A History of Assam c15: Chapter IX. The Ahom System of Government
A History of Assam c15
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- c15.s1 Law and justice — 26 parts
Chapter IX. The Ahom System of Government
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The form of government amongst the Ahoms was somewhat peculiar. The king was at the head of the administration, but he was assisted by three great councillors of State, called Gohāins. The latter had provinces assigned to them, in which they exercised most of the independent rights of sovereignty, but, so far as the general administration of the State and its relations with other powers were concerned, their functions were merely advisory. They had, in this respect, no independent authority, but, in theory, the king was bound to consult them on all important matters, and was not permitted to issue any general orders, embark on war, or engage in negotiations with other states until he had done so. Neither was he considered to have been legally enthroned unless they had concurred in proclaiming him as king. The extent to which these rules of the constitution were observed varied with the personal influence and character of the king, on the one side, and of the great nobles, on the other. Some kings, such as Pratāp Singh, Gadādhar Singh and Rudra Singh appear to have followed their own wishes without much regard for the opinions of their nobles, while others, like Sudaiphā, Larā Raja and Kamalesvar Singh, were mere puppets in the hands of one or other of the great ministers of State. It has been said that the Gohāins had the right to depose a monarch of proved incapacity, but this is doubtful; and although there are several cases, such as those of Surāmphā and Sutyinphā, where the Gohāins took common action to eject unpopular rulers, there are more where their dethronement or assassination was the work of a single Gohāin or other noble, acting independently, and making no pretence to legality. The probability is that all such acts were equally unconstitutional.
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In the early days of Ahom rule the succession devolved from father to son with great regularity, but in later times this rule was often departed from. Sometimes brothers took precedence of sons, as in the case of the four sons of Rudra Singh, who each became king in turn, in conformity, it is said, with the death-bed injunction of that monarch. At other times cousins, and even more distant connections, obtained the throne, to the exclusion of nearer relatives, but in such cases the circumstances were generally exceptional. Much depended on the wish, expressed or implied, of the previous ruler; much on the personal influence of the respective candidates for the throne; and much on the relations which existed between the chief nobles who, in theory at least, had the right to make the selection.
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Where the procedure was constitutional, and the new king was nominated by the great nobles acting in unison, they never passed over near relatives in favour of more distant kinsmen, except in cases where the former were admittedly unfit, or where, owing to the deposition of the previous king, it was thought desirable that his successor should not be too nearly related to him. But where one of these nobles obtained such a preponderance that he was able to proceed independently, and actually did so, the choice often depended more on his own private interest than on the unwritten law of the constitution; and he would usually select some one who, from his character or personal relations, or from the circumstances of his elevation to the throne, might be expected to support him, or to allow him to arrogate to himself much of the power which really belonged to the kingly office. Thus one of the Bar Baruas raised to the throne in turn Suhung and Gobar, neither of whom was nearly related to the previous ruler; Sujinphā and Sudaiphā owed their elevation to a Burhā Gohāin; Sulikphā to a Bar Phukan, and so on.
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There was, however, one absolutely essential qualification; no one could under any circumstances ascend the throne unless he were a prince of the blood. The person of the monarch, moreover, was sacred, and any noticeable scar or blemish, even the scar of a carbuncle, operated as a bar to the succession. Hence arose the practice, often followed by Ahom kings, of endeavouring to secure themselves against intrigues and rebellions by mutilating all possible rivals. The desired object was usually effected by slitting the ear, but, as we have seen, less humane methods were also, at times, adopted, and many unfortunate princes were deprived of their eyesight or put to death.
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The ceremony of installation was a very elaborate one. The king, wearing the *Somdeo*, or image of his tutelary deity, and carrying in his hand the *Hengdān* or ancestral sword, proceeded on a male elephant to Charāideo,* where he planted a *pipal* tree (*ficus religiosa*). He next entered the *Pātghar*, where the presiding priest poured a libation of water over him and his chief queen, after which the royal couple took their seats in the *Solongghar*, on a bamboo platform, under which were placed a man and a specimen of every procurable animal. Consecrated water was poured over the royal couple and fell on the animals below. Then, having been bathed, they entered the *Singarighar* and took their seats on a throne of gold, and the leading nobles came up and offered their presents. New money was coined, and gratuities were given to the principal officers of State and to religious mendicants. In the evening, there was a splendid entertainment at which the king presided. During the next thirty days the various tributary Rajas and State officials who had not been present at the installation were expected to come in and do homage and tender their presents to the new king. Before the reign of Rudra Singh, it had been the custom for the new king, before entering the *Singarighar*, to kill a man with his ancestral sword, but that monarch caused a buffalo to be substituted, and the example thus set was followed by all his successors.
