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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXX
Nārāyanavarman may have been celebrated when that king was too old and his son Bhūtivarman was ruling the country on his father's behalf and that this was possibly the reason why Bhūtivarman is said to v the performer of the horse-sacrifice in the record of his own reign!
Nārāyaṇavarman was the first performer of the Akvamëdha sacrifice among the kings of the Bhauma-Niraka dynasty of Kamarupa, which was founded by Pashyavarman. It is interesting to note in this connection that the independent status newly acquired by ancient Indian ruling families was usually signalised by the celebration of the Advamëdha'. In the ancient history of India, we have also many instances of a feudatory naming his son after his overlord'. The naming of Pushyuvarman's son as Samudravarman apparently after the celebrated Gupta monarch Samudragupta (circa 340-76 A.C.) appears to be a significant fact in the early history of Kämarūpa. Samudravarman's queen Dattavati neems also to have assumed the name of Samudragupta's queen Dattadēvi. These facts leave hardly any doubt that the Kämarüpa king Pushyavarman was a vassal or subordinate ally of the Gupta emperor and flourished about the middle of the fourth century A.C.. The Bhauma-Narakas of Kāmarupa appear to have continued to offer allegiance to the Guptas till the beginning of the sixth century when the imperial Gupta power declined and the Bhauma-Näraka king Nārāyanavarman (circa 494-518 A.C.) performed the horse-sacrifice no doubt to assert the newly gained independence of the kingdom of Kumarūpa, formerly under the suzerainty of the Guptas. Again the facts that Pushyavarman was & contemporary of Samudragupta, that Susthitavarman and Supratishthitavarman appear to have died quite early in life and that Bhaskaravarman reigned in the period circa 600-50 A.C. suggest roughly the following chronology of the Bhauma-Näraku kings of Kamarüpa :(1) Pushyavarman . . . . . . .
circa 350-74 A.C. (2) Samudravarman . . . . . . .
374-98 (3) Balavarman
398-422, (4) Kalyāṇavarman
,422-46 (5) Gaņapativarman
446-70 (6) Mahēndravarman
470-94 (7) Nārāyaṇavarman .
494-518 (8) Bhūtivarman . . .
518-42 (9) Chandramukhavarman
542-66 (10) Sthiravarman . .
„ 566-90 , (11) Susthitavarman . .
590-95 (12) Supratishthitavarman .
596-600, . (13) Bhāskaravarman . .
, 600-50 ,
1 The Sailodbhava recorda generally attribute an A buam idha to Bainyabhita Madhavavarman (I Srinivasa) hut, in a few insoriptions of that king's son and grandson, the latter are also vaguely described as performers of the Advamedha probably because they took part in Srinivasa's sacrifice. Cf. above, Vol. XX'X, p. 39, n. 4.
* A New History of the Indian People, Vol. VI, pp. 64-65. * See Successors of the Satavahanas, 1939, pp. 176, 248 note.
* The reference to Kámarups as a pratyanla or bordering state in the Allahabad pillar inscription seems to suggest that the Kimaropa king was not regarded as an ordinary foudatory of the Gupta monaroh.
Dr. Bhattasali was inclined to assign Pushyavarman to circa 350-90 A.D. and Mahendravarman (who sonord. ing to him colobrated two horse-Bacrittoon) to circa 450-90 A.D. Soe IHQ, Vol. XXI, Maroh, 1945, pp. 19-28.
