Sena dynasty

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Sena Empire
1070 CE–1230 CE
Coat of Arms of Sena dynasty during Laxmana Sena's reign Copperplate (left) and digitalised (right) of Sen Empire
Coat of Arms of Sena dynasty during Laxmana Sena's reign
Copperplate (left) and digitalised (right)
Ballala Sena
• 1179-1204 CE
Lakshmana Sena
• 1204-1225 CE
Vishvarupa Sena
• 1225–1230 CE
Keshava Sena
• 
Surya Sena[2]
• 
Narayana Sena[2]
• 
Laksmana Sena ।।[2]
Historical era
Middle Kingdoms of India
• Established
1070 CE
• Disestablished
1230 CE
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Pala Empire
Varman Dynasty (Bengal)
Samatata
Deva dynasty
Khalji dynasty of Bengal
Sena dynasty
1070 CE–1230 CE
Samanta Sena –
Ballala Sena
 (1158 – 1179)
Lakshmana Sena (1179 – 1206)
Vishvarupa Sena (1206 – 1225)
Keshava Sena (1225 – 1230)

The Sena dynasty was a

early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries.[3] The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.[4]

The dynasty's founder was Samanta Sena. After him came Hemanta Sena, who usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. His successor

Ghurid Empire, attacked and captured the capital City of Nadia. The detailed account of this invasion is given in Tabaqat-i-Nasiri.[6]

Origins

Deopara Prashasti described the founder of Sena dynasty Samanthasena, as a migrant Brahmaksatriya from Karnataka.[7] The epithet 'Brahma-Kshatriya' suggests that Senas were Brahmins by caste who took the profession of arms and became Kshatriyas.[8] The Sena kings were also probably Baidyas, according to historian P.N. Chopra.[9]

The Senas entered into the service of Palas as sāmantas in Rāḍha, probably under Samantasena.[10][11] With the decline of the Pālas, their territory had expanded to include Vaṅga and a part of Varendra by the end of Vijayasena's reign.[11] The Palas were ousted in totality, and their entire territory annexed sometime after 1165.[11]

Inscription of Keshava Sena

A copperplate was found in the Adilpur or Edilpur

Sundarbans, a tribe that lived in the forest.[12] The land was granted in the village of Leliya in the Kumaratalaka mandala, which is situated in shatata-padamavati-visaya. The copperplate of Keshava Sena records that the king Vallala Sena carried away, from the enemies, the goddesses of fortune on palanquins (Shivaka
), which elephant tusk staff supported; and also states that Vallala Sena's son, Lakshmana Sena (1179–1205), erected pillars of victory and sacrificial posts at Varanasi, Allahabad, and Adon Coast of the South Sea. The copperplate also describes the villages with smooth fields growing excellent paddy, the dancing and music in ancient Bengal, and ladies adorned with blooming flowers. The Edilpur copperplate of Keshava Sena records that the king made a grant in favour of Nitipathaka Isvaradeva Sarman for the inside of the subha-varsha.

Society

The Sena rulers consolidated the caste system in Bengal.[13]

Architecture

The Sena dynasty is famous for building Hindu temples and monasteries, which include the renowned Dhakeshwari Temple in what is now Dhaka, Bangladesh.

In Kashmir, the dynasty also likely built a temple knows as Sankara Gaureshwara.

Hindu deity Vishnu
from the Sena period.

Coinage

In the political history of Bengal, Sena dynasty was a mighty ruling dynasty in power. Various currency names have been regularly mentioned in the Sena writings, such as

cow; And 'Purana' is definitely a kind of silver coin. The conjunction ‘kapardaka-purana’ refers to a medium of exchange whose quality is equal to that of a purana or silver coin (56.6 grains), but which is actually calculated by the proportional denominator. The table found in the traditional arithmetic of Bengal contained 1260 cowries instead of one silver coin (Purana or Dramma). That is, the ratio of Purana and Kapardaka is 1: 1280. Reliable evidence of the widespread use of cowrie in early medieval Bengal has been found in excavations at Paharpur and Kalgang (Bihar near Bhagalpur
). Early medieval Bengal saw the scarcity of precious coins and the widespread circulation of cowries. Scholars have long sought to explain the virtual limitations of coins at this time [15]

Decline

Ghurid Empire invasion of the subcontinent.[16][17]

Downfall of Sena dynasty was destined under the rule of weak rulers of this dynasty. This dynasty started declining during the rule of Lakshmanasena who was the last significant Sena king. His two sons Visvarupasena and Kesavasena ruled in succession after him.[18] As Lakshmansena was on the throne in 1205 A. D., his two sons may be regarded as having ruled till at least 1230 A.D.[19] However it was learnt from Tabaqat-i-Nasiri that the descendants of Lakshmansena ruled in Bengal (Bang) till at least 1245 A.D. or 1260 A.D.[19]

