The Ancient Age

Karisma Amjad
Lecturer
Dhaka International University 1
The Ancient Age 2

In the ancient time there was no state that developed

comprising the whole of Bengal. That is why there was no
existence of any state by the name of Bengal or
Bangladesh. The country was divided into a number of
small states. Every ruler of his state ruled in his own way.
The regions were like small independent countries. They
cannot, however, be called kingdoms or states. These
regions of Bengal were then called settlements or human
habitations or Janapadas.
Aryans Age of Bengal: 3

 The Aryans entered India before 2000 B.C. they develop a cultured society in India. The
Aryans entered Bengal after a long time they had come to India. Thus began the age of
Aryans. We have little information about lifestyle of the people of this country before the
coming of the Aryans.
 Most of the soil except that of south eastern part of Bengal was quite old. People used to
live here from the pre- historic time. The signs of most ancient civilization have been found
on the bank of the River Ajay in the present district of Burthaman in West Bengal. There is a
region called “Pandu Rajar Dhibi”. The archaeologists, by excavating, discovered the
civilization.
 The advent of the Aryans to this country took place in the first century or little before. The
main reasons for coming to Bengal were first the zeal to conquer and occupy a new
region, and the second was to do business in the wealthy and prosperous Bengal. After
setting up a colony in this country, gradually the Aryan influence began to affect on the
life of the inhabitants of the country.
Janapads: 4

 Beside the civilization that grew on the bank of River Ajay, there
have been other civilizations too. A country like Bengal did not
emerge at once. It started through the Janapadas. It is known from
the books that there were as many as sixteen Janapadas like Gaur,
Banga, Pundra, Harikela, Samatata, Barendra, etc. The exact
boundary or expansion of these Janapads is not known. It is,
however, true that their boundaries did not remain the same
always. Sometimes the boundary of some Janapadas increased
and sometimes decrised, Descriptions of some of the Janapads are
given bellow:
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 Gaur: It is not known precisely as to where the Gaur Janapada grew in the ancient time.
Mention of the Gaur kingdom is however, heard. It was situated in the northern part of East
Bengal in the sixth century. In seventh century Sasanka was the king of Gsur. Kamasuborna
was the capital of Gaur at that time.
Its present location is in the present district of Mursidabad. Sometime before the Muslum conquest of
Bengal, Lakhnauti of Maldah District was also called Gaur. This region was known as Gaur during the
Muslim period too.

 Bnaga: in the east and southeast portion of the present day Bangladesh there grew a
Janapada called “Banga”. It is supported that a race called Banga used to live there.
Hence the region was called Banga after their name. From the old stone inscription, we
learn about two parts of Banga. One of them is “Vikrampur” and the other is “Navya”. It is
supported that the low lying areas of Faridpur. Bakerganj and Patuakhali were included in
the “Navya” religion. The ancient Banga Janapada was a powerful religion. It has been
learnt from the stone inscription that the reputed “Banga Raj” and the Banga soldiers took
part in many formidable battles.
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 Pundra: Pundra is one of the important Janapadas. It is said that a race called the
“Pundra” formed this Janapadas. It was comprised of the present Bagra, Rangpur,
Rajshahi and Dinajpur districts. The capital of the Pundra Janapada was “ Pundranagar”.
It was later named “Pundra Vardhana”. Inscriptions caved on pieces of round stones were
found here. These are supposed to be the most ancient stone inscriptions found in
Bangladesh. The historious are of the opinion that these inscriptions were made during the
time of asoka in third century B.C.

 Barendra: barandri, barandra or the Barendrsbhumi is yet another Janapada that has
been known. This, too, was a Janapada in north Bengal. It is supposed that it constituted a
part of pundra. A large portion of Bogra district and rajshahi district was included in the
Barendri.
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 Samatata: Samartata existed as a neighboring Janapada of Banga in the east and

southest of Bangal. The area from the east of the Ganga- Bhagirathi to the estuary of
Maghna was included in the Samatata. Many believe that Bara Kamta of Comilla district
was a part of this Janapada.

 Harikela: The Harikela Janapada was on estern end of Bengal. It is supposed that the
oresent day Sylhet was the Harikela Janapad. Some, however, think that Harikela was not
a separate Janapad. It was included withen Banga Janapad.

