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Kamarupa was most powerful and formidable kingdom in Northeast India ruled by the immigrant Varman and Pala dynasties from its capital in Pragjyotishpura and Durjaya in Lower Assam and by indigenous peoples at Haruppeswara in central Assam. From these three capitals, its culture and influence spread over the entire region. ==Early development== The most important development that took place in Northern India towards the close of the Upanishad period, not many centuries after the Mahabharata war, was the rise of Gautama Buddha and his religion. Within a couple of centuries after Buddha's nirvana his religion spread far and wide. It is difficult to believe that Pragjyotisha, which was so close to Uttar Kosala and Magadha, could remain free from Buddhistic influences, but by Xuanzang's account that in the seventh century, the people of Kamarupa worshipped the devas and did not believe in Buddhism. According to him, there were a few Buddhists in the country, but for fear of persecution they had to perform their devotional rites in secret. Shilabhadra is said to have stated that Buddhism had spread there. The king Bhaskar Varman was himself not a Buddhist though it is said that he treated accomplished shramanas with respect. The eagerness and persistence with which he desired an interview with Xuanzang in his own kingdom and his reluctance to part with the scholar show that he really had great respect for illustrious Buddhist professors. His Nidhanpur inscription begins with the adoration of his tutelary deity Shiva but, immediately after this adoration, he proclaims the victory of Dharma, the sole friend of the Creation, the cause of prosperity in this and the next world, whose form is the good of others and which is unseen but whose existence is inferred from the results." Here is a clear reference to the Law of Buddha, Vidya Vinod would ascribe this reference to Bhaskar Varman's association with Harsha who, though not himself a Buddhist, was a patron of Buddhism and who was, to a considerable extent, influenced by his Buddhist sister Rajyasri. This is not, however, probable for the inscription was recorded immediately after the conquest of Karnasuvarna, at least thirty years before Bhaskar Varman met either Yuan Chwang or Sri Harsha. Evidently the influence of Buddhism was felt in Kamarupa long before Bhaskar Varman came to occupy the throne. According to the ''Rajatarangini'', the Kamarupan king of the fifth century, who was the father of Amritaprabha, was himself a Buddhist as his religious preceptor was a Tibetan Buddhist. The fact is that Buddhism spread into Kamarupa at a very early era but it was not widely accepted as a faith by the people at large. Edward Albert Gait, in his ''History of Assam'', writes, "It was formerly thought that Buddhism had at one time great vogue in Assam, but this view seems to have been erroneous There is no trace of this religion in the old records and inscriptions." The above statement will not stand scrutiny for, as stated above, the Law of Buddha is mentioned in the inscription of Bhaskar Varman himself. Similar mentions are found in the inscriptions of Indra Pala and Dharma Pala. Indra Pala's first inscription mentions a sasana or charter connected with the name of "Tathagata" which cannot but mean Buddha. It seems that close to the lands granted by this king there existed a chaitya or stupa, over some relic of Buddha, in favour of which an endowment was made by a previous king. It should refer here to the strong tradition current in Nepal and Tibet to the effect that the parinirvana of the Buddha took place in Kusinagara, a town in Kamarupa. Laurence Waddell identifies it with the modern town of Sualkuchi, some nine miles to the west of Guwahati and eight miles to the south of the Hayagriva Madhava Temple which is still visited by Bhutanese Buddhists. Kusinagara was, however, the chief town of the clan of Mallas who cannot, by any means, be associated with any part of modem Assam. Waddell's identification is evidently wrong. Very likely Kusinagara or Kosinagara was a town on the east bank of the Kosi as it emerged from the Nepal hills. It was therefore probably a town, on the Nepal border, within the modern district of Purnea Which was, in the ancient times, included within Pragjyotisha. The Tibetan tradition was not therefore baseless. In his inscription, Bhaskar Varman is said to have revealed the light of Aryan religion Aryadharma in his kingdom by dispelling the accumulated darkness of the Kali age. It is not sure that here also can detect a particular reference to the Law of Buddha. It