INTRODUCTION iii in which the former was worsted. This Hasan Hussain is probably no other than Hussain Sah himself. | After the capture of Kamatapur by Hussain Sah in 1498 there was no king of the whole western country. A number of petty chiefs ruled different parts of it till the Koches under Visva Singha made themselves masters of the whole country between Karatoya and Barnadi about 15i5 AD, Bisva Singha now became a great patron of Hinduism. He worshipped Siva and Durg, and gave gifts to the disciples of Vispu and also to the priests and astrologers. He revived the worship of Kamakhya, rebuilt her temple on the Nilagal hill near Gauhati, and imported nume- rous Brahmins from Kanauj, Benares and other centres of learning." Under his patronage a renowned Assamese poet, Duravar, composed, at Kamakhya, the songs of the Ramayana and Padmapurpa known as the Durvari, which are still recited by the "Ojapalis” on festive occasions and in popular assemblies. This poet extols Biswa Singha and his 18 queens and 18 sons in the introduction to his “Duravar, an artificial cpic dealing with the wanderings of Bephula. He describes Bisva Singha as the king of Kamatapur. Apparently the seat of Government was later shifted to Cooch Behar. | Bisva Singha's son, Nar Nayan, ascended the throne at Cooch Behar about 1540 A.D. His reign is remarkable for the Vaisnaa refore mation of Assam inaugurated by Sri Sanar Deva, Nar Narayan was a great patron of learning and some of the best-known Assamese writing date from his reign, Many Vaisnava hymns and homilies wers written by Sankar Deva and Madhava Deva, Purusottam Vidyavagi composed a (Sanskrit) grammar and Ananta Kandali translated the Bhagavata and other books into Assamese. In fact Nar Narayan's reign was the golden age of Assamese literature. The literature of this period is so vast and varied, though mainly devoted to religious subjects, that no other prakrtik language in India can probably compete with it, It may be said that the Vaisnava writers of this period were the pioneer of Assamese literature and they were followed by a host of others who adopted their style and language and produced works on various subjects down to the time of the Burmese war (1826 MD.). | Early in the thirteenth century the Ahoms, under the leadership of Sup , entered Assam from the south-east and subjugated the Morog and Barahis and built a city at Caraidew. In the next 300 years they finally overthew the Kacharis and guta and established their rule as far as the mouth of the Kalang The seat of government was shifted to Garaon which became, in the course of time, the cene of crary activity. The Ahoms kept accurate records of history. Their priests, 1History of Assam by Sir E. A. Gait, p. 41. asce. Sk E. A. Gait's History of Assam, p. 59.
