The Dynastic History of Northern India (Early Mediaeval Period) v1.c16.490

v1.c16.490

It is clear from these two records that at least two sons of Lakṣmaṇasena ruled after him. As both granted land in the same area, it seems likely that one succeeded the other. I have already said that the two grants found at Madanapara and Edilpur are almost identical. But as the Edilpur grant contains some additional verses which are not found in the other grant, and as there is some evidence that in the former a name consisting of three or more syllables has been erased to put in the name of the donor, it has been assumed that Viśvarūpa preceded Keśava.³ Nothing definite is known about these two rulers beyond the fact that they granted land in the Vikramapura area of Vaṅga (Eastern Bengal) included in the *Bhukti* of Puṇḍravardhana,¹ and that they reigned for at least 14 and 3 years respectively. But from the large number of their titles and the fact that Viśvarūpa in his Madanapara grant is described as *Garga-Yavanānvaya-pralaya-kāla-rudra-nṛpaḥ* (V. 17), it is reasonable to assume that they succeeded in repulsing some invasions of Musalmans. Besides these two, in the opinion of some scholars, Lakṣmaṇasena had another son. Mr. N. N. Vasu has referred to a copper-plate grant of Mādhavasena dated in *Śaka* 1145 (A.D. 1223) found in an Almora (in Kumaon) temple of Yogeśvara, in which the words *Vaṅgaja-Brāhmaṇa* occur.² This prince is identified by him with Mādhū Sen, who according to Abu'l-Faz̤l succeeded Lakhan Sen and ruled for ten years.³ The existence of a Mādhavasena in about this period is proved by the fact that the *Sadukti-karṇāmṛta* quotes a verse by an author of that name.⁴ It has been assumed by Mr. Vasu that this prince did not reign in Bengal, but went on a pilgrimage to Kedāranātha after the Musalman invasion. In the present state of our knowledge, there is no means of testing the truth of this assertion or to find out his exact relationship to Lakṣmaṇasena, or Viśvarūpa-sena, or Keśavasena. It would be too risky to place him before the last two on the sole authority of Abu'l-Faz̤l. The recently discovered Sāhitya Pariṣat grant of Viśvarūpa has revealed the names of two *Kumāras*, Sadāsena and Puruṣottama. It is not unlikely that the former is to be identified with the Sadā Sena of the *Ā'īn-i-Akbarī*, who is placed after Kesū Sena and assigned a reign of 18 years. In that case he may have been a son of either of the two brothers.