The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c16.462

v1.c16.462

Another question that has given rise to difficulties is the location of the capital of Lakṣmaṇasena. Niẓām ud-Dīn seems to place ‘Nudiar,’ ‘Lakhnauti’ and ‘Gaur’ all in the same place. Minhāj simply says that Muḥammad left Nūdiāh, the capital of Lakhmaṇiah, in desolation and established his capital at a place “which is now known as Lakhaṇavatī.” In the *Pavana-dūta* of Dhoyī, the wind-messenger after travelling through various countries passes through Suhmadeśa and reaches Vijayapura, the capital of Lakṣmaṇasena, near the confluence of the Yamunā and the Bhāgīrathī (Triveṇī).¹ Attempts have been made to identify Nūdiāh with Vijayapura; some have tried to place Vijayapura near Gaur in Malda District.² As Vijayapura, according to Dhoyī, was situated not far from the separation of the Yamunā from the Bhāgīrathī, and as the wind-messenger does not cross the Ganges to reach it, it is reasonable to locate this city near the modern district of Hooghly.³ It may therefore be concluded that the Senas, like other dynasties, had more than one capital in North, East and West Bengal, and Nūdiāh was the place where Lakṣmaṇasena was residing when Muḥammad made his raid. After the fall of Nūdiāh, the Sena king took to his boats and crossed over to ‘Bang,’ *i e.*, Eastern Bengal. The inscriptions of the sons of Lakṣmaṇasena are issued from Vikramapura, and thus confirm the statement of Minhāj that “up to this time his descendants are rulers of the country of Bang.”