History of Ancient Assam2
History of Ancient Assam : Ancient Assam was known as Pragjyotisha in early times and as Kamarupa in later times. The name Pragjyotisha stood for both the kingdom and capital city. The earliest mention of the city of Pragjyotisha is found in the Ramayana and Mahabharata. According to the Ramayana,this city was founded by Amurtaraja son of Kusa and grandfather of the famous stage Viswamitra. There are different options regarding the origin of the name''Pragjyotisha''. According to the Kalika Purana,''here Brahma first created the stars and hence the city is called Pragjyoitishpur,a city equal to the city of Indra.''13Gait says that the name,Pragjyotishpur ''is interesting in connection with the reputation in which,the country has always been held as a land of magic and incantation,and with the view that it was in Assam that the Tantrik from of Hinduisim orginated.''14The name Pragjyotisha,however,is most probably derived from the term Prag-jyotish,meaning the eastern light. Hence it appears to mean ''the city or land of eastern light.''15 The kingdom came to be known as Kamrupa during the Purantic times,based on the legend that Kamadeva, the god of love, the Indian Cupid,who was destroyed by the fiery glance of Siva returned to life in this country,16According to B.K. Kakati, the name ''Kamrupa'' is derived from an Austric formation like Kamru or Kamrut, the name of a lesser divinity in Santali, which justifies the association of the land with magic and necromancy.17 All this can be explained in the light of the cult of magic and sorcery prevalent in the land. The first historic reference to the kingdom of Kamarupa is made in the Allahabad Pillar Inscription of Samudragupta, assigned to the middle of the fourth century A.D. Geographical Extent : The geographical extent of the kingdom of Pragjyotish-Kamarupa varied from time 13. K.I.. Barua : Early History of Kamrupa.1996,p.7. 14. E.A. Gait : Op.cit..p.15. 15. D.C. Sircar : ''Pragjyotisha-Kamarupa'',The