Hemanta Sena | |
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Mahārājādhirāja, Rājarakshāsudaksha | |
Sena king | |
Reign | 1070-1096 |
Predecessor | Samanta Sena |
Successor | Vijaya Sena |
Died | Sena Empire |
Issue | Vijaya Sena |
House | Sena dynasty |
Father | Samantasena |
Religion | Hinduism |
Sena dynasty 1070 CE–1230 CE | ||||||||||||||
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Hemanta Sena (Sanskrit : Hemantasena), the founder of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent.
Hemanta was born to a Hindu Vaishnavite family, and was the son of Samanta Sena; who settled in the Rarh region. Their family belonged to the Kshatriya caste. [1] [2]
The weakening of the Pala Empire allowed Hemanta to be granted the opportunity to govern Rarh and protect the emperors. [3] He served this role from 1070 to 1096 CE. His son, Vijaya Sena, reigned after him. [4] [5]
The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.
The history of Bengal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Karimganj district, located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, at the apex of the Bay of Bengal and dominated by the fertile Ganges delta. The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom whose war elephant forces led the withdrawal of Alexander the Great from India. Some historians have identified Gangaridai with other parts of India. The Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers act as a geographic marker of the region, but also connects the region to the broader Indian subcontinent. Bengal, at times, has played an important role in the history of the Indian subcontinent.
Rarh region is a toponym for an area in the Indian subcontinent that lies between the Chota Nagpur Plateau on the West and the Ganges Delta on the East. Although the boundaries of the region have been defined differently according to various sources throughout history, it is mainly coextensive with the state of West Bengal, also comprising parts of the state of Jharkhand in India.
The Kamboja-Pala dynasty ruled parts of Bengal in the 10th to 11th centuries CE, after invading the Palas during the reign of Gopala II. The last Kamboja ruler of the Kamboja-Pala Dynasty Dharmapala was defeated by the south Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty in the 11th century.
Dhaka (Dacca) is a modern megacity with origins dating to circa the 7th century CE. The history of Dhaka begins with the existence of urbanised settlements that were ruled by the Hindu Gauda Kingdom, Buddhist and Shaivite Pala Empire before passing to the control of the Hindu Sena dynasty in the 10th century CE. After the Sena dynasty, the city was ruled by the Hindu Deva Dynasty.
Narayanapala was the seventh emperor of the Pala Empire of the Eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions.
Saifuddin Hamza Shah was the fourth Sultan of the first Ilyas dynasty of Bengal reigning from 1410 to 1412.
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah (Bengali: আলাউদ্দিন হোসেন শাহ was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian Sultan, Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah, whom he had served under as wazir. After his death in 1519, his son Nusrat Shah succeeded him. The reigns of Husain Shah and Nusrat Shah are generally regarded as the "golden age" of the Bengal sultanate.
Vigrahapala III was the successor to the Pala king Nayapala in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and twelfth ruler of the Pala line reigning for 15 years. He was succeeded by Mahipala II.
Madanapala was the successor to the Pala king Gopala IV in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and the eighteenth and final ruler of Pala lineage reigning for 18 years. He was succeeded by Govindapala, whose lineage of that name is questionable.
Lokkhon Sen or Lakshman Sena was the ruler from the Sen dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent. His rule lasted for 28 years.
Ballāla Sena or Ballal Sen, also known as Ballal Sen in vernacular literature, was the second ruler of the Sena dynasty of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was the son and successor of Vijaya Sena, and ended the Pala Empire by defeating Govinda Pala.
Vijaya Sena, also known as Vijay Sen in vernacular literature, was the son of Hemanta Sena, and succeeded him as a Sena dynasty ruler of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. This dynasty ruled for more than 200 years. He conquered Bengal, fighting the kings of Gauda, Kamarupa, and Kalinga. He had a capital in Vijayapuri and Vikramapura.
Deva Dynasty was a Bengali Hindu Kayastha dynasty which originated in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent; the dynasty ruled over eastern Bengal after the Sena dynasty. The capital of the dynasty was Bikrampur in present-day Munshiganj District of Bangladesh.
Gauda, was a territory located in Bengal in ancient and medieval times, as part of the Gauda Kingdom.
The Gauḍa kingdom was a kingdom during the Classical era in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the Gauda region of Bengal in 4th century CE or possibly earlier.
Gopala III previously known as Gopala II, was the successor to the Pala king Rajyapala in the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent, and ninth ruler of the Pala line reigning for 20 years. He was succeeded by Vigrahapala II.
Umapati Dhara was the chief minister in the court of Lakshmana Sena . and one of the court poets of Lakshmana Sena. Several Prashasti like the Deopara Prashasti, a stone inscription eulogizing the Sena kings of Bengal was written by him. He is one of the Pancharatna in the court of Lakshmana Sena. Jayadeva was the middle jewel of this Pancharatna. The identity of these four Kavibandhus of Jayadeva might have been lost forever if the poet Jayadeva had not mentioned their names and poetic qualities in 'Gita Govinda' However, earlier Lakshmanasena's court poet, Batudas's son Sridhardas, has compiled Saduktikarnamrita by including many verses of these four poets, he saved their poetry from oblivion. According to Jayadeva, Umapati Dhar's characteristic of writing was to enrich the words and sentences. His famous works were the Deoparaprashasti and the Madhainagar copper plates He also wrote a book Chandrachudacharita, in Sanskrit, which has not been found.
Deopara Prashasti described the founder of Sena dynasty Samanthasena, as a migrant Brahmaksatriya from Karnataka. The epithet 'Brahma-Kshatriya' suggests that Senas were Brahmins by caste who took the profession of arms and became Kshatriyas. The Sena kings were also probably Baidyas, according to historian P.N. Chopra.