Kamta-Kuchchbehar State and Rajastan: A Historical Review

 

 

   Rajasthan and KamataK-uchbehar exist in the two opposite pole of geographical situation of Indian subcontinent. Yet they have some common features being in common sub-geographical phenomena not yet been discussed on. The early human habitation or migration or immigration happened along routes suitable to walk along, not through straight direction like arrows which has been mistakenly or in some general conjecture of nearness to the early habitation of civilized people. Maxmular gave this idea of early human migration from the north-east. But people walked along the silk routes. There were three silk routes to enter into India.  To the north-east there were two silk routes one was from Laha through Nathula pass of Gangto (earlier Gandoge) to Boda along the Trisrota river, another was through the Tsanpo or Brahmaputra river. Thus at the same time the East Indian Trisrota and Brahmaputra civilization rose up in early times. Trisrota or Boda civilization was with Mithila. In very early times this vast region of Brahmaputra and Boda formed the Vedic Kamrupa. Kamrupa was a vast  empire from the foothills of the Himalayas on north to the seashore in the south. In the West it extended beyond Kartoya up to the Hoshi river and in the east up to the Sadiya. Besides the powerful Naraka Dynasty, many powerful kings ruled in different kingdoms within Kamrupa. 

 And this Vedic Kamrupa later became Kamata( or kamatapur) and also Kuchbehar; and together this was named as Kamata-Kuchbehar.  

 

          Rajastan or Rajasthan derives from the Persian term “Raja’ and stan or sthan. So it is the Land of the Rajas. Rajputana  derives from the term Rajput, and then it became Rajastan in the nineteenth century. But the early or the ancient history of Rajastan is important to note about the Aryanization of Indian Subcontinent. Rajasthan comprised the part of the Hindus Valley civilization and also  the part of Saraswati civilization.  So the present state of Rajstan is very important as regard the study of early Vedic and Vedic Aryan civilization.

  The Matsa Kindom of the ages of Mahabharata was in Rajsthan of which the capital was Virat Nagar( present Bairat) was in Jaypur.

         On the other hand, the the Kamta or the Kamata-Kuchbehar state of the Eastern part of India in some cases comparable to Rajastan. The Rajputs or the Rajas (Kshatrapas) were the rulers of  Rajasatan and in Kamata also the Rajbanshis (descendants of the Rajas, the Kshatrapas) were the kings and thus also for this reason ‘Katripur’ or Kirtipur’ mentioned in Alahabad inscription and identified as “Kamta or ‘Kamatapur’ reasonably may be conjectured as ‘Kshatripur’ or ‘land of Kshatris’.

   The descendants’ of those Kshatrapas were now the Kshatris or Kshatroyas. Thakun Panchanan , the greatest Kashatriya reformer, has been adorned with the title “Thakur” by the kings of Alowar for participating in the central conference of the Indian Kshatriyas in the first half of the twentieth century.

        Rajastan is near the Saraswati civilization and and also the part of Indus valley civilization.  The Kamata which is the residue of ancient Vedic civilization  of Boda (Trisrota civilization) connected with Janakpur of the then Mithila Kingdom. The Silk route of Lahsa connects with this early civilization along the Trisrota river through the Nathula pass of Gandoge(Gangtok). Another route from Lahsa connects along the Brahmaputra or Tsangpo river to the Eastern Kamrupa or Louhit Hill of Guwahati. Thus the whole ancient Kamrupa walking along the long way of Historical changes of ups and downs ended with Kamata-Kuchbehar and  at last Kuchbehar state which is now a mere district of West Bengal .

    However Kamata-Kuchbehar bears some resemblance in historical sub-features of ancient times. The north-east of Kamata-Kuchbehar or early Kamarupa there was the Matsa Kingdom. The Birat Nagar of present Nepal was the capital. In early times of historical study we see some same names of kingdoms in west and east of India. The Trigarta Kingdom was in the North-east of India. And here in Boda(Garteswari Temple) we also a Trigarta Kingdom. In Itanagar of Arunachal Pradesh, there was also the Bhismak Kingdom of same names as of the west of India(East of Maharastra). Kundil of sadiya of Arunacha Pradesh was the capital of Bhismak or Vidarbha Kingdo.

