INTRODUCTION

Bhaskarvarman was the most illustrious king of the dynasty of Pushyavarman

(Varman dynasty) and must have raised the importance of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa in
North Indian politics. His father Susthitavarman had two sons, Supratisthitavarman and
Bhaskarvarman. Supratisthitavarman had a premature dead after a very short reign, he
was succeeded by his brother Bhaskarvarman whose long reign of more than 50 years
(c.594-650 A.D). Forms a brilliant chapter in the history of early Assam. He was not only
the greatest king of this family but also a remarkable ruler of ancient India.
Bhaskarvarman ascended the throne of Kamrupa comparatively at an early age due to the
premature death of his elder brother. He was also known as “Kumar-Raja”.
“With the accession of Bhaskarvarman, Kamrupa entered into a new chapter of
her history, illumined by his Doobi and Nidhanpur grants, the Nalanda clay seals, Bana’s
Harshacharita, the Chinese records and other sources. The very short reign of his elder
brother, Supratisthita has been proved by Bhaskar’s epigraphs, and it appears that the
latter became king early in his life in about A.D. 594. The date is confirmed by an early
Assamese Chronicle, ‘Kamarupa-Parivrtta’. It states in the year 612 Bakhtiyar advanced
as far as Kamapitha. The date of his invasion, as recorded in the Kanai Varasi inscription,
N. Gauhati, and confirmed by the Tabaqat-i-Nasari, is S.E. 1127= A.D.1205-6, in which
case, the Kamarupa era might have been started in (1206-612) =A.D. 594. It is only to a
well known ruler like Bhaskara that the commencement of an era may be ascribed. It is,
therefore, probable that just after his accession Bhaskara celebrated his coronation by
starting a new era in A.D. 594”.
Bhaskarvarman was a devotee of Shiva. “Both his records (The Doobi plates and
the Nidhanpur plates) begin with adoration to that deity while Bana’s Harshacharita
speaks of his staunch devotion to the same God”. According to Nidhanpur Copper plate
inscription it is said that after kings of the dynasty of Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta
ruled for 3,000 years, Pushya Varman ascended the throne. He was succeeded in the direct
in turn by the following kings, the names of their queens being added in brackets:-
Samudra Varman (Dattadevi), Bala Varman (Ratnavati), Kalyana Varman (Gandharvavati)
Ganapati (Yangnavati), Mahendra Varman (Suvrata), Narayan Varman (Devavati),
Mahabhuta Varman (Vijananavati), Chandra Mukha (Bhogavati), Sthita Varman
(Nayanadevi), Susthita Varman aliasSri Mriganka (Shyamadevi).The last mentioned ruler
had two sons, Supratisthita Varman and Bhaskarvarman. According to this genealogy
Bhaskarvarman was the eleventh in descent from Pushya. If so, and if the average duration
of each reign be taken at 10 years, the dynasty was founded about the middle of the fifth
century A.D. Bana mentions him as Kumara, the lord of Pragjyotisha, whose second name
was Bhaskaravarman. Hiuen Tsang likewise speaks of Kumara as his title or secondary
name so that he is often mentioned by the pilgrim as Kumaraja. Bana further compares
Kumara alias Bhaskarvarman with Bhisma in the same context and probably suggest
thereby that Bhaskara was called Kumara because he was a bachelor like the epic hero.
The Chinese source used the prefix Kumaraja before the name of Bhaskara.”Hiuen Tsang
mentions that his other name was Kumara”. He was called probably due to his early
accession to the throne. He retained his title, probably because he remained a
celibate. In the Harshacharita, the name Kumara is mentioned in the expression atra
 1

