From Bhauma to Vārāha: The Shifting Lineage Identity of the Kāmarūpa Rulers in Northeast India, 7th–12th Century
In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the OrientAbstract
To show how a frontier power of pre-modern South Asia defined its history and identity in different ways in changing political contexts, this article presents an analysis of the unusual asura lineage of three lesser-known dynasties between the seventh and twelfth centuries in succession: the Varmans, the Mlecchas and the Pālas, who sequentially all ruled Kāmarūpa, a historical region located in the present state of Assam. Examination of three distinct phases of genealogical claims enables us to understand the ways in which the peripheral rulers negotiated with dominant supra-regional discourses, challenged political tradition of their predecessors, and carved out their own space in a new world of regional sovereignty.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Acharyya, N.N. 1985. North-East, As Viewed by Foreigners. Gauhati: Omsons.
-
Ali, Daud. 2000. Royal Eulogy as World History: Rethinking Copper-plate Inscriptions in Cola India. In Querying the Medieval: Texts and the History of Practices in South Asia, ed. Ronald Inden, Jonathan Walters, Daud Ali. New York: Oxford University Press: 165–229.
-
Ali, Daud. 2004. Courtly Culture and Political Life in Early Medieval India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
-
Ali, Daud. 2007. Violence, Courtly Manners and Lineage Formation in Early Medieval India. Social Scientist 35/9–10: 3–21.
-
Asher, Frederick M. 1983. Historical and Political Allegory in Gupta Art. In Essays on Gupta Culture, ed. Bardwell L. Smith, Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: 53–66.
-
Bakker, Hans T. 2014. The World of the Skandapurāṇa: Northern India in the Sixth and Seventh Centuries. Leiden: Brill.
-
Basak, Radhagovinda. 1995 [1934]. The History of North-Eastern India: Extending from the Foundation of the Gupta Empire to the Rise of the Pāla Dynasty of Bengal (c. 320–760 A.D.). Calcutta: Firma Klm Private Limited.
-
Beal, Samuel, tr. 1973. The Life of Hiuen-Tsiang, by the Shaman Hwui Li, with an Introduction Containing an Account of the Works of I-tsing. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
-
Beal, Samuel, tr. 1994 [1884]. Si-Yu-Ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World: Translated from the Chinese of Hiuen Tsiang (A.D.629), pt. 2. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Becker, Catherine. 2010. Not Your Average Boar: The Colossal Varāha at Erāṇ, An Iconographic Innovation. Artibus Asiae 70/1: “To My Mind”: Studies in South Asian Art History in Honor of Joanna Gottfried Williams, pt. 2: 123–149.
-
Bhattacharjee, J.B. 2004. Bhauma-Naraka Legend and State Formation in Pragjyotisa- Kamarupa. Shillong: North East India History Association.
-
Boruah, Nirode. 2007. Early Assam: State Formation, Political Centres, Cultural Zones. Guwahati: Spectrum Publication.
-
Chattopadhyaya, Brajadulal. 1994. Origin of the Rajputs: The Political, Economic and Social Processes in Early Medieval Rajasthan. In The Making of Early Medieval India, ed. Brajadulal Chattopadhyaya. Delhi: Oxford University Press: 57–88.
-
Chattopadhyaya, B.D. 2017. Local and Beyond: The Story of Asura Naraka and Society, State and Religion in Early Assam. In The Concept of Bharatavarsha and Other Essays, ed. B.D. Chattopadhyaya. Ranikhet: Permanent Black: 104–137.
-
Chaudhury, P.D. and D.C. Sircar. 1951–52. Parvatiya Plates of Vanamalavarmadeva. Epigraphia Indica 29: 145–159.
-
Chhabra, B.Ch. 1947–48. Bamhani Plates of Pandava King Bharatabala: Year 2. Epigraphia Indica 27: 132–145.
-
Choudhury, Pratap Chandra 1987 [1959]. The History of the Civilization of the People of Assam to the Twelfth Century A.D. Guwahati: Spectrum.
-
Chutia, Dharmeswar. 1981–82. Kuruvābāhi (Nagaon) Copper Plate Grant of Harjjara(varma)deva. Journal of the Assam Research Society 26: 1–11.
