Shashanka was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom and is a major figure in Bengali history.
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21 Facts About Shashanka
2.
Shashanka is the contemporary of Harsha and of Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa.
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3.
Shashanka's capital was at Karnasubarna, in present-day Murshidabad in West Bengal.
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4.
Shashanka is said to be a Gaur Brahmin Historian D K Ganguly is reported to have concluded that he was a native of Magadha.
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5.
Shashanka's name appears in multiple forms, including Sasanka and Sasanka-deva.
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6.
Shashanka is called Sasanka Gaur, which initially lent credence to the claim that he was descended from the later Gaur.
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7.
Shashanka emerged as one of these ambitious local rulers, aiming to seize control of Gauda and its surrounding region.
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8.
Some historians believe that Shashanka began his career as a feudatory chief under Mahasenagupta, of the Later Gupta Dynasty.
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9.
Middleton argues in a similar vein that Shashanka served as maha samanta to a Gauda king, possibly Jayanaga.
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10.
Whether Shashanka was a feudatory under the Maukharis or the Guptas is not known.
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11.
The result of the battle was inconclusive as Shashanka is documented to have retained dominion over his lands.
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12.
Shashanka continued to rule Gauda with frequent attacks from Harsha, which he is known to have faced bravely.
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13.
Shashanka first established himself in Gauda, and set his eyes on Magadha.
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14.
Sen has shown that none other than Shashanka could have defeated the Maukhari rulers of Magadha.
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15.
Shashanka formed astute political alliances, notably with the Malva king, Devagupta, to counteract the combined might of the Kanauj-Thaneshwar coalition.
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17.
Shashanka is reputed to have cut the Bodhi tree where the Buddha found enlightenment, in the Mahabodhi Temple of Bodh Gaya.
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18.
Many historians and commentators argue that Shashanka was the first independent king of not only Gauda, but of Bengal.
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19.
In one oral tradition: once Shashanka had been accompanying his mother to holy pilgrimage and his convoy camped at the small village of Jamuapati in Datan.
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20.
Not one to disobey his mother's wishes, Shashanka reportedly pulled out an arrow from his sheath, and announced that he would excavate a reservoir as long as the arrow's trajectory.
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21.
Shashanka found Shashanka to be a potent symbol of Bengal's glorious past and future political aspirations.
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