devana abhisiktah kumarah, but this does not refer to Bhaskara, who is called by Bana
Bhaskara dyuti and Pragiyotisheswara and who was already a crowned king when he
came into contact with Harsha. As mentioned in the Chinese sources the name “Kumara”
has probably a preference to his accession early in his career. It has, however, been
interpreted differently. P.Bhattacharya is of the opinion that he retained this title as he
remained a bachelor, but in another place he contradicts himself, when he holds that it is
highly improbable that he could remain unmarried, and suggests that perhaps he retained
the title out of respect for his brother, who probably did not ascend the throne, or if he
did, occupied it only for a short time. Kielhorn contends that his actual name was
Kumara, and Bhaskara was not his surname. K.L. Barua explains the title by holding that
Bhaskara was, probably a celibate. In the opinion of Tripathi, the word ‘Kumara’ refers
to Madhavagupta, and Bhaskara at no time accepted Harsa’s authority, as Bana rightly
calls him ‘Pragjyotisesvara’. It is only reasonable to hold that the name or rather the title
‘Kumara’, applied to Bhaskara by Yuan Chwang, has nothing to do with his name or even
surname. It was perhaps a sort of nickname, which he retained even in his old age. It
was a prefix added to raja, and many have been retained by him neither owing to his
respect for his brother, who by his accession was long dead, nor because of his Celibacy.
“Bhaskara’s accession was probably a little earlier than that of Harsha (A.D. 606). This may
be gathered from his position as an aged king dressed as Brahma, while Harsha himself
took the place of Sakra (Indra), in the religious ceremonies, described by Yuan Chwang.
He ruled for at least a few years after Harsha’s death (647-48), as he is associated with the
Chinese mission of Wang hiuen tse that became involved in the usurpation of Arjuna after
Harsa’s death. In view of the above, the long reign of Bhaskara may be placed between A.D.
594-650. This long period is not unusual for an illustrious monarch like him who ascended
the throne in his early age”.

OBJECTIVE

1. To study the motives of both the Kings Behind the signing alliance.
2. To study the significance of Bhaskarvarman’s reign in history.

HYPOTHESIS

1) It was mainly to defeat their common enemy Sasanka the king of Gauda.
2) Bhaskara recovered his lost Possessions of kamrupa in Bengal.
3) He carried the political glory of Kamrupa to a point not reached ever before.
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY :

The process of writing this paper will be followed based on secondary sources
drawn from journals, libraries, articles, great books, newspapers, magazines etc. And the
method to be used in this proposed paper will be a historical analytical method where the
authenticity of the sources will be examined.

ALLIANCE OF BHASKAR VARMAN WITH HARSHAVARDHANA:

Bhaskara’s activities were not confined to the bounds of his kingdom; he played
an important role in the political history of northern India in the first half of the 17th
century A.D. His success rested not only in his organisation of the state but also in his
Political relations, both of war and diplomacy, with the leading powers of his time. The
political condition of Northern India towards the end of the 6th and the beginning of the
7th century A.D. assumed a new phase with the rise of Maukharis, the Vardhanas and
Devagupta in the west and Sasanka in Gauda. There had been no love lost between the
Later Guptas and the Varmans of Kamrupa for more than a decade, and the rising power
of Sasanka was also a matter of grave concern for Bhaskara in his task of extending the
limits of his kingdom. In the early part of his career, he formed an alliance with
Harshavardhana, the most powerful king of northern India of time. This alliance, an act
of political wisdom on the part of Bhaskara, brought fresh glories to Kamrupa and
enabled it to participate in pan-Indian politics.

At the time of Bhaskara’s accession there was no political unity in north India.
There was great struggle for supremacy over northern India among the various royal
families. During the later part of the sixth century and the first part of seventh, two great
royal dynasties and two powerful monarch of North India, viz the Pushyabhutis of
Thaneswar (Jalandhar, East Punjab), the Maukharis of Kanauj, Devagupta of Malwa and
Sasanka of Gaur (Bengal) became very powerful. Rivalries among the rulers gave rise to
alliances and counter –alliances. Thus, in one camp were Malwa and Gauda, and in the
other camps were Kanauj and Thaneswar. The relation between the last two kingdoms was
cemented by a marriage alliance. Prabhakarvardhan, the king of Thaneswar offered his
daughter, Rajyasri in marriage to Grahavarman, the Maukhari king of Kanauj. Thus an
alliance was cemented between the two families of Pushyabhutis and of Maukharis.
Devagupta of Malwa who was an enemy of the Maukharis soon strengthened himself by
an alliance with Sasanka, the king of Gaur. The alliance between the Guptas (Devagupta)
and Sasanka, as shown by H.C. Raychoudhury, “was due to the alliance of the Vardhanas
with the Maukharis.” In the beginning of the contest Malwa and Gauda were more
successful. Kamarupa at first remained aloof from the political
complication of north India.
In 605 A.D. Prabhakarvardhan was succeeded to the throne of Thaneswar by his
eldest son, Rajyavardhan. At this Devagupta, the king of Malwa invaded the kingdom of
Kanauj and Grahavardhan. They imprisoned Rajyasri, the sister of Rajyavardhan.
 3

