Sena Empire সেন Sena Samrajya
← CE 1070–CE 1230 →
Capital	Nabadwip
Language(s)	Sanskrit Bengali
Religion	Hinduism Buddhism
Government	Monarchy
Maharaja
- 1070–1096 AD	Hemanta Sen
- 1159–1179 AD	Ballal Sen
- 1225–1230 AD	Keshab Sen
Historical era	Classical India
- Established	CE 1070
- Disestablished	CE 1230

Part of a series on the
History of Bengal
Ancient Bengal
Vedic Period
Ancient Bengali States Gangaridai Kingdom, Vanga Kingdom, Pundra Kingdom, Suhma Kingdom, Anga Kingdom, Harikela Kingdom
Mauryan Period
Classical Bengal
The Classical Age
Shashanka
Age of Empires Pala Empire, Sena Empire
Medieval Bengal
Arrival of Islam Sultanate of Bengal, Deva Kingdom Bakhtiyar Khilji, Raja Ganesha
Mughal Period Pratap Aditya, Raja Sitaram Ray Nawab of Bengal, Baro-Bhuyans
Modern Bengal
Company Raj Zamindari system, Bengal famine of 1770
British Indian Empire Bengal Renaissance Brahmo Samaj Swami Vivekananda, Jagadish Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore, Subhash Chandra Bose
Post-Colonial 1947 Partition of Bengal, Bangladesh Liberation War Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Jyoti Basu
See Also
Bangladesh, West Bengal

The Sena Empire (Bengali: সেন, Shen) was a Hindu dynasty that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. At its peak the empire covered much of the north-eastern region in the Indian Subcontinent. They were called Brahma-Kshatriyas,^[1] as evidenced through their surname, which is derived from the Sanskrit, for "army". The Senas belonged to the 'Gaur Kayastha' sub-caste of the Chitraguptvanshi Kayastha^[2] and they were Brahma-Kshatriyas (those who were Brahmanas first and became Kshatriyas afterwards).

The dynasty's founder was Hemanta Sen, who was part of the Pala dynasty until their empire began to weaken. He usurped power and styled himself king in 1095 AD. His successor Vijay Sen (ruled from 1096 AD to 1159 AD) helped lay the foundations of the dynasty, and had an unusually long reign of over 60 years. Ballal Sena conquered Gaur from the Pala, became the ruler of Bengal and Delhi as well as made Nabadwip the capital. Lakshman Sen succeeded Ballal Sena in 1179 and ruled Bengal for approximately 20 years. He expanded the Sena Empire to Assam, Orissa, Bihar and probably to Varanasi. In 1203–1204 AD, the Turkic general Bakhtiyar Khilji attacked Nabadwip. Though he defeated Lakshman Sen, he failed to conquer Bengal.

The Sena rulers were Hindus. During this period Buddhism that had dominated Bengal for centuries was in decline due to the loss of its institutions at Nalanda University and Vikramshila University .^[3] The dynasty is famous for building Hindu temples and monasteries including the famous Dhakeshwari Temple in what is now Dhaka, Bangladesh. The Sena dynasty were also great patrons of literature. During the rule of Pala dynasty and Sena dynasty, major growth of Bengali was witnessed. It is believed by some Bengali authors that Jayadeva, the famous Sanskrit poet and author of Gita Govinda, was one of the Pancharatnas (meaning 5 gems) in the court of Lakshman Sen. After the Sena dynasty, the Deva dynasty ruled in eastern part of Bengal. The Deva dynasty was probably the last independent Hindu dynasty of Bengal.

It is also believed that Senas originally belonged to the Karnata country (Karnatadeshatagata) in South India, the Kanarese speaking region in modern Mysore, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh of India, and they were Brahma-Ksatriyas (those who were Brahmanas first and became Ksatriyas afterwards).

It is recorded in the Deopara Inscription of Vijayasena that Virasena and others, born in the family of the moon, were rulers of southern region and in that Sena family was born Samantasena whose descendants ruled in Bengal. It is very difficult to conclude satisfactorily as to when the Senas came and assumed power in Bengal. The Deopara Inscription records that Samantasena, the head-garland of the Brahma-Ksatriyas proceeded towards Rameshvara-Setubandha and subdued the wicked despoilers of the Laksmi (Wealth) of Karnata. But in his last days he settled down on the bank of the Ganges. From this reference it is clear that Samantasena spent his early life in the Karnata country where he certainly held some power. He, however, came to Bengal in his old age and lived somewhere near the Ganges. The Naihati copper plate of the time of vallalasena, refers to the settlement of the Sena family in western Bengal before Samantasena was born. Samantasena's descendants established the rule of the dynasty afterwards

Inscription[link]

Edilpur Copperplate

A copperplate was found in the Adilpur or Edilpur pargana of Faridpur District in 1838 A.D. and to have been acquired by the Asiatic Society of Bengal, but now it is missing from collection. An account of the plate was published in the Dacca Review and Epigraphic Indica. The copperplate inscription written Sanskrit and in Ganda character dated 3rd jyaistha of 1136 samval which represents 1079 A.D. The Asiatic Society’s proceeding for January 1838, an account of the copperplate describes that 3 villages were given to a Brahman in the 3rd year of Kaesava Sana. These three villages cannot be identified now, and thought it is impossible enough that they have been long ago washed away by Meghna, which flows past Edilpur paragana. The grant was given with the landlord rights, receives the power of punishing the chandrabhandas or Sundarbans, a race that lived in the forest.^[4] It records the grant of the land in the village of Leliya in the Kumaratalaka mandala situated in shatata-padamavati-visaya. The copperplate of Kaesava Sana tells that the king Vallal Sena carried away the goddesses of fortune for the enemies on palanquins (Shivaka) supported by staff made of elephant tusk. It also claims that his father Lakhman Sena (1179–1205) erects pillars of victory and sacrificial posts at Benaras and Allahbad and Adon Coast of South Sea. The plate also describes the villages with smooth fields growing excellent paddy also noticed about the dancing and music in the ancient Bengal and ladies of that period used to adorn their bodies with blooming flowers. The Edilpur copperplate of Kaesava Sena records that the king made a grant in favor of Nitipathaka Isvaradeva Sarman for the inscae of the subha-varsha.

The Sen rulers[link]

• Hemanta Sen (1070–1096 AD)
• Vijay Sen (1096–1159 AD)
• Ballal Sen (1159–1179 AD)
• Lakshman Sen (1179–1206 AD)
• Vishwarup Sen (1206–1225 AD)
• Keshab Sen (1225–1230 AD)

See also[link]

• Pala Empire
• History of Bengal
• History of India
• Edilpur Copperplate

External links[link]

• Banglapedia Sena Dynasty

References[link]