The Bhauma dynasty is the second legendary dynasty of

Pragjyotisha 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 ...

, after the

Danava dynasty The Danava dynasty was the first legendary line of rulers in Pragjyotisha, established by Mahiranga Danava. The dynasty was of Kirata origin. These rulers are mentioned in the Kalika Purana but there are no archaeological evidence to support ...

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 ...

, who is said to have established this dynasty, and his descendants

Bhagadatta Bhagadatta ( sa, भगदत्त) was the son of Narakasura, and the king of Pragjyotisha. Bhagadatta was born from a limb of the asura called Bāṣkala. He was a renowned warrior, and was known to be a great friend of Indra. When Arjuna emba ...

and

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 ...

are first mentioned in the epics ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

'' and the ''

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' in the sections that were composed in the first few centuries though they place them variously in either northwestern or eastern India. Narakasura's legend is further embellished in the locally composed ''

Kalika Purana The Kalika Purana ( sa, Kālikā Purāṇa), also called the Kali Purana, Sati Purana or Kalika Tantra, is one of the eighteen minor Puranas ('' Upapurana'') in the Shaktism tradition of Hinduism. The text was likely composed in Assam or Cooch B ...

'' (10th–12th century), the ''

Yogini Tantra The ''Yogini Tantra'' is a 16th- or 17th-century tantric text by an unknown author either from Assam or Cooch Behar: "One of the most explicit descriptions of Tantric sexual rites occurs in Yogini tantra, a sixteenth-century text from Cooch Beha ...

'' (16th/17th century) and local lores and the legends became firmly attached 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 ...

and North Bengal. The late embellishment of the Naraka legends point to

legitimization Legitimation or legitimisation is the act of providing legitimacy. Legitimation in the social sciences refers to the process whereby an act, process, or ideology becomes legitimate by its attachment to norms and values within a given society. I ...

of the three dynasties of the Kamarupa kings. According to the 10th-century

, the dynasty was established by

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 Malay ...

Videha Videha ( Prākrit: ; Pāli: ; Sanskrit: ) was an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe of north-eastern South Asia whose existence is attested during the Iron Age. The population of Videha, the Vaidehas, were initially organised into a monarchy but later ...

, by removing the

Kirata The Kirāta ( sa, किरात) is a generic term in Sanskrit literature for people who had territory in the mountains, particularly in the Himalayas and Northeast India and who are believed to have been Sino-Tibetan in origin. The meaning o ...

chief Ghataka, the last of the

. The development of the details of the Naraka story are considered as myths though historically he could have been a native

chief, or a Hinduized tribal youth. The glorification and assimilation of a local chief and the making of myths follow a pattern that is observed in other parts of India. The last ruler, Suparna, was killed by his ministers. The existence of this dynasty is not supported by any tenable evidence."Therefore, any claims of the existence of ancient Naraka-Bhagadatta or Bhauma-Naraka dynasty prior to the Varmans are historically untenable, albeit politically tenable."

Rulers

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{History of Assam Mythological kingdoms, empires, and countries Kamarupa (former kingdom) Pragjyotisha Kingdom