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 the status of Kamarupa as an independent state remained unimpaired. As per the 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.

Origin

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 dynastic line from Pushyavarman first appear in the 7th century, in Dubi and Nidhanpur copperplate inscriptions issued by Bhaskaravarman and in the Harshacharita and not earlier in any inscription from his ancestors. In these inscriptions Bhaskaravarman claims that he was a descendant of Narakasur, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta. Modern scholars consider this claim to be a fabrication, jae-eun shin suggests that this genealogy was created in the context of Bharkarvarman's alliance with Harshavardhana, to help legitimise his sovereignty. The use of Naraka/Bhagadatta lineage to establish sovereignty continued under the Mlechchha and the Pala dynasties, a practice which is in keeping with the trend in the post-Gupta period in India.
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 also infers that the Varmans descended from non-Aryan tribes.

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. Though the claim is not supported by any archaeological findings.

Politics and diplomacy

The Varman's modeled themselves after the Gupta's and named themselves after the Gupta kings and queens.

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
14650-655Avantivarman

Family tree