Kamarupa – Late to end period

Foundation of Pala Dynasty

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

As there was no one else strong enough to dispute the pretensions of Gopala or Brahma Pala the people had no other alternative but to accept them as their rulers. After Brahma Pala became king it was perhaps given out that he was a king chosen by the people, like Gopala, and, it seems that in imitation of the Pala rulers of Magadha and Gauda, he assumed the surname Pala. The writer of the Ratna Pala inscription, in order to make the story of popular election look more probable, added that Brahma Pala was it scion of the Bhagadatta dynasty and that is why the choice of the people fell upon him. It is stated in the Ratna Pala inscription that Brahma Pala was it warrior who could single handed overcome his enemy in battle. He was evidently a powerful and resourceful leader; otherwise he could not have secured the throne. He was a young man when he became king, for it was after his accession that he married Kula Devi by whom he had it son named Ratna Pala. It is not know whether Brahma Pala had a long reign like his son but it appears that when Ratna Pala grew up Brahma Pala abdicated in his favour, probably to avoid it dispute relating to succession.

Outside invasions

During Brahma Pala's reign Kamarupa was attacked by Jatavarman, son of Vajravarman of the Varman dynasty which ruled probably in Eastern Magadha when the Pala power began to wane. This invasion is mentioned in the Belava copper-plate inscription of Bhojavarman, the grandson of Jatavarman, who thereby granted lands in the Paundra bhukti, the grant being issued from the victorious camp at Vikramapura. It is stated in verse 8 of this inscription that

"seizing the great glory of Prithu son of Vena, espousing Virasri the daughter of Karna, extending his supremacy among the Angas, conquering the fortunes of Kamarupa, putting to shame the strength of the arms of Divya, crippling the dignity of Gobardhan and giving away all his wealth to Brahmans he (Jatavarman) extended his own paramount suzerainty."

Divya mentioned above has been identified to be the Kaivarta leader who successfully rebelled against the Pala ruler. It appears that Jatavarman invaded Kamarupa and defeated its king but could not annex the kingdom. It is probable that after this defeat Brahma Pala abdicated in favour of his son Ratna Pala who appears to have removed the capital to Guwahati, on the banks of the Brahmaputra, and, after fortifying it, called it Durjaya or impregnable.

Capital

It may be that Brahma Pala himself had removed the capital from Haruppeswara to Guwahati and that his son Ratna Pala simply strengthened it by erecting necessary fortifications. Such strengthening of the defences of the capital was found to be necessary in view of the defeat sustained by his father. Pandit Vidyavinod supposes that when Salastambha founded his dynasty he removed the capital to Haruppeswara where all the kings of his line down to Tyaga Singha ruled. When the people elected Brahma Pala, a lineal descendant of Bhagadatta, as their king, he re-transferred the capital to Pragjyotishpura (Guwahati) or its neighborhood.

Ratna Pala after fortifying this city called it Sri-Durjaya. It is clearly stated that this city was on the Brahmaputra. The lands granted by Ratna Pala's first inscription and by both of Indra Pala's inscriptions were, as stated in these inscriptions, on the uttar kul i.e. on the north bank of the river. From this specific mention of the uttar kul Vidyavinod supposes that the capital was on the south bank of the river. Between Tezpur and Guwahati there is no other suitable site on the south bank of the river where a fortified city could be built. The identification of Sri-Durjaya with Guwahati is therefore almost inevitable.

