The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The Pallavas played a crucial role in shaping in particular southern Indian history and heritage. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana Empire, whom they had formerly served as feudatories.
The Kamakhya Temple at Nilachal hills in Guwahati, Assam is one of the oldest and most revered centres of Tantric practices, dedicated to the goddess Kamakhya. The temple is the center of the Kulachara Tantra Marga and the site of the Ambubachi Mela, an annual festival that celebrates the menstruation of the goddess. Structurally, the temple is dated to the 8th-9th century with many subsequent rebuildings—and the final hybrid architecture defines a local style called Nilachal. It is also one among the oldest 4 of the 51 pithas in the Shakta tradition. An obscure place of worship for much of history it became an important pilgrimage destination, especially for those from Bengal, in the 19th century during colonial rule.
Kamarupa, an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was the first historical kingdom of Assam.
Naraka, also known as Narakasura, is an asura king in Hindu mythology. In Assamese tradition, he is regarded as the legendary progenitor of all three dynasties of Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa, and the founding ruler of the legendary Bhauma dynasty of Pragjyotisha. Though the myths about Naraka are first mentioned in the Mahabharata, later texts embellish them. According to later post-Vedic texts such as the Brahma Purana and Vishnu Purana, he was the son of Bhudevi, fathered either by the Varaha incarnation of Vishnu or Hiranyaksha. He is claimed as one who established Pragjyotisha. He was killed by Krishna and Satyabhama. His son Bhagadatta—of Mahabharata fame—succeeded him.
The history of Assam is the history of a confluence of people from the east, west, south and the north; the confluence of the Austroasiatic, Tibeto-Burman (Sino-Tibetan), Tai and Indo-Aryan cultures. Although invaded over the centuries, it was never a vassal or a colony to an external power until the third Burmese invasion in 1821, and, subsequently, the British ingress into Assam in 1824 during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
The Varman dynasty (350–650) 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 (470–494) 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.
The Mlechchha dynasty ruled Kamarupa from their capital at Harruppesvar in present-day Tezpur, Assam, after the fall of the Varman dynasty. According to historical records, there were twenty one rulers in this dynasty, but the line is obscure and names of some intervening rulers are not known. Like all other Kamarupa dynasties a semi-mythical lineage from Narakasura was constructed to accord legitimacy to their rule. The Mlechchha dynasty in Kamarupa was followed by the Pala kings. The dynasty is unrelated to the previous Varman dynasty.
The Malavas or Malwas were an ancient Indian tribe. Modern scholars identify them with the Mallian people (Malloi) who were settled in the Punjab region at the time of Alexander's invasion in the 4th century BCE. Later, the Malavas migrated southwards to present-day Rajasthan, and ultimately to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Their power gradually declined as a result of defeats against the Western Satraps, the Gupta emperor Samudragupta, and the Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II.
Bhaskaravarman was king of medieval Kamarupa and the last of the Varman dynasty. After being captured by the Gauda king during the reign of his father, he was able to re-establish the rule of the Varmans. He made political alliances with Harshavardhana of Thaneswar, against the alliance of the Gauda and East Malwa. He was visited by Xuanzang and Wang Xuance, the envoys of the Tang dynasty who have left accounts of the king and the kingdom.
The earliest Indo-Aryan migration to Assam is estimated to have occurred between the 2nd century BCE and 1st century CE—not earlier than 500 BCE. The earliest epigraphic record suggests that the Indo-Aryan migration began latest by the middle of the 4th century CE. They came from the Gangetic Plains into a region already inhabited by people who spoke Austroasiatic and Tibeto-Burman languages.
Pragjyotishpura or Pragjyotisapura, now deemed to be a region within modern Guwahati, was an ancient city and capital of the Varman dynasty. Though the earliest mention of Pragjyotisha in local sources come from the 7th century, the form was changed to Pragjyotishpura in the 9th century which describes it as the city of Naraka within Kamarupa. In Puranic text like the Ramayana, Pragjyotishpura is described as the fortress of Narakasura on mount Varaha located in the north-west of the Indian subcontinent in what is modern-day Punjab and Sindh.
