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“CĀMUNDĪ” OF HARŞACARITA OF BĀNA
A CRITICAL REVIEW1
Dr. SUDARSHAN KUMAR SHARMA
Bana in his Harsacarita while dilating upon the caution of Skanda Gupta made to Harsavardhana against his all-confiding disposition, refers to an accidental happening against Puşkara the king of Cāmundi whose life was sipped by the spying soldiers of the army of the king of Campa. This happening historical event as it does striks, needs a detailed examination as to who king proper the Lord of Campā was and it also needs the identity to be proved of “Cāmundi” a place, a capital or a country proper whose king / one named Puskara was fond as he was of hunting Rhinoceroses who normally have their abundance in the country of Kāmarūpa / Prāgjyotisa, modern Assam. A review of the history of Anga and Kāmarūpa along with the place proper Cāmundi shall have to be taken up to arrive at the identity proper of the terms quoted above.
E. B. Cowell and F. W. Thomast in their English Translation of Harşacarita translate the lines as under :
"The life of the chase-loving Puskara King of Cāmundi was sipped while he was extirpating rhinoceroses, by the lord of Campa's soldiers ensconced in a grave of tall stemmed reeds”.
Süryanārāyana Chaudhari in his Hindi translation says (English version given below).
“The king of Cāmundi Puskara, was very fond of hunting. At the time he was killing rhinoceroses, that very moment, the soldiers ambushed within the forest of reeds of lofty stalks, brought about the end of his life. "S
Jagannātha Pathaka says :"The soldiers of the king of Campā sitting having ambushed within the
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