may be that Arya Dharma meant the Buddhist or Brahmanic tenets as opposed to the tribal beliefs of the numerous non-Aryans who lived in the country. Bhaskar Varman and his predecessors were Saivas and not Buddhists or Jainas and, being also regarded as good Kshattriyas, they were naturally looked upon as the patrons and protectors of the Brahmans. In the neighbouring Magadha empire the rulers, like the Mouryas and the Guptas, were either Buddhists or patrons of Buddhism. The Mourya emperor Ashoka, with his missionary zeal for the propagation of the Buddhist faith, must have done all in his power to popularise this tenet within his empire without going to the length of persecuting Brahmans. This is why a large number of Brahmans immigrated to Kamarupa at an early period. As pointed out by Vidya Vinod, can find, in a single village in Kamarupa, more than 200 families of Brahmans about, in 500 A.D. The kings of the dynasty of Salastambha, between the seventh and the tenth centuries, were perhaps more orthodox in their religious beliefs than their predecessors, the descendants of Pushya Varman. In the inscriptions of these kings do not find the slightest trace of any reference to the Buddhist faith. These kings were the worshipers of their tutelary deities "Kameswara Maha Gauri" mentioned in the inscription of Vanamala. They had their capital much further up the Brahmaputra in modem Tezpur. They therefore found the necessity of having another shrine like Kamakhya near their capital. The second Kamakhya temple, on the Kamakuta hill near Silghat, mentioned in the inscription of Vanamala, was therefore founded. In this inscription mention is made of the numerous temples in the country and the sound of incantations proceeding from the various places where Yajnas were performed. Vanamala himself rebuilt the large temple of Hatakeswara. This system still persists in the Siva temples of Hajo and Dubi in Kamrup and it may have been part of the Tantrik system. Whatever that may be, although Brahmanic rites were widely prevalent amongst the populace there is no doubt that Buddhism also flourished, for it is mentioned in the "Sankara Digvijaya" that Sankaracharya, the famous leader of the Brahmanic revival, in the beginning of the ninth century A.D., came to Kumarupa in order to defeat Abhinava Gupta, the noted Buddhist scholar, in controversy.〔C.N Krishnaswami Aiyar, ''Sri Sankaracharya; His life and times'', p.56〕 Abhinava Gupta probably belonged to Kamarupa or at least flourished there in the ninth century. About the same time, or a little earlier, Kumarila Bhatta, another Brahmanic leader, flourished in India. It is believed by some that he was a native of Kamarupa.〔C.N Krishnaswami Aiyar, ''Sri Sankaracharya; His life and times'', p.26〕 The fact that both Abhinava Gupta and Kumarila Bhatta, two well-known leaders of two opposite schools, flourished about the same time in Kamarupa, clearly shows that there were adherents of both Brahmanism and Buddhism in Kamarupa during the rule of the earlier kings of the line of Salastambha. Sculptured images on stones and terra-cotta plaques, which unmistakably represent Buddha and which can be assigned to the tenth or the eleventh century, have been found from excavations at Guwahati. One of them is a distinct image of Buddha on a thin stone-slab, the figure exhibiting the Abhay mudra. The other is a terra-cotta votive tablet with the image of- Buddha stamped on it. It is true that both of these images are of a portable nature and might easily have been imported from outside the kingdom by some Buddhists. Terra-cotta plaques with the stamped image of Buddha, exactly similar to the one found at Guwahati and, as a matter of fact, impressed with the same stamp, have been found in large numbers in Bengal and Bihar. Evidently these were sold at places of Buddhist pilgrimages but their occurrence in Guwahati shows that there were then Buddhists in Kamarupa. Another important find from excavations in Guwahati is a large and heavy stone-slab containing the image of a deity with four faces and eight arms and a Chaitya above the head as tiara. The image is carved in the centre of the slab, all round being lotus-petals carved deep into the stone. One side of the slab is broken. The sitting pose of the deity is adamantine (vajrasana). It is probable that this is the representation of Mahapratisara, a Buddhist Goddess of the period of Tantrik Buddhism. According to the Sadhanamala, a Buddhist work, the Mahapratisara should have a Chaitya above the head. The image is however so corroded now that it is hardly possible to interpret it with confidence. In any case, the