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Just as the kingly office was the monopoly of a particular family or clan, so also was that of each of the Gohāins. In practice these appointments ordinarily descended from father to son, but the king had the right to select any member of the prescribed clan that he chose, and he could also, if he wished, dismiss a Gohāin. There were originally only two of these great officers, the Bar Gohāin
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The ceremony of installation.
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The Gohāins.
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∗ As stated elsewhere Charāideo was founded in 1253 A.D. by Sukāphā, the first Ahom king. Although the capital was subsequently removed to various other places, Charāideo remained, as Wade puts it, "the seat and centre of the ancient worship of the Assamese conquerors" (Geographical Sketch of Assam, *Annual Asiatic Register*, 1805).
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and the Burhā Gohāin, but in the reign of the Dihingiya Raja a third, the Barpātra Gohāin, was added. The first incumbent of this new office was a step-brother of the king himself. To each of these nobles was assigned a certain number of families, who were amenable only to their immediate masters, and over whom no other officer of government was allowed to exercise any jurisdiction.
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According to David Scott, the Gohāins had allotted for their own use 10,000 pāiks or freemen, which he reckoned to be equivalent to a grant of Rs. 90,000 per annum.
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Bar Barua. As the dominions of the Ahoms were gradually extended, it was found necessary to delegate many of the king's duties to others, and various new appointments were created. The most important were those of Bar Barua and Bar Phukan, both of which owe their origin to Pratāp Singh. The appointments in question were not hereditary, and they could be filled by any member of twelve specified families. Members of the families from which the three great Gohāins were respectively recruited were not eligible for these posts. The object of their exclusion seems to have been to prevent the accumulation of too much power in the hands of a single family.
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The Bar Barua received the revenues and administered justice in those portions of the eastern provinces from Sadiya to Koliābar which lay outside the jurisdiction of the Gohāins, and was also, usually, the commander of the forces. He had control over 14,000 pāiks, but they were also bound to render service to the king. His perquisites consisted of an allowance of seven per cent. of the number for his private use, together with the fines levied from them for certain offences, and the fees paid by persons appointed to minor offices under government.
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Bar Phukan. The Bar Phukan at first governed as Viceroy only the tract between the Kallang and the Brahmaputra in Nowgong, but, as the Ahoms extended their dominions further west, his charge increased, until it included the whole country from Koliābar to Goalpāra, with Gauhāti as his head-quarters. His office was considered of higher importance than that of the Bar Barua and, as he was further removed from the seat of Government, his powers were more extended.
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Appeals from his orders were rare; and although the monarch alone could cause the shedding of blood, he, like the Gohāins, could sanction the execution of criminals by drowning. The Bar Barua did not possess this power.
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Other local governors were also appointed from time to time, such as the Sadiya Khowa Gohāin, who ruled at Sadiya, and whose appointment dates from the overthrow of the Chutiya kingdom in 1523; the Morangi Khowa Gohāin, governor of the Nāga marches west of the Dhansiri; the Solāl Gohāin, who administered a great part of Nowgong and a portion of Chārduār after the head-quarters of the Bar Phukan had been transferred to Gauhāti; the Kājali Mukhia Gohāin, who resided at Kājalimukh and commanded a thousand men; the Raja of Sāring, and the Raja of Tipām, or the tract round Jaipur on the right bank of the Buri Dihing. The two last-mentioned were usually relatives of the king himself, the Sāring Raja being the heir-apparent and the Tipām Raja, the next in order of succession.
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Elsewhere again, ruling chiefs who had made their submission to the Ahoms were transformed into governors acting on their behalf. To this category belonged the Rajas of Darrang, Dimarua, Rāni, Barduār, Nauduār and Beltola. They administered justice and collected the revenues in their own districts, but an appeal lay from their orders to the Bar Phukan and the monarch; those of them who held territory in the hills, however, were practically independent in that portion of their dominions. They were required to attend on the king in person with their prescribed contingent of men, when called upon to do so, and, in addition, all except the Raja of Rāni paid an annual tribute. Their office was hereditary, but they were liable to dismissal for misconduct.
