A History of Assam c8.26

c8.26

Bhāskara Varman was the contemporary of Harsha Vardhana, otherwise known as Siladitya, hereditary king of Thanesvar, who ruled from 606 to 648 A.D. and established himself as Lord Paramount of the whole of the Ganges valley. In an account of the early part of his reign by one of his courtiers* it is said that just at the time when Harsha succeeded his brother on the throne of Thanesvar, an ambassador named Hamsawega arrived from Bhāskara Varman, who also had just succeeded to the throne and was anxious to secure Harsha's friendship. The ambassador brought many valuable presents, including jewels, heirlooms handed down by Bhagadatta and other early kings of Kāmarupa, pieces of silk, leather bucklers, camphor, musk, betel-nuts *chaunris* (fly whisks), finely-written books with leaves of bark, and a miracle-working umbrella obtained by Narak from Varuna. Harsha received Hamsawega most cordially, and sent him back with reciprocal presents in charge of envoys of high rank.