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COVERED AT Khadga Dynasty

Khadga Dynasty ruled the vanga and samatata areas of ancient Bengal in c 7th-8th century AD. Information about the dynasty comes from two copper-plates discovered at Ashrafpur (near Dhaka), coins, and the Chinese accounts of Sheng-che (c 7th cent AD) etc. Of these, the Ashrafpur plates are the most important. The first known ruler of the dynasty is Khadgodyama (c 625-640 AD); but nothing is known about his predecessors. Khadgodyama was succeeded by his son Jatakhadga (c 640-658 AD). The line of succession continued through his son Devakhadga (c 658-673 AD) and his grandson Rajabhata (c 673-690 AD). Rajabhata was probably succeeded by his brother Balabhata (c 690-705 AD). The second Ashrafpur grant refers to an Udirnakhadga. The last part of his name may indicate that he too probably belonged to the Khadga dynasty, but the period of his reign is yet to be determined.

The Khadga kings did not use any paramount title like parameshvara. This indicates that they were local rulers. The extent of their territory is difficult to ascertain. In one of the Ashrafpur plates there are references to Talapataka and Dattakataka, identified respectively with Talpara and Datgaon villages under Raipura upazila in Narsingdi.

The Khadgas were politically dominant in the region of Vanga. The Ashrafpur plates were issued from the Jayaskandhavara of Jayakarmantavasaka, indentified with barkanta (Badkamta) in Comilla, in the 13th regnal year (c 671 AD) of Devakhadga. So, it appears that Devakhadga had extended his power from Vanga to Samatata uprooting the Rata king Sridharana Rata (c 660 - 670 AD). This is epigraphically supported by the Deulbadi Sharvani image inscription of Queen Prabhavati. The inscription depicts Devakhadga as benevolent (Danapati) and powerful (pratapi) and the conquerer of all enemies (Vijitarikhanda). The conquest probably required legitimisation through construction of or patronage to religious establishments. In accordance with the tradition of the age, this might have led Devakhadga to grant lands to Buddhist monastic establishments.

Both Ashrafpur grants make it clear that Devakhadga and his son Rajabhata together donated 15 patakas and 20 dronas of land to the four viharas and viharikas in charge of the revered preceptor Sanghamitra. The amount of the land donated to each vihara corresponds to about 484 bighas (1 pataka at least 128 bigha) at an average. Devakhadga, however, did not get the monasteries constructed; rather the establishments were already in existence and the Khadga king brought them within a single campus (ekagandikrta.) therby making it a sacred landscape.

Attempts were made to achieve economic gains by utilising the donated lands. An important aspect of the plate is that it refers to Krsyamanaka, meaning tillers of land. The cultivators appear to have been mere agricultural labourers because they were neither landowners, nor did they have any right to enjoy the lands; land ownership lay with the monastic establishments. And the lands were enjoyed by another stratum of Bhujyamanakas mentioned in the grants. Those who enjoyed the land (bhujyamanakas) were different from those who actually cultivated (krsyamanakas) it. This difference leads one to conceive of a three tier land system in vogue: land-owning monasteries (Viharas and Viharikas), the beneficiaries (bhujyamanakas), and the actual tillers of the soil (krsyamanakas). The system appears to have been the same as mentioned in the Yajnavalkya Smrti (c 200 BC-200 AD) mahipati (King), Ksetrasvami (landowner) and Karsaka (actual tiller).

Both Devakhadga and his son Rajabhata supported the Buddhist practices in Samatata. The Chinese monk Sheng-Che Ch'an Shih writes that when he came to Samatata (his arrival time is not known) the king of the country was Ho-luo-She-Po-t'o or Rajaraja (bhata), Devakhadga's son. He was a great admirer of the three-gems - the Buddha, the Law and the Order (San-pao) and a zealous upasaka (Wu-po-so-chia) who followed the five Buddhist commandments. The king is said to have given to the monks and nuns offerings (not specified) for their maintenance. Every morning on behalf of the king an officer was sent to the monastery to ask the welfare of the resident monks including Sheng-che. The vihara where the monks and the great Che used to live was the Rajavihara. This Rajavihara may be suggested to have been the same as mentioned in the Gunaighar Copper plate of Vainyagupta (AD 507). All these supports/patronages may be explained as the king's efforts towards legitimising his royal power.

