‘The first sovereign king of Bengal is Shashanka’ – R. C. Majumdar
When the Gupta Empire was in collapse, one vassal chief rose into power and became the sovereign ruler of Gauda Kingdom. His ancestry and childhood is unknown. The coins that was found during his reign contain his name as Narendragupta, The design was also similar to the Gupta coins. But except these indirect indications there is no other direct relation with the Gupta. Some historian said he was a Gupta decedent but most of them agreed to the point where he was a vassal chief of the Gupta emperor. Around 606 AD Shashanka became the king of Gauda and established the capital in Karnasuvarna. Gaura consisted north and west Bengal region leaving the south and eastern portion to Banga. It is not sure to which extent his kingdom extended to Banga.
To protect his land from alien invasion he chose natural measures as the borders of his kingdom. Gauda extended from Brahmapurta river in the east to Sone-Ganduk valley in the west, from Himalaya to Chilika lake in the south end.
Harshavardhana is a widely known ruler in Indian history. He was the prince of Thaneshwar when his sister Rajyashri was married to the ruler of Kanauj and they became allies. Later when Harshavardhana’s father, the king of Thaneshwar died, Kanauj ruler became helpless. Shashanka took this opportunity to strike Kanauj. He, with the help of Malwa king Devagupta, attacked Kanauj, killed the king Grahavarmana and imprisoned Rajyashri; the sister of Harshavardhana. When the news reached Thaneshwar, Rajyavardhana, the elder brother of Harsha, advanced immediately towards Shashanka, leaving the governance to Harsha. He attacked Malwa and defeated Devagupta and imprisoned his soldiers, but when he reached Kanauj to rescue his sister, he was killed by Shashanka. How he was killed is not clear. From Banabhatta’s account Rajyavardhana was roaming in disguised and unarmed in enemy palace or settlement when he got caught by Shashanka and killed. According to Hsuan-tsang he was betrayed by his ministers that led to his defeat.
Harshavardhana became the King of Thaneshwar after his brother’s defeat. Without delay he marched towards Shashanka to rescue his sister. Kamarupa ruler Bhaskaravarmana joined his force. Harsha from west and Bhaskara from east, attacked Shashanka from two sides. The result of this battle is unknown. Though Shashanka didn’t die in it but there are some aspects that suggest his relatively big loss. The coins of Shashanka retriveved later was of lower quality, indicates his financial deterioration. R.C Majumdar and other historians think the war with Harsha didn’t cause much loss of Shashankas realm. Hsuan-tsang said until his death in 637 Magadha was under Shashankas rule, and there is no mention of Harsha’s attack on Gauda. This indicates Shashankas sovereign rule over Gauda was firm as long as he lived. But after his death Harshavardhana and Bhaskaravarmana defeated Manavdeva, son of Shashanka, and divided Gauda among themselves.
Shashanka was a devotee of Shiva. His coins were carved with Shiva image. Buddhist texts of that time indicated Shashanka’s adversity towards Buddhists. When Hsuan-tsang visited Magadha in 637-38, he received the news of Shashanka that he uprooted the Bodhi-tree in Bihar and ordered to remove a Buddha idol from the nearby mandir. Later in that year Shashanka died. So Bihar was under his rule till that year. Shashanka’s adversity towards Buddhists is disputed among historians. Though records are against him but Banabhatta and Hsuan-tsang both favored Harshavardhana. Banabhatta was the court poet of Harsha and Hsuan-tsang was pleased by Harsha. Unfortunately Shashanka had no personnel of his own who could write about his achievements. All about Shashanka which is known today is from the records of his enemies. D.R.P Chandra and R.C Majumdar went against the claim of his adversity towards Buddhists. They said there must be exaggeration as most of the records are biased against Shashanka, and as Harsha was a Buddhist, he could do this for political purpose too.
Before Shashanka the history of Bengal was scattered and dim. No sovereign ruler established such a strong realm over this land. In seventh century like a sudden meteorite Shashanka lightened the history of Bengal. The method imposed by Shashanka to conquer and expand his kingdom was followed by the later Pala dynasty. From an unknown existence with his own competence and vigor Shashanka established a great kingdom. He built Karnasuvarna as an affluent capital of Gauda. Unfortunately there was no writer like Banabhatta in his court to write his doings, though there are ample evidences of his work for the people. Though after his death Gauda lost its dominance but during his reign Gauda was an undivided and undefeated kingdom for three decades. He was an astute statesman who defeated Maukhari dynasty with his keen diplomacy. Shashanka holds an important place in the history of Bengal. Because of national unification, regional expansion and for playing an important role in north Indian politics and many more reasons like this Shashanka is recognized as the first national king of Bengal.
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