assam Valley and the whole of Northern Bengal with the addition of the Purnea district of Bihar”. It is in this Kamrupi language that the early Assamese literature was mainly written. Up to the seventeenth century as the centre of art, literature and culture were confined within western Assam and the poets and the writers hailed from this part, the language of this part also acquired prestige. The earliest Assamese writer is Hema Saraswati, the author of a small poem, Prahrada Caritra, who composed his verses under his patron, King Durlabhnarayana of Kamatapur who is said to have ruled in the latter part of the 13th century. Rudra Kandali translated Drone Parva under the patronage of King Tamradhvaja of Rangpur. The most considerable poet of the pre-vaisnavite period is Madhava Kandali, who belonged to the present district of Nowgong and rendered the entire Ramayana into Assamese verse under the patronage of king Mahamanikya, a Kachari King of Jayantapura. The golden age in Assamese literature opened with the reign of Naranarayana, the Koch King. He gathered round him at his court at Cooch-Behar a galaxy of learned man. Sankaradeva real founder of Assamese literature and his favourite disciple Madhavadeva worked under his patronage. The other-best known poets and writers of this vaisnavite period namely Rama Sarasvati, Ananta Kandali, Sridhar Kandali, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharyya, Dvija Kalapachandra and Bhattadeva, the founder of the Assamese prose, all hailed from the present district of Kamarupa. During Naranaryana's reign "the Koch power reached its zenith. His kingdom included practically the whole of Kamarupa of the kings of Brahmapala's dynasty with the exception of the eastern portion known as Saumara which formed the Ahom kingdom. Towards the west the kingdom appears to have extended beyond the Karatoya, for according to Abul Fasal, the author of the Akbarnamah, the western boundary of the Koch kingdom was Tirhut. On the south-west the kingdom included the Rangpur district and part of Mymensingh to the east of the river Brahmaputra which then flowed through that district," The Kamrupi language lost its prestige due to reasons mentioned below and has now become a dialect which has been termed as Kamrupi dialect as spoken in the present district of Kamrup."
2. Medhi, Kaliram (1988), Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language, Publication Board, Assam, p.84, "Prose had also been used by the Maithili poets, Vidyapati, Harsanatha and others,--in their dramas. But whereas the Maithili poets prose was in Sanskrit and their songs alone in Maithili Sankara Deva's prose and songs were both in Kamrupi".
3. Sahitya Akademi, Indian literature: Volume 30, 1987 "Ambikagiri set a new trend in Assamese by his abundant use of Kamrupi language in his writings." 
4. Census of India 1951, "Number of Assamese language speakers in Undivided Kamrup district"
5. Census of India 2011, "Number of Assamese language speakers in Undivided Kamrup district"
6. Goswami, Upendranath (1970),  A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 28. "The sub-dialectical varieties of Kamrupi may be grouped mainly into three divisions —western, central and southern. The variety spoken in the area comprising Barpeta, Sundardiya, Patbausi, Bhabani- pur etc. is western, that of Nalbari and its surrounding areas is central and that of Palasbari, Chaygong, Boko etc. is southern."
7. ''Goswami, Hemchandra (1930), Descriptive Catalogue Of Assamese Manuscripts, p.145 "There are 1,893 stanzas in the puthi (Ramayana - Lanka Kanda) and it is generally free from spelling mistakes. The writings are uniform and resemble Lahkari characters of Kamrup. The puthi was copied by Dharmanarain Kayastha of Khudramakhibaha in Nambarbhag mauza of Kamrup in saka 1727. 
8. Barua, Birinchi Kumar (1978), The History of Assamese Literature, Sahitya Akademi, p. 6, "Like the Bengali, the Assamese script also was derived from old Devanagari alphabets. Originally there are several schools of Assamese script, namely, Gargaya, Bamunia, Lakhari and Kaithali; but in later years all the different scripts merged into one. After the establishment of the printing-press at Serampore, near Calcutta, Assamese books began to be printed in the Bengali script, and since then the Bengali script has been adopted for Assamese with certain modifications.
9. Datta, Birendranatha  (1999), Folkloric Foragings in India's North-East, p.134 "Scholars have shown that it is rather through the western Assam dialects that the development of modern Assamese has to be traced". 
10. Goswami, Upendranath (1975), Grammatical Sketches of Indian Languages With Comparative Vocabulary And Texts, Linguistic Survey of India, Census of India 1971, p.35 Thus it is clear that Kamrupi dialect does not only claim as the mother of modern Assamese, but also that this speech continued to exert its appreciable influence on Assamese literature, both prose and poetry. It is worth mentioning here that Assamese Vocabularies may greatly be enriched by incorporation of certain important words and expressions, still in vogue in the modern district of Kamrup proper, in modern Assamese lexicon.
11. Medhi, Kaliram (1936), Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language, Sri Gouranga Press, p. 66 "The language of the pre-Vaisnava and Vaisnava was the dialect of Western Assam while the language of the modern literature is that of Eastern Assam. This latter has been accepted by the common consent as the literary language of the country. Political power thus determined the centre of literary activity and also of the form of literary language".
12. Goswami, Golockchandra (1982), Structure of Assamese, Department of Publication, Gauhati University, p. 11 "The Eastern and Central dialects may be regarded as uniform to a certain extent in their respective areas, while Western Asamiya is heterogeneous in character, with large regional variations in the east, west, north and south. There must have been in early times as well, diverse dialects and dialect groups as at present. But then, there seems to be only one dominant literary language prevailing over the whole area; and that was Western Asamiya, the sole medium of all ancient Asamiya literature including the Buranjis written in the Ahom courts. This was because the centre of all literary activities in early times was in western Assam; and the writers were patronized by the kings and local potentates of that region. In the later period, however, even though the centre of literary activities moved to eastern Assam in the Ahom period, the writers continued to accept and use the existing model of the literary style of that time". 
13. Garg, Gaṅgā Rām  (1992) , Encyclopaedia of the Hindu world: Volume 3 "With the publication of the translation of the Bible (1838) done by Nathan Brown of the American Baptist Mission Group, modern period of Assamese language began." 
14. George, K. M. Modern Indian literature, an anthology: Volume 3, "In the restoration of the language (Eastern Assamese), American Baptist missionaries played a very significant role."
15. "Choudhury, Dr. Pratap Chandra (1959), The history of civilisation of the people of Assam to the twelfth century A.D., Dept. of Historical and Antiquarian Studies, Gauhati, p.395 "The best specimens of wise sayings are contained in a work, 'Dakabhanita', attributed to Daka, written in old Kamarupi dialect. The work provides an important specimen of the ancient literature of Assam. It is, however, too early to ascribe the work to the 6th century A.D., as done by D.N. Bezbarua. It may have been composed about the 8th century A.D. It is true that Daka flourished at a time when the written literature of Assam had scarcely taken its birth. The place of the nativity of Daka is given in the work, which states that he was the native of the Lehidangara near modern Barpeta."
16. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese, 1970, "They cannot furnish the grammatical structure of Kamrupi or Assamese for which we are to turn our attention to the songs of the Buddhist Siddhacaryas, known as Caryas, composed in between 8th to 12th centuries A.D". 
17. "The Kamrupi Apabhramsa" in The Journal of the Assam Research Society - Volume 18 (1968), Kāmarūpa Anusandhān Samiti, p.83,"However, Kamrupi Ap. is mostly related to that of Magadhi Ap. in the 7th century A.D., for which Chinese Pilgrim Yuan Chwang passed an worthy remark that the language of Kamrupa 'differs a little from that of Mid-India'.After dealing with Inscriptional Prakrits of oldest Kamrupi language, we find distinct Kamrupi Apabhramsa in written evidence of Carya- padas. These are the Buddhist songs based on Buddhist religion and life-philosophy"
18. Goswami, Upendranath, "The Assames Script" in The Journal of the Assam Research Society - Volume 27 (1983), Kāmarūpa Anusandhān Samiti, p.27 "The Kamarupi script developed into the mediaeval Assamese script and the latter into the modern Assamese script. The Assamese script maintains some relationship with the Bengali and the Maithili scripts." 
19. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A Study on Kāmrūpī: A Dialect of Assamese, p.iii "The Assamese language, coming from the west was first characterized in Kamrup or Western Assam whose boundary comprised in early times the whole of North-Bengal, including Cooch-Behar, Rangpur and Jalpaiguri districts of Bengal." 
20. Bangladesh Itihas Samiti (1999), Sylhet: History and Heritage, p.591 "Suniti Kumar Chatterjee in his Origin and Development of Bangla Language (ODBL) divided the Bangla dialect into four groups in accordance with the name of the regions such as Rada, Pundra or Barindra, Banga and Kamrupi."
21. Barma, Sukhbilas (2007), Socio-Political Movements In North Bengal "Suniti Kumar Chatterji, in "The Origin and Development of the Bengali Language' published in 1926 has given to this dialect of North Bengal the name 'Kamrupi'."
22. Sharma, Deba Brat (1995), Changing Cultural Mosaic of a Village in Assam, p.10, "an end the kingdom of Kamarupa and since then the area between the rivers the Manas on the west and the Barnadi on the east came to be known as Kamrup." 
23. T. Raatan (2006), History, Religion and Culture of North East India, p.70 "Known in the ancient lore as the kingdom of Pragjyotisha and Kamrupa, the capital having been Pragjyotishpura situated in or near Guwahati".
24. Tripathi, Chandra Dhar  (2002), Aspects of the medieval history of Assam, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, p.17 "Ratnapala founded a new city called Sri Durjaya and shifted his capital there. It has been identified with the ruins at modern North Gauhati."
25. Bhattasali, N.K (2005), New Lights on the History of Assam in Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma (2005), Discovery of North-East India, p.248, "Davaka (Nowgong) and Kamarupa as separate and submissive friendly kingdoms."
26. Barua, Kanak Lal (1933), Early History of Kamarupa: from the Earliest Times to the End of the Sixteenth Century, p. 31, "in the sixth or the seventh century this kingdom of Davaka was absorbed by Kamarupa" 
27. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, p.1 "Assamese entered into Kamarupa or western Assam where this speech was first characterised as Assamese. This is evident from the remarks of Hiuen Tsang, who visited the Kingdom of Kamarupa in the first half of the seventh century A.D., during the reign of Bhaskaravarman." 
28. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926), The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1 "One would expect one and identical language to have been current in North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal and West Assam (Kamarupa) in the 7th century, since these tracts, and other parts of Bengal, had almost the same speech." 
29. Martin, Robert Montgomery (1838), Puraniya, Ronggopoor and Assam "The ancient Hindu territory of Kamrup, which extends east from the Korotoya, where it joined the kingdom of Motsyo, to Dikkorbasini." 
30. Great Britain India Office, The India list and India Office list, 1819 "The earliest authentic traditions attest the existence of a Hindu kingdom of Kamrup, with its capital at Gauhati." 
31. Barma, Sukhabilasa (2004), Bhawaiya, ethnomusicological study, Global Vision Publishing House, ISBN:9788182200708, 8182200709, p.101 "Based on the materials of the Linguistic Survey of India, Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyay has divided Eastern Magadhi Prakrita and Apabhramsa into four dialect groups (1) Radha-the language of West Bengal and Orissa (2) Varendra-dialect of North Central Bengal (3) Kamrupi-dialect of Northern Bengal and Assam and (4) Vanga-dialect of East Bengal." 
32. Barma, Sukhabilasa (2004), Bhawaiya, ethnomusicological study, Global Vision Publishing House, ISBN:9788182200708, 8182200709, p.103 "Acharya Suniti Chattopadhyay has commented that Assam was practically an extension of North Bengal, from its geographical position, so far as its speech and early history were concerned". 
33. Barma, Sukhabilasa (2004), Bhawaiya: Ethnomusicological Study, Global Vision Publishing House, ISBN:9788182200708, 8182200709, p.135 "Particularly with the introduction of tea garden , spreading of tobacco and jute cultivation and trading in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries , lots of people speaking Bengali and Radhi came to North Bengal for their livelihood and as such Kamrupi language got mixed up with their languages".
34. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926), The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1 "One would expect one and identical language to have been current in North Central Bengal (Pundra-vardhana) and North Bengal and West Assam (Kamarupa) in the 7th century, since these tracts, and other parts of Bengal, had almost the same speech".
35. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926), The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1 "Eastern Magadhi Prakrita and Apabhramsa has four dialect groups (1) Radha-the language of West Bengal and Orissa (2) Varendra-dialect of North Central Bengal (3)Kamarupa-dialect of Northern Bengal and Assam and (4) Vanga-dialect of East Bengal". 
36. Barma, Sukhabilasa (2004), Bhawaiya, ethnomusicological study Dr. Sukumar Sen says, "Oriya and Assamese have intimate relations with Bengali. All three were the same language initially. There is not much difference between Kamrupi dialect of Bengali and Assamese. Assamese has differed from Kamrupi in the modern period because of inclusion of innumerable Deshi words." 
37. Choudhary, Radhakrishna (1976), A Survey of Maithili Literature, p.16 "According to Kanak Lal Barua, the Kamrupi dialect 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 Assam valley and whole of North Bengal with the addition of the district of Purnea. The language of the Buddhist Dohas is described as belonging to the mixed Maithili - Kamrupi language." 
38. Goswami, Upendranath  (1970), A Study on Kāmrūpī: A Dialect of Assamese, p.96 "In early Assamese we find such forms : dayaluka rama tumi bolaya sansare" 
39. Goswami, Upendranath (1970), A study on Kamrupi: a dialect of Assamese, Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam. p. 14 "Politically, socially and culturally Kamrup formed a separate unit and its speech also was compelled to take a shape to form a distinct dialect. It is only by chance that this dialect had to lose its prestige and had to remain as a dialect".
40. Barua, Kanak Lal (1933), Early History of Kamarupa, p. 318 "The Kamarupi dialect 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 Assam valley and the whole of northern Bengal with the addition of the Purnea district of Bihar. It is not therefore at all strange 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, the direct offspring of the old Kamarupi dialect."

