Classical period Indian subcontinent kingdom
The
Gau?a Kingdom
(Gau?a R?jya) was a kingdom during the
Classical era
in the
Indian subcontinent
, which originated in the
Gauda
region of
Bengal
(modern-day
West Bengal
and
Bangladesh
)
[2]
[3]
in 4th century CE or possibly earlier.
[4]
Location and extent
[
edit
]
A Buddhist
Mah?y?na
Text
Manju?r?-M?lakalpa
records the existence of Gauda Kingdom in Bengal before it was replaced by
Gupta Empire
in the 4th century. King Loka who was born in Vardham?na (
Bardham?n
) is mentioned who must have ruled in the early 4th century CE.
[5]
King
Shashanka
is often attributed with creating the first separate political entity in a unified
Bengal
called
Gauda
. He reigned in 7th century, and some historians place his rule approximately between 590 and 625.
[
citation needed
]
His capital was at
Karnasubarna
, 9.6 kilometres (6.0 mi) south-west of
Baharampur
, headquarters of Murshidabad district.
[2]
The Chinese monk,
Xuanzang
(Hiuen Tsang) travelled from the country of Karnasubarna to a region in the present-day state of Orissa ruled by Shashanka.
[3]
There is mention of
Pundravardhana
being part of Gauda in certain ancient records.
[6]
Not much is known about the early life of Shashanka. Historian D K Ganguly is reported to have concluded that he was a native of Magadha.
[7]
The same source reports that the historian
Padmanath Bhattacharya
took Shashanka to be a son of Mah?senagupta. R D Banerji concluded that he was descended from the Magadha Guptas.
Nagendranath Basu
has argued that Shashanka was the son / descendant of Raja Karnadeva, who founded the city of
Karnasubarna
in Bengal.
[8]
Location of the Shahshankas and fragmented South Asian polities circa 600 CE, after the retreat of the
Alchon Huns
.
[9]
In some sources, Shashanka is described as a tribal leader of Bengal.
[10]
Shashanka's name appears in multiple forms, including ?a??nka and ?a??nka-deva. The name is derived from
Sanskrit
, as another name for the Moon. ?a??nka-deva therefore loosely translates to "moon god".
The Hindu god
Shiva
bears the epithet
Shashankasekhara,
meaning, "he who bears the moon". The Chinese monk
Xuanzang
's writings, he is mentioned as She-Shang-Kia. He is also called ?a??nka Narendragupta, which initially lent credence to the claim that he was descended from the later Guptas.
[11]
In Sinha's Dynastic History of Magadha, the names '?a??nka' and 'Soma' are used interchangeably. Some historians believe that Shashanka began his career as a feudatory chief (maha
samanta
) under Mahasenagupta, of the
Later Gupta Dynasty
.
[12]
And that after the death of Mahasenagupta, Shashanka drove the later Guptas and other prominent nobles out of the region and established his own kingdom with his capital at
Karnasubarna
. Other historians like Sailendra Nath Sen is of the opinion that Mahasenagupta - already under pressure from the Maukharis (for failing to provide adequate protection) - wouldn't have knowingly appointed Shashanka to such an important position. Middleton (2015) argues in a similar vein that Shashanka served as
maha samanta
to a Gauda king, possibly
Jayanaga
.
[13]
Whether Shashanka was a feudatory under the Maukharis or the Guptas is not known. By 605 C.E. following Mahasenagupta's death, Shashanka had established what became known as the Gauda Kingdom. From there, he issued gold coins to celebrate his triumph, and came to be addressed as
Maharajadhiraja
(king of great kings). According to some sources the city of
Gauda
was founded by King Shankaladeva. He, originally, was a native of
Kannauj
. In the book,
History of Hindostan
(originally translated from the book
Gulshan-i-Ibrahimi
written by
Firishta
), it has been stated that Shankaladeva (Sinkol) was a native of Kannauj (Kinoge) and established the city of Gauda during the 8th century BC.
[14]
Following his death, Shashanka was succeeded by his son,
Manava
, who ruled the kingdom for eight months. However Gauda was soon divided amongst
Harshavardhana
and Bhaskarvarmana of
Kamarupa
, the latter even managing to conquer Karnasuvarna.
Evidence is inconsistent regarding links of Gauda with the
Rarh region
. While Krishna Mishra (11th or 12th century), in his
Prabodha-chandrodaya
, mentions that Gauda Rashtra includes Rarh (or Rarhpuri) and Bhurishreshthika, identified with
Bhurshut
, in
Hooghly
and
Howrah
districts, the Managoli inscription of the
Yadava
king
Jaitugi I
distinguishes Lala (Rarh) from Gaula (Gauda).
[2]
According to Jain writers of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, Gauda included Lakshmanavati in present-day
Malda district
.
[2]
The
Pala emperors
were referred to as Vangapati (Lord of Vanga) and Gaudesvara (Lord of Gauda).
Sena
kings also called themselves Gaudesvara. From then Gauda and Vanga seem to be interchangeable names for the whole of Bengal.
[2]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978).
A Historical atlas of South Asia
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 146, map XIV.2 (b).
ISBN
0226742210
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Majumdar, R. C.
(1971).
History of Ancient Bengal
. Calcutta: G. Bhardwaj & Co. pp. 6?8.
OCLC
961157849
.
- ^
a
b
Ghosh, Suchandra (2012).
"Gauda, Janapada"
. In
Islam, Sirajul
; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.).
Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh
(Second ed.).
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
.
- ^
K. P. Jayaswal (1934).
An Imperial History Of India
. p. 34.
- ^
K. P. Jayaswal (1934).
An Imperial History Of India
.
- ^
Bandopadhyay, Rakhaldas,
Bangalar Itihas
,
(in Bengali)
, first published 1928, revised edition 1971, vol I, p 101, Nababharat Publishers, 72 Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata.
- ^
Sinha, Bindeshwari Prasad (1977).
Dynastic History of Magadha
. India: Abhinav Publications. pp. 131?133
. Retrieved
16 September
2019
.
- ^
Basu, Nagendranath (1937).
Bonger Jatiya Itihash (Kayastha Kando)
. India. p. 63
. Retrieved
26 September
2019
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978).
A Historical atlas of South Asia
. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p.
26
,146.
ISBN
0226742210
.
- ^
"Kingdoms of South Asia ? Indian Kingdom of Bengal"
.
historyfiles.co.uk
. Retrieved
19 September
2019
.
- ^
"Indian Antiquary"
.
Journal of Oriental Research (Ed. J.A.S. Burgess)
.
VII
. Popular Prakashan: 197. 1878
. Retrieved
16 September
2019
.
- ^
Sen, N. S. (1999).
Ancient Indian history and civilization
(Second ed.). India: New Age International.
ISBN
81-224-1198-3
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
Middleton, John (2015).
World Monarchies and Dynasties
. Routledge. p. 330.
ISBN
9781317451587
. Retrieved
15 September
2019
.
- ^
Firishtah, Mu?ammad Q?sim Hind? Sh?h Astar?b?d? (1803).
The History of Hindostan,: Translated from the Persian
. Vernor and Hood, Cuthell and Martin, J. Walker, Wynne and Scholey, John Debrett, Blacks and Parry, T. Kay, and J. Asperne.
24°11′N
88°16′E
/
24.18°N 88.27°E
/
24.18; 88.27
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