This signalised at once a great all India conflict. Rajyavardhana rushed with his powerful
force to Kannauj for the rescue of his sister. He defeated Devagupta but in a stratagem he
was murdered. Rajyavardhana, the ruler of Thaneswar fell to a foul design made by
Sasanka. Rajyavardhana went to Gauda on an invitation from Sasanka and there he was
assassinated. Thus the thrones of Thaneswar and Kanauj simultaneously fell vacant.
Immediately after the assassination of Rajyavardhana, occupied Kanauj, and released
Rajyasri, the widowed queen of Grahavarman, from detention in her Capital. With the
murder of Rajyavardhana, Harsha had no alternative. At this moment (606A.D.),
Harshavardhana, the younger brother ascended the vacant thrones of both the kingdoms
of Thaneswar and Kanauj. His duties were to drive away Sasanka from Kanauj and to
avenge his brother’s murder. With Sasanka alive and reigning, the future seemed bleak
for Harsha. He therefore took a bow “to clear the earth of Gaudas in a limited number of
days.”] To achieve these ends, Harsha firmly resolved to advance with his army to bring the
‘Five Indias under allegiance’, and punish his enemies as they deserved. Harsha was
looking for an ally to take revenge against, the murderer of his brother. The removal of
Sasanka was also an immediate concern for Bhaskara for the recovery of lost possessions
in Bengal (Pundravardhana) which was included at that time in Sasanka’s kingdom. Thus,
taking advantage of this political turmoil, in northern India, Bhaskar immediately sent an
embassy to Harsha for seeking the latter’s alliance against their common enemy.
Hamsavega, Bhaskara’s ambassador met Harsha with rich presents including the famous
parasol called Abhoga and ornaments from the finest gems inherited from Bhagadatta and
other kings. He very aptly represented the purpose of his mission as being deputed by his
master to form an “imperishable alliance” with Harsha. Harsha had indeed, for some time
past been desirous of becoming Bhaskar’s friend; he was also in need of an ally at this
moment. He therefore heartedly welcome the offer and dismissed the ambassador with
valuable presents as well as the following compliments to the King of Kamrupa: “How
could the mind of one like me possibly even in a dream show aversion, Hamsavega,
when such a great and noble spirit, such a treasure of virtue and captain of the worthy,
bestows his love as an absent friend upon me. The ten regions are the unhired servants of
the sweet qualities of his noble. Therefore use your endeavour that my yearning to see the
prince may not torment use long”.] Thus was formed an offensive and defensive alliance
between two independent monarchs of northern and eastern India. The alliance of
Devagupta with Sasanka and the murderer of Grahavarman, Harsha’s brother-in–law, by the
former, as well as the murder of Rajyavardhana, by the Gauda ruler, had an important
bearing on the relation between Bhaskar and Harsha. The alliance between Bhaskarvarman
and Harshavardhana became disadvantageous to Sasanka. In the war that followed
Sasanka was worse. Bhaskar attacked Sasanka’s kingdom from the east, while Harsha’s
General Bhandi, invaded from the west. Harshavardhana succeeded in driving out the
Gauda forces from U.P. and probably also from Bihar by the pressure of his ally
Bhaskarvarman from the other side. So, Sasanka had to fight then on two fronts, the
north-eastern and western. Thus confronted from two sides, Sasanka fled to Kongoda
(Orissa) for refuge. In the latest work, the History of Orissa, R.D. Banerji writes: - “Whatever
be the real origin of Sasanka, there is no doubt about the fact that eventually he was driven
out of Karnasubarna. It is quite possible that this event had taken place before the date of
the Ganjam plate and at that time he had lost his possessions in Bengal and was the master
 4
of Orissa only.” Sasanka’s kingdom was then parcelled out between Harsha and Bhaskara.
As a result of this victory the boundary of Kamrupa extended considerably in the west.
Bhaskarvarman occupied Sasanka’s capital, Karnasubarna (Murshidabad) and North Bengal
(Pundravardhana). After this victory, he issued his famous Nidhanpur Copper plate to
confirm the grant of lands in chandrapuri Vishaya (district) of Pundravardhan, originally
executed by Bhuti-Varman. There are, however, scholars who are of opinion that Bhaskar’s
hold on Gauda was short lived. Anyway, at the present state of our knowledge we cannot
say anything definite on this point.

