The land of Assam has always been a glorious chapter in the history of India. Since ancient times, the Assamese people possessed extra-ordinary courage and valour in warfare.
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The great epic Mahabharata also describes about the martial spirit and military power of the Proto-Assamese race under their King Bhagadatta, who participated in the battle of Kurukshetra, from the side of the Kauravas.
He is said to have shaken the battlefield of Kurukshetra, creating a sensation among the Pandavas. He was an expert in Gajayuddha i.e. Elephant Warfare.
King Bhagadatta ruled over a large area comprising areas of today’s Assam, Bangladesh and West Bengal.
There is a site in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh known as “Bhagadatta Raja’r Rajbari” or the Royal Palace of King Bhagadatta.
His Kingdom was known as Kamrupa which is the ancient name of Assam after Pragjyotish. The Capital of his Kingdom was in today’s Guwahati or ancient Pragjyotishpur.
The Varman, Salastambha and Pala Dynasties of Ancient Assam traced their ancestry from Bhagadatta in their respective inscriptions.
The 16th Century book Ain-i-Akbari or Administration of Akbar, written in Mughal Court under Emperor Akbar, describes that 23 descendants of Bhagadatta ruled over the Assam-Bengal region.
The text Mahabharata praises the King Bhagdatta, calling him a Kshatriya who is always dedicated to his Dharma or Duty.
Towards the end of 12th Century, Bakhtiyar Khilji, a Turko-Afghan General, who was the head of Ghurid Military Forces, destroyed the University of Nalanda in Bihar.
The University of Nalanda in Ancient India was famous throughout Asia for its excellent academics in philosophy, medicine and other significant fields.
Kumar Bhaskar Varman, the 7th Century King of Assam, invited Hieun-Tsang, the Chinese Buddhist Scholar and traveller to Assam.
Hieun Tsang came to Nalanda to study the original Buddhist texts.
Hieun Tsang also wrote a detailed description about Assam on his visit to the kingdom of Kumar Bhaskar Varman. The seal of the Varman Dynasty was also found in the premises of the Nalanda University.
Later, Harshadeva Varman, the 8th CE King of Assam who expanded his territory upto Bihar, is said to have patronized the University of Nalanda. So, historically, Nalanda had a strong connection with ancient Assam.
When Bakhtiyar Khilji destroyed Nalanda and its precious library, it caused a great destruction to the age old preserved knowledge and profound academics of Ancient India.
In the early 12th Century, Bakhtiyar Khilji marched with its large army, towards Eastern India with the intention of conquering till Tibet.
Bakhtiyar Khilji conquered the regions of Bihar, Orissa and Bengal.
The Sena Dynasty who hailed from Karnataka was in power of Bengal at that time.
The old King Lakshman Sena could not resist the Khilji attack and was eventually defeated.
After conquering Bengal, Khilji headed towards Kamrupa or Assam in 1205 to conquer Tibet.
This invasion is said to have been the first Islamic Invasion of Assam.
The King of Assam was King Prithupala alias Vishwasundardeva at that time i.e. in 1205.
King Prithu must have been a descendant of the Pala Dynasty of Assam which later became a vassal of the Bengal Palas.
The capital of King Prithu was in today’s Guwahati.
The Assam Palas traced their origin from the family of Bhagadatta.
The text Darrang Rajvanshawali written by Suryakhadi Daivajna also mentions Prithupala as a descendant of the Bhagadatta family.
As mentioned earlier, the document Ain-i-Akbari also recorded 23 Kings who ruled Assam-Bengal region belonging to the Bhagadatta family.
Tabaqat-i-Nasiri written by Minhaj records the King of Kamrupa during Khilji’s invasion as Bartu or Prithu which is also confirmed by Historians like KL Baruah in his book “The Early History of Assam”.
An inscription dated back to 1227 found in Nagaon also shows that Vishwasundardeva and Prithu are identical which is also confirmed by Historian PC Choudhury.
