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Internal chaos and external attacks were sapping into the
ramparts of the empire as early as the middle of 6th century and it
finally collapsed under the' aggressions of the Hunas and a
neighbouring monarch named Yashodharam.
Bengal's brief spell of freedom following the fall of the
Guptas ended soon and it divided into a number of kingdoms two of
which were Vanga and Guada. The kingdom of Vanga comprised of the eastern Bengal and the
southern part of West Bengal. Historians
are convinced that there was a free, strong and stable government in
Vanga which brought peace and stability to the people of the region.
Nothing is known with certainty about the end of this kingdom.
However, two thoughts are in circulation in this regard. One is that the Chalukya King Kirtivarman conquered Vanga by
defeating Sainachardeva or one of his successors during the last
quarter of the 6th century A.D. The other thought suggests that the
rise of the kingdom of Guada dealt the death-blow to Vanga.
By
the beginning of the 7th century A.D., if not a few years earlier,
Gauda formed into an independent Kingdom under Sasanka.
Now once again it must be remembered that this chronological
order is historian's best guess.
History holds nothing to specifically indicate whether Guada
and Vanga existed simultaneously or consecutively.
However, the historians surmise that Sasanka sat in the throne
of Gauda in 606 A.D. with his capital at Kamasuvama (Kamasuvara has
been identified with Rangamati, six miles south-west of Barhampur in
the Murshidabad district of West Bengal).
Northern and Western Bengal were included in his dominions.
Whether southern and eastern Bengal were also amongst his
dominions is not known. According
to the account of Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsiang, another independent
kingdom of Samatata existed in the southern and eastern Bengal during
the first quarter of 7th century A.D. thus intimating that those
regions possibly could not be under the rule of Sasanka.
A
notorious Buddhist-hater who tortured and killed a large number of
Buddhists during his reign, Sasanka was otherwise a benevolent ruler.
This Gauda monarch was the first Bengali monarch to have the
vision for an empire and to actually succeed to almost found one for
himself But he failed to leave behind an able heir and his kingdom
would be scampered into peices soon after his death.
One portion of the kingdom including its capital Karnasuvama
passed into the hands of Bhaskaravarman, the King of Kamrupa.
Another part of it was swooped by Harshavardhana, the king of
Kanauj between 638 and 642 A. D. The remaining area of the kingdom
splintered into numerous smaller kingdoms.
Whatever little has, been gleaned by the historians from this
nearly oblivious episode of history, Gauda sizzled with civil war for
many years and the other kingdom Vanga would soon fall into similar
crisis. The first modern
political crisis of Bengal appeared in Vanga following the death of
Chandra king Lalitachandra when suddenly the throne was left vacant
and there was no aspirant for it.
It was an unusual happening for that time since conquests and
power-grabbing were so common facts of politics in Bengal that the
throne of any kingdom should not have been left vacant by usurpers and
invaders. The lack of a
central authority let loose anarchy in the kingdom where every man was
virtually a king in his own house.
This unbridled condition led to what attained noteriiity in
history as the age "matsayana"- a technical term used in
treatises on politics to denote the absence of a central ruling
authority
The matsayana had aggrieved people's mind who were shocked
and languished at the growth of disorder and lawlessness and were
eager to restore discipline and law.
It should be the first bloodless event in the annals of
political history of Bengal when people would have the opportunity to
select their own ruler. People,
imbued with a great political wisdom and a spirit of self-sacrifice,
realized that only a powerful central authority could prevent
protracted disorientation. The
ideal of subordinating individual interest to national cause emerged
as the universal passion amongst the people from all walks of life
Hence Gopala, a previously lesser-known Buddhist, would be elected
king.
The Pala dynasty thus created with the election of Gopala was
to rule Bengal for rtl-xt 148 years when each change of ruler took the
dynasty one step down in decline thus gradually reducing it to an
insignficant political force in northern India.
Long before the curtain fell on the Pala empire, it had already
lost control of eastern and southern Bengal where several independent
kingdoms emerged. History
is monotonous in reading in this period when territorial wars and
palace-intrigues dominated the political scene of Bengal in a
cyclical rhythm. A
Buddhist kin named Kantideva ruled over
portions
of southern a @nd western Bengal and the whole of East Bengal during
the decline of this empire. He
and his succes sors stayed in power for 100 years from 850 A. D. to
950 A. D. This kingdom was actually established during the rule of
Devapala who could not exercise effective control over Eastern Bengal
due to difficult communication links.
Two other less prominent kings appear to have ruled in Eastern
Bengal during the same time: one was Troilokyachandra who is believed
to have ruled over Harikela with Chandradiva (modem Barisal district)
as his central seat of authority and the other was Layachandradeva who
ruled over a tiny kingdom located near Comilla.
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