Bhaskaravarman () (600–650), the last of the
Varman dynasty
The Varman dynasty (350–650) was the first historical dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. It was established by Pushyavarman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. The earlier Varmans were subordinates of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Gu ...
, was an illustrious king of
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Kamarupa. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varman's. He made political alliances with
Harshavardhana
Harshavardhana (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
of Thaneswar, against the alliance of the Gauda and East
Malwa
Malwa is a historical region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also syn ...
.
He was visited by
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
and
Wang Xuance, the envoy of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
who have left accounts of the king and the kingdom.
Bhaskaravarman came to power after his brother
Supratisthitavarman
Supratisthitavarman ruled Kamarupa from the Varman dynasty for the period 595–600. He was son of King Susthitavarman and Queen Shyamadevi.
Reign
It is stated in Bhaskaravarman's inscription that "surrounded by learned men and accompanied by ...
had died. He was the first Kamarupa king to claim descent from the mythical
Narakasura
Naraka, also known as Narakasura (), is an asura king in Hindu mythology. In Assamese tradition, he is regarded as the legendary progenitor of all three dynasties of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa, and the founding ruler of the legendary Bhauma dyna ...
, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. After his death Salasthambha, who established the
Mlechchha dynasty
The Mlechchha dynasty (c. 650 - 900) ruled Kamarupa from their capital at Harruppesvar in present-day Tezpur, Assam, after the fall of the Varman dynasty. According to historical records, there were twenty one rulers in this dynasty, but th ...
, acquired power in Kamarupa Kingdom.
He issued the Dubi and
Nidhanpur Nidhanpur is a village in Sylhet District, Bangladesh. This ancient village, earlier within Kamarupa Kingdom, is known for discovery of many Copper plate grants of Kamarupa kings such as Bhutivarman and Bhaskaravarman.
Inscription of Bhaskaravarma ...
copper plate grants, re-issued after his ancestor Bhutivarman, and a clay seal found in
Nalanda.
Background
After
Susthitavarman
Susthitavarman (also known as Sri-Mriganka) (590-595) was a ruler of Kamarupa. He was a son of Sthitavarman and Queen Nayanadevi.
Reign
Susthitavarman was renowned as Sri-Mriganka. He was succeeded by his two sons, Supratisthitavarman and Bhas ...
was defeated by Mahasenagupta, his son
Supratisthitavarman
Supratisthitavarman ruled Kamarupa from the Varman dynasty for the period 595–600. He was son of King Susthitavarman and Queen Shyamadevi.
Reign
It is stated in Bhaskaravarman's inscription that "surrounded by learned men and accompanied by ...
came to power, who built Kamarupa's elephant army but died prematurely without an heir. Thus, the younger son, Bhaskaravarman, came to power in Kamarupa. Even after he succeeded to the throne , Bhaskaravarman was known as ''kumara'' (prince), probably because he was a bachelor throughout his life.
Rivals
Mahasenagupta, in alliance with Shashanka, had defeated Susthitavarman and took control over north and central Bengal. After the death of Mahasenagupta Shashanka became the ruler of this portion. On ascending the throne Bhaskaravarman found two strong rival powers growing in
northern India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
, viz. one in central and northern Bengal under Shashanka and the other in
mid-India under Prabhakaravardhana, the father of
Harshavardhana
Harshavardhana (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
.
When Shashanka murdered Rajyavardhana who had succeeded Prabhakaravardhana as the king at Thaneswar, Bhaskaravarman sent an envoy, Hangsavega, to form an alliance. This incident by both Bana and Xuanzang.
Alliance with Harsha
The Harsha Charita of Bana gives a detailed account of Hangsavega's meeting with Harsha. Plying him with gifts and praise, the diplomat was able to effect an offensive and defensive alliance between the two kings.
The Nidhanpur copper-plate grant was issued from Bhaskaravarman's victorious camp at Karnasuvarna, the erstwhile capital of Shashanka.
Chinese accounts
Xuanzang's account
The Chinese traveller,
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, visited Bhaskaravarman in his court on his invitation, and noted that the King patronised Buddhism though a non-Buddhist. According to the text of the ''Si-yu-ki'', the circumference of the capital of Kamarupa was thirty li. It further claims Bhaskarvarman to be a Brahmana, contradicting the text ''She-Kia-Fang-Che'' which claims Bhaskarvarman to be a kshatriya whose ancestors came from China.
["But the She-Kia-Fang-Che records that Bhaskarvarman was a Kshatriya (and not a Brahmin) and his ancestors hailed from China (=Han) itself having nothing to do with Narayana Deva."] According to
Suniti Kumar Chatterjee Bhaskaravarman was a Hinduised Mlechcha king of Indo-
Mongoloid
Mongoloid () is an obsolete racial grouping of various peoples indigenous to large parts of Asia, the Americas, and some regions in Europe and Oceania. The term is derived from a now-disproven theory of biological race. In the past, other terms ...
origin.
Wang Xuance's account
After 648 CE the Chinese emperor
Tang Taizong
Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynast ...
of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdom ...
sent a return emissary
Wang Xuance to
Harshavardhana
Harshavardhana (IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajya ...
