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Apart from that, there is a group of people headed by Tarini Kanta Sarmah, 18 who would have like to commemorate the 17. 18. Yogini Tantra -2/9/123 An Instructor of Basic Education, who had contributed lot to bring Madan-Kamdev into time light.

19 history of Madan-Kamdev in the context of the first Muslim invasion in Kamrupa led by one Muhammad-i-Bakhtiyar during 1205-1206 A.D. These people tried to establish an incidental association of Madan-Kamdev temple with the said invasion of Bakhtiyar. This well known story of the invasion as confirmed by Minhajuddin, in his famous Tabaquat-i-Nasiri and quoted by different writers goes like that Muhammad-i-Bakhtiyar after conquering Radha and Varendra, established himself at Lakshmanavati (Gaur) in and around 1198 A.D., from where he led an expedition against Tibet (supposed to be Turkestan and Tibet) through Kamrud (Kamrupa) about the middle of 1205 A.D. ' From Lakshmanavati, Muhammad proceeded with his huge army to a town called Burdhankot on the bank of river Begamati, from there he followed the northern course of the river for ten days and arrived in a place where a river was spanned by a bridge of twenty arches and ultimately with the help of the stone bridge, he entered in Kamrupa. 20 The King of Kamrupa, who was evidently informed with the intentions of Muhammad and accordingly advice him that it was not the proper time to march into the country of Tibet. Muhammad ignored the advice of the King of Kamrupa and continued his march until he arrived into a plain which was well cultivated and thickly populated and in the middle of which there. stood a strong fortress. 21 The problem arise when the Turk started plundering the villages which instigated the inhabitant to join hands with the garrison in the fort and offered stubborn resistance 19. Barpujari, H.K.(ed.): Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol.I, 1990, p.168. 20. Ravetry, H.G.(tr.): Tabaquat-i-Nasiri, 1881, p.561. Barua, K.L. : Early History of Kamrupa, 1966, p.137. 21.

鈫� 20 to the invaders. The King of Kamrupa re-enforced his garrison which compelled Muhammad to enter into a defensive battle and ultimately compelled him to retreat which proved to be disastrous one. The Kamrupi garrison attack him from back which caused a heavy lost of his man-power. Somehow, he managed to escape to the bank of the river and found that two arches of the bridge had been destroyed and the river was unfordable. He ultimately decided to take shelter in a Hindu temple, nearby to the river. The Kamrupi King besigned him in the temple by constructing a bamboo palisade all round the temple. Having no other alternative, Muhammad decided to take risk and breaking through the palisade, he along with his army tried to cross the river which put him in total hell. He lost the entire force and only with some best mounted soldier, he somehow survived to reached the opposite bank of the river. Connecting the incident of the invasion with MadanKamdeva, Tarini Kanta Sarmah has made a suggestion that Bakhtiyar took shelter in one Narasimha temple situated on an isolated hillock known even today also as Narasimha Parvat, at the ending point of the series of the famous Madan-Kamdev group of temples. 22 In support of his presumption, Sarmah has put forwarded his view in the following word that the king of Kamrupa managed to surround the temple when Bukhtiyar took shelter, with the bamboo palisade, which the Turks any how broke through and tried to cross the river running by the erection of bamboo palisade all round 22. Chutia, D.(ed.): A Seminar Proceeding title as History of Culture of Assam, 1984, p.181 (Kamrup Anusandhan Samitee)

21 the temple is only possible in case of Narasimha Parvat, because it is isolated one. Most probably the palisade was thrown up all round the hillock. The Turks broke through and advancing about a furlong on the right side, got the river which is now dead and known as Madan Kuri.23 Incorporating another clause in support of his conclusion, Sarmah has further stated that at the proximity of the Silsako, MadanKamdeva was the only temple site which can accommodate a huge battalion of Bakhtiyar size within its primeses. 24 25 On the way to examine the acceptability of his presumption, our prime concern however would be to find out the exact location of the Silsako (because this would be the only clues to support the conclusion put forwarded by Sarmah). Regarding the location of the Silsako, Gait has made an interesting comment that this ancient stone bridge situated not far from Hajo makes the bed of a river that has long since left it and taken another course. Giving a more clear idea about the exact geographical location of the Silsako, Rai Bahadur K L Barua has stated that the bridge spanned the Barnadi river running through the present abandoned bed known as Puspabhadra, fall into Brahmaputra several miles below its present confluence.20 Depending on some relics he further confirmed the location of the stone bridge at Najuli of modern Sangsari. 27 D.C. Sircar in the Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol.-I has stated that Silsako was the only stone bridge over the river Barnadi at a Ibid, p. 182. Gait, E. : A History of Assam, 1992, p.20. 23. 24. Ibid. 25. 26. Barua, K.L. : Op-cit, 1966, p.139. 27. Ibid, pp. 139-40.

22 distance of eight miles on the north-western direction of modern north Guwahati. 28 This geographical location is very supportive one to place Madan-Kamdev at the close proximity of the Silsako which normally highten the scope to consider Madan-Kamdev as a sheltering house for the huge Bakhtiyar army. However, when we visited the very site of Silsako, no relics are there to survive for us, but still, people's (of this locality) strong argument has left no other alternative for us, but to accept the presumption made by Tarini Kanta Sarmah and to wait for future archaeological discoveries to have more light on the subject.