   The two famous Vedic hermits were Viswamitra and Vasista who were of ancient kamrupa, Viswamitra living to the western part of Kamrupa or Dharmaranya, Vasista living to the eastern part of Kamrupa or Kamakhya. They both quarrelled for the possession of “Kamadhenu” which was symbolically the Kamrup itself.

    However this early Vedic Kamrupa also could maintain its flourishing sovereign status in the medieval ages. In medieval times in India, two important Hindu kingdoms could keep their sovereignty intact .  One was Vijaynagar state in the south and the other was the Kamata kingdom in the North-east of India. After 1206 the whole of Bengal and the north-east were under Delhi Sultanate; But the Kamata kingdom maintain its sovereignty till 1498. The Kamata kingdom comprised the present northern part of North Bengal, Northern part of Bangladesh, eastern part of Nepal, Katihar and Purnia district of Bihar and a larger part of Assam. Not only did they ( the Kamata rulers) could resist the Muslim invaders, but also were able to develop  good governance and cultural upliftment through out the Kamata territory.

   Later this Kamata kingdom came to be known as Kuchbehar kingdom. And this Kuchbehar kingdom also could resist the Muslim invaders. Towards the end of this Kuchbehar kingdom’s reign there happened a close histo-cultural relation between Rajastan and Kuchbehar through the marriage of Gayatri Devi of Kuchbehar to Soai Mansing of Jaypur in Rajastan.  A large number of Kuchbehari(rajbanshi) servants and attendants were still living in Jaypur. Even after independence a large number of Rajbanshi people went to Jaypur, Bekanir, Jaisalmer etc. in Rajastan for work.

  Thus from the early times Language of Rajastan and Kuchbehar bears some resemblances. The Rajasthani languages also belong to the Indo-Ariyan Language family and akin to Indo-Iranian features.

    Rajasthani Language developed from early Vedic and later Saurseni Apabhransha.  Saurseni Prakrit was initially Mathura language. It spread towards west and influenced the language Maru and Gurjar (Rajasthan and Gujrat.) Later this maru Grjar differentiated themselves and thus the Language of rajasthan started to be a full fledged language of Indo-Aryan groups.

  Kamata language of Kuchbehar or Kamata Kuchbehar is classical Sanskrit mostly akining to Early Vedic and Indo-Iranian sect. developed from early Vedic and later from Purva-Magadhi Apabhransha which was related with Maithili and Brajabuli.  The language of Kamata-Kuchbehar bears some resemblecees with Rajasthani langauage. After Cahryapadas which were written in Kamrupi –Maithili language, we find Kamata language developed in Kamata Royal courts of Sandhya Roy of 13^th century. Thus this language development under the patroness of Kamata-Kuchbehar kings Naranarayan of 16^th century reached its zenith which was called “Elizabethan age’ of Kamatapur.

 

 

Rajasthani	Kamata	English
Dhoulo	Dhoula धौला	white
Athai Ate-(Marawari)	Ethai/ethi एठाइ/एठि	here
Jamphal	Jam जाम	guava
Janwai	Jaja जाङइ	Son-in-law
Bhaish	भैष	buffalo
Baman	बामन	brahmi
Chhana	छान	cowdung
Choliyo	चोला	shirt
Derani	देवरानि	Wife of husband’s younger brother
Ghugario	गुगुरा	a small bell, an ornament worn around the ankles
Gora	गोरा	fair colour, a britisher
Kakadi	काकडि	Cucumber
Khalo	खोलान/खलतो	granary
Neen	निन	Sleep
Ughado	उदां	uncover
Saag	शाक	vegetable
maayor	माव	mother
Babosa	बाबा	Baba/bap
Paili	पैला	Earlier
Pailo	पैला	First
Mu	मुइँ	I
Nhyaro	मोर	mine
Thu	तुइ	You
Thari	तोर/तोमार	your
Inro	इनार/इ्याँर	his