Political History of Northern India

Author(s): Gulabchandra Chaudhary
Publisher: Sohanlal Jain Dharm Pracharak Samiti Amrutsar

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THE DYNASTIES OF EASTERN INDIA
disappears in their records. In the Barrackpur grant of the same king, Samantasena is there already the head-ornament of only the Ksatriyas.
Scholars suggest that Samantasena or one of his predecessors came to Bengal from the far-off province of Karnata in the train of the Călukya prince Vikramaditya when the latter invaded N.E. India during c. 1044-68 A.D.
The Jain sources, however, do not throw any light on the early kings of the dynasty.
Laksmanasena: Among the later rulers of the Sena dynasty, the Jain chroniclers of the western India mention the name of Lakṣmaṇasena (11791206 A.D.) with his ministers Kumāradeva and Umāpatidhara. The Prabandha cintamani states that 'in the country of Gauda in the city of Laksmanavati, a king of the name of Lakṣmaṇnasena ruled for a long time and his kingdom was administered by the minister Umapatidhara who was a treasure-house of all intelligence. But the king became blind with passion and contracted the disgraceful stain of association with a Matangi (woman of a very low caste, untouchable community).
"Umäpatidhara, having found himself unable to restrain his master, wrote up secretly certain stanzas in the notice-board of the council-pavilion in order to admonish him in another way. But the king got offended and developed secret hatred against the minister and wished to get rid of him. The king planned to kill Umapatidhara but he saved himself through his intelligence. The king on the other hand repented of his foolish act and gradually abandoned that evil practice and made Umapatidhara once more his minister."
Fortunately we have a reference to Umapatidhara in the Gita-Govinda of Jayadeva as one among the several court poets of Lakṣmaṇasena. The Sadukti Karyamṛta quotes about ninety verses of Umapatidhara. The name of Umapatidhara occurs also as the author of a prasasti in the Deopără inscription of Vijayasena, the father of Vallälasena. The authorship of the Madhainagar copper plates of Lakṣmaṇasena has sometimes been credited by certain scholars to him. Deopärä inscription informs us that Umäpati
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1 Majumdar, R.C., (Dr.), The Origin of the Sena Kings, in PTOC., II p. 346-47: See also History of Bengal, Edited by the same, pp. 208-09.
2 SJGM., I. pp. 112-13: लक्ष्मणसेनोमापतिधरयोः प्रबन्धः - अध गौडदेशे लसणावलां नगर्या श्रीलक्ष्मणसेनो नाम नृपतिरुमापतिधरनाम्ना सचिवेन सर्वबुद्धिनिधानेन चिन्त्यमानविरं राज्यं चकार । स त्वनेकमत्तमातंग सैन्यसङ्गादिव मदेनान्धतां दधानो मातंगीसङ्गपङ्ककलंकभाजनमजनि ।
3 V. 4.
EI., I., pp. 305-15.