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

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

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

Line of Kings

Ratna Pala had a long reign for about thirty years as his second grant was given in the twenty sixth year of his reign. His son was Purandara Pala. From some of the verses in the Indra Pala inscription, found at Guwahati, Hoernle supposed that Purandara Pala died during the life time of his father Ratna Pala who was therefore succeeded by his grandson Indra Pala. This supposition has been confirmed by the subsequent discovery of the inscription of Dharma Pala wherein it is stated that Pundara Pala died as juvaraja. In the Indra Pala inscription Purandara Pala is described as a poet. In this inscription also the capital is said to have been Sri Durjya. It is also stated that Purandara Pala "had the distinction of obtaining for wife the princess Durlabha who was descended from the royal races of the extensive kingdoms conquered by the victorious arms of Jamadagnis son". It is not possible to find from this reference from what quarter princess Durlabha came. Parasurama is said to have overthrown all Kshattriya kings and so it can be surmised that Durlabha was a Kshattriya princess, the daughter of some well-known king of northern India of that time, otherwise she would not have been so glorified. Vidyavinod says that some Brahmans were settled near Parasurama Kunda where a Hindu kingdom may have existed and Purandara Pala may have married a princess of that kingdom. It seems that this surmise is not correct. It is stated that "when king Indra Pala sat on his throne the mosaic floor of his audience hall looked like a fruit-covered tree by reason of the strewn-about jewels that fell from the crowns of the princes as they voluntarily stood reverently bowing before him with joined hands". It is also said that during his virtuous reign the earth was "greatly flourishing" and that he "had a residence of corresponding virtues, a town full of elephants, horses and jewels and impregnable to the attacks of any royal dynasty, whence it was named Sri Durjaya".

There are two inscriptions of Indra Pala the first being recorded in the eighth year and the second in the twenty-first year of his reign. This shows that Indra Pala had also a fairly long reign. He was succeeded by his son Go Pala who ascended the throne probably about the middle of the eleventh century. In the first inscription of his grandson Dharma Pala it is stated that Go Pala was a powerful prince who was also liberal in his gifts. His son Harsha Pala succeeded him. It is recorded that the blood of his enemies killed by him in battle appeased the thirst of the Rakshasas. This indicates that Harsha Pala was involved in war.

In the Vikramanka Charita by Vihlan it is stated that the Chalukya prince, Vikramanka invaded Kamarupa about this time. Harsha Pala married Ratna, a lady of high rank and had by her a son named Dharma Pala who has left two copper-plate inscriptions both of which have been published by Pandit Vidyavinod in his "Kamarupa Sasanavali". The first was recorded in the third regnal year and by this Dharma pala granted lands to a Brahman, named Himanga, who appears to have been an expert in archery, and who was a native of village Krosanja in Sravasti. In the Silimpur stone slab inscription of Prahasa, deciphered by Mr. R.G. Basak, which must be posterior in time to the Dharma Pala inscription, mention is made of the locality called Sravasti which Mr. Basak locates within Northern Bengal. Pandit Vidyavinod has attempted to prove that this locality was within Kamarupa and that from this place some Brahmans migrated to Pundra (Northern Bengal).

In the second inscription, the genealogy of Dharma Pala is drawn from Go Pala though in the first inscription it was drawn from Brahma Pala. It can be found from this inscription that the queen of Go Pala was named Nayana. Another important fact found from this inscription is that the adoration of Siva does not occur in it. The regnal year in which this inscription was recorded is not stated but there is hardly any doubt that it was recorded towards the end of his reign for it contains an exhortation from the king himself which runs as follows:-

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

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

Pandit Vidyavinod supposes that before Dharma Pala had commenced his reign the capital of the kingdom had been shifted to further west beyond the Brahmaputra valley. The capital of the kingdom was not removed from Pragjyotishpur or Guwahati to west before the middle of the thirteenth century. Bukhtiyar's disaster in Kamarupa in 1206 A.D. was recorded within the boundaries of Pragjyotishpur in a rock inscription. The next Muslim invasions by Iwaz in 1226 A.D. and by Tughril Khan Malik Yuzbeg in 1255 A.D. seem to have proceeded as far as Guwahati and this is supported by the find at Guwahati in 1880, of two coins, one of lwaz dated 2nd Jumada 621 A.H. and another of Tughril minted at Lakhnauti dated Ramzan 653 A. H. There is hardly any doubt therefore that the capital was at Guwahati or its immediate neighbourhood till at least 1255 A.D.

