Varman dynasty - wikipedia Varman dynasty For the Khmer dynasty of the same name, see List of kings of Cambodia. Kamarupa Kingdom Varman dynasty 350 CE -- 655 CE Varmans ( in eastern India ) with their contemporaries, c. 550 CE Capital Pragjyotishpura ( present - day Guwahati ) Languages Kamarupi Prakrit, Sanskrit Religion Hinduism Government Monarchy Maharajadhiraja c. 350 - c. 374 Pushyavarman c. 518 -- c. 542 Bhutivarman c. 600 -- c. 650 Bhaskaravarman Historical era Classical India Established 350 CE Disestablished 655 CE Preceded by Succeeded by Bhauma dynasty Mlechchha dynasty The Varman dynasty ( 350 - 650 ) is the first historical dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. It was established by Pushyavarman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. This dynasty became vassals of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Guptas waned, Mahendravarman ( 470 - 494 ) performed two horse sacrifices and threw off the imperial yoke. The first of the three Kamarupa dynasties, the Varmans were followed by the Mlechchha and then the Pala dynasties. Contents 1 Genealogy 2 Ethnic origins 3 Politics and diplomacy 4 The dynasty 5 References 6 Bibliography Genealogy The genealogy of the Varman dynasty appears most fully in the Dubi and Nidhanpur copperplate inscription of the last Varman king, Bhaskaravarman ( 600 - 650 ), where Pushyavarman is named the founder. The Dubi copper plate inscription of Bhaskaravarman asserts that Pushyavarman was born in the family of Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta ( as did the other two Kamarupa dynasties ) three thousand years after these mythical ancestors. The middle or Mlechha ( Mech ) dynasty, though claim same descent, are native tribal rulers. K.L. Barua opines that there was a Mlechha ( i.e., Mech ) revolt in Kamarupa and Salastambha, the leader or governor of the Mlecchas usurped the throne by deposing Bhaskaravarman 's immediate successor Avantivarman. Ethnic origins The dynasty traces its lineage from Naraka. The exact ethnic genealogy of Naraka is in dispute, with authors such as NN Vasu and KL Barua claiming he was Dravidian, whereas authors like PC Choudhury consider him to be of Alpine origin. Since the claim to Naraka 's lineage was made at the end of the Varman dynasty ( Bhaskarvarman ) ; and since it was natural for the ruling house to fabricate a respectable lineage, authors like Sircar refuse to give much importance to these claims. Historical documents and legends are contradictory on the ethnicity of this dynasty. Naraka, according to an early account was the son of an asura named Hiranksha and Bhumi ( Earth ). In the late 10th - century Kalika Purana, Naraka is said to be the son of Vishnu in his Varaha form and Bhumi, who grew up in household of Janaka. The Kalika Purana goes on to describe two Narakas : one who was religious and the other who was hostile to Brahminism. The relationship of Bhagadatta, also mentioned as an ancestor of the Varmans, with Naraka is not clear from legendary sources either : Bhagadatta is called a grandson ( Kalika Purana ), a son ( Bhagavata Purana ) or not specified at all ( Mahabharata, Harivamsha and Vishnu Purana ). In the Mahabharata, a much earlier text, Bhagadatta, the son of Naraka is mentioned as Mleccha, an appellation used sometimes for degraded Aryans, non-Aryans and also foreigners, such as Hunas. All three Kamarupa dynasties draw their lineage from Naraka and Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. Xuanzang, a Chinese traveller who stayed in Kamarupa for three months termed Bhaskaravarman a Brahmana king who originated with Narayana Deva. Lévi Sylvain wrote, when Bhaskaravarman had business with others than Indians, the same prince boasted of another origin altogether. Bhaskaravarman told She - Kia - Fang - Che that his ancestors hailed from China, four thousand years ago, flying through air as holy spirit. As though he would show sympathy for China, he asked the envoy to get him a portrait of Lao - tseu and a Sanskrit translation of the Tao - to - king. Many scholars have opined that the Varman dynasty are probably of Indo - Aryan descent, that was overthrown by Salastambha of Mongoloid origin, who then made himself the king of Kamarupa. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee calls Bhaskaravarman a mleccha king, Mukunda Madhava Sharma considers all the dynasties of Kamarupa as of Aryan origin. Urban terms all kings of Brahmaputra Valley as non-Aryans. Kanak Lal Barua asserts Bhaskaravarman was a kshatriya not a hinduised Koch. Politics and diplomacy Pragjyotishpura, Varmana capital The most illustrious of this dynasty was the last, Bhaskaravarman, who claimed be a descendant from god Vishnu and referred to as `` lord of eastern India ''. He accompanied King Harshavardhana to religious processions from Pataliputra to Kannauj. Kings of Varman dynasty maintained both diplomatic and matrimonial relations with other countries of Aryavarta. Pushyavarman who himself named after king Pushyamitra Shunga, named his son Samudravarman after king Samudragupta in appreciations of kings of Aryavarta. King Balavarman organised Swayamvara for his daughter Amrita Prabha ; which was attended by princes of different countries. Princess eventually chosen prince of Kashmir Meghavahana as her groom. The alliance between king Harsha of Thanesar and Bhaskaravarman lead to spread of political influence of later to entire eastern India. The dynasty In the Nidhanpur plate of Bhaskaravarman the genealogy of all rulers of dynasty mentioned therein is traced from Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. Chinese traveller ( Xuanzang ) designated the rulers of this dynasty as Brahmins. Reign Name succession Queen 350 - 374 Pushyavarman claimed descent from Bhagadatta ( unknown ) 374 - 398 Samudravarman son of Pushyavarman Dattadevi 398 - 422 Balavarman son of Samudravarman Ratnavati 422 - 446 Kalyanavarman son of Balavarman Gandharavati 5 446 - 470 Ganapativarman son of Kalyanavarman Yajnavati 6 470 - 494 Mahendravarman son of Ganapativarman Suvrata 7 494 - 518 Narayanavarman son of Mahendravarman Devavati 8 518 - 542 Bhutivarman son of Narayanavarman Vijnayavati 9 542 - 566 Chandramukhavarman son of Bhutivarman Bhogavati 10 566 - 590 Sthitavarman son of Chandramukhavarman Nayanadevi 11 590 - 595 Susthitavarman son of Sthitavarman Syamadevi 12 595 - 600 Supratisthitavarman son of Susthitavarman ( Bachelor ) 13 600 - 650 Bhaskaravarman brother of Supratisthitavarman ( Bachelor ) 14 650 - 655 Avantivarman ( unknown ) ( unknown ) References Jump up ^ * Prakash, Col Ved, Encyclopedia of North - East India Jump up ^ Arun Bhattacharjee ( 1993 ), Assam in Indian Independence, Page 143 While Pushyavarman was the contemporary of the Gupta Emperor Samudra Gupta, Bhaskaravarman was the contemporary of Harshavardhana of Kanauj. Jump up ^ `` Three thousand years after these mythical ancestors ( Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta ) there occurred Pushyavarman as the first historical king, after whom we have an uninterrupted line of rulers up to Bhaskarvarman. '' ( Sharma 1978, p. xxix ) Jump up ^ `` According to him ( DC Sircar ) Narayanavarma, the father of Bhutivarman, was the first Kamarupa king to perform horse - sacrifices and thus for the first time since the days of Pusyavarman freedom from the Gupta political supremacy was declared by Narayanavarma. But a careful study or even a casual perusal of the seal attached to the Dubi C.P. and of the nalanda seals should show that it is Sri Mahendra, the father of Narayanavarma himself, who is described as the performer of two horse - sacrifices. '' ( Sharma 1978, p. 8 ) Jump up ^ ( Sharma 1978, p. 20 ) Jump up ^ `` ( I ) t is significant that like the kings of the Bhauma - Naraka family they also claim descent from Naraka or Bhagadatta, and this descent is acknowledged outside also outside their own kingdom when the Pashupatinath temple inscription of Nepal described Rajyamati, the daughter of Sri Harsha of the family of Salasthambha as bhagadatta - raja - kulaja. ( Sharma 1978, p. xxxiv ) Jump up ^ `` The mythical ancestors of this line of rulers were Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. Three thousand years after these mythical ancestors there occurred Pushyavarman... '' ( Sharma 1978, p. xxix ) In the Nidhanpur copperplate inscription, it is mentioned : `` When the kings of his ( Vajradatta 's ) family having enjoyed the position ( of rulers ) for three thousand years had ( all ) attained the state of gods, Pushyavarman became the lord of the world. '' ( Sharma 1978, p. 50 ) Jump up ^ George van Driem ( 2001 ), India - Volume 2 ; Volume 10, Page 506 Although Kamarupa was at times ruled by Indo - Aryan dynasties and at times by native Mleccha dynasties Jump up ^ Sarkar, Ichhimuddin ( 1992 ). Aspects of historical geography of Prāgjyotiṣa - Kāmarūpa ( ancient Assam ). Naya Prokash. p. 295. Jump up ^ ( Choudhury 1966 : 111 ) Jump up ^ ( Choudhury 1966 : 113 ) Jump up ^ ( Sircar 1990 : 95 ) Jump up ^ `` Since the Epico - Pauranic myths associated Pragjyotisha with Naraka and his descendants, it was quite natural for the kings of ancient Assam to fabricate the story of descent from Naraka 's family '' ( Sircar 1990 : 96 ) Jump up ^ ( Sircar 1990 : 96 ) Jump up ^ ( Sharma 1978, p. xiv ) ^ Jump up to : Dalal, Roshen ( 2011 ) `` Narakasura '' in Hinduism : An Alphabetical Guide p274 ^ Jump up to : BM Barua Common Ancestry of Pre-Ahom rulers and some problems of early History of Assam in `` Discovery of Northeast India '' ( ed Sharma S. K et al. ) p277. Jump up ^ BM Barua Common Ancestry of Pre-Ahom rulers and some problems of early History of Assam in `` Discovery of Northeast India '' ( ed Sharma S. K et al. ) p277. `` In some sections of the Great Epic, Bhagadatta is represented as Yavana or Mleccha ruler, although a friend of Indra. '' Jump up ^ Vishveshvaranand Vedic Research Institute, India ( 1983 ), Vishveshvaranand Indological Series - Issue 77, P 26 tribes designated as Yavanas, Mlecchas or Dasyus were degraded Aryans is also indicated by the story in the Mahabharata Jump up ^ `` The present king belongs to the old line ( tso yari ) of Narayana - deva. He is of the Brahman caste. His name is Bhaskaravarman, and his title Kumara ( Keu - mo - lo ). '' ( Beal 1884, p. 196 ) Jump up ^ `` 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 '' ( Sharma 1978, p. xiv ) Jump up ^ ( Sylvain 1929, p. 114 ) At the time of Hiuan - tsang 's visit King Bhaskaravarman, was `` a descendant of the God Narayana '' ; he was `` of the caste of the Brahman, as, '' and had the title of `` Kumara. '' `` Since the possession of the kingdom by his family up to his time, the succession of princes covers a space of a thousand generations '' ( Mem. II, 77. ) The evidence of his contemporary Bana ( Harsacarita, chap. VII ) confirms almost all these details. Finally we possess since a few years ago an inscription of King Bhaskaravarman ( Nidhanpur plates, Ep. Ind., XII, 65 ), which takes back the genealogy up to King Bhagadatta, the famous adversary of the by a long list of ancestors. However, when he had business with others than Indians, the same prince boasted of another origin altogether. When the envoy of the T'ang dynasty, Li Yi - piao, paid him a visit during the course of his mission ( 643 - 646 ) the king in a private conversation told him : `` the royal family has handed down its power for 4,000 years. The first was a holy spirit which came from China ( Han - ti ) flying through the air. '' ( She - kia fang tche, ed. Tok. XXXV, 1, 94b, col. ult. ) As though he would show sympathy for China, he asked the envoy to get him a portrait of Lao - tseu and a Sanskrit translation of the Tao - to - king. ( She - kia fang tche, ed. Tok. XXXV, 1, 94b, col. ult. ). Jump up ^ Kāmarūpa Anusandhāna Samiti, Readings in the history & culture of Assam - Page 179, 1984 `` The Varman dynasty, which was probably the first Indo - Aryan dynasty in Assam was overthrown by Salastambha, a man of Mleccha or non-Aryan ( Mongolian ) origin. '' Jump up ^ Niśipada Caudhurī, Historical archaeology of central Assam - Page 83, 1985 `` K.N. Dutta seems to be right in concluding that the Varman dynasty, which was probably the first Indo - Aryan dynasty in Assam, was overthrown by Salastambha, ( Mongoloid ) origin, who then made himself the king of Kamarupa. '' Jump up ^ Suresh Kant Sharma, Usha Sharma, Discovery of North - East India : Geography, History, Culture..., Volume 3 - Page 275, 2005 `` One may go perhaps a step further and suggest that Pusyavarman was the first Indo - Aryan ruler set up by Samudragupta over the two territories of Kamarupa and Davaka unified into a single kingdom. None can or should deny it as a fact if Bhattasali simply means to say that the process leading to the assertion of independence by the Varmans of Kamarupa commenced earlier, ie., before Bhutivarman, even without specifically bringing