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There were numerous other officials, who were generally recruited from the fifteen families that have already been mentioned as possessing the monopoly of the highest appointments, but, for such as did not involve military service, the higher classes of the non-Ahom natives of the country were eligible, and also persons of foreign descent, provided that their families had been domiciled in the country for three or four generations.
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(i) Phukans.
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Amongst these officers the highest in rank were the Phukans. Six of these, known as the Choruwa Phukan, formed collectively the council of the Bar Barua, but each had also his separate duties. To this group belonged the Naubaicha Phukan, who had an allotment of a thousand men, with which he manned the royal boats; the Bhitaruāl Phukan, the Na Phukan, the Dihingiya Phukan, the Deka Phukan and the Neog Phukan.
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The Bar Phukan had a similar council of six subordinate Phukans, whom he was bound to consult in all matters of importance; these included the Pāni Phukan, who commanded six thousand pāiks, and the Deka Phukan, who commanded four thousand, the Dihingiya and Nek Phukans and two Chutiya Phukans.
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Besides the above there was the Nyāy Khodā Phukan, who represented the sovereign in the administration of justice; and a number of others of inferior grades, including the Parbatiya Phukan, a Brāhman who managed the affairs of the chief queen; the Tāmbuli Phukan, who had care of the royal gardens; the Nausāliya Phukan who was responsible for the fleet; the Cholādhara Phukan, or keeper of the royal wardrobe; the Deoliya Phukan who looked after the Hindu temples; the Jalbhāri Phukan who had charge of the servants employed in them; the Khārgariya Phukan, or superintendent of the gunpowder factories, etc.
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(ii) Baruas.
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Next in rank to the Phukans were the Baruas, of whom there were twenty or more, including the Bhāndāri Barua or treasurer; the Duliya Barua, who had charge of the king's palanquins; the Chaudāngiya Barua, who superintended executions; the Thānikar Barua, or chief of the artificers; the Sonādār Barua, or mint master and chief jeweller; the Bej Barua, or physician to the royal family; the Hāti Barua, Ghorā Barua, and others.
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(iii) Rājkhowas, Katakis, Kākatis, Dalais.
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There were also twelve Rājkhowas, and a number of Katakis, Kākatis and Dalais. The first mentioned were commanders of three thousand men and were subordinate to the Bar Barua. They were often employed as arbitrators to settle disputes, and as the superintendents of public works. The Katakis acted as agents for the king in his dealings with foreign states and with the hill tribes; the Kākatis were writers, and the Dalais expounded the *Jyotish Shāstras* and determined auspicious days for the commencement of important undertakings.
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With the exception of the nobles, priests and persons of high caste and their slaves, the whole male population between the ages of fifteen and fifty were liable to render service to the State. They were known as *pāiks*, or foot soldiers, a term which was formerly very common in Bengal, where, for instance, it was applied to the guards who surrounded the palace of the independent Muhammadan kings. The *pāiks* were organised by *gots*. A *got* originally contained four *pāiks*, but in the reign of Rājesvar Singh the number was reduced to three in Upper Assam; one member of each *got* was obliged to be present, in rotation, for such work as might be required of him, and, during his absence from home, the other members were expected to cultivate his land and keep him supplied with food. In time of peace it was the custom to employ the *pāiks* on public works; and this is how the enormous tanks and the high embanked roads of Upper Assam, which are still a source of wonder to all who see them, came into existence. When war broke out, two members of a *got*, or even three, might be called on to attend at the same time.
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The *pāiks* were further arranged by *khels*, which were provided with a regular gradation of officers; twenty *pāiks* were commanded by a *Bora*, one hundred by a *Saikia*, one thousand by a *Hazārika*, three thousand by a *Rājkhowa* and six thousand by a *Phukan*; and the whole were under as rigid discipline as a regular army. The *pāiks* were entitled to nominate, and claim the dismissal of, their *Boras* and *Saikias*, and sometimes even of their *Hazārikas*. This was a most valuable privilege, whereby they were saved from much of the oppression that would otherwise have fallen to their lot.