Bibliography

• Goswami, Upendranath (1970),  A study on Kāmrūpī: a dialect of Assamese, Dept. of Historical Antiquarian Studies, Assam.
• Medhi, Kaliram (1936), Assamese Grammar and Origin of the Assamese Language, Publication Board, Assam
• Goswami, Golockchandra (1982), Structure of Assamese, Department of Publication, Gauhati University
• Chatterji, Suniti Kumar (1926), The origin and development of the Bengali language, Volume 1, Calcutta university press
• Goswami, Golockchandra (1966), An introduction to Assamese phonology, Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute
• Goswami, Upendranath (1957), Onomatopoetic and echo-words in Kamrupi
• Goswami, Upendranath (1957), O. I. A. sibilants in Kāmrupi
• Goswami, Upendranath (1978), An introduction to Assamese, Mani-Manik Prakash
• Sengupta, Madhumita (2016), Becoming Assamese: Colonialism and New Subjectivities in Northeast India, Routeledge India

Prayagraj stone pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta

Prayag Prashasti

Prayagraj stone pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta is writings in stone pillar during the term of king Samudra Gupta, the ruler of  the Gupta Empire (c. 335 – c. 375 CE), located in Prayaga (now in Uttar Pradesh), inscribing events during his tenure in and around his empire.

Content

Though some the parts of inscription are unreadable, few are in good shape.

• Line 1 - [Who] by his own kinsmen , ;-whose .

• Line 2g - This lofty column (is) as it were an arm of the earth, proclaiming the

fame,-which, having pervaded the entire surface of the earth with (its) development that was caused by (his) conquest of the whole world, (has departed) hence (and now) experiences the sweet happiness attained by (his) having gone to the abode of (Indra) the lord of the gods,-of the Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Samudragupta,
. . . . . . . . . .;-

• Line 3 - [Who] twanging (of the bow-string) burst open and

scattered dishevelled ;

• Line 5 - Whose happy mind was accustomed to associate with learned people; who

was the supporter of the real truth of the scriptures; firmly fixed . . .;-who, having overwhelmed, with the (force of the) commands of the collective merits of (his) learned men, those things which obstruct the beauty of excellent poetry, (still) enjoys, in the world of the wise, the sovereignty of the fame (produced) by much poetry, . . . . . . and of clear meaning;-

• Line 7 - Who, being looked at (with envy) by the faces, melancholy (through the

rejection of themselves), of others of equal birth, while the attendants of the court breathed forth deep sighs (of happiness), was bidden by (his) father,--who, exclaiming "Verily (he is) worthy," embraced (him) with the hairs of (his) body standing erect (through pleasure) (and thus) indicative of (his) sentiments, and scanned (him) with an eye turning round and round in affection, (and) laden with tears (of joy), (and) perceptive of (his noble) nature,-[to govern of a surety] the whole world;

• Line 9 - Whose some people (were accustomed to) taste with

affection, displaying exceeding great joy when they beheld (his) many actions that resembled nothing of a mortal nature; (and) whose protection other people, afflicted by (his) prowess, sought, performing obeisance, ;--.

• Line 11 - [Whose] doers of great wrong, always conquered by his

arm in battle, to-morrow and to-morrow pride repentance, with minds filled with contentment (and) expanding with much clearly displayed pleasure and affection, the spring (?);-

• Line 13 - By whom,-having, unassisted, with the force of the prowess of (his) arm

that rose up so as to pass all bounds, uprooted Achyuta and Nâgasêna . . .;-(by whom), causing him who was born in the family of the Kôtas to be captured by (his) armies, (and) taking his pleasure at (the city) that had the name of Pushpa, while the sun the banks ;-

• Line 15 - (Of whom it used to be said),- "The building of the pale of religion; fame as

white as the rays of the moon, (and) spreading far and wide; wisdom that pierced the essential nature of things; calmness ; the path of the sacred hymns, that is worthy to be studied; and even poetry, which gives free vent to the power of the mind of poets; (all these are his); (in short) what (virtue) is there that does not belong to him, who alone is a worthy subject of contemplation for those who can recognise merit and intellect ?;"-

• Line 17 - Who was skilful in engaging in a hundred battles of various kinds;-whose

only ally was the prowess of the strength of his own arm;-who was noted for prowess;- whose most charming body was covered over with all the beauty of the marks of a hundred confused wounds, caused by the blows of battle-ayes, arrows, spears, pikes, barbed darts, swords, lances, javelins for throwing, iron arrows, vaitastikas, and many other (weapons);-

• Line 19 - Whose great good fortune was mixed with, so as to be increased by (his)

glory produced by the favour shewn in capturing and then liberating Mahêndra of Kôsala, Vyâghraraja of Mahâkantâra, Mantarâja of Kêrala, Mahêndra of Pishtapura, Svâmidatta of Kottûra on the hill, Damana of Êrandapalla, Vishnugôpa of Kâñchi, Nîlarâija of Avamukta, Hastivarman of Vengî, Ugrasêna of Palakka, Kubêra of Dêvarâshtra, Dhanamjaya of Kusthalapura, and all the other kings of the region of the south;-

