296 E. A. Gait — The Koch Kings of Kamarupa. [No. 4, 
“ many countries. The son of this S'ukladhyaja was king Raghudeva, who was like 
“ the greatest man of the Raghu race : his glories spread out in all directions ; the 
“ lord of Kamarupa, in obedience to the order of destiny, is the slayer of the wiek- 
“ ed, who was like water to the flames of the fire of sorrow of the vast populace. 
“ Of the seeds of Sukladhvaja, a king was born of the name of Raghudeva, who 
“ consoles innumerable persons, and is a worshipper of the feet of Krishna ; the 
“king coming of age had a temple built on the hillock called Mani hillock, in 1505 
“ S'aka (1583 A. D.) The most skilful and efficient artisan S'ridhara himself 
“ built it.” 
Apart from the authorities quoted in favour of the version given in 
the Vamsdvali, it seems probable that that version is correct ; first, be- 
cause it is far more detailed than any other, and secondly, because it is 
the version given by the descendants of Silarai who would not have 
been likely to represent him as a subject of Nara Narayana if he had 
really been an independent prince. We may, therefore, accept the story 
as told in the Vamsdvali as substantially correct. 
The only alternative to accepting the version given in the Yarits'dvali 
is by supposing Silarai to have outlived his brother and to have rebel- 
led when Lakshmi Narayana succeeded him. This is the version given 
in the Akbarnamah (J. A. S. B. 1872, page 53), and if correct would 
simplify the meaning of the inscription in the temple at Hajo. The 
account given in the Vamsdvali is however, so circumstantial that, in the 
absence of further evidence, it seems impossible to gainsay it. 
Kala Pahar’s invasion. 
Musalman invasions during the period dealt with in the VaAs'avali. 
The Vamsdvali says very little about the relations of the Koch 
kings with the Mualmans, and it will therefore he useful to supple- 
ment it in this respect by accounts drawn from other sources. 
And first should be mentioned the invasion of Kala Pahar, other- 
wise known as Raju, which took place in 
1553 A. D. It is said that Nara Narayana was 
afraid to fight him, and allowed him to pass up the Brahmaputra un- 
molested. He was a convert from Hinduism, and like all apostates, was 
a zealous persecutor of the faith which he had before professed, so that his 
name is remembered to this day, both in Assam and Orissa, as the arch 
destroyer of temples and images. To him is attributed the destruc- 
tion of the old temples at Kamakhya and Hajo, but beyond these acts 
of sacrilege, he appears to have left no mark in the country. His in- 
vasion is not referred to in the Vamsdvali, except incidentally in the 
statement that Nara Narayana rebuilt Kamakhya “ which the wicked 
Musalmans had destroyed.* ” 
* I have not referred in the text to the narrative of Ralph Fitch who visited 
Koch Bihar between 1563 and 1581, and states that the king then ruling was 
