Lesson 3/35 min
Vanga, Gauda, Shashanka & matsyanyaya
As the Gupta empire weakened, two independent kingdoms rose in Bengal in the 6th century CE: Vanga and Gauda. Later Shashanka, king of Gauda, ruled a wide area; after his death Bengal sank into a long period of lawlessness known as matsyanyaya.
The Vanga kingdom
- Location: south-east Bengal and the southern part of west Bengal
- Three kings: Gopachandra, Dharmaditya and Samacharadeva; all took the title ‘Maharajadhiraja’
- We know of them from copper-plate grants, mostly found around Kotalipara in the Faridpur area (now in Gopalganj)
Gauda and Shashanka
- Gauda's capital was Karnasuvarna (Murshidabad area); the books place the kingdom along the Bhagirathi
- Shashanka held the titles Mahasamanta and Rajadhiraja; he was a Shaiva
- Both books call him the first independent king of Bengal; he is known from inscriptions and the Buddhist text ‘Aryamanjushrimulakalpa’
- Rival: Harshavardhana of the Pushyabhuti dynasty of Thanesar (reigned 606–647); about 606 his brother Rajyavardhana was killed by Shashanka
Harshavardhana
- Capital Kanauj; court poet Banabhatta, author of the ‘Harshacharita’
- The Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang toured India in his time (about 630–643)
Watch out: Shashanka's reign is disputed: some scholars give about 590–625, others about 600–636/37. Remember the events, not a year. ‘606’ is really the year Harsha came to the throne; do not take one book's ‘Gauda founded in 606’ as certain. The claim that he was a vassal of the Gupta king Mahasenagupta is also not certain.
Did you know?: Banglapedia says that late in the period (about 640–43) Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa seems to have taken Karnasuvarna.
Matsyanyaya
- Meaning: ‘the law of the fishes’, where big fish eat small fish; a state of lawlessness
- Time: after Shashanka's death, in the 7th-8th centuries, before the Pala age
- Source: the Khalimpur copper plate of the Pala king Dharmapala
- Ended by Gopala about 750 (the middle of the 8th century); he was the first Pala king
Memory trick: Sequence: Gupta decline → Vanga and Gauda (6th century) → Shashanka → matsyanyaya → Gopala (Pala dynasty).
Check yourself
Who ended matsyanyaya?
At a glance
- 1
After the Gupta decline two independent kingdoms, Vanga and Gauda, rose in 6th-century Bengal.
- 2
The three kings of Vanga: Gopachandra, Dharmaditya, Samacharadeva.
- 3
Shashanka was king of Gauda, with Karnasuvarna as capital; his title was Mahasamanta; his rival was Harshavardhana.
- 4
Harsha's capital was Kanauj; his court poet was Banabhatta (Harshacharita); Hiuen Tsang came in his time.
- 5
After Shashanka came matsyanyaya; Gopala ended it (about 750) and became the first Pala king.