• Line 21 - Who abounded in majesty that had been increased by violently

exterminating Rudradêva, Matila, Nâgadatta, Chandravarman, Ganapatinâga, Nâgasêna, Achyuta, Nandin, Balavarman, and many other kings of (the land of) Âryâvarta;-who made all the kings of the forest countries to become (his) servants;

• Line 22 - Whose imperious commands were fully gratified, by giving all (kinds of) taxes and obeying (his) orders and coming to perform obeisance, by the frontier-kings of Samatata, Davâka, Kâmarûpa, Nêpâla, Kartripura, and other (countries), and by the Mâlavas, Ârjunâyanas, Yaudhêyas, Mâdrakas, Abhîras, Prârjunas, Sanakânîkas, Kâkas, Kharaparikas, and other (tribes);-

• Line 23 - Whose tranquil fame, pervading .the whole world, was generated by

establishing (again) many royal families, fallen and deprived of sovereignty;-whose binding together of the (whole) world, by means of the amplitude of the vigour of (his) arm, was effected by the acts of respectful service, such as offering themselves as sacrifices, bringing presents of maidens, (giving) Garuda-tokens, (surrendering) the enjoyment of their own territories, soliciting (his) commands, &c., (rendered) by the Daivaputras, Shâhis, Shâhânushâhis, Sakas, and Murundas, and by the people of Simhala and all (other) dwellers in islands;-who had no antagonist (of equal power) in the world;-who, by the overflow of the multitude of (his) various virtues adorned by a hundred good actions, rubbed out the fame of other kings with the soles of (his) feet;- who, being incomprehensible, was the spirit that was the cause of the production of good and the destruction of evil;-who, being full of compassion, had a tender heart that could be won over simply by devotion and obeisance;-who was the giver of many hundreds of thousands of cows;-

• Line 26 - Whose mind busied itself with the support and the initiation, &c., of the

miserable, the poor, the helpless, and the afflicted;--who was the glorified personification of kindness to mankind;-who was equal to (the gods) Dhanada and Varuna and Indra and Antaka;-whose officers were always employed in restoring the wealth of the various kings who had been conquered by the strength of his arms;-

• Line 27 - Who put to shame (Kashyapa) the preceptor of (Indra) the lord of the gods,

and Tumburu, and Nârada, and others, by (his) sharp and polished intellect and choral skill and musical accomplishments;- who established (his) title of ‘king of poets’ by various poetical compositions that were fit to be the means of subsistence of learned people;-whose many wonderful and noble deeds are worthy to be praised for a very long time;-

• Line 28 - Who was a mortal only in celebrating the rites of the observances of

mankind, (but was otherwise) a god, dwelling on the earth;-who was the son of the son's son of the Mahârâja, the illustrious Gupta;- who was the son's son of the Maharaja, the illustrious Ghatotkacha;--who vas the son of the Mahârâjâdhirâja, the glorious Chandragupta (I.), (and)- the daughter's son of Lichchhavi, begotten on the Mahâdêvî Kumâradêvî;-

• Line 30 - (And) chose fame,-ever heaped up higher and higher by the development of (his) liberality and prowess of arm and composure and (study of ) the precepts of the

scriptures,- --travelling by many paths, purifies the three worlds, as if it were the pale yellow water of (the river) Gangâ, flowing quickly on being liberated from confinement in the thickets of the matted hair of (the god) Pashupati.

• Line 31 - And this poetical composition,- (the work) of the Khâdyatapâkika, the son of the Mahâdandanâyaka Dhruvabhûti, the Sâmdhivigrahika and Kumârâmatya, the Mahâdandanâyaka Harishêna, who is the slave of these same feet of the Bhattâraka, (and) whose mind is expanded by the favour of constantly walking about in (his)

presence,-let it be for the welfare and happiness of all existing beings!

• Line 33 - And the accomplishment of the matter has been effected by the

Mahâdandanâyaka Tilabhattaka, who meditates on the feet of the Paramabhattâraka.

Nidhanpur inscription of Bhaskar Varman

Inscriptions recorded by king Bhaskar Varman in different parts of India in seventh century are known as ''Bhaskar Varman's inscriptions''. Copper plates seals issued by Bhaskar Varman gives detailed account of his ruling time and events associated. It is customery among the kings of Kamarupa to issue seals for every major event related to kingdom either it giving land grants to Brahmins or winning a war.Nidhanpur inscription of Bhaskar Varman gives detailed account of land grants given to Brahmins. Copper plates found mostly in Panchakhanda pargana where historians opined that actual granted lands are located.