If it was then at further west the Muslim invasions would not have proceeded in the direction of Guwahati. The surmise is that the capital named Kamarupa-nagar, the "city of Kamrud" of the Muslim chroniclers, was at North Guwahati near the temple of Aswakranta. The Kamarupar Buranji mentions the tradition that a king named Dharma Pala had his seat of government there. The modern town of North Guwahati possesses temples, roads, bridges, fortifications and moats which are clearly of ancient origin. There are two temples on the Aswakranta hill. The upper temple contains the image of Vishnu lying on Ananta-Sajya. It is one of the finest specimens of sculptural skill in Kamarupa about the beginning of the twelfth century. The western part of the town is called Sil-Sako because it still contains a small stone-built bridge over a stream. The eastern part is known as Raja-duar (king's gate), which shows that the Raja's palace was there. The second copper-plate of Dharma Pala was actually found in the village of Rangmahal about two miles to the north of Raja-duar. This is another indication that the capital was then at North-Guwahati. In Rajaduur itself exists the rock-inscription, dated 1127 Saka, proclaiming the destruction of the Turkish army of Mahammad Bukhtiyar.

It is therefore extremely probable that North Guwahati continued to be the capital from the time of Dharma Pala till about 1260 A.D. when the seat of government was transferred to further west. Pandit Vidyavinod's conjecture that the capital Kamarupa-Nagar was away from the river because the Brahmaputra is not mentioned in the inscription of Dharma Pala does not seem to be at all reasonable. And from a stone-slab inscriptioun found on the hill in Raja-duar, abutting on the Brahmaptttra, it can found that this small hill was the abode of Sri Chandra Bharati, a well-known Kamrupi poet of the sixteenth century. These facts go to show that North Guwahati was latterly the capital and that South - Guwahati or Pragyotishpur, subsequently called Sri-Durjaya, ceased to be the capital long before. It would therefore appear that North Guwahati or Kamarupa-nagar was the capital of Kamarupa for about 160 years from circa 1100 A.D. to 1260 A.D. Dharma Pala was succeeded probably by Jaya Pala whose name is mentioned in the Silimpur inscription.

It appears that there was a pious Brahman named Prahusha in the Svamvaka village of Pundra who though persistently pressed by Jaya Pala, a powerful king of Kamarupa, refused to accept from the king the tulapurusha gift consisting of gold equal to the weight of the donor and also a gift of landed property. It appears that about the first part of the twelfth century, probably during the reign of Jaya Pala, Ratna Pala king of Gauda conquered Kumarupa. This is mentioned in the Rama Charita, by Sandhyakara Nandi, wherein it is stated that a general of Rampala named Mayana conquered Kamarupa. Replying on R.D. Banerji's statement, in his paper on the "Palas of Bengal", to the effect that Ramapala was succeeded by his second son Kumara Pala about 1097 A.D.

Pandit Vidyavinod states that Ramapala conquered Kamarupa probably about 1095 A.D. when Dharma Pala was the king of Kamarupa. This statement cannot be accepted as correct. Of course the learned Pandit's theory is that after defeating Dharma Pala the king of Gauda snatched away only the south-western part of Kamarupa which was placed under the control of a vassal-king named Tingyadeva and that Dharma Pala and his successors continued to rule over the rest of Kamarupa. It seems Pandit Vidyavinod's theory is incorrect. Here shall mention that the chronology of the Pala rulers of Bengal is still uncertain. It has not been definitely proved that Kumarapala succeeded Ramapala before the end of the eleventh century. On the other hand it is quite possible that Ramapala had a very long reign and that he was succeeded during the second quarter of the twelfth century.

The Kamauli inscription, which must have been recorded very soon after Kumara Pala's death is, on palaeographical evidence, placed towards the middle of the twelfth century. On the other hand it is fairly certain that Kumara Pala had a very short reign. All these circumstances go to show that Ramapala reigned probably till 1130 A.D. and that his conquest of Kamarupa took place about 1125 A.D. when Dharma Pala could not have been reigning. It is therefore seems that it was Jaya Pala, the son of Dharma Pala, who was overthrown by Ramapala.

It will appear therefore that the names of all the kings of the dynasty of Brahma Pala have been found from the inscriptions of Dharma Pala and the Silimpur inscription referred to above. These kings ruled in due order of succession from about 985 A.D. till about 1125 A.D., when the last king Jaya Pala was overthrown by the Pala ruler of Bengal and a vassal named Tingyadeva was set up on the throne. The dynasty of Brahma Pala therefore ended with Jaya Pala.