The copper plate of Balabhata, another son of Devakhadga, describes him as having granted 28 patakas of land in the area of Dhanalaksmipataka (unidentified) for the maintenance of the viharas and stupas and for the renovation and repair works at the ashramas. The plate refers to mahabhogashrama, meaning probably the asrama where grand religious festivals were held. The viharas were apparently eight in number and in them, the Parimitamatam and Danachandrika were taught and discussed. The donations were apparently made for the residential religious structures erected in the name of the Buddhist Trinity- the Buddha, the Dharma and the Samgha.

The first Ashrafpur copper-plate, however, furnishes a little more information about the religious leaning of the dynasty. It refers to the inscription of the name Srimat Devakhadga below the bull facing the left and not dharmachakra (Wheel of Law). This may indicate Devakhadga's Shaiva leaning which appears to have continued through his son Balabhata who also described himself as paramahesvara Rajaputra in his copper-plate.

Devakhadga's queen Prabhavati also caused the goddess Sharvani to be covered with gold leaves out of reverence for the goddess (mahadevibhaktya hemaliptam-akarayat) at the village of deulbadi in Comilla. The goddess Sharvani has eight arms which hold the thunderbolt, the bell, the bow and the shield on the left; and the concheshell, the goad, the sword, and the wheel on the right. She stands on a lotus-seat on the back of a conchant lion and belongs to the Brahmanical pantheon.

No where in the Deulbadi image inscripton, however, has it been mentioned that the goddess Sharvani was built and installed at Deulbadi. Indeed if we go by the inscription, we can surmise that the image of the goddess was already in existence at Deulbadi when the queen covered it with gold leaves.

The Shaiva leanings of Devakhadga, his queen Prabhavati, and their son Balabhata, should be explained as an act of stabilising Khadga royal power in the newly conquered area of Samatata (Vijitarikhanda). The queen's act of covering the goddess with gold leaves occurs following the word Vijitarikhanda relating to Devakhadga.

Two more inscriptions of the Khadgas have been found in the Shalvan Vihara excavated area which, however, do not point out any thing about the activities of the dynasty.

The deva dynasty, as has been epigraphically suggested, might have supplanted the Khadgas in 8th century AD. [Krishnendu Ray]

Bibliography BM Morrison, Lalmai, A Cultural Centre of Early Bengal, Washington, 1974; Kamalakanta Gupta, Two Mainamati Copper plate Inscriptions of the Khadga and Early Deva Times (7th and 8th cent. AD), Bangladesh Archaeology, I, 1979; DC Sircar, Pal-Purva Yuger Vamsanucarita, Calcutta, 1985; ABM Hussain (ed), Mainamati - Devaparvata, Dhaka, 1997.

Shashanka (শশাঙ্ক Shôshangko), the first important king of ancient Bengal, occupies a prominent place in history of the region. It is generally believed that he ruled approximately between 600 CE and 625 CE, and two dated inscriptions, issued in his 8th and 10th regnal years from Midnapore, and another undated inscription from Egra near Kharagpur have been discovered. The copper plate (dated 619 CE) from Shashanka's subordinate king of Ganjam (Orissa) Madhavavarma, Harshavardhana's Banskhera and Madhuvan copper plates and the Nidhanpur copper plate of the Kamarupa king Bhaskaravarman contain information about Shashanka. Shashanka also issued gold and silver coins. A number of independent rulers flourished in Bengal in the intervening period between the decline of Guptas and the rise of Shashanka, and their existence is known from a few inscriptions and gold coins. The seal-matrix of Shri Mahasamanta Shashanka from Rohtasgarh, the contemporary literary accounts of Banabhatta and the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang (also known as Hiuen Tsang) as well as the Buddhist text Aryamanjushrimulakalpa are important sources of information on him.

Shashanka has been described both in the inscriptions and literary accounts as the ruler of Gauda. In the narrower sense Gauda is the territory between the river Padma and Bardhaman region, however in course of time it embraced much wider area. In the Satpanchasaddeshavibhaga (Seventh Patala of Book III, Shaktisangama Tantra) Gauda is said to have extended from the Vanga up to Bhuvanesha (modern Bhubaneshwar in Orissa). It is not unlikely that the author had described the extension of Shashanka's Gauda kingdom, which also encompassed parts of Orissa.

