The Mlechchha dynasty (c. 650 - 900) ruled Kamarupa from their capital at Harruppesvar in present-day

Tezpur Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 100, ...

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 ...

, after the fall 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 Gu ...

. 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 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 dyna ...

was constructed to accord

legitimacy Legitimacy, from the Latin ''legitimare'' meaning "to make lawful", may refer to: * Legitimacy (criminal law) * Legitimacy (family law) * Legitimacy (political) See also * Bastard (law of England and Wales) * Illegitimacy in fiction * Legit (d ...

to their rule. The Mlechchha dynasty in Kamarupa was followed by the

Pala kings Pala may refer to: Places Chad * Pala, Chad, the capital of the region of Mayo-Kebbi Ouest Estonia * Pala, Kose Parish, village in Kose Parish, Harju County * Pala, Kuusalu Parish, village in Kuusalu Parish, Harju County * Pala, Järva County, ...

. The dynasty is unrelated to the previous

Sources

Salasthambha is first mentioned in an inscription 175 years into the rule of the dynasty. The Hayunthal Copper Plates, dated to the middle of 9th Century CE, mentions multiple kings from the dynasty in a chronological fashion — Salastamba, Vijaya, Palaka, Kumara, Vajradeva, Harsavarman, Balavarman, nnamed Harjaravarman, and Vanamala. The Tejpur Copper Plates (since lost), roughly dated to the same spans, primarily chronicles Vanamala — other rulers like Pralambha, and Harjaravarman are mentioned. The Parbatiya Copper Plates, again roughly dated to the middle of 9th Century CE, chronicles Vanamala.

Origins and etymology

It is not clear how Salasthambha, the first of this dynasty, came to power.

Suniti Kumar Chatterji Bhashacharya Acharya Suniti Kumar Chatterjee (26 November 1890 – 29 May 1977) was an Indian linguist, educationist and litterateur. He was a recipient of the second-highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan. Life Childhood Chatterji ...

as well

Dineshchandra Sircar Dineshchandra Sircar (1907–1985), also known as D. C. Sircar or D. C. Sarkar, was an epigraphist, historian, numismatist and folklorist, known particularly in India and Bangladesh for his work deciphering inscriptions. He was the Chief ...

propose that Salastambha was a Bodo-Kachari chief of

Mech In science fiction, or mechs are giant robots or machines controlled by people, typically depicted as humanoid walking vehicles. The term was first used in Japanese after shortening the English loanword or , but the meaning in Japanese is ...

, which was later sanskritized to Mleccha; an inscription from the reign of a king from the later Pala dynasty claims him to be a ''mlecchādhināth'' (Lord of The Mlecchas). An illegible explanation of theirs being called

mleccha Mleccha (from Vedic Sanskrit ', meaning "non-Vedic", "foreigner" or "barbarian") is a Sanskrit term, initially referring to those of an incomprehensible speech, later foreign or barbarous invaders as contra-distinguished from elite groups. The ...

s was provided over the Hayunthal Plates, too. Symbolically, Mleccha designation could mean suppression of Vedic religion and the predominance of tantric vamacara practised by

saivites Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

and

sakta Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti (Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...

s. So, ethnic identity of Salastambha family could be same as Varmans but came to be known as mlecchas. According to some historians, the remnant of the Mlechchha kingdom formed the later

Kachari kingdom The Dimasa Kingdom (also Kachari kingdom) was a late medieval/early modern kingdom in Assam, Northeast India ruled by Dimasa kings. The Dimasa kingdom and others (Kamata, Chutiya) that developed in the wake of the Kamarupa kingdom were exam ...

Rulers

The grants of Ratnapala give the list of 21 kings from Salastambha to his line. * Salastamba (650-670) * Vijaya alias Vigrahastambha * Palaka * Kumara * Vajradeva * Harshadeva alias Harshavarman (725-745) * Balavarman II * Jivaraja * Digleswaravarman * PralambhaPralambha, read from the Tezpur plates, can be corrected to Salambha, in light of the Parbatiya plates, * Harjjaravarman (815-832) * Vanamalavarmadeva (832-855) * Jayamala alias Virabahu (855-860) * Balavarman III (860-880) * Tyagasimha (890-900)

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{refend Dynasties of India People from Kamarupa