The Kingdom of King Prithu comprised territories of Assam and today’s North Bengal upto Jalpaiguri.
That is why, he also carried the title of Jalpeshwar. According to Kamrupar Buranji, Prithu was a Saivite King i.e. a devotee of Lord Siva and he rebuilt the temple of Siva destroyed by the army of Muslims.
According to Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, Bakhtiyar Khilji’s intention was not to cause harm to the people of Assam or to create enemity with Prithu.
Rather, Khilji seeked Military assistance from Prithu to fulfill his dream of conquering Tibet.
It seems that Bakhtiyar offered Prithu to become his vassal and help him in his expedition.
Most probably, Bakhtiyar’s intention was never to conquer Kamrupa or Assam but later on he changed his mind.
Because if we follow the contemporary source Tabaqat-i-Nasari, then it shows that Bakhtiyar followed the course of River Teesta and nearing the hills crossed it by fording.
There he was told that a direct route to Tibet was available which is Kamrupa or Assam and it lays to the further east.
On knowing this, he travelled over the high road with his army leading from Jalpaiguri in present day North Bengal to Guwahati in Assam.
On this road, he crossed the stone bridge to the North of Guwahati.
Initially, Prithu agreed to provide him military assistance, but he put forward a condition to postpone the expedition till next year which in fact was communicated to Bakhtiyar by a letter.
But Bakhtiyar disregarded the counsel of Prithu, and refused to give up the plan and proceeded on his expedition.
The King of Kamrupa sensed that Bakhtiyar can be a threat in the near future if he conquers Tibet.
Because in order to keep his territories safe, Bakhtiyar will definitely invade the neighbouring kingdoms making them his subordinate.
So, Prithu might have planned of making military preparations within that one year of postponement, in order to tackle the forces of Khilji.
But Bakhtiyar disregarded the counsel of Prithu by refusing to give up the plan, and proceeded on his journey to conquer Tibet.
This compelled Prithu to make immediate Military preparations and resist the Muslim Army at any cost.
Prithu was enraged and decided to attack the Muslim Army on their return.
The Hindu archers in the Kamrupi Army were so powerful that the Muslim chronicles state that the Muslim Army could not resist them in the open field, which compelled them to take shelter in a nearby temple.
Prithu removed the flat stones on the river and made it impassable for the Muslim Army.
Although the Muslim Army was captured by the Kamrupi Army but they succeeded in breaking the barriers and escaped.
But many of them drowned while attempting to cross the river and ultimately died. The rest of them were slaughtered by the Kamrupi Army. Bakhtiyar escaped the capture by the Kamrupi King but eventually died from fatigue and mortification.
The Kanai-Barasi-Rock inscription present in North Guwahati records this victory of Kamrupan Forces under King Prithu over the Turks as follows: Sake Turayugmese madhumasa trayadase Kamrupam Samagatya Turuska Ksayamayayuh , which means that the Turkish Army which invaded Kamrupa on the 13th Day of Madhumasa (Sot Mah in Assamese) in 1227 Saka i.e. 1205 was destroyed by the Kamrupi Army. It is a matter of great pride for us that warlords like Bakhtiyar Khilji who conquered Bengal, Orissa and Bihar, faced an embarrassing defeat in the hands of few Assamese soldiers. Some people also call this event in history as “The revenge of Nalanda’s destruction”.
The History of Assam is full of such heroic tales where such brave warriors drove away the invaders from their motherland. That is why even the Mughal Chronicles describe Assam with extreme fear and horror.
Historians like Benudhar Sarmah have often quoted texts like Ain-i-Akbari which calls Assam as the playground of Demigods and Graveyard of Mughal Empire, in his books.
It is our obligation to know about the heroes of our history, honour the sacrifices they made for us and fulfil our duties towards our motherland.
Our heroes should be the source of our inspiration and our future generations should be made aware of their glorious past and the heroic spirit that their ancestors possessed.
(The views and thoughts expressed are the author’s own.)
