Shashanka - Contemporary Sources

Contemporary Sources

There are several major contemporary sources of information on his life, including copperplates from his vassal Madhavavarma (King of Ganjam), copperplates of his rivals Harshavardhana and Bhaskarvarmana, and the accounts of the Chinese monk Xuanzang as well as coins minted in Shashanka's reign. The informations provided by Bana and Xuanzang cannot be considered as true or very reliable as both belonged to Buddhism and Shashanka was known to be a staunch Hindu. Moreover the patron of Bana and Xuanzang was a sworn enemy of Shashanka. So both were bound to be biased towards him. They have described Sasanka as the "vile Gauda serpent". In his account Xuanzang has elaborated that Shashanka has destroyed the Buddhist stupas of Bengal and declared an award of hundred gold coins for the head of every Buddhist monk in his kingdom.