For a century from A D 432-33 we notice a
series of land sale documents recorded on copperplates Pundravardhanabhukti,
which covered almost the whole of north Bengal, now mostly in Bangladesh, Most
land grants indicate that land was purchased with gold coins called dinara. But
once land was given for religious purposes, the dunes did
not have to pay any tax. The land transactions show the involvement of leading
scribes, merchants, artisans landed classes, etc.’., in local administration,
which was manned by the governors appointed by the Gupta emperors.
The land sale documents not only .indicate
the existence of different’ social groups and local functionaries but also shed
valuable light on the expansion of agriculture Mostly land purchased for
religious endowments is described as fallow, uncultivated, and therefore imitated
Without doubt the effect of the grants was to bring plots of land within the
purview of cultivation and settlement.
The deltaic portion of Bengal formed by the
Brahmaputra and called Samatata was made to acknowledge the authority of
Samudragupta It covered southeast Bengal. A portion of this territory may have
been populated and important enough to attract the attention of the Gupta
conqueror.
But possibly it was not ruled by brahmamsed
princes, and consequently it neither used Sanskrit nor adopted the varna
system, as was the case in north Bengal. From about A D. 525 the area came to
have a fairly organized state covering Samatata and a portion of Vanga which
lay on the western boundary of Samatata. It issued a good number of gold coins
in the second half of the sixth century.
Dacca area
In addition to this state, m the seventh
century we come across the state of the Khadgas, literally swordsmen, in the Dacca
area. We also notice the kingdom of a brahmana feudatory
called Lokanatha and that of the Rates, both in the Comilla area all these
princes of southeast and central Bengal issued land grants in the sixth and
seventh centuries.
Like the Orissa n kings they also created
agraharas. The land charters show cultivation of Sanskrit, leading to the use
of some sophisticated meters in the second half of the seventh century. At the
same time they attest the expansion of cultivation and rural settlements. A
fiscal and administrative unit called Daudabhukti was formed in the border
areas lying between Bengal and Orissa. Danda means punishment, and bhakti enjoyment.
Apparently the unit was created for taming and punishing the tribal inhabitants
of that region. It may have promoted Sanskrit and other elements of culture in
tribal areas.
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