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The *khels* were distributed amongst the high nobles in the manner already described, and each official had a certain number of *pāiks* assigned to him in lieu of pay. As the Ahom kings came more and more under the influence of Hindu priests, large numbers of *pāiks* were removed from their *khels* and assigned for the support of temples or of Brāhmans. Some paiks purchased exemption from service. In no other way could a man escape from the control of the officers of his khel, whose jurisdiction was personal and not local. In the course of time, as the members of a khel became dispersed in different part of the country, this system grew most complicated and inconvenient, but it was still in vogue at the time of the British occupation, except in Kāmrup where a system of collecting revenue according to local divisions, called parganas, had been introduced by the Muhammadans.
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As a reward for his services, each pāik was allowed two puras (nearly three acres) of the best rice land free of rent. If personal service was not required, he paid two rupees instead. He was given land for his house and garden, for which he paid a poll or house-tax of one rupee, except in Darrang, where a hearth-tax of the same amount was levied upon each family using a separate cooking-place. Anyone clearing land, other than the above, was allowed to hold it on the payment of one to two rupees a pura, so long as it was not required, on a new census taking place, to provide the pāiks with their proper allotments.
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In the inundated parts of the country the land was cultivated chiefly by emigrating raiyats or, as they are now called, pām cultivators, who paid a plough tax. The hill tribes, who grew cotton, paid a hoe tax. Artisans and others who did not cultivate land paid a higher rate of poll tax, amounting to five rupees per head for gold-washers and brass-workers, and three rupees in the case of oil-pressers and fishermen.
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The rice lands were redistributed from time to time, but not the homesteads, which descended from father to son. The only other lands which could be regarded as private property were the estates granted to the nobles and, in later times to temples and Brāhmans, which were cultivated by slaves or servants, or by pāiks attached to the estate and granted with it.
Law and justice
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In civil matters the Hindu law, as expounded by the Brāhmans, seems to have been generally followed in later times; at an earlier period the judge decided according to the custom of the country and his own standard of right and wrong. The joint family system was in vogue, but amongst all except the highest classes, the family usually separated on the death of the father, when the sons took equal shares to the exclusion of daughters. The criminal law was characterized by the greatest harshness; and mutilation, branding with hot irons, and even more terrible punishments were common. In the case of offences against the person, the general principle was that of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," and the culprit was punished with precisely the same injury as that inflicted by him on the complainant. The penalty for rebellion was various forms of capital punishment, such as starvation, flaying alive, impaling and hanging, of which the last mentioned was esteemed the most honourable. The death penalty was often inflicted, not only on the rebel himself, but on all the members of his family. No record was kept in criminal trials, but in civil cases a summary of the proceedings was drawn out and given to the successful party.
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The chief judicial authorities were the three Gohāins, the Bar Barua and the Bar Phukan, in their respective provinces, and trials were conducted before them or their subordinates, each in his own jurisdiction. An appeal lay to them from their subordinates and, in the case of the Bar Barua and Bar Phukan, a second appeal could be made to the sovereign, which was dealt with on his behalf by the Nyāy Khoda Phukan. The president of each court was assisted by a number of assessors (Katakis, Ganaks or Pandits) by whose opinion he was usually guided. Prior to the Moāmariā disturbances, the administration of justice is said to have been speedy, efficient and impartial.
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The chief nobles cultivated their private estates with the aid of slaves, *i.e.*, persons taken in war or purchased from the hill tribes, and of their retainers, who were either hill men or manumitted slaves. These persons were entirely at their masters' disposal, and they were not required to render service to the State. Their position was thus in some ways better than that of the paiks who, it is said, often took refuge on private estates and passed themselves off as slaves.
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The owning of slaves, however, was by no means confined to the nobles, and all persons of a respectable position had one or more of them, by whom all the drudgery of the household and the labour of the fields were performed. The widespread prevalence of the institution is shown by the fact that David Scott is said to have released 12,000 slaves in Kāmrup alone. Many of these unfortunates were free-men who had lost their liberty by mortgaging their persons for a loan, or the descendants of such persons. They were bought and sold openly, the price ranging from about twenty rupees for an adult male of good caste to three rupees for a low-caste girl.
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The social distinctions between the aristocracy and the common people and, in later times, between the higher and lower castes, were rigidly enforced. None but the highest nobles had a right to wear shoes, or to carry an umbrella, or to travel in a palanquin, but the last mentioned privilege might be purchased for a sum of one thousand rupees. Persons of humble birth who wished to wear the *chaddar*, or shawl, were obliged to fold it over the left shoulder, and not over the right, as the upper classes did. The common people were not permitted to build houses of masonry, or with a rounded end, and no one but the king himself was allowed to have both ends of his house rounded. Musalmans, Morias, Doms and Hāris were forbidden to wear their hair long, and members of the two latter communities were further distinguished by having a fish and a broom, respectively, tattooed on their foreheads.
