Srichandra (reigned c. 930–975) was the second and most influential ruler of the

Chandra Dynasty The Chandra kingdom was a Buddhist kingdom, originating from the Indian subcontinent, which ruled the Samatata region of Bengal, as well as northern Arakan. Later it was a neighbor to the Pala Empire to the north. Rulers of Chandra kingdom were ...

in eastern

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Life

After

Traillokyachandra Traillokyachandra (reigned c. 900 - 930) was the first ruler of the Chandra dynasty in the kingdom of Harikela in eastern Bengal. His father, Subarnachandra, was a vassal to the earlier rulers of the Harikela Kingdom. Traillokyachandra established ...

, Srichandra ascended the throne, taking the titles "Paramsaugata", "Parameshwar", "Parambhattārak" and "Mahārājādhirāj". According to the book ''Dynastic History of Bengal'' by Abdul Momin Chowdhury, Srichandra ruled 45 years, from 930 to 975 CE. Again,

Ramesh Chandra Majumdar Ramesh Chandra Majumdar (known as R. C. Majumdar; 4 December 1888 – 11 February 1980) was a historian and professor of Indian history. Majumdar is a noted historian of modern India. He was a former Sheriff of Kolkata. Early life and educatio ...

mentioned in his book, ''History of Bangladesh'' that Srichandra reigned from 905 to 955 CE. However, Srichandra reigned the longest period among the five Chandra kings. Parts of

Manikganj Manikganj is a district situated in Dhaka Division, Bangladesh. Manikganj is one of the green and pollution free towns in Bangladesh. The recent urbanization and highway built joining Dhaka and Shingair Upazilla has given it an outstanding road ...

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, Faridpur along the banks of the

Padma The Padma ( bn, পদ্মা ''Pôdma'') is a major river in Bangladesh. It is the main distributary of the Ganges, flowing generally southeast for to its confluence with the Meghna River near the Bay of Bengal. The city of Rajshahi is sit ...

, Shrihatta and

Cumilla Comilla (; bn, কুমিল্লা, Kumillā, ), officially spelled Cumilla, is the fifth largest city of Bangladesh and second largest in Chittagong division. It is the administrative centre of the Comilla District. The name Comilla was ...

came under his rule. Srichandra moved his capital from Devparvat to

Bikrampur Bikrampur ("City of Courage") was a pargana situated south of Dhaka, the modern capital city of Bangladesh. In the present day, it is known as Munshiganj District of Bangladesh. It is a historic region in Bengal and was a part of the Bhawal Est ...

(under present-day

Munshiganj Munshiganj ( bn, মুন্সীগঞ্জ), also historically known as Bikrampur, is a district in central Bangladesh. It is a part of the Dhaka Division and borders Dhaka District. Geography Total land area is 235974 acres (954 km2), ...

). A detailed description of the Chandras can be found from the Paschimbhag copperplate inscription. Much of what is known of him comes from the copper plates from

Mainamati Moinamoti (''Môynamoti'') is an isolated low, dimpled range of hills, dotted with more than 50 ancient Buddhist settlements dating between the 8th and 12th century CE. It was part of the ancient Tripura division of Bengal. It extends through the ...

as well as the Paschimbhag copperplate discovered in the village of Paschimbhag in

Moulvibazar Moulvibazar ( bn, মৌলভীবাজার) is a town in north-eastern Bangladesh just south of Sylhet. It is the capital of Moulvibazar Sadar Upazila and Moulvibazar District, and is located on the banks of the Manu River, Tripura, Manu R ...

detailing his successful campaign against the Kingdom of

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 ...

. He is also credited with expanding his father's empire to encompass the kingdoms of

Vanga The family Vangidae (from ''vanga'', Malagasy for the hook-billed vanga, ''Vanga curvirostris'') comprises a group of often shrike-like medium-sized birds distributed from Asia to Africa, including the vangas of Madagascar to which the family o ...

and

Samatata Samataṭa (Brahmi script: ''sa-ma-ta-ṭa'') was an ancient geopolitical division of Bengal in the eastern Indian subcontinent. The Greco-Roman account of ''Sounagoura'' is linked to the kingdom of Samatata. Its territory corresponded to much ...

. Under his command, the

Harikela Harikela () was an ancient empire located in the eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. Originally, it was a neighboring independent and independent township of ancient East Bengal, which had a continuous existence of about 500 years. The st ...

n armies also successfully fought the

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

and possibly the

Kambojas Kamboja ( sa, कम्बोज) was a kingdom of Iron Age India that spanned parts of South and Central Asia, frequently mentioned in Sanskrit and Pali literature. Eponymous with the kingdom name, the Kambojas were an Indo-Iranian people o ...

of northern Bengal. His contemporary

Pala Pala may refer to: Places Chad *Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County *Pala, Järva County, vi ...

ruler was

Gopala II Gopala II (reigned after 872 CE) was the successor to the Pala king Shurapala I in the Bengal-Bihar region of the Indian subcontinent, and the sixth ruler of the Pala line reigning for at least four years. The existence of this king came to ligh ...

. Srichandra also moved the administrative center of the empire from Devaparvata to his newly built capital,

Vikrampur Bikrampur ("City of Courage") was a pargana situated south of Dhaka, the modern capital city of Bangladesh. In the present day, it is known as Munshiganj District of Bangladesh. It is a historic region in Bengal and was a part of the Bhawal Es ...

Religion

According to the copper plates, although Srichandra was a devout

Buddhist 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 ...

and a patron of his faith, he was tolerant of other religious beliefs among his subjects, as evidenced by his attempts to settle displaced

Brahmins Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru o ...

within his

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. His son, Kalyanchandra was also a Buddhist and so was his grandson, Atish Dipanker Srigyan, who was a patron of Buddhism. According to the 930 A.D Sylhet grant, Srichandra settled 6000 Brahmins in his empire.

Notes

References

* * * {{s-end Chandra kings