-
Chutia, Dharmeswar. 1986–87. Dighaligaon Copper Plates of Mahārājādhirāja Śrī Vanamālavarmadeva. Journal of the Assam Research Society 29: 37–52.
-
Chutia, Dharmeswar. 1989–90. A Fragmentary Copperplate Inscription from Nagaon. Journal of the Assam Research Society 31/1–2: 106–114.
-
Cowell, E.B. and F.W. Thomas, tr. 1993 [1897]. The Harṣa-carita of Bāṇa. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Das, Paromita. 2005–06. The Naraka Legends, Aryanisation and the Varnasramadharma in the Brahmaputra Valley. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 66: 224–230.
-
Devadhar, C.R. ed. tr. 1985. Raghuvaṃśa of Kālidāsa. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Devahuti, D. 1998 [1970]. Harsha: A Political Study. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
-
Dutta, H.N. 2010. A Few Inscriptional Discoveries in Assam (1980–2010). Guwahati: Directorate of Archaeology, Assam, 2010.
-
Dutta, H.N. 2012. History, Art and Archaeology of Doiyang-Dhansiri Valley, Assam. Guwahati: LBS Publication.
-
Fleet, J.F. 1960 [1888]. Aphsad Stone Inscription of Adityasena. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum 3. Varanasi: Indological Book House: 200–207.
-
Furui, Ryosuke. 2013. Brāhmaṇas in Early Medieval Bengal: Construction of Their Identity, Networks and Authority. Indian Historical Review 40/2: 223–248.
-
Furui, Ryosuke. 2020. Land and Society in Early South Asia: Eastern India 400–1250 AD. London: Routledge.
-
Gellner, David N. 2017. Sheldon Pollock and Max Weber: Why Pollock is More Weberian Than He Thinks, Max Weber Studies 17/2, Max Weber’s Hinduism and Buddhism: Reflections on a Sociological Classic 100 Years On (Part I): 212–234.
-
Goswami, C.L. and M.A. Shastri ed. tr. 1971. Bhāgavatapurāṇa: Srīmad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāṇa. Gorakhpur: Gita Press.
-
Guha, Amalendu. 1991. Medieval and Early Colonial Assam: Society, Polity, Economy. Calcutta: K.P. Bagchi & Co.
-
Gupta, Chitrarekha. 1992–93. Evolution of Agrarian Society in Kāmarūpa in Early Medieval India. Indian Historical Review 19/1–2: 1–20.
-
Gupta, Chitrarekha. 2017. Agrarian Society of Kāmarūpa: Early Medieval Period. In Inscriptions and Agrarian Issues in Indian History: Essays in Memory of D.C. Sircar, ed. B.D. Chattopadhyaya, S. Ghosh, B. Basak. Kolkata: The Asiatic Society: 149–167.
-
Hazra, Rajendra Chandra. 1963. Studies in the Upapurāṇas vol. 2: Śākta and Non-Sectarian Upapurāṇas. Calcutta: Sanskrit College.
-
Jash, Pranabananda. 1982. History and Evolution of Vaiṣṇavism in Eastern India. Calcutta: Roy and Chowdhury.
-
Kakati, Devdutta. 2017. The Lauhitya Valley and the Eastern Sea in the Kālikā Purāṇa: Historical Geography and Linkages (C. 10th Century). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress 78: 234–242.
-
Kane, P.V. ed. 1986 [1918]. The Harshacarita of Bāṇabhaṭṭa with Exhaustive Notes (Ucchvāsas I–VIII). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Karmarkar, R.D. ed. 1960. Mahābhārata, Aśvamedhikaparvan. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
-
Kooij K.R. van. 1972. Worship of the Goddess According to the Kālikā Purāṇa, pt. 1: A Translation with An Introduction and Notes of Chapters 54–69. Leiden: Brill.
-
Kumar, Ashish. 2017. State Formation and Political Integration: Subordinate Rulers under the Guptas in Central India. Studies in People’s History 4/2: 130–145.
