THE HISTORY OF MEDIEVAL ASSAM ( From the Thirteenth to the Seventeenth century ) A critical and comprehensive history of Assam during the first four centuries of Ahom Rule, based on original Assamese sources, available both in India and England. DR. N.N. ACHARYYA, M.A., PH. D. (LOND.) Reader in History UNIVERSITY OF GAUHATI OMSONS PUBLICATIONS T-7, Rajouri Garden, NEW DELHI-110027 '~istributedby WESTERN BOOK DWT Pan Bazar, Gauhati-78 1001 Assam Reprint : 1992 @ AUTHOR ISBN : 81 -71 17-004-8 (HB) Published by : R. Kumar OMSONS I'UBLICATIONS, T-7,RAJOURl GARDEN NEW DELHI- I 10027. Printed at : EFFICIENT OFFSET PRINTERS 215, Shahrada Bagh Indl. Complex, Phase-11, Phone :533736,533762 Delhi - 11 0035 TO THE SACRED MEMORY OF MY FATHER FOREWORD The state of Assam has certain special features of its own which distinguish it to some extent from the rest of India. One of these features is a tradition of historical writing, such as is not to be found in most parts of the Indian sub-continent. This tradition has left important literary documents in the form of the Buranjis or chronicles, written in simple straightforward prose and recording the historical traditions of the various states and dynasties which ruled Assam before it was incorporated into the domains of the East India Company. These works form an imperishable record of the political history of the region and throw much light also upon the social life of the times. It is probable, though not proven with certainty, that this historical tradition owes its inception to the invasion of the Ahoms, who entered the valley of the Brahmaputra from what is now Burma in 1228, for it is from this momentous year that the Buranji tradition dates. Though some of the chronicles incorporate older legends borrowed from the Hindu epic tradition., the rich historical record commences with the invasion of Sukapha and his brothers. For our knowledge of the earlier period we have to rely upon inscriptions and passing references in non-historical sources. With the aid of the Buranji material, taken in conjunction with all other available sources of knowledge, Dr. N. N. Acharyya has produced an excellent reconstruction of the hiaory of Assam during the first four centuries of Ahom rule. I believe that this work forms as complete a picture as it is possible to produce of the process of Ahom expansion. Its &r has made every possible effort to check his sources with the aid of whatever other material was available to him. On the whole they emerge triumphantly from the test of historical criticism. Allowing for minor inaccuracies, the Buranjis give reliable accounts of the history of the kingdoms and dynasties to which they refer, and the main task of the modern historian in dealing with these sources is not so much their criticism as their elucidation. Dr. Acharyya has given to the world a very important study of the history of medieval Assam, and I wholeheartedly rec~mmend it to readers everywhere. A. L. BASHAM Canberra, 1966 In recant years there has been a growing recognition of tm importance. of Assam's strategic and economic factors. In view of this demand for information the progress of historical research has received new incentive and brought to light new material widely scattered in the Buranjis or chronicles of Assam. The material of the Buranjis is the outconle of the highest his- torical and spiritual devotion and processed through the religious fervour of the Assamese. The land of Assam may well be proud of its Bur anjis which threw so much light on the past history of Assam. Most of the Buranjis have now been putjlished, and many have been translated, thanks, largely to the efforts of late- lamented Professor S. K. Bhuyan. But the comparison a?d assessment of their data are necessary before a definite history of the period can be written. The material of the Buranjis like all the medieval historical writing require also thorough sifting in the light of all available evidence before they can be made to produce sober history. The present work aims not only to provide a most valuable analysis of the contents of the Buranjis which are on the whole found to be accurate and sober accounts of events but also coordination of this material and to indicate its importaqce as the sources of history of Assam. Tho period from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century is a significant epoch in the history of Assam. Assam history takes on a different complexion from that which it had in the earlier period, for, from this time onward, written chronicles make their appearance, and it is no longer necessary to reconstruct the history of the region from the incomplete evidence of ins- criptions. It is a most important period the book has dealt with in the history of Assam-a period, marked by the