It has been almost a year since unprecedented violence took place in West Bengal after the Assembly election results were announced. Why Bengal has been suffering violence (both West Bengal and Bangladesh)? What was the original demographic composition of Bengal and how it has changed; and how this has affected the socio-political milieu in this region? This multi-part series would attempt to trace the origin of socio-political trends in the larger Bengal region (state of West Bengal and Bangladesh) over the last several decades. These trends are related to the evolution of Bengal over the last 4000 years. It’s a long journey and unfortunately most part of it has been forgotten.
Bengal’s role in India’s freedom movement has been quite well documented, but what we as a nation and probably Bengal itself has forgotten is the role it played in forcing Greek invader Alexander to leave India. Historical accounts show that Alexander, scared by the extent of Bengal’s military might, decided to withdraw his forces from India in the 4th Century BC.
There were two prominent kingdoms in Bengal at that time – Gangaridai and Prasioi (another variant is Prasii). According to several classical scholars, Gangaridai, whose another variant is Gandaridai, literally means ‘the people of the Ganges region’. Greek and Latin chroniclers like Diodorus, Curtius and Plutarch have mentioned in their classical texts about how Alexander had to withdraw from Bharat as Bengal was ready to give a befitting reply to his advances.
These historians have mentioned that the rulers of Gangaridai and Prasioi were waiting for Alexander with an army of 80,000 horses, 2,00,000 foot soldiers, 8,000 war chariots and 6,000 elephants.
RC Majumdar sums up the Alexander episode in The History of Bengal (Vol. I, pp44): “It may be reasonably inferred from the statements of the Greek and Latin writers that about the time of Alexander’s invasion the Gangaridai were a very powerful nation, and either formed a dual monarchy with Prasioi, or were otherwise closely associated with them on equal terms in a common cause against the foreign invader.
When Alexander reached the (river) Beas and was eager to cross over to the Ganges valley, the information reached his ears that the king or kings of the Gangaridai and the Prasioi were awaiting his attack with a powerful army. The shock of battle was narrowly missed. The war-torn veterans of the Macedonian king persuaded their leader to trace back his steps to Hydaspes and ultimately to Babylon.
After the withdrawal of Alexander, the Greek menace was evanescent for several generations. Chandragupta (of Maurya dynasty) welded the major part of India into one empire. The evidence of Greek as well as Buddhist writers seem to suggest that the authority of the Great Mauryas was acknowledged in deltaic as well as in northern Bengal.’’
Maurya Dynasty and Bengal
Bengal was closely linked to the ascendancy of Magadha empire first under the ‘Nandas’ but mainly under Mauryas. After Alexander withdrew his forces rather than face Bengal’s military might, Chandragupta Maurya started consolidating the Magadha empire. Bengal was an integral part of this empire.
In fact, Maurya dynasty was able to set up one of the biggest empires on the Indian sub-continent by bringing together Bihar and Bengal. After Chandragupta, his son Bindusara headed this empire followed by the latter’s son Ashoka.
There are several inscriptions found in Brahmi script and Prakrit language in this region which endorse the fact that Bengal was part of the larger Mauryan empire. An inscription of similar nature dating back to most likely 3rd Century BC has been found in the Mahasthangarh ruins in Bogra district of Bangladesh.
The governance model in Bengal is worth mentioning here. One of the most prosperous and well-known cities in ancient Bengal was that of ‘Pundranagara’.
Majumdar noted: “The Brahmi record at Mahasthan, which is usually assigned to the Maurya period, refers to Pundranagara as a prosperous city. It undoubtedly enjoyed the blessings of good government. Its storehouse was filled with coins… which were at the service of the people in times of emergency due to water, fire and pests… As is well known numerous punch-marked coins have been discovered in various parts of Bengal.”
Bengal and the Legend of Sinhalas of Sri Lanka
It is interesting to mention here the legend of Vijaya, the son of the king of Vanga, Sinhabahu, as contained in the Pali chronicles of Sri Lanka. (Vanga was a major kingdom in Bengal in ancient times. The details have been provided in the first part of this series).
Nitish Sengupta mentions in Land of Two Rivers (pp29): “He (Vijaya) was exiled by his father for his misdeeds. He set sail with 700 followers and landed in Sri Lanka in the region called Tambapani in the year of Lord Budha’s parinirvana (544 BC). This was the beginning of the Sinhala nation, named after Vijaya and his lion-men (Sinhala).”
According to Sengupta, this also shows the maritime tradition of Bengal as well as some early political connection of Bengal with Sri Lanka.
Flourishing Bengal
Though not many definitive accounts are available about Bengal between the fall of the Maurya empire (end of 3rd Century BC) and the rise of the Gupta empire (4th Century AD), scattered accounts are unanimous about trade and commerce flourishing in this region. Majumdar has mentioned about the existence of gold mines and fine muslin produced in central Bengal which was a huge attraction for the rest of the world.
Sengupta mentions about this period (pp30), “All that can be surmised is that trade and commerce flourished with the port Tamralipta as the hub. The great Roman poet, Virgil, referred to Gangaridai in his Georgics (30 BC). The unknown Greek author of the well-known travelogue Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st Century BC), referred to the Ganga river and the city called Ganga on its banks. Ptolemy, the famous geographer, referred to five mouths of the Ganga being occupied by the Gangaridai and the city of Ganga where their king lived (2nd Century AD). Pliny, the great Roman historian (1st Century AD), also talks about the Gangaridai through which flows the Ganga in the final course and its royal city called Parthdes Thales where 60,000 foot soldiers, 1000 horsemen, and 700 elephants protected the king.”
The glorious journey of Bengal didn’t end with the end of Maurya dynasty. It further flourished during the Gupta empire. There was not only close association between Bengal and the Guptas but it is said that the home of the early Guptas was located in either Murshidabad or Malda in Bengal itself.
The writer, an author and columnist, has written several books. One of his latest books is ‘The Forgotten History of India’. The views expressed in this article are those of the writer and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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