Sena Dynasty & Late Classical Bengal

• Sena dynasty 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 rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.
• Nabadwip was the capital of Sena dynasty.
• Sena rulers were brahmin by caste and kshatriya by profession.
• They consolidated the caste system in Bengal.

Samantasena

• Samantasena was employed in high offices under the Palas.

Hemantasena

• Hemantasena held the position of a feudatory chief in the Pala empire.
• He is also described as rajaraksasudaksah (protector of king) in Barrackpur plate of Vijayasena.

Vijaya Sena (1097-1160)

• Vijaya Sena was a subordinate ruler in Rarh under the Palas.
• Middle of 12th century, he defeated Palas and founded the independent rule of Senas dynasty.
• He conquered Kamarupa and Kalinga.
• Vijaya Sena has two capital, Vijayapuri in West Bengal and Vikramapura in Bangladesh.
• His Barrackpur copper plate was issued from Vikramapura.
• Vijaya Sena had a very long reign of about 62 years.
• He assumed the imperial titles’ of Paramamaheshvara, Paramabhattaraka, Maharajadhiraja.
• Vijaya-prashasti was written by the famous poet Sriharsa.

Ballala Sena (1160-78)

• Ballala Sena ended the Pala Empire by defeating Govindapala.
• He conquered Magadha and Mithila.
• Ballala Sena married Ramadevi a princess of Western Chalukya Empire.
• Two epigraphs of the time of Vallalasena, Naihati copper plate, and the Sanokhar Image Inscription.
• Ballala Sena introduced the practice of Kulinism in Bengal.
• He wrote the Danasagara in 1168 and started writing the Adbhutasagara in 1169 but could not complete it.
• Vallalachairta was composed by Anandabhatta in 1510.

Lakshmana Sena (1179 – 1206)

• Lakshmana Sena assumes the title of Gaudeshvara.
• He completed the Adbhuta Sagara, an incomplete book of his father.
• Lakshmana Sena was devout to Vaishnava.
• His court was an assembly of several renowned poets
  • Jayadeva, the author of Gitagovinda
  • Dhoyi, the composer of Pavanduta
  • Govardhana the author of Arya-saptasati
  • Shridharadasa, compiled the Saduktikarnamrta, an anthology of the Sanskrit verses during his reign.
  • His Chief Minister and Chief Judge were Halayudha Mishra, who wrote the Brahmanasarvasva.
  • Umapatidhara, the author of the Deopara Prashasti

• Minhaj-us-Siraj, the author of the Tabaqat-i-Nasiri, designated him as a ‘great Rae’ of Bengal and compared him with Sultan Qutbuddin.
• In 1203, Bakhtiyar Khalji attacked Nabadwip and defeated Lakshman Sen.
• He captured northwest Bengal and eastern Bengal remained under Sena control.

• The Deva Kingdom was a Hindu dynasty of medieval Bengal
• Deva Kingdom ruled over eastern Bengal after the collapse Sena Empire.
• Their capital was Vikrampur in present-day Munshiganj District, Bangladesh.
• Madhava Dasharatha-Deva extended his kingdom to cover much of East Bengal.