Nidhanpur copper plate seal states:
Om. (Verse 1.) Having saluted the god who is lovely with the moon as head-gear. the wielder of the bow (pinaka), adorned with particles of ashes, I once again make clear (what was already) plain words (i.e. of the destroyed plates) for the benefit of the (spiritually) prosperous Brahmans.
(Line 2.) Hail. From the camp located at Karnasuvarna, with the appropriate epithet of victory owing to possession of splendid ships, elephants horses and foot-soldiers.
(V.2.)Victorious is the form of the great Lord (Mahadeva), never forsaken (in contemplation by the devotees), bedecked with its own splendour, that has a girdle made of the lord of snakes, (and) that destroyed the body of Kama (Cupid) at a mere glance.
(V.3.)Victorious is (also) Dharma (Religion), the sole friend of the creation, the cause of prosperity in both the worlds (this and the next), whose form is the good of others, unseen (yet) whose existence is inferred from the results.
(V.4.)Naraka, the chief of the rulers of the earth, was the son of the wielder of the Chakra (i.e. Vishnu), who with a view to lift up the Earth from (beneath) the Ocean, assumed the distinguished form of a boar.
(V.5.)From that Naraka, by whom naraka (hell) was never seen, was born king Bhagadatta, the friend of Indra, who challenged in fight Vijaya (i.e. Arjuna), renowned for conquests.
(V.6.)Of that killer of (his) enemies (there) was a son named Vajradatta whose course was like (that of) the thunderbolt (Vajra), who with an army of uninterrupted progress always pleased in fight the performer of hundred sacrifices (i.e. Indra).
(V.7.)When the kings of his family having enjoyed the position (of rulers) for three thousand years had (all) attained the condition or gods, Pushyavarman became the lord of the world.
(V.8.)His son was Samudravarman, who was like a fifth samudra (Ocean), during whose reign there was no anarchy, shining with gems, and quick in duels.
(V.9.)That king had a son born of (his queen) Dattadevi, (named) Balavarman, whose force and armour never broke up and whose army would easily marchagainst enemies.
(V.10.)His son born of (queen) Ratnavati was the king named Kalayanavarman, who was not the abode of even very small faults.
(V.11.)From him ((queen) Gandharvavati begot a son Ganapati (by name) who was incessantly raining gifts as (the god) Ganapati (rains) ichor, who was endowed with innumerable qualities, for the extermination of strife (as Ganapati) is born to destroy the Kali age.
(V.12.)His queen Yajnavati, brought forth a son Mahendravarman, as the sacrificial fire (produces) fire, who was the repository of all sacrificial rites (like fire).
( V.13.)From him who mastered his self, Suvrata generated a son Narayanavarman for the stability (of the rule; of the world, who like Janaka (or his father) was well versed in the principles of the philosophy of the (supreme) Self.
(V.14.)From him, Devavati, like Prakriti from Purusha, bore Mahabhutavarman, the sixth Mahabhuta (element) as it were, for the steady succession of (all) the properties.
(V.15.)His son was Chandramukha, who was charming by (possessing) all the arts as the moon (by the digits), whom Vijnanavati brought forth, as the Sky did (the moon), a dispeller of (all) gloom(as the moon dispels the darkness).
(V.16.)Thereafter (queen) Bhogavati of (good) enjoyment became the cause (of birth) of Sthitavarman, the supporter of the world, who had innumerable (sources of) enjoyment, (just as) Bhogavati (the city of the Snakes of the nether regions) is (the source) of prosperity of the chief of the Snakes, the supporter of the earth, who has a myriad of hoods.
(V.17.)From that king of unfathomable nature, of innumerable gems, and the spouse of the (goddess) Lakshmi, was born Sri-Mriganka, who had no blemish, just as the moon, free from spots, is born from the milky ocean, whose substance is unfathomable, whose pearls cannot be counted, and from which Lakshmi was produced.
(V.18.)His (i.e. Sthitavarman's) son king Susthitavarman was born of Nayanadevi, he who held the kingdom in his own hand, and was renowned as Sri Mriganka.
(V.19.)By whom was given away to supplicants as if it were (a clod of) earth, that shining Lakshmi (i.e. wealth) whom (god) Hari like a miser bears with joy in his bosom.
(V.20.)From him Syamadevi,(divine) like that goddess (Syama) of the Krita (i.e. golden) age, generated a son Supratishthitavarman, the moon as it were to dispel (all) gloom.
(V.21.)Whose prosperity was for the benefit of others, who was possessed of elephants and attended by the chief among the learned, and possessed of a well established capital like a kulachala, whose height is for the benefit of others, which is haunted by the chief of Vidyadharas, is rich in elephants, and has a ridge.
(V.22.)The same Syamadevi also brought forth his younger brother Sri-Bhaskaravarman, who like the sun was of incalculable rime and the abode of all light.
(V. 23.)Who though being only one, is, on account of his character, much and simultaneously reflected in the hearts of people, pure like mirrors turned toward, him.
(V.24.)Whose mark (i.e. picture) was seen in the houses of kings, untarnished on account of great lustre, like the disc of the sun in several water pots.
(V.25.)Who is without cruelty, easily accessible, of immense effects, and the soles of whose feet are surrounded by people who resort to his protection, like the wish-yielding tree which holds no snakes, which is well growing, abounds in rich fruits, and whose roots are surrounded by people who want shade.
(Lines 34-44.)Moreover he (Bhaskaravarman, who has been) created by the hold lotus-born (god), the a same of the rise, the arranging and the destruction of the Universe, for the proper organization of the duties of (various) castes and stages (of life) that had become mixed up; who by (his) rise has made the circle of (related) powers become attached like the Lord of the World (the Sun), whose disc becomes coloured when it rises; who has revealed the light of the Arya religion by dispelling the accumulated darkness of (this) Kali age by making is judicious application of his revenues (like the sun that dispels the accumulated darkness in the Kali age by spreading the mass of its pleasant rays), who has equalled the prowess of the whole ring of his feudatories by the strength of his own arum ; who has devised many a way of enjoyment for his hereditary subjects, whose (loyal) devotion (to him) was augmented by his steadiness (of purpose), modesty and affability ; who is adorned with a wonderful ornament of splendid fame made of the flowery words of praise variously composed by hundreds of kings vanquished by him in battle; whose virtuous activities, like (those of) Sivi were applied in making gifts for the benefit of others; whose powers, as (of) a second preceptor of the gods (Brihaspati), were recognised by other; on account of (his) skill in dividing and applying the means of politics that appear in suitable moments; whose own conduct was adorned by learning, valour, patience, prowess and good actions ; who was avoided by faults as if they were overcome on account of (his) taking to the other (i.e. Virtue's) side ; by whom the Lakshmis (deities of luck) of Kamrarupa were, as it were, attracted with a staunch incessant excessive passion of love; to whom was exhibited, with a fast embrace, the course of love for the abhigamikagunas (by the Lakshmi of Kamarupa drawn by an excessive sentiment of constant affection) who is, as it were, the breath of the holy Dharma whose person has been seized by the powerful Kali (Iron age), the abode of politics and good qualities, the receptacle of friends, the shelter of the terrified, the abode of good luck, whose dignified power was shown by the elevated rank obtained in order of succession from (Naraka) the son of Vasumati (Earth), the king of kings, the illustrious Bhaskaravarman, in sound health, commands the present and the future district officers, as well as the courts of justice in thri district of Chandrapuri (thus): let it be known to you (all) that the land of the Mayurasalamalgraha (grant to the Brahmanas) lying within this district, granted (earlier) by issuing a copper-plate charter by king Bhutivarman has become liable to revenue on account of the loss of the copper-plates. So by the Maharaja (Bhaskaravarman), having informed the senior respectable persons and having issued orders for making a fresh copper plate grant, the land has been awarded to the Porahmanas, who have been already enjoying the grant, in the manner of Bhumi-chidra, so that no tax is levied on it as long as the sun, the moon and the earth will endure. Here the names of the Brahmanas (i.e., donees) areas follows: (lines 34 to 54)
Seven shares (amsah) are (allotted) for the purpose of bali (worship), care (oblation) and satra (hospitality). The produce of the land, found as an extension (due to the drying up) of the Kausika river, wide go to the Brahmanas, the donees of the grant but the land, found as an extension (due to the drying up) of the Gangini shall be equally shared by the Porahmanas as recorded. These are the boundaries: to the east lies the dry Kausika, to the south-west, that very dry Kausika, marked by a hewn fig tree, to the west now the boundary of Gangini, to the north west a potter's pit, and the said Gangini, sent westward, to the north a large, jatali tree; to the north-east the pond of the controlling tradesman Khasoka, and the dry Kausika. The officer issuing hundred commands in Sri Gopala who has received the five great sadbas. The officers who mark the boundaries are the headman of the Chandrapuri (named Sri Ksikunda, the dispute-settler (nyayakaranika) Janardanasvanin, the controlling officer (Vyarahari) Haradtta and the clerk (Kayastha) Dundunatha, and others. The composer and writer of the grant is Vasuvarma. The master of the treasury is the Mahasamanta Divakaraprabha. Tax-collector is Dattakarapurna. The copper-smith (i.e., the maker of the plates) is Kaliya. (lines 126-136)
The giver of land rejoices in heaven for sixty-thousand years and he who confiscates or assents (to confiscation) lives in hell for the same period. (v. 26) One who confiscate the land given by himself or by others, becomes work of the fifth and rots with the manes. (v. 27)
Since after the burning of the plates, these newly written letters are (obviously) different in form (from the letters of the earlier grant) they are not (to be respected as) forged.' (v. 28)

