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 Gup ...

, 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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...

. 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 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 syno ...

. 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 Wang Xuance (, fl. 7th century) was a Tang Dynasty guard officer and diplomat. In 648, Tang Taizong sent him to India in response to Harshavardhana sending an ambassador to China. However once in India he discovered Harshavardhana had died and the ...

, the envoy of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

who have left accounts of the king and the kingdom. Bhaskaravarman came to power after his brother Supratisthitavarman had died. He was the first Kamarupa king to claim descent from the mythical Narakasura, 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 t ...

, acquired power in Kamarupa Kingdom. He issued the Dubi and Nidhanpur copper plate grants, re-issued after his ancestor Bhutivarman, and a clay seal found in

Nalanda Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India.Susthitavarman was defeated by Mahasenagupta, his son Supratisthitavarman 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. 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,

, 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 Bhashacharya Acharya Suniti Kumar Chatterjee (26 November 1890 – 29 May 1977) was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second-highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan. Life Childhood Chatterji ...

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 dynasty ...

of the

sent a return emissary

to Harshavardhana'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 Laozi (), also known by numerous other names, was a semilegendary ancient Chinese Taoist philosopher. Laozi ( zh, ) is a Chinese honorific, generally translated as "the Old Master". Traditional accounts say he was born as in the state ...

Kamarupa of Bhaskaravarman

Xuanzang, in his travelogue, noted that he crossed a great river

Karatoya Karatoya River (also spelt Korotoa River) is a small stream in Rajshahi Division of Bangladesh. Etymology The name of the river is formed of two Sanskrit words ''kar'' (hand) and ''toa'' (water). Course The Karatoya, known as Phuljhur rises i ...

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 va ...

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 The Brahmaputra Valley is a region situated between hill ranges of the eastern and northeastern Himalayan range in Eastern India. The valley consists of the Western Brahmaputra Valley covering the regions of Goalpara and Kamrup; the Central ...

, Surma valley, parts of

North Bengal North Bengal ( bn, উত্তরবঙ্গ/উত্তর বাংলা) is a term used for the north-western part of Bangladesh and northern part of West Bengal. The Bangladesh part denotes the Rajshahi Division and Rangpur Division. Gen ...

, 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 religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

. 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, puthis written on Sachi-bark, dyed cane-mats, Agar-essence, musk in silk-bags, liquid

molasses Molasses () is a viscous substance resulting from refining sugarcane or sugar beets into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, method of extraction and age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is primarily used to sweeten and flavour foods ...

in earthen-pots, utensils, paintings, a pair of

Brahmini ducks The ruddy shelduck (''Tadorna ferruginea''), known in India as the Brahminy duck, is a member of the family (biology), family Anatidae. It is a distinctive waterfowl, in length with a wingspan of . It has orange-brown body plumage with a pale ...

in a cage made of cane and overlaid with gold, and a considerable quantity of silk-fabrics indicating industry was rudimentary.

Nidhanpur inscription

In his Nidhanpur copper-plate inscription Bhaskaravarman is said to have revealed the light of the Arya 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

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 Nalanda (, ) was a renowned ''mahavihara'' (Buddhist monastic university) in ancient Magadha (modern-day Bihar), India. 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 Kumar Bhaskar Varma Sanskrit and Ancient Studies University (established 2011) is a state government university in Nalbari, Assam, India for studies in Sanskrit language and history of Kamarupa besides other general studies including art, humanit ...

Nalbari Nalbari (Pron: nɔ:lˈbɑ:rɪ) is a town and a municipal board in Nalbari district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Assam. Nalbari town is also the headquarters of Nalbari district, Nalbari District. The town is one of ma ...

, Assam has been named after him.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * Kāmarūpa-Kaliṅga-Mithilā:a politico-cultural alignment in Eastern India : history, art, traditions by Chandra Dhar Tripathi, Indian Institute of Advanced Study * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhaskaravarman Varman dynasty Hindu monarchs 600 births 650 deaths 7th-century Indian monarchs