Early life
Very little information about the early life of Shashanka is known. It appears that he ruled for sometime as a chieftain (mahasamanta) of Rohtasgarh under the Gauda king of Karnasuvarna, who possibly belonged to the family of the Maukharis. According to the Vappa Ghoshavata grant of Jayanaga, Karnasubarna served as the administrative capital for a king named Jayanaga (prior to the reign of Shashanka). In fact, Karnasuvarna was the capital of Shashanka and the famous metropolis was situated near modern Chiruti railway station close to Rajbadidanga (the site of Raktamrttika-mahavihara or modern Rangamati) in the Murshidabad district, West Bengal.

The decline and fall of the Gupta Empire coincided with considerable progress in the outlying regions. Many obscure areas, which were possibly ruled by tribal chiefs and were thinly settled, came into historical limelight. This applied to the red soil areas of West Bengal, north Orissa and the adjoining areas of Madhya Pradesh, which formed part of the Chhotonagpur plateau and were difficult to cultivate and settle.

From this perspective Shashanka attempted to extend his political influence in different parts of India. His first task was the recapture of Magadha from the Maukharis. With his ally Devagupta, the king of Malava, Shashanka waged war against the Maukhari king Grahavarman (the son-in-law of the Pusyabhuti king Prabhakaravardhana), during which time Grahavarman was killed by Devagupta. At this point Rajyavardhana, a Buddhist, and the eldest son of Prabhakarvardhana (who had become king of Sthaneshwer) proceeded against Devagupta and defeated and killed him. However Rajyavardhana himself was killed in an encounter with Shashanka.

Conflicts with Harshavardhana
Most of the authorities admit the result of the encounter with Shashanka, but passes the blame of the murder of Rajyavardhana on the shoulders of Shashanka. According to Banabhatta, Rajyavardhana, though routed the Malava army with ridiculous ease, had been 'allured to confidence by false civilities on the part of the king of Gauda, and then weaponless, confiding and alone, despatched to his own quarters'. The Xuanzang also relates the same story. However, fair criticism of Shashanka's conduct is impossible in the absence of detailed information relating to the actual circumstances that led to his enemy's death. Both Banabhatta, whose feelings were deeply shaken at the death of his patron's brother and Xuanzhang, whose pro-Buddhist predilections and personal regard for Harshavardhana are well known, may have found it difficult to restrain their emotions in stating their opinions concerning the affair.

In the opinion of some scholars it is likely that Rajyavardhana was prepared to enter into negotiation for peace with Shashanka, and for this purpose accepted an invitation in the enemy's camp. Shankara, a 14th century commentator of the Harshacharita, states that the Gauda king invited Rajyavardhana in connection with a proposal of marriage between himself and the daughter of the king of Sthaneshwer. The truth of this statement is difficult to verify, as the source of his information is not disclosed. The information about Rajyavardhana's death, furnished by the Banshkhera copper plate inscription of Harsavardhana, is meagre, but the negative impressions created by the accounts of Banabhatta and Xuanzang are considerably mitigated when it is related in the inscription that Rajyavardhana lost his life in keeping with the truth (satyanurodhena) in the abode of his enemy (although the name of the enemy is not given). It appears that Rajyavardhana's death was a result to the unfinished peace-talk, but Shashanka's personal responsibility for this matter cannot be determined with certainty.

After these events the younger brother, Harshavardhana, ascended the throne of Sthaneshwer and gathered a huge army before proceeding to punish Shashanka. Harshavardhana had also formed an alliance with Bhaskaravarman (Kumara of Bana), king of Kamarupa and the eastern neighbour of Shashanka. According to Banabhatta, Harsha entrusted Bhandi to lead the army, while he engaged himself in searching for his widowed sister Rajyashri in the Vindhya forest. It is mentioned in the Harsacharita (8th ucchvasa) that Harsha reunited with the advancing army after rescuing his sister. Later, Harsavardhana became the ruler of Kanyakubja (Kanauj) with the consent of his sister Rajyashri. The progress of Bhandi's march is not known for certain, but there can be no doubt that Shashanka continued to rule his empire vigorously, which included northern Orissa and southern deltaic regions of Bengal.