Madan Kamdev

''Madan Kamdev''  is an archaeological site in Baihata, Kamrup. This place dates back to the 9th and 10th century AD. Excavation and ruins here shows the prosperity and might of Pala dynasty of Kamarupa.
After crossing over a footpath, one can find the ruins of Madan Kamdev, scattered all over a secluded place. Madan Kamdev is spread over a stretch of 500 meters. Uma Maheshwar's embraced idols, carved on the stones of medieval temples can be seen here. The main statues among these are that of Sun's, Ganesha's and Vidhyadhar's.

Initially archeologists differed on the issue of when and who constructed these temples. But among them the opinion of Dr. Pradeep Sharma, assistant director of the Archeological Directorate, and Assam seems logical and evidential. He says that possibly when Captain Daltan has written. about 15 temple ruins found around the famous Silsako Bridge (a historical bridge that was destroyed in the 1897 earthquake) in his Asian Society of Bengal (1855) magazine, then it might necessarily be about Madan Kamdev. Again, after a long time span, in 1943 and 1949, the inspector of primary education, Tarnikant Sharma, gave same important information regarding the historical facts about the area, in the Assam research society (Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti (1949)) magazine. But till 1976, no research work had been carried upon towards this direction. In the meanwhile the religious people of the villages took the previous statues away or hunters carried them from one place to another. In 1977, the Archeological Directorate, of Assam took over the responsibility for this area. They started the excavations of the statues under the supervision of Dr. Pradeep Sharma, this exploration mission had unearthed several interesting and valuable facts. According to them, apart from the main temple, ruins of 12 temples have been excavated. By observing these temples and the idols engraved on the walls, one comes to the conclusion that these were constructed during the 10th and 12th centuries. According to Dr. Sharma, Kamarupa kings of Pala Dynasty namely Ratna Pala, Indra Pala and Go Pala involved in constructions of this place.

Bhairav with six heads, four headed Shiva, Kalpavriksha, Sun various Apsara, Vishnu with 6 heads, Saraswati and various other statues of animals have been found from here. In the year 1977, when the refurbishment process of this area started, the hill was surrounded by immense variety of forests, snakes- scorpions, and wild animals like tigers. Even still, deep forests hem the place, and one can come across savage tigers and deers on the adjacent hills. On the other hand, the melodic chirping of the birds make the environment so pleasant and the natural milieu, strewn all ovaries very alluring. Right below the Kamdev river madankuri flows in the east and towards the north, just beneath the hill is a vast stretch of swampy land which has the chain of hills of Gopeshwar from the north to west and Natuar nacha and Sangsari in the east. There are a few puranic beliefs prevalent regarding Madan Kamdev. According to one of those-God Shiva in a spurt of fury, had burnt god of love- Kam or Madan, to cinders. Madan was reborn at this place.
Other than Madan-Kamdev (the main temple), ruins of other huge and small temples are also scattered around it. After viewing the ruins it can be easily inferred that among all the temples of medieval period, existing in the Brahmaputra valley, Madan Kamdev had an incomparable structure and possessed unblemished beauty. According to the Architectural directorate, there still exist the possibility of excavation of the ruins of twelve more temples.

Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti

    During the swadeshi movement, which created ripples in Assam as well, Prof. Padmanath Bhattacharya Vidyavinod, scholar and pioneer researcher in the history and culture of the state, mooted the idea of establishing an antiquarian society comprising the geographical territory of erstwhile Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa. This ancient kingdom included parts of present day West Bengal and Bangladesh, besides Assam.

    The concept attracted a group of enthusiasts trying to preserve materials related to art, history, literature and culture of the province. In the first week of April 1912, at the Kamakhya conference of the Uttar Bangiya Sahitya Parishad, the idea crystallised. A resolution was unanimously adopted to set up an organisation to preserve and promote research on matters related to archaeology, ethnography, language, literature, history and culture of the region that formed the ancient kingdom of Pragjyotisha-Kamrupa. Thus was formed the Kamarupa Anusandhana Samiti which was also to be known by a secondary title, the Assam Research Society.

    The samiti that was established with a meagre contribution of ₹ 25, donated by Babu Sasadhar Ray of Calcutta High Court who had presided over the Kamakhya conference, was destined to play a pivotal role in promoting historical research and preserving artefacts. Since its very inception, a number of prominent personalities were associated with the samiti. Chandra Nath Sarma was the founder secretary. The list of patrons read like a veritable who’s who of the age and included Maharaja Jitendranarayan Bhup Bahadur of Cooch Behar, lieutenant-governor of Odisha and Bihar Sir Edward Gait, Commissioner of Assam Valley, Lt Col P.R.T. Gordon, chief commissioner of Assam Sir Archdale Earle, Raja Prabhat Chandra Barooah Bahadur of Gauripur and a galaxy of reputed scholars.