's court. Harsha had died in the meantime and his successor drove out the mission. Wang returned with an army, imprisoned the successor king and took him back to China. In the military mission, Bhaskaravarman helped Wang with supplies of cattle, horse and accouterments. Bhaskaravarman is recorded as ''Ch-Kieu-mo'' (''Sri-Kumara'') and his kingdom as ''Kia-mu-lu'' (''Kamarupa''). During the audience Bhaskaravarman is said to have given Wang a map and asked for an image of
Laozi.
Kamarupa of Bhaskaravarman
Xuanzang, in his travelogue, noted that he crossed a great river
Karatoya before entering the Kamarupa. The eastern boundary was a line of hills close to the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
frontier. He also said Kamarupa was nearly 1700 miles in circumference. The climate was genial. He mentioned that the people were are short height and of yellow complexion and Bhaskar Varman was Hindu and not Buddhist. The people 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. The pilgrim ascertained from the people that to the east of the country was a series of hills which reached as far as the confines of China. The inhabitants of these hills were akin to the "Man of the Lao". In the south-east of the country elephants were plentiful.
Description
Xuanzang notes that Kamarupa was low and moist, and that the crops were regular.
Cocoa-nuts and
jackfruit
The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...
s grew abundantly and were appreciated by the people. The description provided is around the present-day
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...
.
According to the account given in the ''Si-yu-ki,'' the circumference of Kamarupa was about . As Edward Albert Gait has pointed out, this circumference must have included the whole of the
Assam valley,
Surma valley, parts of
North Bengal, and parts of
Mymensingh
Mymensingh ( bn, ময়মনসিংহ) is the capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center and educational hub of north- ...
.
Religion
Bhaskaravarman was a worshiper of
Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
, though he had great reverence for learned Buddhist priests and professors of his time, and was distinctly inclined towards
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...
. The general populace worshiped the ''Devas'' worshiped in many temples, and adherents of Buddhism practised devotion secretly.
Culture
According to Xuanzang, the people of Kamarupa were honest, albeit with a violent disposition, but were persevering students. The people were short in height and of yellow complexion. Their speech differed from that of mid-India. The Nidhanpur grant issued from Karnasuvarna contained local literary forms and offices not found in subsequent Kamarupa inscriptions.
Art and industry
The gifts from Bhaskaravarman to Harshavardhana contained mostly products of the land—royal umbrella of exquisite workmanship studded with valuable gems,
puthi
A Puthi ( bn, পুঁথি, Nagari: , Perso-Arab: پوتھی), is a book or writing of poetic fairy tales and religious stories of Bengal and present-day East India, which were read by a senior "educated" person while others would listen. This ...
s written on Sachi-bark, dyed cane-mats, Agar-essence, musk in silk-bags, liquid
molasses in earthen-pots, utensils, paintings, a pair of
Brahmini ducks in a cage made of cane and overlaid with gold, and a considerable quantity of silk-fabrics indicating industry was rudimentary.
Nidhanpur inscription
![Nidhanpur Inscription of Bhaskar Varman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Nidhanpur_Inscription_of_Bhaskar_Varman.jpg)
In his Nidhanpur copper-plate inscription Bhaskaravarman is said to have revealed the light of the
Arya
Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
religion by dispelling the accumulated darkness of
Kali age, by making a judicious application of his revenues; who has equalled the prowess of the whole ring of his feudatories by the strength of his own arm, who has derived many a way of enjoyment for his hereditary subjects whose loyal devotion to him was augmented by his steadiness, 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), was recognised by others on account of his skill in devising and applying the means of politics that appear in suitable moments; whose own conduct was adorned by learning, valour, patience, prowess and good actions".
Nalanda seal
![Seal of Bhaskar Varman Found at Nalanda dated 643 A](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Seal_of_Bhaskar_Varman_Found_at_Nalanda_dated_643_A.D.jpg)
Bhaskaravarman's close connection with Harsha and Xuanzang led to his association with the famous Buddhist university of Magadha, for his seal has been discovered at the site of
Nalanda in the company of two fragmentary seals of Harsha. The seals were found by Dr. Spooner during the excavation of the ruins of Nalanda in the year 1917–18. The text of the seal is as follows:
K.N. Dikshit, in his "Epigraphical notes of the Nalanda finds", thinks that the seal probably accompanied Bhaskaravarman's letter to Silabhadra inviting Xuanzang.
As however it was found in the company of the two Harsha seals the probability is that both Harsha and Bhaskaravarman, on their march from Rajmahal to Kanauj, visited Nalanda together with the Chinese pilgrim and, to commemorate their visit, left their respective seals at the university.
Death
It is not known how or when Bhaskaravarman died, but it is estimated that his reigned ended about 650.
Legacy
Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University of
Nalbari, Assam has been named after him.
See also
*
Pala Dynasty
Notes
References
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* Kāmarūpa-Kaliṅga-Mithilā:a politico-cultural alignment in Eastern India : history, art, traditions by Chandra Dhar Tripathi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhaskaravarman
Varman dynasty
Hindu monarchs
600 births
650 deaths
7th-century Indian monarchs