A History of Assam c9.29

c9.29

To what race the Khens belonged it is impossible to say. The great majority of them have now been absorbed in the ranks of other communities. The few who still retain the tribal name claim to be Kāyasths, and are said to betray in their physiognomy a considerable infusion of Aryan blood, but this was probably received after their rise to power, and affords no clue to their origin. The defeat of their last king by Husain Shāh is a historic fact. In other respects the traditions regarding them lack corroboration, but they are not, in their main features, improbable. It is said that the founder of the dynasty was a cowherd whose master, a Brāhman, is said to have foretold that he would become king, and helped him to overthrow the last degenerate descendant of the Pāl family. On ascending the throne he embraced the Hindu religion, assumed the name Niladhwaj and made his old master his chief mantri or minister. He is reputed to have imported many Brāhmans from Mithila. His capital was at Kāmatāpur, on the left bank of the Dharla, but he did not apparently exercise control over more than a very small part of the old kingdom of Kāmarupa. Buchanan Hamilton who visited the ruins of Kāmatāpur, estimated its circumference at nineteen miles. The palace, as in the case of Burmese and Chinese towns, stood in the centre.