    The samiti started its work with a missionary zeal and began to collect inscriptions, puthis, ethnographical objects, relics, and manuscripts from the vast Pragjyotisha-Kamrupa region. The preservation of these precious collections necessitated the construction of its own building. When all early efforts to persuade the government to immediately establish a museum to store these objects failed, the samiti decided to construct its own building. The estimated cost of construction, ₹ 20,000 was raised with generous contributions from various donors the principal contributor being Raibahadur Naupat Rai Kedia of Dibrugarh. When Lt Col P.R.T. Gordon, the then commissioner of the Assam Valley and honorary provincial director of Ethnography, Assam formally inaugurated the samiti’s building with a silver key on November 19, 1917, he practically opened a new chapter in Assam’s rich tradition of preservation of historical records.

    The samiti’s activities attracted the attention of serious scholars of Indology throughout eastern India. So much so that a branch of the Kamarupa Anusandhana Samiti was established at Rangpur (now in Bangladesh) with Babu Surendra Chandra Roychoudhury as its secretary. The Asiatic Society of Calcutta organised exhibitions of the samiti’s collections and kept a close link with it till 1950. Assam did not have any museum till 1940 but the purpose of a museum was being served by Kamarupa Anusandhana Samiti. This small sapling developed into a full grown plant when with the excellent and rich collection of artefacts, manuscripts, miniature paintings, puthis, buranjis, chronicles preserved at the samiti, the government established the Assam State Museum in 1940 at the initiative of Rai Bahadur Kanaklal Barua, who took up the cause for a museum in Assam with philanthropic zeal.

    However, Kamrupa Anusandhan Samiti was not dissolved even after the establishment of Assam State Museum. It still retains its exclusive identity and continues its activities from the same old Assam-type building which is situated on the western bank of Dighalipukhri in the centre of Guwahati.

Kamarupa Pithas

Kamarupa Pithas or Kamrup Piths are ancient pithas or geographical divisions of Kamarupa. Yogini Tantra gives the boundaries of  four pithas, the same work which gives boundaries of ancient Kamrup kingdom as well.

Number of Pithas

Kamarupa was divided in four Pithas namely (i) Ratnapitha, the area from the river Karatoya to the river Sonkosh, (ii) Kamapitha, from Sonakosh to the river Rupali, (iii) Swarnapitha, from the river Rupali to the Bharali river and (iv) Saumarapitha between the Bhairavi and the Dikrang river.

Kamrupi culture

"Kamrupi culture" refers to the cultural norms of people of Kamrup.

Language

    Old Kamrupi, a dialect of Eastern Magadhi Prakrit, developed in Kamrup and later transformed as modern Indo Aryan language of Kamrupi, in early second millennium common era. This language is sole literary language of entire north east India, until mid nineteenth century as well as lingua franca of learned man, parallel with Sanskrit language.

Religion

    Traditionally primary religion practiced by Kamrupi people is Hinduism. Yuan Chwang, who visited Kamrup in middle of seventh century, found no trace of Buddhism and noticed Deva temples scattered in hundreds. Cultural development of Kamrup is influenced by Hindu way life, which is evident in day to day life of its people. Kamakhya temple is referred to as the heart of Kamrup in different Puranas and other epics.

Literature

    Kamrupi literature as written form begins as copper plate seals and other inscriptions of Kamrupi kings, as well as Charyapada, an major work in Eastern India. Lauhityapada, Minanatha, Hema Saraswati, Ananta Kandali, Haribara Vipra, Rudra Kandali and Bhattadeva are well known Kamrupi literateurs.

Architecture

    The noticeable development of architecture commenced with Kamrup Kingdom in first millennium. Royal buildings, temples and homes are earliest known examples of Kamrupi architecture.

Folklore

Kamrupi dance are vaishnava forms of dances which are part of Kamrupi folklore.

Music

    Kamrupi Lokgeet are traditional folk songs sung from immemorial times, depicting different aspects of life like wedding, lullaby and even for mosquito driveout.

See also

• Domahi
• Amati
• Kamrupi language
• Old Kamrupi language
• Kamrupi Lokgeet
• Kamrupi dance
• Kamrupi crafts      
• Kamrupi medicine
• Kamrupi Brahmins
• Kamrupi dholiya    
• Kamrupi Jatra
• Bhal-Bholka
• Kuchi
• Kamrup-Kamakhya
• Madan Kamdev

Kamrupi script

Kamrupi script is the script used in ancient Kamarupa (North Bengal and Western Assam)¹ between the 5th and the 12th century, from which modern Bengali script evolved.² S. N. Sarma has observed that the script pertaining to the period from the 6th century to the twelfth century can be termed as the ancient Kamrupi script.²

Origin

Kamrupi consonants

The Kamrupi script originated from Gupta script, which in turn developed from Brahmi script. Sometimes, Kamrupi script origins are traced to Kutila script, which is not widely accepted.

Medieval 

Variations

A 11th century work in Kamrup

The medieval Kamrupi script had four variations, namely: 

(1) "Lakhri" used for general use in Kamrup, 

(2) "Bamonia" used in preparation of Sanskrit texts, used by Brahmins, 

(3) "Kaitheli" used by the Kayasthas and 

(4) "Gadgaya" used in eastern Assam (Gadgaon)

Sources

1. Kākatī, Satīśacandra (1991), Discovery of Assam, p.41 Kamrupi literature (with its own script) which was akin to Magadhan dialect in the seventh or eighth century, (slightly different from Sanskrit) is found to be prevailing in a widespread manner from this time.
2. Barpujari, H.K. (1976), Assam District Gazetteers: Goalpara district, Government of Assam, p. 478

Kamapitha

Kamapitha was one of the four Kamarupa Pithas, the geographical divisions of ancient Kamarupa.  16th-century work Yogini Tantra gives the boundaries of Kamapitha and other three pithas, the same work which gives boundaries of ancient Kamrup kingdom as well.

Boundaries

Sources defines Kamapitha as Guwahati area up to the Manas River, an area also known as Kamrup. Pratap Chandra Choudhury, has no difficulty in accepting that Kamapitha of Tantras, is nothing else than Kamrup and Kamakhya area of Gauhati itself. Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti, also presses that it is rather absurd, to exclude Kamakhya from the region called Kamapitha.

