Pushyavarman (Reign 350–374) was the first historical ruler of

Kamarupa Kamarupa (; also called Pragjyotisha or Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa), an early state during the Classical period on the Indian subcontinent, was (along with Davaka) the first historical kingdom of Assam. The Kamrupa word first appeared in the ...

(Assam) in eastern India, who established the

Varman dynasty 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 Gup ...

in 350 AD.

Tenure

Pushyavarman encouraged

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

culture to flourish in his country. Hindu influence was widespread during his reign. He maintained cultural, political and diplomatic relationship with other states under

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...

, most notably rulers of stature like Samudra Gupta. One of Pushyavarman's sons was Samudravarman, who married Datta Devi. The name of the queen of his great contemporary, Samudra Gupta, was also Datta Devi, probably both married in the same family. Though they were related, Samudra Gupta fought and defeated Samudravarman's son Balavarman, in connection with his performance of the Asvamedha sacrifice. This is recorded in Samudra Gupta's Allahabad Inscription. Gupta had to quell internal dissidence as well as external threats. Just as Samudra Gupta founded an empire which finally included the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

, Samudravarman extended his power to the Eastern Peninsula, adjoining the Pacific Ocean.

Tenure

See also

References

Further reading