stone-slab on which the image is carved is certainly not portable. When the Salastambha dynasty was succeeded by the dynasty of Brahma Pala and the capital was removed to the vicinity of Guwahati the same tutelary deities, mentioned as "Mahn Gauri Kameswara" in the inscription of Indra Pala continued to be worshipped by the kings. Indrapala's first inscription states that his grandfather Ratna Pala established numerous Siva temples in the country and that during his reign the houses of Brahmans were full with riches presented by the king, the places where Yajnas were performed had numerous sacrificial altars and the sky was overcast with the smoke caused by numerous homs. It is said of Indra Pala himself that he was well-versed in the Tantras. It is clear therefore that Tantrikism had then been already introduced into the kingdom. This system, as an offshoot of Buddhism of the Mahayana school, developed about the ninth century under the Pala rulers of Magadha. It was the Pala king Dharma Pala who founded the Buddhist university at Vikramashila which became the famous centre of the Tantrik doctrines. From this centre Tantrikism probably spread into Kamarupa and Tibet. Babu Nandalal Dey writes:〔''J.P.A.S.B'' (New Series) - vol. X (1914), p.346〕 This is how Tantrikism originated. It ultimately spread into Kamarupa and established for itself a stronghold in Kamakhya. This disposes of Sir Edward Gait's supposition that Tantrikism originated in Assam. The Kamarupa kings, probably after Brahma Pala, adopted Tantrikism as their tenet and, as a result of this royal patronage, Kamakhya soon became a renowned centre of Tantrik sacrifices, mysticism and sorcery. That system of mystic Buddhism, known as Vajrayana and popularly called the "Sahajia cult", found its way into Kamarupa as early as the tenth century, is corroborated from an unexpected source. It is found from Tibetan records that some of the eminent Buddhist professors in Tibet, of the tenth and the eleventh centuries, hailed from Kamarupa. Giuseppe Tucci states, on the authority of two Tibetan works viz "Grub To'b" and the "Bka ababs bdun ldan" that the noted Buddhist Siddha Minanatha, who was looked upon in Tibet as an avatar of Avalokiteswara, was a fisherman from Kamarupa.〔''J.P.A.S.B'' (New Series) - vol. XXVI (1930), no.1, p.133-141〕 The statement of Mahamohopadhya Pandit Haraprasad Sastri that Minanatha was a native of Bengal belonging to the "Nath" or weaver caste is evidently incorrect.〔M.M Pandit H.P Shastri, ''Bauddha Gan O Doha''〕 It is also found from the same Tibetan records that Rahula, another Buddhist teacher in Nepal, was a Sudra from Kamarupa. It is said that he was a disciple of Nagarjuna who should not, however, be confused with the famous preacher of the Mahayana. The preceptor of Rahula was perhaps the Nagarjuna mentioned by Alberuni who stated that Nagarjuna flourished about 100 years before his time. Thus both Nagarjuna and Rahula can be placed about the middle of the tenth century. Nagarjuna was also a physician and alchemist. In the Kamrupi Ayurvedic pharmacopoeia there are still certain specific remedies which are associated with the name of Nagarjuna.. Besides Minanatha and Rahula, two other Buddhist teachers mentioned in Tibetan records viz. Mohidhar and Darik also very probably belonged to Kamarupa. Minanatha is supposed to have been the author of a work known as Akulaviratantra and he is mentioned in the Sabaratantra as one of the twenty four Kapalika siddhas.〔''J.P.A.S.B'', vol.XXVI (1930), p.133-141〕 The fact that Minanatha, one of the 24 Kapalika siddhas, hailed from Assam leads one to suppose that the very revolting religious practices associated with the Kapalikaas, perhaps to some extent exaggerated by their opponents, were at one time in vogue in Kamarupa, at least among the lower classes of society, such as the fishermen. What connection these Kapalikas had with the votaries of the Sahajia cult is not known. There is however evidence to show that the Kapalika sect existed as early as the time of Asanga and Hari Varman about the fourth century A.D. Evidently both of these sects were offshoots of Tantrik Buddhism and both practised similar rites. Abhinava Gupta, to defeat whom Sankaracharva came all the way to Kamarupa, was the author of two well-known works on Tantra viz, the Tantrasara and the Tantraloka. Evidently, in the ninth century, Abhinava Gupta had a great following in Kamarupa and that is why Sankaracharva found it necessary to fight him. These Tantriks have of course been painted in the blackest colours by the Brahman revivalists of an earlier age and by the Vaisnava reformers