Historical Geography of Ancient India c8.417

c8.417

*Prāgjyotiṣa*.—Prāgjyotiṣa¹ was a famous country according to both the epics. It is also mentioned in the Yoginītantra (1. 12, p. 65). According to the Kālikāpurāṇa (Ch. 40. 73) it was a beautiful city under the sovereignty of Naraka. It was looked upon as Indra's mansion by the king of Videha (Ch. 38. 152). It seems to have included not only the Kāmarūpa country but also a considerable portion of North Bengal and probably also of North Bihar. The Kamauli grant of Vaidyadeva refers to the maṇḍala of Kāmarūpa and the viṣaya of Prāgjyotiṣa, which implies that the latter was the larger administrative division including Kāmarūpa. It is taken to mean the city of eastern astrology. According to Sir Edward Gait Prāgjyotiṣa is represented by the modern town of Gauhati. It was ruled by Indrapāla who was styled as the Mahārājādhirāja (Gauhati Copperplate Grant of Indrapāla of Prāgjyotiṣa). Here the realization of taxes from the tenants and the infliction of punishments were rare (vide Nowgong Copperplate). According to the India Office plate of Lakṣmaṇasena (E.I., XXVI) the lord of Prāgjyotiṣa performed magic rites with the dust from the feet of king Lakṣmaṇasena. In the Bargaon grant of Ratanapāla the city of Prāgjyotiṣa is referred to as impregnable and rendered beautiful by the Lohitya or Brahmaputra river (E.I., XII, pp. 37ff.). Prāgjyotiṣa is well known in both the Epics. The Mahābhārata refers to it as a mleccha kingdom, which was ruled by king Bhagadatta (Karṇaparva, V. 104-5; Sabhāparva, XXV, 1,000ff.). In the same Epic it is also referred to as an asura kingdom (Vanaparva, XII, 488). This country seems to have bordered on the realms of the Kirātas and Cinas (Mahābhārata, Udyogaparva, XVIII, 584ff.). According to the Raghuvaṃśa it lay evidently to the north of the Brahmaputra river.