Gaudeshwar Madhusudan Sen - The Sena Dynasty Monarch who Restored Nalanda and Buddhagaya

Gaudeshwar Madhusudan Sen - The Sena Dynasty Monarch who defeated Turks & Restored Nalanda and Buddhagaya 

In 1193, the Nālandā Viśhwavidyālaẏa & Baud'dhabihāra was destroyed by the Turk fanatic Bakhtiyar Khilji; this event is seen by scholars as a late milestone in the decline of Buddhism in India. The Persian historian Minhaj-i-Siraj, in his chronicle the Tabaquat-I-Nasiri (طبقات نصیری), reported that thousands of monks were burnt alive and thousands beheaded as Khilji tried his best to uproot Buddhism by the sword; the burning of the library continued for several months and smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pall over the low hills. This ended in total decline by 1197 CE.”

In the second half of the thirteenth century Bengal was ruled by the Sena dynasty with Bikrampur as its capital. Maharaja Narayan Sen was succeeded by his mighty son Paramasaugata Madhusudan Sen who ascended the throne of Bengal. He was a devotee of Bud'dha Tathāgata and held the title of 'Paramsaugata' (পরমসৌগত/ परमसौगत).

● Conquest of Lakhnauty (1272 AD) : 

In 1268 after the death of Tatar Khan, the Sultan of Delhi Ghiyasuddin Balban appointed Sher Khan (شير خان) to serve as the Governor of Bihar-Lakhnauty. Sher Khan ruled quietly for four years as he received little funds and power from Delhi. Thus, Bengal remained in the hands of the Sena dynasty kings. At this time Maharaja Madhusen attacked Lakhnauty with a well-organized Kaivartya navy. The Gaudiya army, located on the west bank of the Karatoya River, tore apart the Turk army with incessant arrows. Sher Khan was killed in this battle. Paramasaugata Madhusudan Sena ascended the throne of Gauda and held the title of "Gaudeshwar". Raja Gour Govardhan of Srihatta was ruling Lakhnauty as a feudal king of him. A handwritten ancient Sanskrit manuscript preserved by the Bengal Government states that ' "Paramabhaṭṭāraka Mahārājādhirāja Paramasaugata Madhusēna" ruled Gaudavanga at 1272 AD (1194 Shaka).

● Conquest of Magadha (1278 AD) : 

Following the death of Governor Sher Khan in 1272, Amin Khan Aitigin (امین خان آیتگین) was appointed as the Governor of Oudh and Bihar by Ghiyas ud din Balban, the ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Since Bengal had been under the control of the Sena dynasty for over 30 years, he remained a weak governor with little money or power.

Taking the advantage of the weakness of the Turks in Eastern India, Vaṅgādhipati Madhusēna formed an alliance with Kamaraj Purushottam Singha and Sapadlakshapati Ashoka Challa leading a march towards Bihar with a huge Dhali infantry. Amin Khan was defeated in a two-pronged attack from east and south and fled to Oudh. The Magadha and Gaya regions were conquered by Bengal and ruled by feudal lords of the Sena dynasty at that time.

● Restoration of Buddhagaya and Nalanda Vishwavidyalay : 

After a long period of 85 years, the Sanātanī rule was reestablished by Gaudeshwar Madhusudan Sen in Magadha by expelling the Mlēccha Turks. Paramasaugata Raja Madhusudan Sen, a devotee of Bud'dha Tathāgata, organized a Mahāsaṅgha in the Gaya region, the holy shrine of the Buddhists, to re-establish Buddhism. Buddhism was being newly established in the Gaya region on the initiative of his feudal lords Kamārāja Puruṣhōttama Singha and Sapādalakṣhapati Aśhōkachalla. The Nalanda vishwavidyalaya & monastery, destroyed by the Turks, was renovated and re-established by Gaudeshwar Madhusen. A Buddhist inscription found in the contemporary Gaya region mentions "Lakṣhmaṇasēna Dēvapādānāmatītarājyē (লক্ষ্মণসেন দেবপাদানামতীতরাজ্যে/ लक्ष्मणसेन देवपादानमतीतराज्ये), which testifies to the existence of Bengal's Sena rule in Magadha at that time.