of a subsequent period, but a considerable mass of Tantrik literature has now become accessible to scholars some of whom do not seem to subscribe to the sweeping condemnation of Tantrikism as a tenet. Here is what Giuseppe Tucci, a competent authority, has got to say on the subject:〔- The probability is that the esoteric teachings of the tenet were high and sublime but they were actually comprehensible only to a few, called Siddhas, whereas the common folk were mystified by the feats of sorcery performed by the lower order of the preachers who could thus trade on the credulity of the common people and compel them to submit to their demands. It is therefore well that these esoteric teachers and their practices were suppressed by the Brahmans and the Vaisnavas, of a later period, not so much with the help of the ruling kings but chiefly by appeal to the common people themselves. The influence of Kamrupi Buddhist preachers in Tibet incidentally proves the close cultural connection between Tibet and Kamarupa in the early ages. It is find the Tibetan Buddhist scholar Stunpa acting as preceptor to a Kamarupa king, probably Bala Varman I, in the early part of the fifth century. The image of Buddha found at Guwahati, exhibiting the Abhaya Mudra, with its distinctly Mongolian physiognomy and a thick shawl covering the whole body, down to the ankles, seems to be unmistakably of Tibetan origin. It will appear from what have stated above that several noted Buddhist scholars, as well as critics of the Buddhist doctrines, flourished in Kamarupa between the eighth and the tenth centuries. It find from Yuan Chwang's biography that during his stay in Nalanda a learned pundit of Kamarupa went to engage in a controversy with the Buddhist scholars and professors assembled there. According to the account of the Chinese pilgrim, Bhaskar Varman was a lover of learning and Kamarupa was a seat of learning. He found that during the first half of the seventh century students from other parts of India came to Kamarupa for study. It has been pointed out that Visakha Datta, the author of the well-known drama Mudrarakshasam, who flourished towards the latter part of the seventh century, very probably belonged to that part of Kamarupa which lay between the Teesta and the Kausika.〔J.P.A.S.B, vol.XXVI, p.241-245〕 It is reasonable to suppose that he belonged to the colony of Nagar Brahmans settled in the Chandrapuri vishaya. This is indicated by his surname Datta. It is not therefore at all strange that Kamrupi pundits were honoured in other parts of India also. In the copper-plate inscription of Ananta Varman, the Ganga king of Kalinga (Circe 922 AD.) It find the mention of a Kamrupi pandit, named Vishnusomacharya, to whom Ananta Varman granted lands.〔R.D Banerji, ''History of Orissa'' - vol. I, p.233-241〕 This Brahman belonged to the Parasara gotra and his native village was Srangatika in Kamarupa. It is not possible now to identify this village in Assam or Northern Bengal with any degree of certainty. The inscriptions of Vanamala and Ratna Pala, while describing their capitals, specially mention that they were abodes of many learned men, as these kings were patrons of learning. The Kalika Purana, a well-known work, gives the Sanskritized names of most of the rivers and hills of Brahmaputra valley. It gives a full account of the Naraka legend and the old city of Pragjvotishpur. It dwells upon the special merit and sanctity of the shrine of Kamakhya. There is hardly any doubt that this work, like perhaps the Yogini Tantra, was compiled in Kamarupa probably at a time when the kings claiming descent from Naraka were ruling, when the capital was in the neighbourhood of the old city of Pragjyotishpura and the shrine of Kamakhya and when Tantrikism was the prevailing tenet. It can therefore tentatively assign this work to the eleventh century when the kings of the dynasty of Brahma Pala, who claimed descent from Naraka and particularly distinguished themselves from the previous mlechha dynasty, were ruling. In the Kalika Purana the mantra given to consecrate the sword meant for the human sacrifice runs as follows:- The sword is here eulogised as Dharma Pala meaning " protector of the faith ". However, it is possible to detect here a reference to king Dharma Pala of the Brahma Pala dynasty. It would not therefore be quite unreasonable to suppose that the Kalika Purana was compiled during his reign and perhaps under his auspices. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cultural Development of Kamarupa」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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