Towards the end of his reign in 640-43 CE Harsa's authority in southeastern Bihar and Orissa was established and during the same time Bhaskarvarman appears to have also conquered the capital Karnasuvarna. These events are likely to have occurred after the demise of Shashanka as nothing more is heard about him, resulting in a decline of Gauda power. The story of the defeat of Shashanka at the battle of Pundravardhana by Harsha and Shashanka's reign for 17 years, as suggested by the Buddhist text Aryamanjushrimulakalpa are not supported by any other contemporary accounts. Rather, Shashanka's newly discovered inscription from Southern Midnapur records the existence of Dandabhukti-Janapada, combining parts of Midnapur and Orissa points to the contrary.

Evaluation
Harsha, a Shaiva in his early years, had gradually become a great patron of Buddhism. As a devout Buddhist he convened a grand assembly at Kannauj to publicise the Mahayana doctrines. It is here that Harsha is said to make a bloody suppression of a revolt by the Brahmanas. After Kannauj, he held a great assembly at Prayaga and both the assemblies were attended by Xuanzang and all the tributary princes, ministers, nobles and other officials. Xuanzang is said to have made a remark that Harsha was born at the behest of the Bodhisattva to punish Shashanka, a hater of Buddhist religion. He also cited a few instances of Shashanka's anti-Buddhist activities. But it may be mentioned that the flourishing condition of the famed Buddhist University at Nalanda (where Xuanzang himself had studied for some time) and the existence of a number of monasteries in Shashanka's kingdom including the Raktamrttika-Mahavihara near Karnasuvarna, goes against the claims made by Xuanzang.

In other words, it appears that the Chinese pilgrim, who enjoyed the patronage of Harsha, exhibits a strong bias against the adversary of his patron. The vituperative languages used by Banabhatta, court poet to Harsha, against the Gaudadhipa (the name of Shashanka, meaning Shiva, is never mentioned; possibly Banabhatta himself was a devout Shaiva) as Gauda-bhujanga or Gaudadhama etc demonstrates his contempt for Shashanka. While it is true that Shashanka was a strong champion of Brahmanical religion and a devout Shaiva, and had little sympathy for Buddhism which received patronage from the wealthy mercantile classes and from no less than his arch rival, Harshavardhana himself. It is not unlikely that it wounded the sentiments of the Buddhists of his time.

On the contrary, Harshavardhana's pro-Buddhist and anti-Brahmanical attitude (the bloody suppression of a large number of Brahmanas during the Kannauj assembly may be cited here) caused despair among the followers of Brahmanical religion who began to migrate to eastern India in large numbers. Xuanzang mentions of an influx of learned Brahmanas in Kamarupa, where a large number of them were granted lands in Kamarupa by Bhaskaravarman for their settlement. The Kulaji texts also note the influx of Kanauji Brahmanas into Bengal. The story of the migration of Graha-Vipras from the banks of the Sarayu river (in Uttar Pradesh) to Bengal, possibly at the invitation of Shashanka, may be taken notice of in this connection. The impact of this large-scale migration though initially was welcomed both in Bengal and Kamarupa, told upon the socio-economic fabric of the respective countries. The social restrictions in behaviour, attitude and co-mingling among the different classes though not much felt under the rule of Buddhist Palas, became more and more acute under the Senas, who championed the Brahmanical religions, widened the gaps among different classes of people. The emergence of lowly untouchable classes and the antaja classes in the society became more and more pronounced.

Legacy
He was succeeded by his son Manava, who ruled for 8 months.

Soon after Shashanka's demise, his kingdom fell apart, and was captured by Harshavardhana and his ally, Bhaskarvarmana. His death marked a state of great political and social unrest in Bengal, with small kings and vassals fighting intermittently to gain power; which is often termed as the era of "Matsyanyay"a, a word that translates as "law of the fish", alluding to the unwritten law of the ocean, where a smaller fish is devoured by a larger fish, only to be devoured by a still larger fish, sooner or later. This era of uncertainty lasted for about two centuries, before the rise of Gopala and the establishment of a new dynasty, the Pala Empire, which unified Bengal once again.