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As was usually the case in India, the standard coin of the Ahoms weighed a tola (two-fifths of an ounce) or 96 *ratis*. The peculiarity of the Ahom coins lay in their shape. Instead of being circular, they were octagonal, in accordance with the *sloka* in the *Jogini Tantra* which describes the country of the Ahoms as having eight sides. In other respects they bore a marked resemblance to the coins of the Koch kings. The earliest Ahom coins bear a date equivalent to 1543 A.D. and were struck by Suklenmung in the fourth year of his reign. More than a century elapsed before any of his successors followed his example. It then became the practice for each new ruler to mark his accession to the throne by the issue of coins bearing his name, but it was not until the reign of Rudra Singh that the mint was kept constantly at work and smaller coins weighing 48 and 24 *ratis* respectively were issued. Still smaller coins, weighing 12 and 6 *ratis*, were first issued by Sib Singh, and coins weighing 3 *ratis* by Gaurināth. A regular gold currency was introduced by Sib Singh; before his time the only gold coins extant are those of Suklenmung and Udayāditya.
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The legend on Suklenmung's coins was in the Ahom language and character. The coins of Jayadhvaj Singh and Chakradhvaj Singh bore Sanskrit legends in the Bengali script. The next three rulers reverted to Ahom, but from Rudra Singh onwards the use of Sanskrit became the rule. Two later kings (Pramata Singh and Rājesvar Singh) struck coins with Ahom legends in the year of their accession, but these were probably in the nature of medals for ceremonial distribution, as Sanskrit was the language used on all the other coins issued by them. Square coins with Persians legends were issued by Sib Singh in 1729 A.D. and by Rājesvar Singh in 1752. A square coin with a Sanskrit legend was issued by Lakshmi Singh in 1770.
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The Ahom and Sanskrit legends were all of much the same tenor. The obverse gave the name of the king* and the date of issue, and the reverse the name of his favourite deity. Thus the translation of the Ahom legend on Suklenmung's coins runs as follows:—
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*Obverse.* The great king Suklenmung, fifteenth year (of cycle).
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*Reverse.* I the king offer prayers to Tārā.
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The cycle referred to is the greater Jovian cycle of sixty years, known to Hindu astrologers as *Vrihaspati Chakra*, or wheel of Jupiter, which was in use amongst the Chinese 2,000 years before the Christian era.
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As a typical coin bearing a Sanskrit legend we may take that of Chakradhvaj Singh which reads:—
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*Obverse.* Of Svargadeb (heavenly deity) Chakradhvaj Singh, Sak 1585 (1663 A.D.).
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∗ For the reason given in the account of his reign, most of Sib Singh's coins bore also the name of his chief queen for the time being.
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† An account of the Ahom system of Chronology will be found in Appendix B.
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*Reverse.* Devoted (genitive) to the feet of Siva and Rām.
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The deities most commonly mentioned are Indra on the coins with Ahom, and Siva (with or without his consorts) on those with Sanskrit legends; but the Vaishnava usurpers, Bharath and Sarbanand, invoked Krishna, while Brajanāth invoked both Rādhā and Krishna.*
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Formalities observed by ambassadors When a neighbouring ruler sent ambassadors to the Ahom court, it was customary for them to wait on the frontier while the king's orders was being obtained. Transport was then provided for them to the capital where the Bar Barua supplied them with food the first day and the three great Gohāins on the three succeeding days. On the next four days this procedure was repeated, and they had interviews in turn with each of these high officers. They were next taken by a Barua to the royal presence, when presents were given, the object of their mission was explained, and the letter from their ruler was handed to the Ahom king. From this time till their departure they received their supplies from the royal store. When the time came for them to return home they were escorted to the frontier, and were usually accompanied by Ahom ambassadors who, in their turn, awaited on the frontier the pleasure of the ruler concerned, after which the procedure was similar to that described above †
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† Ambassadors, or envoys of high rank, were called *bairāgis*, as distinguished from ordinary messengers or *katakis*.