SIGNIFICANCE OF BHASKARVARMAN’S REIGN :

The most important significance of Bhaskar’s reign was that he was able to crush
the power of Sasanka of Gauda and conquer the territory of North Bengal
(Pundravardhan) which was included at that time in Sasanka’s kingdom. The latter
territory, till it was lost to Mahasenagupta, was being held under the suzerainty to the
kings of Kamrupa for nearly half a century past. The loss of possessions of Kamrupa in
Bengal since Susthitavarman and the second invasion of Mahasena in about 593-94 were
fresh in his memory. It was, therefore, one of his pressing duties to recover them at the
earliest opportunity. Thus, Bhaskar fulfilled the long dream of recovering the lost
possessions of Kamrupa in Bengal.

“Bhaskarvarman established an extensive empire. According to, Hiuen Tsang, the

circumference of Kamrupa under Bhaskar was 1,700 miles. It included the valleys of
Brahmaputra and the Surma rivers, North Bengal, Mymensingh, Sylhet and Tripura were
also under his way. His empire extended in the south to the Bay of Bengal and in the east
to Burma and the Chinese empire. The river Koshi in the west and the Bhutan hills in the
north perhaps formed the western and northern boundary of his vast empire. Hiuen Tsang
designated Bhaskara as the king of Eastern India.”Another event which crowned the career
of Bhaskara and added lustre to the history of ancient Assam was visit of the reputed
Chinese pilgrim Hiuen Tsang to Kamarupa in 642-43 A.D. During the reign of
Harshavardhana, the Chinese pilgrim, Hiuen Tsang visited India. He stayed for fifteen years
and travelled all over the country. When Hiuen Tsang was in the Nalanda University of Bihar,
studying the Buddhist scriptures for couple of years, Bhaskarvarman heard the presence of
the Chinese pilgrim. He became eager to meet him. Then he requested Silabhadra, the
Rector of the Nalanda University to send Hiuen Tsang to Pragjyotispur, his Capital. It was,
however, with Bhaskara’s threat to destroy the Nalanda University that Silabhadra agreed to
send Hiuen Tsang to Kamrupa. The Visit of the Chinese pilgrim to Kamrupa in 643 A.D. is a
memorable event of Bhaskar’s reign. When the pilgrim reached the capital city, he was
warmly welcomed by the ruler of Kamrupa, Bhaskara and high officers of the state.
Hiuen Tsang stayed more than a month in Kamarupa and went to Harsha’s kingdom. Hiuen
Tsang left an interesting account of the country from his personal experience. From the
writings of the pilgrim we can know many interesting things about the condition in
Kamarupa of that time. “During Bhaskar’s reign arts and industries advanced to aremarkable
extent. From the Harsha charita of Bana we find a list of the presents which Bhaskarvarman
sent to Harsha through his trusted envoy Hamsawega. These presents included, as already
mentioned, an ingenuously constructed royal umbrella of exquisite workmanship studded
 5

with valuable gems, puthis written on Sachi bark, dyed cane mats, Agar-essence, musk in
silk bags, liquid molasses in earthen pots, utensils, paintings, a pair of Brahmani ducks in
a cage made of cane and overlaid with gold and a considerable quantity of milk fabrics
some of which were so even and polished that they resembled Bhurjapatra (probably
muga and pat fabrics). This list alone is sufficient to show that the arts band industries of
Kamrupa, at a distant period, reached a very high state of perfection.”