 Gangariddi: The heroism of the people of Bengal in the pre- Aryan Age is found in history.
According to the writing of Greeks, a powerful king ruled Bengal when the Greek hero
Alexander invaded the northwestern part of India. The Greek writers have narrated that
there was powerful kingdom called “Gangariddi” in ancient time. It is supposed that the
kingdom was located somewhere on the bank of River Ganges.
The Maurya Age of Bengal: 8

 The materials that are required for writing down the chronological political history were not
sufficiently found before the establishment of the Gupta rule. It was, however, known that
the Maurya founded the Maurya Dynasty in 321 B.C. the Maurya rule was established in
North Bengal during the religion of Emperor Asoka (269 B.C – 232 B.C). The region became
a province of the Mauryas. The archeological site at Mahasthangarh in Bogara still bears
the memory of it. The ancient pundranagar /পুন্ড্র নগর was its capital. It can be learnt from
the descriotion of the Chinese traveler Hiuen sung that the Maurya rule included
Karnasubarna/ কনসুন বন ন (Murshidabad/ মুর্শদাবাদ)
ন Tamealioti/ তাম্রর্ির্ি (Hoogly/ হুগর্ি) and
Samatata/ সমতট (South East Bengal) besides North Bengal.
 After the Maurya Empire perished, Bengal came first under the rule of Sungha family and
then the Kanva family. We do not have enough sourse to know about the history of the
period. It is as assumed that the Sungas and the Kanvas could establish their rule over
some small regions. Afterwards some foreign powers invaded India. Noteworthy among
them are Greeks, the Sakar, the Pahlavs, and the Kushanas etc. But it could not be
ascertained if they could come to Bengal. Only some coins of the Kushana period have
been found in Bangladesh. There is however, no valid proof of establishment if the
Kushanas rule in this country.
The Gupta Age of Bengal: 9

King Chandragupta Coins the establishment of the Gupta Empire

o The historians have found quite a number of sources leading to the knowledge of the
Gupta Age. This has it possible to write the history from the last part of the third century to
the first part of fourth century A.D. At the time when the Gupta Dynasty was established,
there rose some independent states in Bengal. Of them the Samatata Kingdome of
southeast Bengal and the Pushkaarana Kingdom of West Bengal were noteworthy. The
Gupta Empire was established in India in the year 320 A.D. Some histories think that the
kings of the Gupta Empire had their ancestral home in Bengal. This idea has not been
accepted for lack of concrete proof. It is true, however, that some parts of North Bengal
came under the Gupta rule during the reign of Chandragupta. Later Chandragupta
brought the whole of Bengal under the Gupta rule. Only the Samatata remained outside
their control. Like the Mauryas, the capital of Bengal under the Gupta was Pundranagar of
Mahasthngarh. The Gupta rule lasted in North Bengal till the middle of the sixth century.
Bengal in Post Gupta Period: 10

 The vat Gupta Empire had its downfall in the first half of the sixth century. The Gupta
Empire fell to pieces as a result of the attacks of a fierce mountainous tribe, the Huns.
Talking this opportunity many small kingdoms rose throughout the political unrest that
affected North India. Two independent kingdoms came into existence, taking advantage
of this unrest. One of them was the ancient kingdom of Bengal. The location of this
kingdom was in the southern region of south-east and west Bengal. The name of the
second independent kingdom was Gaur. Its location was in the western and northern
regions of Bengal.
The Independent Kingdom of Bengal: 11

 Taking advantage of the weakness of the Gupta Empire, an independent kingdom rose in the
Bangle region. In ancient time the king used to proclaim or give directions in writing, engraved
on copper plates. These inscriptions were called “Copper Inscriptions/ তাম্র শাসন”. As many as
seven of them were found belonging to the time of the independent kingdom of Bengal. It has
been learnt from them that three kings namely, Gopachandra, Dharmaditta and
Samachardeva ruled the independent kingdom of Bengal. They all assumed the title
“Maharajdhiraj”. It is, therefore, inferred that the Benga kingdom was independent and
sovereign. Gold coins of Samachanrdeva have been found from the ruins of the Nalanda
Vihara. Only an independent king could issue coins. For these reason, there is no doubt about
the independence of the Banga kingdom.
 It is learnt from the copper inscriptions that Maharaja Gopaehandra brought Banga and the
border areas of Orissa under his control in the second decade of sixth century. The three kings
mentioned, ruled from 525 A.E to 600 A. D. The copper inscriptions give us information about the
power and prosperity of Banga Kingdom.
 At one stage the Banga kingdom had its downfall. It is assumed, that the Banga Kingdom fell at
the hands of king Kirtivarmana of the Chalukya Dynasty of the Deccan. The inference is drawn
from eulogy where it was written that kirtivarmana conquered the kingdoms of Anga, Banga,
Kalinga and Magadha towards the Banga kingdom has also been attributed to the rise of
some feudal kingdoms. Some independent and feudal kingdoms rose from the families of
Bhadra, Kharga, Rahr etc. in the Samatata region before the beginning of the seventh century.
The Independent Kingdom of Gaur: 12

