KAMARUPA

also called Kamata, ancient Indian state corresponding roughly to what is now the state of Assam in northeastern India. This region had many rulers but, being protected by natural fortifications, maintained fairly consistent territorial boundaries. Kamarupa was ruled by a single dynasty from AD 350 to 650. Although it began as a feudatory state of the Gupta empire, Kamarupa under a second dynasty that ruled in the 9th and 10th centuries existed as an independent kingdom. Although several Muslim invasions were repelled in the 13th century, in the same period the area was infiltrated by the Ahom tribe of northern Myanmar (Burma), who slowly progressed westward in their control of the region. The Ahom referred to the region Assam, and this term eventually supplanted Kamarupa as the accepted name for the area. Being a unique mix of South Asian and East Asian cultures, Kamarupa was the seat of evolution for the Tantric form of Hinduism.