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Sena revolution of Bengal
	Part of Bengal revolution.
	; Initial revolution map of sena dynasty.
Date	mid 12th Century
Location	Bengal (region)
Result	Sena victory Fall of the Pala empire; Fall of the Varmans;
Territorial; changes	Hemanta sena captured the Rarh region of Bengal; Pala empire and varman dynasty Annexed by Vijaya sena;
Belligerents
Commanders and leaders

Deopara Prashasti described the founder of Sena dynasty Samanthasena, as a migrant Brahmaksatriya from Karnataka.^[1] The epithet 'Brahma-Kshatriya' suggests that Senas were Brahmins by caste who took the profession of arms and became Kshatriyas.^[2] The Sena kings were also probably Baidyas, according to historian P.N. Chopra.^[3]

Background

The Senas entered into the service of Palas as sāmantas in Rāḍha, probably under Samantasena.^[4]^[5] With the decline of the Pālas, their territory had expanded to include Vaṅga and a part of Varendra by the end of Vijayasena's reign.^[5] The Palas were ousted in totality, and their entire territory annexed sometime after 1165.^[5]

Sena invasion of Pala

Hemanta Sena

The weakening of the Pala Empire allowed Hemanta to be granted the opportunity to govern Rarh and protect the emperors.^[6] He served this role from 1070 to 1096 CE. His son, Vijaya Sena, reigned after him.^[7]

Vijaya Sena

It is beyond any doubt that Vijaya Sena established independent power in Bengal immediately after the demise of Ramapala. The Deopara Prashasti records that he defeated Nanya, Vir, Raghav and Vardhan. He vanquished the kings of Kamarupa and Kalinga. He also compelled the king of Gauda to flee away from his kingdom. It is not very difficult to identify the rivals of Vijaya Sena. Nanya can be identified with King Nanyadev (c 1097–1147 AD) of Mithila, another Karnat chief. Vir was perhaps Virgun, ruler of Kotatavi, a member of Rampala's samantachakra. Vardhan may be identified either with Dorpavardhan, ruler of Kausambi, or with Govardhan against whom Madanapala won a victory. Vijaya Sena's fight against Vir and Vardhan were perhaps meant to bring under control two other feudatory chiefs who also might have aspired for power. Raghav was no other than the king of Kalinga. He can be identified with Raghav, son of Chorganga who ruled Orissa from c 1157–1170 AD. The encounter between Vijaya Sena and Raghav probably took place towards the end of the former's reign. It is not unlikely that Vijaya Sena had to wage war against Raghav, although he maintained a friendly relation with Anantavarman Chorganga. Vijaya Sena's fight against Raghav was meant to frustrate the latter's aggressive designs. The reference in the Deopara prashasti to the fight between Vijaya Sena and the king of Kamrupa does not necessarily mean that the former invaded the province, although that is not impossible altogether. The king of Kamrupa, defeated by Vijaya Sena, was perhaps Vaidyadev, the minister of Kumarapala who declared independence, or his successor. It is not unlikely that Vaidyadev or his successor invaded the newly founded dominions of the Sens and was driven away by Vijaya Sena ^[8]^[9]

Ballala Sena

He is the best-known Sena ruler and consolidated the kingdom. He might have completed the conquest of Northern Bengal and also conquered Magadha and Mithila.^[10]^[11]^[12] He ended the Pala Empire by defeating Govindapala^[7]

Ballal Sen was descended from the royal family of Bengal, who proceeded to Delhi, and was proclaimed emperor of Hindoostan.^[13]

Sena invasion of Varman

Bhoja Varman, son of Samalavarman was the last independent ruler of Varman Dynasty and the Belava plate was issued in his fifth regnal year from the jayaskandhavara situated at Bikramapura. He was defeated by Vijaysena of Sena Dynasty and rule of Varmans over southeast Bengal came to an end.^[14]

References

^ Sen, Sailendra Nath (1999). Ancient Indian History and Civilization. New Age International. p. 287. ISBN 978-81-224-1198-0.
^ MAJUMDAR 1971, p. 220.
^ Chopra, Pran Nath (1982). Religions and Communities of India. East-West Publications. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-85692-081-3. The Sena kings were probably Baidyas. The evidence of inscriptions shows that a dynasty of Baidya kings ruled over at least a part of Bengal from 1010 AD to 1200 AD. The most famous of these kings is Ballal Sena
^ Sen, Sailendra (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-9-38060-734-4.
^ ^a ^b ^c Furui, Ryosuke (2 July 2019). "6: Towards Brahmanical Systematisation: c. 1100–1250 AD". Land and Society in Early South Asia: Eastern India 400–1250 AD. Routledge. p. 188. ISBN 978-1-000-08480-1.
^ AM Chowdhury (2012). "Sena Dynasty". In Sirajul Islam; Miah, Sajahan; Khanam, Mahfuza; Ahmed, Sabbir (eds.). Banglapedia: the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Online ed.). Dhaka, Bangladesh: Banglapedia Trust, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh. ISBN 984-32-0576-6. OCLC 52727562. OL 30677644M. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
^ ^a ^b sen, Sailendra Nath (2013). A Textbook of Medieval Indian History. Primus Books. pp. 35–36. ISBN 978-93-80607-34-4.
^ Aksadul Alam (2012), "Deopara Prashasti", in Sirajul Islam; Ahmed A. Jamal (eds.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
^ Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (1919), The Origin of the Bengali Script, University of Calcutta available in Wikimedia Commons
^ Gusain, Lakhan: Reflexives in Bagri. Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, 1994
^ Gusain, Lakhan: Limitations of Literacy in Bagri. Nicholas Ostler & Blair Rudes (eds.). Endangered Languages and Literacy. Proceedings of the Fourth FEL Conference. University of North Carolina, Charlotte, 21–24 September 2000
^ Gusain, Lakhan: Bagri Grammar. Munich: Lincom Europa (Languages of the World/Materials, 2000, p. 384
^ Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China and Australasia. Wm. H. Allen & Company. 1835.
^ Raatan, T. (November 2003). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7835-068-4.