Sena Empire

Shen Smrjya

CE 1070CE 1230

Capital Nabadwip
Languages Sanskrit
Bengali
Religion Hinduism
Buddhism
Government Monarchy
King
- 10701096 AD Hemanta Sen
- 11591179 AD Ballal Sen
- 12251230 AD Keshab Sen
Historical era Classical India
- Established CE 1070
- Disestablished CE 1230
Part of a series on the
History of Bengal
Ancient Bengal
Vedic Period
Ancient Bengali States
Gangaridai Kingdom, Varendra, Vanga Kingdom,
Pundravardhana, Suhma Kingdom,
Anga Kingdom, Harikela Kingdom, Samatata Kingdom
Mauryan Period
Classical Bengal
The Classical Age
Shashanka
Age of Empires
Pala Empire
Candra Dynasty
Sena Empire
Sena dynasty
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Sena Empire (Bengali: , Shen Smrjya)
was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th
and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of
the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent.
The dynasty's founder was Hemanta Sen, who was part of
the Pala Dynasty until it began to weaken. Hemanta Sen
usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. His
successor Vijay Sen (ruled from 1096 AD to 1159 AD)
helped lay the foundations of the dynasty, and had an
unusually long reign of over 60 years. Ballal Sena conquered
Gaur from the Pala, became the ruler of the Bengal Delta,
and made Nabadwip the capital as well. Lakshman Sen
succeeded Ballal Sena in 1179, ruled Bengal for
approximately 20 years, and expanded the Sena Empire to
Assam, Odisha, Bihar and probably to Varanasi. In
12031204 AD, the Turkic general Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked
Nabadwip. Khilji defeated Lakshman Sen and captured
northwest Bengal - although Eastern Bengal remained under
Sena control.
Contents
1 Origins
2 Inscription
3 Society
4 The Sen rulers
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Origins
The Sena rulers were Hindu Gaur Kayasthas. During this
period, Buddhism, which had dominated Bengal for
centuries, was in decline, due to the loss of Buddhist
institutions at Nalanda University and Vikramshila
University.
[1]
The sena rulers were originally from
karnataka and were kannada speaking karn kayasthas this
is evident from deopara inscription.
[2]
Inscription
A copperplate was found in the Adilpur or Edilpur
pargana of Faridpur District in 1838 A.D. and was
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Medieval Bengal
Arrival of Islam
Sultanate of Bengal
Deva Kingdom
Bakhtiyar Khilji, Raja Ganesha
Mughal Period
Pratap Aditya, Raja Sitaram Ray
Principality of Bengal
Baro-Bhuyans
Modern Bengal
Company Raj
Zamindari system, Bengal famine of 1770
British Indian Empire
Bengal Renaissance
Brahmo Samaj
Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose,
Rabindranath Tagore, Subhas Chandra Bose
Post-Colonial
1947 Partition of Bengal, Bangladesh Liberation War
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Jyoti Basu
See Also
Bangladesh, West Bengal
Edilpur Copperplate
acquired by the
Asiatic Society
of Bengal, but
now the
copperplate is
missing from
collection. An
account of the
copperplate
was published
in the Dacca
Review and
Epigraphic Indica. The copperplate inscription is written
in Sanskrit and in Ganda character, and dated 3rd jyaistha
of 1136 samval, or 1079 A.D. In the Asiatic Societys
proceeding for January 1838, an account of the
copperplate states that three villages were given to a
Brahman in the third year of Kaesava Sana. The grant was
given with the landlord rights, which include the power of
punishing the chandrabhandas or Sundarbans, a race that
lived in the forest.
[3]
The land was granted in the village
of Leliya in the Kumaratalaka mandala, which is situated
in shatata-padamavati-visaya. The copperplate of
Kaesava Sana records that the king Vallal Sena carried
away, from the enemies, the goddesses of fortune on
palanquins (Shivaka), which elephant tusk staff
supported; and also states that Vallal Sena's son,
Lakshman Sena (11791205), erected pillars of victory and sacrificial posts at Benaras, Allahbad, and Adon
Coast of the South Sea. The copperplate also describes the villages with smooth fields growing excellent
paddy, the dancing and music in ancient Bengal, and ladies adorned with blooming flowers. The Edilpur
copperplate of Kaesava Sena records that the king made a grant in favor of Nitipathaka Isvaradeva Sarman
for the inscae of the subha-varsha.
Society
The Sena dynasty is famous for building Hindu temples and monasteries, which include the renowned
Dhakeshwari Temple in what is now Dhaka, Bangladesh. In Kashmir, the dynasty also likely built a temple,
which is ascribed to a Gaureshwara or Ballala Sena.
[4]
The Sena rulers were also great patrons of literature.
During the Pala dynasty and the Sena dynasty, major growth in Bengali was witnessed. Some Bengali
authors believe that Jayadeva, the famous Sanskrit poet and author of Gita Govinda, was one of the
Pancharatnas (five gems) in the court of Lakshman Sen. After the Sena dynasty, the Deva dynasty ruled in
eastern Bengal. The Deva dynasty was probably the last independent Hindu dynasty of Bengal.
The Sena rulers consolidated the caste system in Bengal. Although Bengal borrowed from the caste system
of Mithila, caste was not so strong in Bengal as in Mithila.
[5]
The Sen rulers
Hemanta Sen (10701096 AD)
Vijay Sen (10961159 AD)
Ballal Sen (11591179 AD)
Lakshman Sen (11791206 AD)
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Vishwarup Sen (12061225 AD)
Keshab Sen (12251230 AD)
Preceded by
Pala dynasty
Bengal dynasty
Succeeded by
Deva
dynasty
See also
Pala Empire
History of Bengal
History of India
Edilpur Copperplate
References
^ http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints
/bot/bot_06_02_03.pdf Taranatha's History
1.
^ http://books.google.co.in/books/about
/History_of_the_Bengali_speaking_people.html?id=6eYsAAAAMAAJ&
redir_esc=y
2.
^ Hunter, William Wilson (1875), "A statistical
account of Bengal, Volume 1"
(http://books.google.com
/books?id=9WEOAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA379&
dq=adilpur+copperplate#v=onepage&
q=adilpur%20copperplate&f=false), Google
Books, Edinburgh: Murry and Gibbs, retrieved
2009-10-03
3.
^ P. 142, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Volume 34, Part 1, Issues 1-4, By Asiatic Society
of Bengal
4.
^ Momtazur Rahman Tarafdar, "Itihas O
Aitihasik", Bangla Academy Dhaka, 1995
5.
Early History of India 3rd and revised edition by Vincent A Smith
External links
Banglapedia Sena Dynasty (http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/S_0199.HTM)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sena_dynasty&oldid=595957357"
Categories: Former monarchies of Asia Former countries in Asia Dynasties of Bengal
Historical Hindu empires History of Bangladesh History of Bengal History of West Bengal
History of medieval India Dynasties of India Hindu dynasties Sena dynasty
States and territories established in the 11th century
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