gradual spread of Ahom power and the slow assimilation of the invaders in the great body of Hindu culture, without their in any way losing their individuality as a separate people. Indeed in some ways it is perhaps the most important of all the volumes of this-kind, since it provides a detailed account of a darkest period of Assam's history. The object of the present volume is to provide in the light of original sources available both in India and England, a narrative not merely of the successivc stages in the establishment of Ahom supremacy in Assam, but also the fdct of racial and linguistic harinony that Assam attained at this time by creating a sense of mutual cooperation and' brotherhood among her people of heteroganaous origin. The foundation of a new religion based on the enlightened doctrine of Bhakti which stood against ex- scssive-~itualismand caste prejudices and stressed the equality of men is also exhaustively analysed and critically examined in this volume. The influx of sources in the form of Buranjis, Puthis, Vangsavalis, traditions and legends has made the task of their arrangement and collation a difficult one. Adequatt attention, therefore, has to be paid to check the historical value of these voluminous material through their comparison and cotrobotat ion with Persian sources of more historical value. The scientific confirmation of the earthquakes and eclipse of the sun recorded in the Duranjis has been made by referring them to the records in the register of H. M. Nautical Almnnac Office, Royal Greenwich Observatory, Herstmonceux, Sussex. In addition, the work throws sidelights on the activities of the Bhuyan aristocracy whose patriotic enterprises were always source of prosperity for the entire land. This work has, in fact, grown out of my thesis, The History of Medieval Assam, 12211-1603, which was submitted to and approved by the University of London for the degree of Ph. D., in July, 1957. The work of revision of the Thesis was done by me in the midst of heavy pre-occupation of the work of teaching and other literary works within hd outside Assam. Some of them are like the secretary of the History Section of the 22nd. Session of All India Oriental Conference, Secretary of the Assam Historical Societj, Secretary of the Compilation Committee of Assam History in Assamese under the #supervision of Asom Sahitya Sabha, charge of the Seminar Library of the History Department of Gauhati University, Delegate of Gauhati University to the Allahabad Session of Indian History Congress, Professor-in-chnrgeof historicnl Excursion of Gauhati University as .well as the Academic cum Cultural Exchange Programme of tht Gauh.lti University to cther prominent Indian Universities. In come of ~zvisionof the Thesis, I have added new informa- ( iii ) tion and omittsd old ones in the-light of up-to-date researches which resulted in entirely rewriting the Chapters 111, VI and VII. 1 have also since engaged myself in the work of investigating the various problems of medieval Assam's history, and I hope ultimately to complete a detailed survey of the history and culture of the people of Assam during the wholc medieval period. The narrative of the work is based mainly on the Buranjis, the details of which are appended in th bibliography. In this book I have attempted first, to discuss geography, people, land and the sources, laying special emphasis on the Buranjis-their character, originality and importance as sources of Indian history and that of Assam in particular ; secondly to deal with political condition of Assam and its neighbouring countries-Burma, China, Tibet and the rest of India early in [he thirteenth century ; thirdly, to trace the origin of the Ahoms, their original home- land, route of migration, settlement, expansion and integration in the Brahmaputra valley, their gradual Hinduisation and their system of administration along with the name of the land, "Assam" ; fourthly, to bring into light little known history of the later Kamrup kings, the Koches, the Kacharis, the Jayantias, the Chutias and the Nagas ; finally, to show a cultural renaissance in Assam inaugurated by Sankardev, which fully influenced the mind and culture of the people to commence a new era in their history. Many months have been spent in compiling the letters, lists, tables and supplementary information which appear in as many as nine appendices, followed by a long bibliography, a full glossary and a descriptive index. There are altogether ten illustrations and a map showing physical features, boundaries of various states and distribution of tribes of medieval Assam. 1 have made extensive use of them in the text, and have included them in the volume in the hope that they will be of use to students of political and cultural history of medieval Assam.