Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.256

c8.256

Kāmarūpa.—It is bounded on the north by Bhutan, on the east by the districts of Darrang and Nowgong, on the south by the Khasi hills and on the west by Goalpara. The greater part of Kāmarūpa consists of a wide plain, through the lower portion of which the Brahmaputra makes its way, flowing a steady course from east to west. South of the river this plain is much broken up by hills (B. C. Allen, Kāmrup, Assam District Gazetteers, Vol. IV, Ch. I). It is mentioned in the Allahabad Pillar Inscription as one of the frontier states outside the limits of the Gupta empire of which the capital was Prāgjyotiṣapura (Kālikā Purāṇa, Ch. 38), identified with modern Gauhati (J.R.A.S., 1900, p. 25). The ancient kingdom of Kāmarūpa generally occupied an area larger than that of the modern province and extended westwards to the Karatoyā river. According to the Yogitantra (1. 11. 60-61; 1. 12. 68; 2. 2. 119) the kingdom of Kāmarūpa comprised the whole of the Brahmaputra (Lauhitya) valleys, together with Rangpur and Cooch Behar (Imperial Gazetteer of India, XIV, p. 331). The kingdom included Manipur, Jaintia, Cachar, West Assam, and parts of Mymensingh and Sylhet. The modern districts extended from Goalpara to Gauhati (Lassen, I.A., I, 87; II, 973). The country of Kāmarūpa was about 10,000 li in circuit, and the capital town was about 30 li. The land, though low, was regularly cultivated. Vaidyadeva was the ruler of the kingdom of Kāmarūpa (E.I., II, p. 355). In the Kamauli grant of Vaidyadeva, the village granted is said to have been situated in Kāmarūpamaṇḍala and Prāgjyotiṣabhukti (E.I., II, 348). The king of Kāmarūpa used to pay taxes to Samudragupta (Fleet, C.I.I., III, pp. 6-8). According to the Silimpur inscription dated the 11th century A.D., a Brahmin belonging to Varendrī was given gold coins by Jayapāla, a king of Kāmarūpa (E.I., XIII, 292, 295). Kāmarūpa was conquered by Vijayasena and Lakṣmaṇasena according to the copperplate inscription discovered at Deopārā and Mādhāinagar. The Belāva copperplate of Bhojavarman informs us that king Vajravarman crippled the power of the king of Kāmarūpa (N. G. Majumdar, Inscriptions of Bengal, Vol. III, pp. 15ff.). The India Office Plate of Lakṣmaṇasena refers to Kāmarūpa along with Kaliṅga, Kāśī, etc. (E.I., XXVI, Pt. I). Kāmarūpa is also called Prāgjyotiṣa; but in the Raghuvamśa (IV, 83-84), the people of Kāmarūpa and Prāgjyotiṣa are described as two different nations. The lord of Prāgjyotiṣa performed magic rites with the dust from his feet. (For details, see B. C. Law, Prāgjyotiṣa, J.U.P.H.S., XVIII, Pts. I and II, pp. 43ff.)