A History of Assam c9.15

c9.15

This title was often claimed by quite petty chiefs; and in the eighth and ninth centuries there were at times as many as six princelings in North Bengal all calling themselves Gauresvar simultaneously.* Gaur was also the ancient name of part of the modern district of Sylhet. It is thus impossible to say where Dharma Nārāyan ruled, but the story goes that when peace was concluded he sent seven families of Brāhmans and seven families of Kāyasths to Durlabh, who settled them on the frontier, as wardens of the marches, and gave them lands and slaves. The ablest of them was a Kāyasth named Chandibar, who became their leader. Their head-quarters were at Paimaguri, where they earned the gratitude of the people by erecting a bund. Subsequently the Bhutias raided and carried off a number of people, including the son of Chandibar, but the latter, with the other Bhuiyās, followed the raiders and rescued the captives. He subsequently settled at Bardowa in Nowgong, where his great-grandson Sankar Deb was born.