The Kamarupa inscriptions are a number of 5th-century to early 13th-century rock, copper plate and clay seal inscriptions associated with the rulers and their subordinates of the Kamarupa region. The common language of these inscriptions is Sanskrit. The earliest of these inscriptions, the Umachal and Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscriptions, belong to the 5th century and written in a script which was nearly identical to the eastern variety of the Gupta script. There is a steady evolution in the script over the centuries, and last of the scripts, for example the Kanai-boroxiboa inscription using a proto-Assamese script. The script in this period is called the Kamarupi script, which continues development as the Medieval Assamese script from the 13th to the 19th century and emerges as the modern Assamese script.
Kamakhya is a locality in Guwahati, Assam, which is 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the Guwahati Airport and about 6 km from Guwahati Railway Station, it also has own railway junction called Kamakhya Junction.
Mandagapattu Tirumurti Temple is a Hindu temple situated in the village of Mandagapattu in the Viluppuram district of Tamil Nadu, India. Hewn from rock by the Pallava ruler Mahendravarman I in honour of the trinity Brahma-Shiva-Vishnu, the rock-cut cave temple is the oldest stone shrine discovered and dated in Tamil Nadu. The temple is notable for the earliest known rock-cut Sanskrit inscription written in Grantha script. It is attributed to the Pallava king Mahendravarman I.
The Umachal rock cave is a fifth-century rock cave with inscriptions discovered in Kalipur, Guwahati in February 2012. The inscriptions were done during the rule of king Mahendra Varman of Kamarupa. The interior side of the cave measures 6.26x5.02 metres. Once temple of Balabhadra swami, two pieces of a broken stone bowl measuring 16.5 cm in diameter have been found inside the cave. Floral carving measuring 76x73x16 cm were drawn on the rock surface.
The Group of Monuments at Mahabalipuram is a collection of 7th- and 8th-century CE religious monuments in the coastal resort town of Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu, India and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) south of Chennai.
The Nagajari-Khanikargaon rock inscription is a 5th-century land grant discovered in the Nagajari area of the Golaghat district. The artifact is fragmentary, with inscriptions in Sanskrit written in the eastern variety of the Brahmi script. In style, language, and script, the inscription is very similar to the Umachal and Barganga rock inscriptions. Additionally, since it betrays no influence of a local Prakrit, this inscription is often placed earlier than the Umachal rock inscription. It also indicates that Indo-Aryan culture had spread to the Golaghat region by the 5th century. It is also speculated that it might belong to a different dynasty unrelated to the Varmans of Kamarupa.
Kamarupi script was the script used in ancient Kamarupa from as early as 5th century to 13th century, from which the modern Assamese script eventually evolved. In the development of the Assamese script, this phase was followed by the medieval and then by the modern Assamese scripts.
Davaka was a kingdom of ancient Indian subcontinent, located in current central region of Assam state. The references to it comes from the 4th century Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, where it is mentioned as one of five frontier kingdoms of the Gupta Empire.
The Dubi copperplate inscription are the inscriptions of a grant issued by Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa. This is the earliest of all copper plate grants issued by Kamarupa kings discovered so far. This was an issue after an earlier charter, issued by Bhutivarman, was destroyed. There are five copper plates in this collection, with seventy-six verses in Sanskrit, written in the eastern variety of North Indian alphabet prevalent in the sixth and seventh centuries. All six plates in this grant were first discovered around 1950 during digging near a Siva temple in Dubi village about three miles from the Pathsala railway station, Kamrup district, Assam; but the sixth plate was irrecoverably destroyed soon after discovery. These plates are currently in the Assam State Museum. This plate was issued before the Nidhanpur copperplate inscription, during the earlier part of Bhaskkaravarman's reign.
