Chapter 5
State and Its Development
Exercises
Write down the answers to the following questions:
1. 1. (a) Who was the founder of the Burman dynasty?
Answer: The founder of the Burman dynasty was Pushyavarman.
(b) Which king of the Burman dynasty was allied with Harshavardhana?
Answer: Kumara Bhaskar Varman of the Varman dynasty was allied with Harshavardhana.
(c) In whose days did Huwenchang come to Kamrup?
Answer: Huwenchang came to Kamrup in the days of Bhaskar Burman.
(d) Which king shifted the capital of Kamrup to Komatapur?
Answer: King Sandhya shifted the capital of Kamarupa to Komatapur.
(e) Who was the first to translate the Ramayana into Assamese?
Answer: The Ramayana was first translated into Assamese by Madhava Kandali.
(f) To which caste do the Ahoms belong?
Answer: The Ahom belong to the Tai ethnic group.
2. 2. Prepare a note on the geographical boundaries of ancient Assam.
Answer: Geographical boundaries of ancient Assam Assam is the central state of the region surrounded by seven states in the North East of India. The ancient civilizations were built on the plains on both sides of the Brahmaputra River, which stretches from one end of Assam to the other. The kingdom of Kamrup was formed around this plain. The term 'Lohit' refers to the geographical region of the Pragajyotisha kingdom. They used the name 'Kamrup' with the name Pragajyotis and combined the two names.
Assam today is not the true geographical representation of the ancient kingdom of Kamrup or Pragajyotish. Therefore, the geographical boundaries of Assam cannot be used to estimate the boundaries of Kamrup. At the peak of the rise of the Kamrup kingdom, the southern part of the mountainous region to the north and parts of Bhutan were within the boundaries of the kingdom of Kamrup. It extended to parts of present-day Bangladesh in the southwest. From the 1st-2nd centuries, the western boundary of the kingdom ended at the Karatoa River. At that time, small marginal states were formed throughout India to Bihar, North Bengal and the west.
During the reign of the Gupta kings of northern India, the western boundary of the kingdom of Kamarupa extended to the eastern bank of the confluence of the Ganges and Brahmaputra. Among the ancient tablets mentioned earlier, the name of the kingdom of Kamarupa is first mentioned in the Allahabad inscription of Emperor Samudragupta. It is referred to as a border state. The kingdom of Ban Asura in Sonitpur, which was formed on the north bank of the Brahmaputra, broke up under pressure from the kingdom of Kamarupa and merged with it.
3. 3. 3. Describe the role of the dynasties in the political rise and fall of ancient Kamrup.
Answer: The role of the dynasties in the political rise and fall of ancient Kamrup is discussed below
Its political history dates back to the middle of the fourth century. There are some references to Pragjyotish - Kamarupa-centric in ancient Sanskrit literature before the fourth century. It is found in most of the scriptures, from the Ramayana and Mahabharata to the Puranas and Upa Puranas of later times. It is believed that a king named Narakasura once ruled the kingdom of Pragajyotispur. Bhagadatta is mentioned as his direct heir in the scriptures and land donations written down by ancient kings. The period before the fourth century is known as a kind of prehistoric period for ancient Pragjyotish-Kamarupa.
Political history dates back to the second half of the 4th century AD in Pragajyotish-Kamarupa. The founder of the Burman dynasty was Pushyavarman. A total of 13 kings ruled in his dynasty. The Burman dynasty ruled the kingdom for about three hundred years until the middle of the seventh century. Kumara Bhaskar Burman was the last king of the Burman dynasty. He was a contemporary and good friend of the famous king Harshavardhana of northern India. Bhaskar Varman ruled till 650 AD. At the same time, the Chinese Buddhist monk Huyenchang came to Kamrup and stayed there for two months.
The Burman dynasty ended in the middle of the seventh century AD. The last king of the Burman dynasty, Kumara Bhaskar Burman, had passed away. After his death, there was no other heir, and a powerful ruler named Shalastambha seized the throne. He is given that name because he is as strong and powerful as a shal tree. Shalastambha and their predecessors, the kings of the Burman dynasty, worshiped various gods and goddesses. Shiva was the chief of them. The land donation tablets of Banmala Varman and Harjar Varman mention that they built a Shiva temple as white as snow and as high as the Himalayas. The capital of the kings of the Shalastambha dynasty was on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the city of Harupeshwar, and the temple was also located there.
4. The What was the political situation in medieval Assam? Discuss the establishment of the Ahom monarchy in the Brahmaputra Valley.
Answer: Political situation in medieval Assam During the fall of the kingdom of Kamrup, the entire Brahmaputra Valley was politically divided. The Bhuiyans of the zamindar class scattered in different places and ruled their areas independently, collecting their livelihoods from the ancient kingdom of Kamrup. The Chutia established their kingdom in the northeastern and eastern parts of the Brahmaputra Valley. In the early eleventh century, the Ahom kingdom was established in the southeastern region of the Maran-Barahis. By the 17th century, the most widespread sovereign state was known as Assam.
The Ahom were descendants of the rulers of the Tai ethnic group. In 1215 AD, Chukapha left the Maolung kingdom with his family and some followers and crossed the Patkai on the Assam-Brahma border and entered the Brahmaputra Valley in 1228 AD. It is mentioned that the number of people who came to Assam with Chukapha was small and there were almost no women. Chukapha's journey was extremely dangerous. The long roads he crossed were Maran, Naga, Barahi. Chukapha was able to win over the Maran-Barahi people through his love and treatment. Chukapha established the Ahom kingdom in 1253 AD with his capital in the Charideo Hills, southeast of Shivsagar district. There were 40 kings who ruled for about six hundred years.
The Ahoms are called Assam in Assamese. The name was mentioned by Mahapurusha Sankadeva in the Assamese translation of the 10th Skanda of the Bhagavad Gita. From that time on, their state was called Assam. The westward expansion of the kingdom began in the early 16th century during the reign of His Majesty Chuhungmu alias Dihingia. He defeated the Bhuyan feudal lords on the north bank of the Brahmaputra and conquered Narayanpur in the west. Turbak Khan, the Muslim general of Bengal, invaded Assam during the reign of that king. He was defeated in battle and forced to return. Frachengmu Bargohai and his wife Birangana Mulagabhuru died in the battle with the Turks.
The Assamese army drove the Mughals across Manah and demarcated the western boundaries of the kingdom at Goalpara in the south and Manah in the north. This battle was the famous Battle of Saraighat. April 5, 1671 was the final day of the Battle of the Brahmaputra. After the Battle of Saraighat, Lachit Barphukan died. Atan Baragohain also left Guwahati and returned to Garhwal.