 After the fall of the Gupta Empire, some kings known as the ‘Later Gupta Dynasty” (সম্রাজ্য)
extended their sway over north Bengal. Northern portion of West Bengal and Magadha. This
region of Bengal was known as the Gaur Janapada from before. At that time there was the rule
of a royal family named “Maukhari” in North India. The Maukharis had a long standing feud with
the later Guptas. Besides, the Chanlukya king attacked from the south. Taking advantage of
the situation a powerful rule Sasanka conquered the kingdom of Gaur.
 Sasanka:
 The rule of any big region under the Guar kings was called “Mahasamanta”. Sasanka was
“Mahasamanta” of the Gupta king Mahashena Gupta. It is assumed that Mahashen Gupta
was the father or grandfather of Sasanka. Sasanka became king of Gaur a little before 606 A.D.
He established the capital in Kaenasuborana. The powerful Sasanka extended his kingdom by
conquering the kingdom of Dandabhukti, Utkal of Orissa, kingdom of Kanghod and Magadha
of Bihar. The kings of Kamrupa were also defeated by him.
 Sasanka next thought of conquering North India. There, were two powerful kingdoms in North
India at that time. One was Thaneshwar under the Pushyabhuti. Dynasty and the other was
Kanyakubza (kanauj) under the Maukgari Dynasty. Maukhari king Grahavarma Married
Rajyashi, daughter of Pu-shyabhuiti king Probhakar Vardhana. The two kingdoms became
friendly as a result of it. Rajyavadhana and Harshavardhana were the two brothers of Rajyasri.
Sasanka became determined to uproot the Maukharis, the perpetual enemies of the Guptas.
For this reason, he made an alliance with Devagupta the king of Malaba.
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 Grahavarma was defeated and killed at the hands of Devegupta even before Sasanka
could reach North India. Rajyashri was a captive. Devagupta then proceeded towards
thaneshwar. He put up resistance to Devagupta on the way. Devagupta defeated and
killed. Rajyavardhana then advanced towards Kanauj. He came face to face with
Sasanka on the way. In the fight that followed Rajyavardhana was defeated and made a
prisoner. Later he was put to death.
 After the death of Rajyavardhana, Harshavardhana became the over-load of Kanauj and
Thaneshwar. He marched against Sasanka to take revenge with a huge army. He made
an alliance with Vaskara Varma, King of Assam to this end, at that time Harshavardhana
was the most powerful king in North India, he could not, however, succeed wholly against
Sasanka. Sasanka died a little before 637 A.D.
 Sasanka was a reputed ruler in the history of Bengal. He became the Lord of Guar from a
feudal ruler. He extended the power of Gaur to North India.
The Political History of the Other 14
Independent Kings:

 After Sasanka there was no able ruler in Bengal for a long time. As a result, there were
disorder and unrest. The country plunged into darkness. The kingdom was broken into
fragments by Harshavardhana and Vaskara Varmana, while the powerful landlords fought
against each other. There was none to strengthen the central power. The feudal kings, all
of them desiring to become the king of Bengal, fell to arms. This period of political unrest
has been termed as “Matsyanayam” in the copper inscriptions of the Palas. When the
strong and big fishes catch and eat up began to swallow the small region in the same
manner. This unrest in Bengal continued for one hundred years. With the rise of the Pala
Kingdom in the middle of eighth century this unrest came to end.
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The History of the Pala Kings:

