294 Brief notice of a stone bridge in Zillah Kamrup. [No. 4. 



Kamrup by the subordinates of the Moslem kings, appear to be 

 mixed up with so much of the fabulous (Vide the late Major Fisher's 

 account of Cachar, Sylhet, &c. No. 104, J. A. S. B.), that it is quite 

 impossible to place much reliance on them as historical records ; if 

 however, we could suppose that the expedition of 1205 to 6 as 

 above quoted, came in sight of the Brahmaputra at Rangamatf 

 crossed the Monas and marched through Northern Kamrup, the 

 possession of which would oblige the Raja to submit, it is not impro- 

 bable but this is the stone bridge over which Bactyar Khilji and his 

 Tartar cavalry passed, previous to entering the outworks of the ancient 

 city of Gowhatty (or Pragjyotisha), the bridge being but a short dis- 

 tance from the line of hills bounding Gowhatty on the North N. W. 

 and West, on which are still visible its line of defences extending for 

 many miles on each side from the N. W. gate of entrance or pass 

 through the hills. 



The Mohammedan general is also said to have been obliged to retreat 

 from an advanced position (perhaps Chardoar) hearing that the Raja 

 of Kamrup had dismantled the stone bridge on his rear ; now it is 

 quite evident from the marks on the stones of the platform, that they 

 had been taken off and replaced somewhat irregularly. 



Note. The king in whose time the worship of the Linga com- 

 menced was styled Devyswar, and by the Brahman who has compiled 

 the Yogini Tantra, a modern work pretended to be the prophecies of 

 the great Siva himself of events to come to pass in Kamrup, he is said to 

 have been of the Sudra race, but it is likely he may have been of the 

 ancient race of the Devas and Duttas who reigned supreme in ancient 

 " Mithila" of which kingdom Kamarupa was a dependency if not a 

 portion, and his proper title Devasa as written in the old character of 

 the inscription on certain coins found near Jyonpur, translations of which 

 were published in No. 84, Vol. 7, Plate 60, J. B. S. ; and this might 

 account also for the Bebasa or Devasa of the maps of India of the 

 same century, the position appearing to correspond with our modern 

 Kamrup and Charidoar. Kamarupa at that period included the hills 

 as far as Kaonjegiri now under the Deb Raja or Bootan. 



