Varman dynasty


The Varman dynasty was the first historical dynasty of the Kamarupa kingdom. It was established by Pushyavarman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. The earlier Varmans were subordinates of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Guptas waned, Mahendravarman performed two horse sacrifices and status of Kamarupa as Independent state remained umimpaired. According to Allahabad Prasasti of Samudragupta, the ruler of Kamarupa was mentioned as a frontier ruler of the great Gupta emperor. As per Apsad Inscription of Adityasen, Susthivarman was defeated by Mahasengupta on the bank of Lauhitya.
The first of the three Kamarupa dynasties, the Varmans were followed by the Mlechchha and then the Pala dynasties.

Capital

The capital was moved at least once, the last time by Sthitavarman with the older city not named but presumed to be Pragjyotishpura, located at the south-eastern slope of the Narakasur hill near Dispur. The new capital was possibly some location in Guwahati.

Origins

The first king in this dynasty was Pushyavarman, possibly a contemporary of Samudragupta. The kingdom which he established with much effort, grew in the periphery of the Gupta Empire, adopted the north Indian political model, and its kings took on names and titles of the Gupta kings and queens. Nothing much is known directly about the initial kings till the sixth king, Mahendravarman, who established a rock temple and assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja in the last quarter of the fifth century. The last king Bhaskaravarman claimed he was a descendant of Narakasur, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta, though it is a considered to be a fabrication. The dynastic line from Pushyavarman first appear in the 7th century, in Dubi and Nidhanpur copperplate inscriptions issued by Bhaskaravarman and in the Harshacharita, though the descriptions are panegyric, repetitive and devoid of dates.
Foreign records are conflicting, with Xuanzang claiming him to be a Brahmana caste
and She-Kia-Fang-Che claiming him to be a kshatriya whose ancestors came from China. Though some modern scholars have opined that the Varman dynasty is probably of Indo-Aryan descent, it is now believed that the Varmans were originally non-Indo-Aryans. Suniti Kumar Chatterjee calls Bhaskaravarman a Hinduised Mlechcha king of Indo-Mongoloid origin. Hugh B. Urban too infers that the Varmans descended from non-Aryan tribes.

Politics and diplomacy

The most illustrious of this dynasty was the last, Bhaskaravarman, He accompanied King Harshavardhana to religious processions from Pataliputra to Kannauj.
The Varman's modeled themselves after the Gupta's and named themselves after the Gupta kings and queens.
The alliance between king Harsha of Thanesar and Bhaskaravarman lead to spread of political influence of later to entire eastern India. Varman kings had diplomatic relations with China.

Cultural environment

People were simple and honest with small stature and dark yellow complexion who speak a language that was a little different from Mid-India. Their nature was very impetuous and wild with retentive memories. People were sincere in study who adore and sacrificed to the Devas, and they didn't worship Buddha and no monument related to Buddha was built. Some Buddha disciples said their prayers secretly. There was hundreds of deva temples, and different sects. Bhaskaravarman, role model for the people, was fond of learning. Intellectuals from distant places visited his country. Bhaskaravarman wasn't a Buddhist but he respected sramaņas of learning.

The dynasty

The dynastic line, as given in the Dubi and Nidhanpur copperplate inscriptions:
ReignNamesuccessionQueen
1350-374Pushyavarman
2374-398Samudravarmanson of PushyavarmanDattadevi
3398-422Balavarmanson of SamudravarmanRatnavati
4422-446Kalyanavarmanson of BalavarmanGandharavati
5446-470Ganapativarmanson of KalyanavarmanYajnavati
6470-494Mahendravarmanson of GanapativarmanSuvrata
7494-518Narayanavarmanson of MahendravarmanDevavati
8518-542Bhutivarmanson of NarayanavarmanVijnayavati
9542-566Chandramukhavarmanson of BhutivarmanBhogavati
10566-590Sthitavarmanson of ChandramukhavarmanNayanadevi
11590-595Susthitavarmanson of SthitavarmanSyamadevi
12595-600Supratisthitavarmanson of Susthitavarman
13600-650Bhaskaravarmanbrother of Supratisthitavarman
14650-655Unknown