 The people of Bengal became tired of the long chaotic condition in the country. They selected
a heroic person by the name of Gopala. He subdued the prevalent unrest with the help of the
elders of the society. Gopala, who was of the Pala lineage, ascended the throne. With him
began the reign of the Palas. The kings of the Pala Dynasty ruled Bengal for four hundred years
at a stretch. No other royal family ever ruled Bengal for search a long period.
 After having restored place, Gopal turned his attention to the extension of the kingdom. He
brought almost all the regions of the north and eastern part of Bengal under his kingdom.
Northeast Bengal remained out of Gopal’s rule. Although some are of opinion that Gopal ruled
for 27 years, some modern researchers believe that he ruled the country from 756 A.D to 781
A.D.
 Dharmapala (781 A.D- 821A.D), son of Gopala, was the greatest of the Pala kings. He
ascended the throne on the death of his father. He established his rule in Bengal and Bihar. At
that time, three royal families competed for supremacy in North India. One was Pala Dynasty of
Bengal, the other was the Gurjara- Pratihara Family of Rajputana, and the third was the
Rastrakuta Dynasty of the Deccan. The war ensures is known in history as the “Tripartite War”.
The war started towards the end of the eighth century. The first battle took place between
Dharmapala and the king Vatsharaja of the Pratihara Dynasty. Dharmapala was defeated in
this battle. Sometime later, the Rastrakuta king Dhraba Dharavasha attacked Vatsharaja and
Dharmapala and defeated both of them one by one.
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 Dharmapala, however, at this time conquered some regions outside Bengal. He conquered
Varanasi and Proyaga and extended his kingdom up to the region situated between the
middle part of the Ganges and the Jamuna. Although Dharmapala suffered defeat in the
Tripartite War, the loss incurred by him was not much. This was because Rastrakuta king returned
to the Deccan after his victory. Dharmapala captured kanauj taking this opportunity. But he
could not maintain his supremacy over knauj for a long time. In a short time Gurjana- Pratihana
king Nagbhatta II occupied Kanauj. As a result, war broke out between him Dharmapala. In this
war Dharmapala was defeated. Again the war did not cause any harm to him as the
Rastrakuta King Govinda III came to North India and defeated Naghatta II. After the defeat of
the Pratihara kingdom, Dharmapala, too, surrendered to GovindaIII. Thereafter Rastrakuta king
returned to his own country. For this reason Dharmapala could regain his supremacy in North
India. Some historians say that Dharmapal also conquered Nepal. He reigned for about 40
years. The vast area that Dharmapala establish was no longer a kingdom. It became an
empire.
 After the death of his father, Devapala (821 A.D-861 A.D) ascended the throne as the emperor.
He was worthy successor of his father in respect of intelligence and power. Devapala had two
reputed Brahmin ministers. They were Darvapani and Kedaramisra. Aided by these two ministers
Devapala could make successful attacks on the Pratihara and Rastrakuta kings. The vast region
of North India came under the way of Bengal’s king Devapala. The Pala Empire was most
widespread during his time.
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 Evil days fell upon the Pala Empire with the death of Devapal. The later Pala kings were weak.
Moreover, under the pressure of foreign attacks, the power of the Pala kingdom began to
break down. This weakness was manifest mostly from the reign of First Vigrahapala to the
Second Vigrahapala (861 A.D- 989 A.D). Narayanapala (866 A.D- 920 A.D), the son of first
Vigrahapala, ruled for the longest period, but he was weak and inactive. As a result, during his
time the boundaries of the empire began to shink. After Narayanapala, Rajyapala (920 A.D-
952 A.D) and Second Gopal (952 A.D- 995 A.D) ascended the throne one after another. During
the period of these weak rulers the empire suffered a great loss as a result of attacks by the
Chandel and Kalchuri Families. At the Same time there grew in the northwest Bengal a Dynasty
named Kamboja.
 This when the Pala Empire was at the point of destruction, one Pala King called Mahipala came
forward with a ray of hope. The son Second Vigrahapala, Mahipala (995 A.D- 1043 A.D)
liberated North and West Bengal from the clutches of foreign powers. He checked the fall of
the Pala Empire and brought back its former glory. But Mahipala could not leave a worthy
successor. With his death the empire broke down almost immediately. After Mahipala I, his son
Nayapala (1043 A.D- 1058 A.D) and his grandson Vigrahapala III (1058 A.D-1075 A.D) ascended
the throne. During the period of these, weak kings, the Kalchuri King, the Chalukya Raj of Karnat
and the soldiers of Orissa attacked Bengal. The foreign attacks weakened the power of the
Pala Empire. Some small independent Kingdoms rose at the time. Bihar, Outside Bengal began
to slip away. Thus during the reign of Third Vigrahapala III, the Pala Empire in Bengal broke into
many pieces.
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 The different situation of the Pala Empire became tenser in the reign of Mahipala II, son of
Vigrahapala III. The landlords of North Bengal openly revolted in the Barendra region of North
Bengal. This is known as the “Kaivarta” rebellion in history. This uprising made the Pala Empire
restless. Mhipala II lost his life at the hand of the rebels. Then the kaivarta leader Divya or Divyak
captured power in the Barendra region.
 At that time when the Barendra region was in the occupation of the Kaivartas, Surapala II, the
younger brother of Mahipala II, ascended the Pala throne. He ruled for two years. Thereafter, his
youngest brother, Rampala (1082 A.D- 1124 A.D) became the king. Of the last pala rulers, he
was a successful one. The ancient poet of Bengal, Sandhakara Nandi, wrote a biography of
Rampala called “Ramcharita”. He tried to recover Barendra from the clutches of the Kaivartas.
He failed in the first attempt. In the second attempt the kings of fourteen regions, including
Rastrakuta, Magadha and Rahr helped Rampala with soldiers, arms and money. In the war the
Kaivarta king Bhima was defeated and killed. Rampala tried to bring peace to the country
after recovering Barendra. He established a new capital called Ramavati near the present
Maldah. In order to regain the lost glory, he exercised supremacy over Magadha and
Kamrupa. It was not possible for them to save the Pala Empire. After Rampala, Kumar Pala
(1124 A.D- 1129 A.D), Gopala III (1129 A.D- 1143 A.D), Madana Pala (1143 A.D- 1161 A.D)
ascended the throne of the Pala Empire one after another. During this time, warfare became
an everyday affair. As a result, decadence began which gradually led to the collapse of the
Pala Dynasty.
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The Political History of the Sena Period:

