A History of Assam c17.11

c17.11

As the names of these rulers are preserved, not in the traditions of their original subjects, the inhabitants of the Jaintia hills, but in those of the plains people over whom their rule was subsequently extended, it may be inferred that Parbat Rāy was not the founder of the dynasty. It may also be conjectured that it was he who extended the sway of the Jaintia kings into the plains tract at the foot of his ancestral kingdom in the hills. His name Parbat Rāy “the Lord of the Hills” seems to confirm this supposition. It may, therefore, perhaps be concluded that the inhabitants of the Jaintia hills already formed a single State in 1500 A.D., and that year may be taken roughly as the date when they became the masters of the Jaintia parganas. From the fact that all the kings mentioned in the above list bear Hindu names, it may further be inferred that, at this time, they had already been brought, to some extent at least, under the influence of the Brāhmans.