Bhaskarvarman attended a grand religious assembly at Kannauj which was

arranged by Harsha in honour of Hiuen Tsang. Eighteen vassal kings of Harsha, the king
of Kamrupa from the extreme east, and the son-in-law of Harsha, Dhruvabhatta, king of
Valabhi (Gujarat) from the west, twenty princes in all intended the great assembly of
Kanauj on special invitation. Besides the vassals kings 3,000 Buddhist priest, about the
same number of Brahmanas and Nirgranthas and about a thousand monks from Nalanda
were also present in the religious assembly. During the period of the assembly, Bhaskar
received respect from Harsha due to an eminent ally. In all the functions of the assembly,
Bhaskar was placed higher than all other kings who attended it. In the procession with the
image of Buddha during the assembly, Harsha himself dressed as Indra (lord of Heaven)
and held an Umbrella over the image; Bhaskar, in the dress of Brahma, the oldest of the
Gods, occupied a conspicuous position on the right side of the image. This indicates the
importance of Kamrupa and her great king Bhaskar-Varman, in every way, as respected
ally and not as a Vassal king. It is said that of all the kings assembled there only “Sri
Harsha and Bhaskar Varman wore attire like Devas with flower wreaths and jeweled
ribbons.” After the assembly at Kanauj was dissolved, Harsha arranged religious
convocation at Prayag (Allahabad). Bhaskar is aid to have attended the assembly held at
Prayag. This festival at Prayag was held after every five years. Bhaskara was again treated
with high honours at Prayag. This ceremony lasted for 75 days. In the inaugural function the
military followers of Harsha and Bhaskara embarked in ships and the attendants of Dhruva
Bhat mounted on elephants proceeded in due state to the place of the assembly. The kings
of the 18 countries joined the cortege as arranged. After this ceremony was over, Hiuen
Tsang took leave of Sri Harsha and the Kumara Raja. Both of them were affected during the
leave-taking. Kumar Raja addressed Hiuen Tsang thus: - “If the Master is able to dwell in my
dominions and receive my religious offerings I will undertake to found one hundred
monasteries on the Masters’ behalf”. Hiuen Tsang replied, “The country of China is very far
from this and has but recently heard of the law of Buddha.” When the pilgrim Hiuen Tsang
was leaving India for China, Bhaskarvarman offered him some presents but the pilgrim
accepted only a Cape called ‘ho-la-li’ made of coarse skin lined with soft down, which was
designed to protect from rain whilst on the road.
 6

CONCLUSION

Bhaskarvarman was undoubtedly one of the greatest rulers of Assam. Culturally

Assam was always an integral part of India, but politically most of the time she remained
isolated from all India politics. In the long history of Assam only few rulers could extend
their influence outside Assam. Of these few rulers Bhaskar was one. He became the
greatest ruler of eastern India and his impact was felt even in the high politics of the
Ganga-Yamuna. What is all the more creditable is his infusion of new life in Assam
whose reputation at the time of his accession to the throne way lying very low. During
the reign of his predecessor Assam suffered reverses in the hands of Mahasena Gupta,
and the boundary of Assam in the west shrank to a considerable extent. By defeating
Sasanka he annexed Gauda to his kingdom. We have evidence to show that even the great
port of Tamralipti was included within his kingdom.
During the reign of Bhaskar-Varman, Kamrup occupied a prominent place in the
then politics of India. Harsha died in 647 A.D. Bhaskar is said to have further enhance his
political influence in northern India after Harsha’s death by helping the Chinese in their
war against Arjuna who usurped Harsha’s throne. It appears from the Chinese accounts
that the kings of Nepal and Tibet assisted with forces and Shi-kien-ma (Sri Kumara), the
“king of eastern India.” Sent him “thirty thousand oxen and horses and provisions for all
his army, to which he added bows, scimitars, and collars of great value.” With such
assistance Wang-hiuen-tse defeated the usurper Arjun and capturing him took him as a
prisoner to China. Bhaskarvarman died shortly after this incident in 650A.D. after a long
reign of fifty-six years.
Bhaskarvarman was perhaps the most illustrious of the monarch of ancient
kamarupa. His name has been immortalised by the accounts which Yuan Chwang and his
biographers have left. It appears that during his time Kamrupa was one of the most
advanced kingdoms in India. It would be profitless now to discuss whether he was a
Brahmin, Kshatriya or a Hinduized Koch by caste. Suffice it to say that he was a Hindu
by religion spreading “the light of Arya Dharma” though he had great reverence for
learned Buddhist priests and professors of his time and was distinctly inclined towards
Buddhism. Bhaskarvarman’s close connection with Sri Harsha and Yuan Chwang led to
his association with the famous Buddhist University of Magadha, for his seal has been
discovered recently at the site of Nalanda in the company of twp fragmentary seals of Sri
Harsha. The seals were found by Dr. Spooner during the excavation of the ruins of
Nalanda in the year 1917-18. Mr. K.N. Dikshit in his “Epigraphical Notes of the Nalanda
Finds” referred to this seal and stated that the kings mentioned therein were not known to
belong to any north-India dynasty. This was corrected by the late Mr. R.D. Banerji in the
journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society (Vol.5).
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