Shaktipeeth

It form the waist on the position of the genital organ (kama), justifying its name. Kamapitha also known as Kamrup, is important Shaktipeeth and pilgrimage center, due to presence of ancient Kamakhya Temple, relating to legends of goddess Kamakhya. Kamapitha is heart of ancient Kamrup kingdom, with presence of two major capitals out of three namely Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya.

Deities

It is believed that, each pitha of Kamrup is in charge of respective deities. Kamakhya is said to be the deity, which governs Kamapitha, whereas Jalpisa looks after Ratnapitha while Dikkarvasini takes charge of Saumarpitha.

Ratnapitha

Ratnapitha was a ancient division, encompassing an area between Karatoya and Sankosh rivers. Roughly equivalent to North Bengal and Goalpara region, it is also one of the four Pithas or geographical divisions of ancient Kamrup.

Gopala Mishra

Gopala Mishra (B. 1400's A.D) was sixteenth century Vaishnava poet and scholar from Kamrup. Gopala Mishra was disciple and colleague of Damodara Deva.

Birdatta Choudhury

Birdatta Choudhury (1747-1800) was revolutionary from Kamrup, who fought against oppressive occupation of Kamrup by Ahom's, along with his elder brother Haradatta Choudhury.

Haradatta Choudhury

Haradatta Choudhury (1745-1800) was revolutionary from Kamrup, who fought against oppressive occupation of Kamrup by Ahoms, along with his brother Birdatta Choudhury.

Early life

Hardatta Choudhury was born in a rich zamindar family, of Jikeri, Kamrup.

Rebellion

In late seventeenth century, Ahoms occupied Kamrup. Their presence was usually marked by cruelty and tyranny. These events led to general discontent, among common people of Kamrup. Ultimately, as a last resort people decided to expel the Ahoms from their lands. The revolt, was born with the leadership of the two brothers Hardatta and Birdatta Choudhury. In about 1798, the brothers raised a small mercenary of Hindustanis and Punjabis, and declared war against the tyrannical occupants.
In spite of a lack of resources, they fought with such a zeal that within a short period they were able to regain all of northern Kamrup. They held Kamrup for some time, then eventually laid down their lives for the cause, against an organised army, but this marked the commencement of the end of interference by Ahoms in Kamrup.

National hero

Due to heroics and sacrifice of brothers, they are still remembered in Kamrup, in form of ballads such as Padmakumarir Geet depicting their bravery.

Ancient Kamrup

''Ancient Kamrup'' was region consist of Western Assam and North Bengal which in its height covered entire Brahmaputra valley, North Bengal, North Bangladesh, Bhutan and Purnea.

References in epics

The ancient epics Ramayana and Mahabharata refer to this region as Pragjyotish, not as Kamrup. The Puranas, written after the Mahabharata, mention the same Pragjyotish region as Kamrup. The Vishnu Purana describes Kamrup to spread 450 miles in all directions from the Kamakhya Temple (today in Gauhati). The Kalika Purana calls Kamakhya Temple the center or heart of Kamrup. The Yogini Tantra composed thereafter gives the geographical area of Kamrup as the entire Brahmaputra Valley, Bhutan, Rangpur (Bangladesh), Mymensing (Bangladesh), Cooch Behar. The Chinese pilgrim to India, Xuanzang, gives a detailed account of ancient Kamrup. Staying for a period of three months in what is current Guwahati, he observes life, culture and politics in Kamrup. The first millennium of the common era sees the expansion of the geographical, political and cultural influence of Kamrup. Ancient Kamrup has four geographical divisions collectively known as Kamarupa Pithas.

Capital

Modern Kamrup region served as capital of ancient Kamrup. Chinese traveller Yuan Chwang visited the capital area and observed that land was low and moist and that the crops were regular. Cocoa-nuts and jack-fruits grew abundantly and were appreciated by the people. The climate was genial.

Culture

The primary language used by Aryan people of land was old Kamrupi language, which also act as lingua franca among non-Aryan peoples. Kamrupi language was a variety of eastern Maithili and Yuan Chwang noted that the spoken language of Kamrup differed only a little from the language spoken in mid-India i.e. Magadha and Mithila. During historic times it was through Mithila that Aryan culture and civilization spread into the Kamrup. From Kamrup in the north that the Aryans gradually spread towards the south to Gauda, north of the Ganges, and to Samatata, south of the Ganges.

Yuan Chwang observed that people of Kamrup were honest. Their speech differed a little from that of mid-India. They were of violent disposition but were persevering students. They worshipped the Devas and did not believe in Buddhism. The Deva-temples were some hundreds in number and the various systems had some myriads of professed adherents. The few Buddhists in the country performed their acts of devotion in secret.

Industry

Harsha Charita mentions of ingenuously constructed royal umbrella of exquisite workmanship studded with valuable gems, puthis written on Sachi bark, dyed cane mats, Agar-essence, musk in silk bags, liquid molasses in earthen pots, utensils, paintings, a pair of Brahmani ducks in a cage made of cane and overlaid with gold and a considerable quantity of silk fabrics some of which were so even and polished that they resembled Bhujapatra made of Muga and pat fabrics. Chinese accounts states boat-building was a major industry in ancient Kamrup and iron works was mentioned as prosperous. The manufacture of molasses in liquid form, from sugar-cane juice, is still a peculiar practice in the modern Kamrup district. The Muga and pat silk fabrics are still produced in modern Kamrup. Puthis written on Sachi bark an still abundant in Assam and musk is obtained from the Bhutan hills.

Later periods

In medieval times, it Kamrup lost its unified status and became a battlefield of different powers trying to gain control over Kamrup in absence of strong local rulers, but none could hold Kamrup for long. Thus it remain untouched by any foreign cultural influences including in its language. Though Kamrup underwent such a hostile period, it had major literary activities in this time. Chandra Bharati, Bhattadeva, Ananta Kandali, Madhava Kandali, Sankardeva composed epics in the Kamrupi language.

In the colonial period, the size of Kamrup was greatly reduced and limited to an administrative district separated from most of North Bengal areas. In the twentieth century, Kamrup became a center of major industrial development. Gauhati, the largest city of the region, became a major urban center with the character of a veritable metropolis. Thus, the cultural and political capital of ancient Kamrup became the major hub of culture and business again.