South‑Eastern Bengal in Ancient Times

Summary

This geographical and historical survey identifies and discusses the ancient polities of south‑eastern Bengal. Early texts and inscriptions mention several names—Vaṅga, Samataṭa, Vaṅgala, Harikela and Candradvīpa—whose relationship to one another has long been debated. The author argues that Vaṅga may have been a broad geographical term encompassing all of south‑eastern Bengal, while Samataṭa referred to the low‑lying deltaic region and Harikela denoted the hilly hinterlandfile:///home/oai/share/563012_compressed-13-210.pdf#:~:text=South,that%20Vanga%20is%20roughly%20re. Vaṅgala appears as a later form of Vaṅga, and Candradvīpa designates a coastal area that eventually became the island of Cāṅdīpura. The article analyses epigraphic references to these names from the Gupta, Pāla and Sena periods, noting that varying systems of land measurement in the Sena era hint at shifting administrative boundaries. A major section is devoted to the Mehrauli pillar inscription, which refers to a king Candra who ‘reduced the vaṅga lords’. Scholars disagree over whether this Candra belonged to the Gupta lineage or a local dynastyfile:///home/oai/share/563012_compressed-13-210.pdf. The author weighs the evidence and favours the view that the reference is to the local ruler of south‑eastern Bengal rather than a member of the imperial Guptas. By compiling disparate sources, the article reconstructs the political landscape of the region and emphasises its importance as a crossroads between mainland India and Southeast Asia.