Page:Growth of Asamiya Language.pdf/36

THE ORIGIN AND GROWTH OF THE ASAMIYA LANGUAGE this historical record in this connection: "The present king belongs to the old line of Nariyandev. He is of the Brandman caste. His name is Bhaskar Varma, his title Kumar. From the time that this family seized the land and assumed the Government, there have clapsed a thousand generations" (Beal's Recordis Vol. II, p. 195). Thus Yuin Chwing places Naraka some time about the middle of the third mille niun B.C, which curiously coincides with the time fixed by some scho- lara about the Mahabharata war. On the matter of Bhiskar Varma being of Brahman caste, some people were usually prone to think it to be a confusion made by the Chiness traveller between Varmli and Sarm. But one must warned that Yulin Chwäg was always a keen observer and an acurate compiler of facts so-much-so that few of his statements could be challenged till present times. And he stayed for more than a month in the eapital of Bhaskar. Varma and looked into matters with penetrating eyes. So it must be wrong to think that he might be mistaken. Later research now points to the fact that Varman is also the title of the Nagar Brahmans, who are like the Telegu, the Oriya the Kana- rese, the Sarasvata, the Chippavan and the Desastha Brihmans, Bhis- kar must have been a Brahman of the non-Vedie Mediterranean or Alpine race. During the third millennium B.C, which exactly coincides with the age of Naraka is suggested by Yuan Chwing, the Alpine nami- gration poured into Indin, one branch of them moving toward the wes "tern coast of India through the Indus Valley and the other branch push- ing towards Eastern India. In his Report (Cenus of India, 1961, Vol PLI) J. H. Hutton calls them Mediterranean; B. S. Guha opines that these brachyeephals and the Vedie Aryans of a much later period must have belonged to a common ancestral stock and finds that the Pods of Bengal Telesa Bethman, the Oriya Brahmans, the Kese Brah- mans, the Sirawat Bushmans, the Chippevan Bethmane and the Desas the Brahmans are all basically of this race". (Census of India, 1981. Vel., Pt. II Ethnographical) Some clarifiention seems nocery on the Asura designation of Naraka. R. D. Banerji opines that the Indo-Aryans had enemies of two different classes, the Vetras, the civilized foes, and the Dias or Dasyus who were uncivilied or non-Aryan. In later literature, refe rences are not wanting to the cultured race of Asuras whom they were bound to recognise as civilized at tried to look down upon them as they did not revere the gods whom the Vedie Aryans worshipped. So in the Vedle and post-Vedie literature and in the Eples and the Purlins they are represented as Daltyas (demons) and formidable enemies to the Vedle gods, but admitted as highly cultured and killed in architecture