History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s6.32

v3.c34.s6.32

The Sena kings of Bengal, though only principally three, have been the subjects of much controversy; not only are the facts meagre and ambiguous, but historians and antequarians have also unfortunately looked at them with one bias or another. The Mahomedan historians have written with great exaggeration, perhaps in this case only, heightening the audacity of Mahammad Bakhtyar and the pusillanimity of Lakshmaṇasena of Bengal; while Hindu researchers have written about the Senas with a bias naturally in favour of this last Hindu king of Bengal. Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar again with his usual bias in favour of the non-Aryan origin of Rajputs, looks upon these Senas as foreign Brahmins or priests turned into Kshatriyas, while the modern Senas of Bengal who are Vaidyas by caste (a sub-caste born of the mixture of Brahmins and Vaiśyas) look upon these Senas as Vaidyas. It is, therefore, necessary to discuss these points in detail giving first the history of the Sena family so far as is practicable in this state of divergence of views.