The Ancient Age
Barendra: Barendri, Barendra or the Barendrabhumi is yet another Janapada that has been known. This too was a Janapada in North Bengal. It is supposed that it constituted a part of Pundra. A large portion of Bogra district and Rajshahi district was included in the Barendra.
Samatata: Samatata existed as a neighbouring Janapada of Benga in the east and southeast of Bengal. The Chinese traveler Hiuen Sung traveled to Samantata in the middle of the seventh century and worte an account of it. The area from the east of the Ganga-Bhagirat to the estuary of the Mughna was included in the Samatata. Many belive that Bara Kamta of Comilla district was a part of this Janapada.
Harikela: The Harikela Janapada was on the eastern end of Bengal. It is supposed that the present day Sylhet was the Harikela Janapada. Some however, think that Harikela think that Harikela was not a separate Janapada. It was included within Benga Janapada.
The heroism of the people of Bengal in the pre-Aryans Age is found in history. According to the writing of the greeks, a powerful king ruled Bengal when the Greek hero Alexander invaded the northeastern part of India. The Greek writers have narrated thet there was powerful kingdom called Gangariddi in ancient time. It is supposed that the kingdom was located somewhere on the bank of the River Ganges.
The advant of the Aryans to this country took place in the first century or a little before. The main reasons for their coming to Bengal were first the zeal to conquer and occupy a new reason and the second was to do business in the wealthy and prosperous Bengal. After setting up a colony in this country gradually the Aryans influence began to began to affect on the life of the inhabitants of the country.
The materials that are required for writing down the chronogical political history were not sufficient found before the established before the advent of the Aryans. Chandragupta Maurya founded the Maurya Dynasty in 321 B.C. and this rule was established in the north Bengal during the reign of Emperor Asoka (269 B.C. to 232 B.C.). The region became a province of the Mauryas. The archaclogical site at Mahasthangarh in Bogra still bears the memory of it and the ancient Pundranagar was its capital.
The historians have found quite a number of sources leading from the last part of the third century to the first part of the forth century A.D. At the time when the Gupta Dynasty was established, there rose some inependent states in Bengal. Of yhem the Samatata kingdom of south-east Bengal and the Pushkarana kingdom of West Bengal were noteworthy. The Gapta Empire was establish in India in the year 320 A.D. Like the Mauryan, the capital of Bengal under the Guptas was Pundranagar of Mhasthangarh. The Gupta rule lasted in North Bengal till the middle of the sixth century.
The vast Gupta Empire had its downfall in the first half of the century. The Gupta Empire fell to pieces as a result of the attacks of a fierce mountainous tribe, Huns. Taking this opportunity many small kingdoms rose throughout the whole of North India. Thus in the post-Gupta period, Bengal too suffered the political unrest that affected North India. Two independent kingdoms came into existance, taking advantage of this unrest. One of them was the ancient kingdom of Banga. The location of this kingdom was in the southern region of south-east and West Bengal. The name of the second independent kingdom was Gaur. Its location was in the western and northern regions of Bengal. Sasanka was the king of Gaur and Karnasuborna was the capital of the Gaur at that time.
After Sasanka there was no able ruler in Bengal for long time. As a result, there were disorder and unrest situation and the country plunged into darkness. The kingdom was broken into fragments by Harshavardhana and Vaskara Varmana, while the powerful landloards fought each other. There was none to strengthen the central power. The feudal kings, all of them desiring to become the king of Bengal, fell to arms. This period of political unrest has been termed as Matsyanayam in the copper inscription of tyhe Palas. When the strong and big fishes catch and eat up the smaller ones it is called Matsyanayam. The powerful loads of Bengal began to swallow the small regions in the same manner. The unrest in Bengal continued for the one hundred years. With the rise of the Pala kingdom in the middle of the eighth century this unrest came to an end.