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Explanation of titles of Ahom kings and nobles. The tribal names of the Ahom kings usually commenced with *Su*, meaning "tiger" (cf. *Singh*, lion), and ended with *phā*, meaning "heaven." Thus Sukāphā, "a tiger coming from heaven" (*kā*, come); Sunenphā, "a beautiful tiger of heaven" (*nen*, beautiful); Supātphā, "a lace-like tiger of heaven" (*pāt*, lace); and Sukhrungphā, "a furious tiger of heaven" (*khrung*, furious). In a few cases the final syllable was not *phā*, as in the case of Suhungmung, "the tiger of a renowned country," (*hung*, renowned and *mung*, country).
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∗ A list of all known Ahom coins (with plates) will be found in the *Numismatic Chronicle*, Fourth Series, Vol. IX. Reference may also be made to Mr. Stapleton's notes on the coinage of Assam, J. A. S. B., 1910, page 619.
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The kings' Hindu names were often the Assamese equivalents of those given them by the Deodhāis. Gadādhar Singh was so called because *gadā* is the Assamese translation of the Ahom *pāt*; and Rudra Singh, because *rudra* in Assamese corresponds to *khrung* in Ahom. It has been suggested that the first syllable (*Su*) is the same as the Shān *Chāo*, meaning great, and ought to be written *Chu*. This, however, does not appear to be the case. The word *Chāo* also means "great" or "God" (Deb) in Ahom, and it is frequently used in addition to the regular prefix *Su*; Sunenphā, for instance, is described as Chāo Sunenphā on his coins. In this connection it may be mentioned that the Assamese title *Svargadeb* is the equivalent of the Ahom and Shān Chāo-phā, which is also the origin of the Burmese term *tsaubwa*. The word Gohāin, the title of the original three great officers of state, is also a translation of the Ahom *Chāo*. In the first instance, the word was Gosāin, but the Ahoms pronounced the *s* as *h*, and the spelling was altered accordingly. The Bar Gohāin was known in Ahom as Chāothāolung (God-old-great), the Burhā Gohāin, as Chāophrāngmung (God-wide-country) and the Barpātra Gohāin as Chāosenglung (God-holy-great).* The Bar Barua was known to the Ahoms as Phukenlung (male-noble-great) and the Bar Phukan as Phukanlung (male-origin-great).
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Many attempts have been made to trace the origin of the word Assam. Muhammadan historians wrote Āshām, and in the early dates of British rule it was spelt with only one *s*. According to some the word is derived from *Asama*, in the sense of "uneven," as distinguished from Samatata, or the level plains of East Bengal. This however seems unlikely. The term nowhere occurs prior to the Ahom occupation, and in the *Bansābali* of the Koch kings, it is applied to the Ahoms rather than to the country which they occupied. There is, I think, no doubt that the word is derived from the present designation of the Ahoms. At first sight, this does not carry us much further. The Ahoms called themselves Tai, and it still remains to be explained how they came to be known by their present name. It has been suggested that this may be derived from Shān, or as the Assamese say, Syām. This word, however, is not used by the Assamese when speaking of the Ahoms, but only with reference to the people of Siam. The tradition of the Ahoms themselves is that the present name is derived from Asama, in the sense of " unequalled " or " peerless." They say that this was the term applied to them, at the time of Sukāphā's invasion of Assam, by the local tribes, in token of their admiration of the way in which the Ahom king first conquered and then conciliated them. Asama, however, is a Sanskrit derivative which these rude Mongolian tribes would not have been acquainted with, and, on this account, the suggested etymology has hitherto been rejected. But, although we may not accept the way in which the word is said to have come into use, it is nevertheless very probable that this derivation is, after all, the right one. The Ahoms, as we have seen, called themselves Tai, which means " glorious " (cf. the Chinese, " celestial "), and of this Asama is a fair Assamese equivalent, just as is Svargadeh of Chāuphā and Gohāin of Chāo. The softening of the s to h, i.e., the change from Asam to Aham or Ahom, has its counterpart in the change from Gosāin to Gohāin.
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∗ Senglung was the personal name of the first Barpātra Gohāin.
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It may be mentioned here that the Burmese called Assam, Athan or Weithali; to the Chinese it was known as Weisāli, and to the Manipuris, as Tekau. Van Den Broucke and other early European geographers called the country west of the Bar Nadi, Koch Hājo, and that to the east of it, Koch Āsām.
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GATE WAY, TAMLUK
Linked texts (1)
- Yoginītantra — Sanskrit