Mahendravarman into play. The above suggestion, that the first Indo - Aryan rule favourable to Brahmanism was founded in Kamarupa with Pusyavarman as the first ruler under Samudragupta, received its support from these two facts : ( 1 ) that Bhagadatta the great legendary ancestor of the Varmans, is described in the Nidhanpur grant of Bhaskaravarman as Indrasakhah, `` The friend of Indra ( the heavenly prototype of the earthly Indo - Aryan monarch ) '', and his father and predecessor Naraka as one begotten of the Varaha form of vishnu, and ( 2 ) the descent claimed, as known to Hwen Thsang, by the Varmans from `` the god Narayana. '' If thus the earlier rulers of the Varmans line were Vaisnavas, at least up till Bhutivarman. '' Jump up ^ `` Hiuen Ts'ang by mistake described Bhaskara - varman as a Brahman, but he was just a neo-Kshatriya, a member of a Hinduised mleccha or non-Hindu Indo - Mongoloid family which had been accepted within the fold of Hindu orthodoxy '' ( Chatterji 1974, p. 91 ) Jump up ^ Sharma, Mukunda Madhava ( 1978 ), Inscriptions of Ancient Assam Jump up ^ `` Virtually all of Assam 's kings, from the fourth - century Varmans down to the eighteenth - century Ahoms, came from non-Aryan tribes that were only gradually Sanskritised. '' ( Urban 2011, p. 234 ) Jump up ^ ( Barua 1933 : 91 ) `` Suffice is to say that he ( Bhaskaravarman ) was Hindu by religion spreading light of Arya Dharma though he has great preverence for learned Buddhist priests and professors of his time and was distinctly inclined towards Buddhism. The text of his message to Silabhadra leave no doubt in this point. The very high functions allotted to him during the famous religious assembly at Kanauj by the Hindu emperor Sri Harsha proves that he was not a Hindu of despised low caste. He was undoubtedly looked upon as a good Kshatriya, as his surname Varma indicates, whatever might have been his origin. In any case he was certainly not a Hinduized Koch. All the kings of his dynasty beginning from Pushyavarman were Kshatriya monarchs. When Xuanzang visited the kingdom he found hundreds of Hindu temples there and evidently there were large numbers of Brahmans and other high caste Hindus living within the kingdom which was a seat of learning that people of other countries came there for study. '' Jump up ^ ( Gait 1926 : 23 -- 24 ) Jump up ^ Though there exists no direct evidence, there are indirect evidence of a king who ruled for a short period after Bhaskaravarman, but was ousted by Salasthamba ( Sharma 1978, pp. xxxi - xxxii ). Bibliography Barua, Kanak Lal ( 1933 ). Early History Of Kamarupa. Beal, Samuel ( 1884 ). Si - Yu - Ki. Buddhist Records of the Western World. II. Ludgate Hill : Trubner & Co. Retrieved February 17, 2013. Chatterji, S.K. ( 1974 ). Kirata - Jana - Krt. Calcutta : The Asiatic Society. Chattopadhyaya, S ( 1990 ), `` Social Life '', in Barpujari, HK, The Comprehensive History of Assam, I, Guwahati : Publication Board, Assam, pp. 195 -- 232 Choudhury, P.C. ( 1966 ). The History of the Civilisation of the People of Assam to the Twelfth Century AD. Gauhati : Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies of Assam. Sharma, Mukunda Madhava ( 1978 ). Inscriptions of Ancient Assam. Gauhati University, Assam. Sircar, DC ( 1990 ), `` Political History '', in Barpujari, HK, The Comprehensive History of Assam, I, Guwahati : Publication Board, Assam, pp. 94 -- 171 Sylvain, Lévi ( 1929 ). Pre-Aryan and Pre-Dravidian in India. Calcutta : University of Calcutta. Retrieved February 25, 2013. Urban, Hugh B. ( 2011 ). `` The Womb of Tantra : Goddesses, Tribals, and Kings in Assam ''. The Journal of Hindu Studies. 4 : 231 -- 247. doi : 10.1093 / jhs / hir034. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Varman_dynasty&oldid=845414172 '' Categories : Former monarchies of Asia Former countries in Asia Varman dynasty People from Kamarupa Kamarupa Western Assam Hidden categories : Former country articles requiring maintenance All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages অসমীয়া বাংলা Català Français ಕನ್ನಡ मराठी Русский Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски தமிழ் Edit links This page was last edited on 11 June 2018, at 16 : 47. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: who was the founder of the varmana dynasty
Answer: Pushyavarman