Buddhist monastery

This was also true of Vardhamanabhukti

(Burdwan), of which we hear in the seventh century. In southeast Bengal in the

Faridpur area five plots of land granted to a Buddhist monastery were

waste and waterlogged, paying no tax to the state. Similarly 200 brahmanas were

given a large area in Comilla district within a forest region full of deer,

boars, buffaloes, tigers, serpents, etc. All such instances are sufficient

proof of the progress of colonization and civilization in new areas.

The two centuries from about the middle of

the fifth appear to be very momentous in the history of Bengal. They saw the

.formation of about half a dozen states, some large and others small, some

independent and others feudatory But each had its victory or military camp

where it maintained its infantry, cavalry, elephants and boats. Each had its

fiscal and administrative districts with its machinery for tax collection and

maintenance of order. Each practiced expansion through war and land grants to

Buddhists and brahmanas. The number of endowments had increased so much that

ultimately an officer called agrahanka had to be appointed to look after them

Land gifts led to rural expansion and created hew rights in land. Generally

land was under the possession of individual families.

But its sale and purchase was subject to

the overall control of the local communities dominated by leading artisans,

merchants, landowners and scribes They helped the local agents of the king But

ordinary cultivators were also consulted about the sale of land in the village

It seems that originally, only the tribe or the community could grant land

because they possessed it. Therefore even when individuals came to possess

their own lands and made gifts for religious purposes, the community continued

to have a say in the matter. Probably at an earlier stage the community donated

land to the priests for religious services and paid taxes to the princes for

military and political services.

Later the king received from the community

a good part of the land and arrogated to himself much more, which enabled him

to make land grants the king was entitled to taxes and also possessed rights

over waste and fallow land. The administrative functionaries of each state knew

Sanskrit, which was the official language. They were also familiar with the

teachings of the Puranas and the Dharmasastras. The period therefore is very

significant because of the onward march of civilization m this area,

Assam

Kamarupa, identical with the Brahmaputra

basin running from east to west, shot into prominence in the seventh century.

Excavations however show settlements in Ambari near Gauhati from the fourth century

of the Christian era. In the same century Samudragupta received tributes from

Davaka and Kamarupa. Davaka possibly accounted for a portion of Nowgong

district, and Kamarupa covered the Brahmaputra basin. The rules who submitted

to Samudragupta may have been chiefs living on the tributes collected from the

tribal peasantry.