Pragjyotisha is a mythological kingdom that is mentioned in a multitude of Hindu Epics. It came to be associated with the historical

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. Though Kamarupa prevailed from 350 to 11 ...

after Bhaskaravarman of 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 G ...

by drawing his lineage from

Naraka Naraka ( sa, नरक) is the realm of hell in Indian religions. According to some schools of Hinduism, Sikhism, Jainism and Buddhism, ''Naraka'' is a place of torment. The word ''Neraka'' (modification of ''Naraka'') in Indonesian and Mala ...

/ Bhagadatta of the legendary Pragjyotisha to bring his peripheral kingdom closer to mainland traditions at a time when he was emerging as a powerful king with interests in North India."Considering the historical content of the seventh century Kāmarūpa, especially during the reign of Bhāskarvarman when the Varmans was ascending to one of the important powers in north India, it appears that they projected Kāmarūpa on a larger geopolitical map by combining it with Prājyotisa, the Epic kingdom. In other words, Prājyotisa was retrieved from the ancient Epic past by the aspirant local kingship to overcome this peripherality. An elusive mythical space was brought into the actual geography of Kāmarūpa" The identification with the mythical Naraka/Bhagadatta lineage continued to be used by the Mlechchhas and

Palas A ''palas'' () is a German term for the imposing or prestigious building of a medieval '' Pfalz'' or castle that contained the great hall. Such buildings appeared during the Romanesque period (11th to 13th century) and, according to Thompson ...

for roughly similar purposes.

Scriptures

All early references do not locate Pragjyotisha in or around Kamarupa in

Northeast India , native_name_lang = mni , settlement_type = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , motto = , image_map = Northeast india.png , ...

. The first mentions of this kingdom are found in the

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th to 4th centuries BCE, and later stages ...

and the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

, in sections not written much earlier than the first century. In the ''Kishkindha Kanda'' of the former, Pragjyotisha is placed in the west near Mount Varaha on the sea. In '' Aswamedha-Parva'' of the latter,

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

defeated

Vajradatta Vajradatta ( sa, वज्रदत्त) was son and successor of the king Bhagadatta, third in line to throne of Naraka dynasty of Pragjyotisha Kingdom. Vajradatta had studied four vedas along with Angas, and the Nitishastras of Brihaspati an ...

of Pragjyotisha in a three-day battle near

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

in the Lower Indus Valley; the '' Harivamsa Parva'' features multiple mentions as well. The kingdom was contemporary of

Bana kingdom The Bana was a dynasty based in South India, who claimed descent from king Mahabali. The dynasty takes its name from Bana, the son of Mahabali. The Banas faced opposition from several neighbouring dynasties and served some major dynasties such a ...

Popular culture

A popular mythical narrative claims that Jyotisha is the sanskritised form of ''Zuhthis'', who were (apparently) the first migrants to

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

— this has little historical evidence in support.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{refend Kingdoms in the Mahabharata Kamarupa (former kingdom) Mythological kingdoms, empires, and countries

Scriptures

Popular culture

See also

Notes

References