 Although some independent states rose in some regions in Bengal during the last days of Palas,
some big changes took place in the whole of Bengal at the same time. In the middle of the
eleventh century the rule of the powerful Sena Dynasty was established over a large portion of
Bengal. It is assumed that the Senas came from the distant Karnata of Decean to this country.
According to some, they were Brahmakhatryia. At first the Senas were Brahmins. Later when
they became skilled in warfare, they earned the title “Khatrya”. Samanta Sena was the founder
of the Sena Dynasty in Bengal. He came to Bengal from Karnat in his old age. He first made his
settlement in the “Rahr” region on the bank of the River Ganges. As he did not establish a
kingdom, the honour of being a king was given to his son Hemanta Sena. It is supposed that he
was a feudal king under the Pala emperor Rampala.
 The Sena rule found a solid footing with Vijaya Sena (1098 A.D- 1160 A.D), the son of Hemanta
Sena. He was a feudal load in the first twenty five years of his rule. He helped Rampala during
the Kaivarta Rebellion. South Rahr was in the occupation of the Sena family in the eleventh
century. He married Bilash Devi, a princess of this family. As a result of this union Rahr came
under the rule of the Senas. Then Vijoy Sena defeated the Varma king and brought east and
south Bengal under his rule. In the end, taking advantage of the weakness of the Pala kings,
Vigraya Sena attracted Northwest Bengal and defeated King Madanapala.
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 The region came under the Sena rule in the middle of twelfth century. He then attacked
Kamrupa, Kalinga and Mithila. Thus the Senas established a vast kingdom in Bengal. The
first capital of Vijaya Sena was Vijayapura in Triveni of Hoogly district. The second capital
was established in Vikrampura near Dhaka. Vijay Sena accepted such titles as “Parama
Maheswar”, “Parama Bhattaraka”, “Maharajadhiraja”, “Auriraja”, “Brishava Shamker” etc.
 After the death of Vijaya Sena, the responsibility of the Sena rule fell on this son Vallala
Sena (1160 A.D- 1178 A.D). He was an able warrior like his father. He annexed Magadha
and Mithila to his Kingdom, Vallala Sena married the Chalukya Princess, Rama Devi.
During his time the Sena rule in Bengal stood on a strong foundation. Among other titles
Vallala Sena added three titles “Auriraja Nishanka Shamker” to his name. In his old age he
handed over the state responsible to his son Lakhsmana Sena, and spent the rest of his life
in region worship on the bank of the River Ganga.
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 Lakhsmana Sena was famous as a courageous warrior even during the region of his father.
In his own region (1178 A.D- 1206 A.D) he annexed to his kingdom the regions of Gaur,
Kalinga, kamrupa, kasha, Prayaga etc. Coming to the end of his regions of Laksmana
Sena became quite weak. As a result, the feudal loads around him began to revolt.
Dommanpala of Sundarban area declared indepandennce in 1196 A.D. in the Southeast
Bengal, one ruler named Pattikera became very powerful and a king named
Ranabankamalla Deva declared independence there.
 In the beginning of the thirteenth century, the Muslim power from the North began to
proceed towards Bengal. Lakhsmana Sena in his old age lived in the second capital,
Nadia. The Muslim commander Ikhtiaruddin Muhammad Bakhtiar Khilji attacked Nadia.
Being defeated Lakhsrmana Sena fled to East Bengal. North and Northern Bengal went
under the Muslim rule. Lakhsmana Sena rule for more two years and died in 1206 A.D.
Though the Sena rule continued for some time more, it can very well be said that with the
defeat of Lakhsmana Sena, the Sena rule in Bengal came to an end.
The Ancient Age

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