Varman dynasty of Kāmarūpa

The first dynasty

The Varmans are attested from the fourth century by the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta, which names Kāmarūpa among the frontier kingdoms paying tribute, and thereafter by their own copper-plate charters. They claimed descent from Naraka and Bhagadatta of the epic Prāgjyotiṣa.

Their kingdom covered the Brahmaputra valley and at times reached into Bengal, and its capital was at Prāgjyotiṣapura, modern Guwahati.

Bhāskaravarman

Bhāskaravarman, ruling in the first half of the seventh century, allied with Harṣa of Kannauj against Śaśāṅka of Gauḍa and afterwards held territory in Bengal. He is the first Assamese ruler about whom a substantial amount is known.

Xuanzang visited his court, having been pressed to come, and describes the king as a lover of learning who was not a Buddhist but treated Buddhists well, and the country as one of dense population, difficult terrain and heavy rain. Bhāskaravarman accompanied Harṣa to the great assembly at Kannauj, and the Chinese record of the visit is one of the earliest external descriptions of Assam.

The dynasty ended with him, and the Śālastambhas took the throne.