-
Lahiri, Nayanjot. 1991. Pre-Ahom Assam: Studies in the Inscriptions of Assam between the Fifth and the Thirteenth Centuries AD. New Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
-
Momin, Mignonette. 2004. Acquisition and Distribution of ‘Wealth’: An Inquiry into the Rise of Prāgjyotiṣa-Kāmarūpa. In Society and Economy in North-East India, vol. 1, ed. Mignonette Momin and Cecile A. Mawlong. New Delhi: Regency Publication: 196–233.
-
Neog, Maheswar. 2008 [1973]. Prāchya-śāsanāvalī: An Anthology of Royal Charters, etc. Inscribed on Stone, Copper, etc., of Kāmarūpa, Assam (Saumāra), Koch-Behar, etc., from 1205 AD to 1847 AD. Guwahati: Publication Board, Assam.
-
Osella, Filippo and Osella, Caroline. 2001. The Return of King Mahabali: The Politics of Morality in Kerala. In The Everyday State and Society in India, eds. Chris J. Fuller and Véronique Bénéï. London: Hurst & Co: 137–162.
-
Pariti, Aruna. 2015. Genealogy, Time and Identity: Historical Consciousness in the Deccan Sixth Century CE–Twelfth Century CE. Delhi: Primus Books.
-
Pollock, Sheldon. 2006. The Language of the Gods in the World of Men: Sanskrit, Culture, and Power in Premodern India. California: University of California Press.
-
Regmi, D.R. ed. 1983. Inscriptions of Ancient Nepal, vol. 1. New Delhi: Abhinav.
-
Roy, Kumkum. 2003. The Making of a Mandala: Fuzzy Frontiers of Kalhana’s Kashmir. In Negotiating India’s Past: Essays in Memory of Partha Sarathi Gupta, ed. Biswamoy Pati, Bhairabi Prasad Sahu, T.K. Venkatasubramanian. New Delhi: Tulika Books: 52–66.
-
Sahu, B.P. 2013. Legitimation, Ideology, and State in Early India. In The Changing Gaze: Regions and the Constructions of Early India, ed. B.P. Sahu. New Delhi: Oxford University Press: 179–215.
-
Sarma, Pranab Jyoti. 2006. Archaeology of Early Settlements of Dhansiri–Doyang Valley, Assam: A Study in Regional Perspective. Unpublished PhD Dissertation. Pune: Deccan College Postgraduate and Research Institute.
-
Sastri, Hirananda. 1918. Haraha inscription of the Reign of Isanavarman: [Vikrama Samvat] 611. Epigraphia Indica 14: 110–120.
-
Sharma, Mahesh. 2011. Lineage, Power and Perception: Comparison of the Royal Chambā Genealogy with Contemporary Epigraphs, 800–1650 CE. Religions of South Asia 5.1/2: 389–408.
-
Sharma, Manorama. 2006 [1998]. History and History Writing in North East India, New Delhi: Regency.
-
Sharma, Mukunda Madhava. 1978. Inscriptions of Ancient Assam. Gauhati: Gauhati University.
-
Shastri, Ajay Mitra. 1995. Inscriptions of the Śarabhapurīyas, Pāṇḍuvaṁśins, and Somavaṁśins, pt. 1. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Shastri, Biswanarayan ed. tr. 1991–92. Kālikāpurāna. Delhi: Nag Publishers.
-
Shin, Jae-Eun. 2010–11. Changing Dynasties, Enduring Genealogy: A Critical Study on the Political Legitimation in Early Medieval Kāmarūpa, Journal of Ancient Indian History 27: 173–187.
-
Shin, Jae Eun. 2016. Searching for Kāmarūpa: Historiography of the Early Brahmaputra Valley in the Colonial and Post-colonial Period. Puravritta: Journal of the Directorate of Archaeology & Museums, Government of West Bengal 1: 115–132.
-
Shin, Jae-Eun. 2018. Region Formed and Imagined: Reconsidering Temporal, Spatial and Social Context of Kāmarūpa. In Modern Practices in North East India: History, Culture, Representation, ed. Lipokmar Dzüvichü and Manjeet Baruah. London: Routledge: 23–55.
-
Shin, Jae-Eun. 2020. Descending from Demons, Ascending to Kshatriyas: Genealogical Claims and Political Process in Pre-modern Northeast India, the Chutiyas and the Dimasas. The Indian Economic & Social History Review 57/1: 49–75.