Legacy

See also: Sena-Gahadavala Conflicts

The Senas and their descendants merged into the

Abul Fazl would write that Bengal had always been ruled by Kayasthas.[20][21] The actual caste-status of Senas — notwithstanding the anachronism — remain contested in popular memory: premodern Baidya genealogies claim the Senas as their own which are agreed upon by some Brahmin genealogies but rejected by Kayastha ones.[22][23][24][25]

Nepal

In the 16th century, a dynasty emerged in the southern parts of Nepal near the border with Bihar which used the Sena surname and claimed descent from the Senas of Bengal. One of their branches formed the Sena dynasty of Makwanpur which ruled from the fort of Makwanpur Gadhi.[26] This branch of the Sena dynasty adopted the local language of the region, Maithili which became their state language.[27]

Family tree

Literature

Art of the Senas, 11th century.

The Sena rulers were also great patrons of literature. During the Pala dynasty and the Sena dynasty, major growth in Bengali was witnessed.[citation needed] Among the poets at the court of Lakshmana Sena were:

  • Govardhana
  • Sarana
  • Jayadeva
  • Umapati
  • Dhoyi/Dhoyin[28]

See also

References

Vishnu, Sena period, 11th century, Benares Hindu University Museum.
  1. ^ Schwartzberg, Joseph E. (1978). A Historical Atlas of South Asia. Oxford University Press, Digital South Asia Library. p. 147, Map "f".
  2. ^
    ISBN 9788171416837
    .
  3. ISBN 0226742210
    .
  4. ^ The History of the Bengali Language by Bijay Chandra Mazumdar, p. 50.
  5. ^ Land of Two Rivers: A History of Bengal from the Mahabharata to Mujib by Nitish K. Sengupta, p. 51.
  6. ^ MAJUMDAR, R. C. THE HISTORY OF BENGAL, VOLUME -I. p. 223.
  7. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0
    .
  8. ^ MAJUMDAR, R. C. (1971). HISTORY OF ANCIENT BENGAL. G. BHARADWAJ , CALCUTTA.
  9. ISBN 978-0-85692-081-3
    . The Sena kings were probably Baidyas. The evidence of inscriptions shows that a dynasty of Baidya kings ruled over at least a part of Bengal from 1010 AD to 1200 AD. The most famous of these kings is Ballal Sena
  10. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4
    .
  11. ^
    ISBN 978-1-000-08480-1
    .
  12. ^ Hunter, William Wilson (1875), "A statistical account of Bengal, Volume 1", Google Books, Edinburgh: Murry and Gibbs, retrieved 3 October 2009
  13. ^ Siddiq 2015, p. 35.
  14. ^ Mitra, Rajendralala (1865). "On the Sena Rajas of Bengal". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 34 part 1 (3). Asiatic Society of Bengal: 141–142.
  15. ^ "Coins". Banglapedia.
  16. ISBN 0226742210
    .
  17. ISBN 978-0-14-196655-7
    .
  18. ^ Majumdar 1943, p. 225.
  19. ^ a b Majumdar 1943, p. 227.
  20. ISBN 978-90-04-09509-0
    . Retrieved 3 September 2011.
  21. ISBN 978-0-52020-507-9
    .
  22. ^ Majumdar, R. C.; Ganguly, D. C.; Hazra, R. C. (1943). Majumdar, R. C. (ed.). History Of Bengal. The University of Dacca. pp. 571, 589–591.
  23. S2CID 143802267
    .
  24. S2CID 144413665
    .
  25. ISBN 978-81-208-2790-5
    . It may be added that the Senas themselves came to be regarded as Vaidyas in the Vaidya Kula-pañjikās.
  26. ^ Basudevlal Dad (2014). "The Sena Dynasty: From Bengal to Nepal". Academic Voices. 4.
  27. doi:10.3126/av.v3i1.9704
    .
  28. ^ R. C. Majumdar, ed. (1943). The History of Bengal. Vol. I. Lohanipur: N. V. Publications. p. 363.

Sources

  • Early History of India 3rd and revised edition by Vincent A Smith
  • Siddiq, Mohammad Yusuf (2015), Epigraphy and Islamic Culture:Inscriptions of the Early Muslim Rulers of Bengal (1205–1494), Routledge Contemporary South Asia Series
  • Majumdar, R. C (1943). History Of Bengal Vol.1.

External links

Preceded by Bengal dynasty Succeeded by
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