-
Sinha, B.P. 1977. Dynastic History of Magadha, Cir. 450–1200 A.D. New Delhi: Abhinav.
-
Sinha, Nandini. 2015. Early Maitrakas, Landgrant Charters and Regional State Formation in Early Medieval Gujarat. In Interrogating Political Systems: Integrative Processes and States in Pre-modern India, ed. Bhairabi Prasad Sahu and Hermann Kulke. New Delhi: Manohar: 199–227.
-
Sircar, Dineshchandra. 1953–54. Dubi Plates of Bhaskaravarman. Epigraphia Indica 30: 287–304.
-
Sircar, Dineshchandra. 1957–58. Howraghat plates of Balavarman III of Kamarupa, Year 5. Epigraphia Indica 32: 283–292.
-
Sircar, Dineshchandra. 1965. Select Inscriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civilization: From the Sixth Century B.C. to the Sixth Century A.D. vol. 1. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.
-
Sircar, Dineshchandra. 1983. Select Inscriptions Bearing on Indian History and Civilization: From the Sixth to the Eighteenth Century A.D., vol. 2. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Sircar, Dineshchandra. 2007. Political History. In Comprehensive History of Assam, vol. 1, ed. H.K. Barpujari. Guwahati: Publication Board, Assam: 94–171.
-
Spencer, George W. 1984. Heirs Apparent: Fiction and Function in Chola Mythical Genealogies. The Indian Economic & Social History Review 21/4: 415–432.
-
Stein, Marc Aurel ed. tr. 1900. Kalhaṇa’s Rājataraṅginī, a Chronicle of the Kings of Kaśmīr, vol. 1. Westminster: Archibald Constable.
-
Stietencron, Heinrich von. 2005. Political Aspects of Indian Religious Art. In Hindu Myth, Hindu History: Religion, Art and Politics, ed. Heinrich von Stietencron. New Delhi: Permanent Black: 7–30.
-
Sukthankar, V.S. ed. 1933. Mahābhārata, Ādiparvan, pt. 1. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
-
Thapar, Romila. 2000. The Mouse in the Ancestry. In Cultural Pasts: Essays in Early Indian History, ed. Romila Thapar. New Delhi: Oxford University Press: 797–806.
-
Thaplyal, K.K. 1985. Inscriptions of the Maukharīs, Later Guptas, Puṣpabhūtis and Yaśovarman of Kanauj. New Delhi: ICHR & Agam Prakashan.
-
Tripathy, Snigdha. 1997. Inscriptions of Orissa, vol. 1: Circa Fifth–Eighth Centuries A.D. New Delhi: Indian Council of Historical Research and Motilal Banarsidass.
-
Vaidya, P.L. ed. 1954. Mahābhārata, Karṇaparvan. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
-
Vaidya, P.L. ed. 1969. The Harivaṃśa, Being the Khila or Supplement to the Mahābhārata, vol. 1. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.
-
van Schendel, Willem and Joy L.K. Pachuau. 2016. Borderland Histories, Northeastern India: An Introduction. Studies in History 32/1: 1–4.
-
Wilson, H.H. ed. tr. 1981 [1864–77]. Viṣṇupurāṇa. New York: Garland Pub.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 310 | 310 | 41 |
| Full Text Views | 16 | 16 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 45 | 45 | 12 |
From Bhauma to Vārāha: The Shifting Lineage Identity of the Kāmarūpa Rulers in Northeast India, 7th–12th Century
In: Journal of the Economic and Social History of the OrientAbstract
To show how a frontier power of pre-modern South Asia defined its history and identity in different ways in changing political contexts, this article presents an analysis of the unusual asura lineage of three lesser-known dynasties between the seventh and twelfth centuries in succession: the Varmans, the Mlecchas and the Pālas, who sequentially all ruled Kāmarūpa, a historical region located in the present state of Assam. Examination of three distinct phases of genealogical claims enables us to understand the ways in which the peripheral rulers negotiated with dominant supra-regional discourses, challenged political tradition of their predecessors, and carved out their own space in a new world of regional sovereignty.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 310 | 310 | 41 |
| Full Text Views | 16 | 16 | 4 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 45 | 45 | 12 |