In the late sixth century ce, Śaśāṅka—raised as the king of Gauḍa—extended his power over Magadha and northern Bihar. Whatever the details of his reign, his kingdom is acknowledged by modern-day historians as the prime political unity of Bengal, which included part of eastern India. His reign was not long (c.590–625?), but it was a period of relative peace and good administration and we know that his kingdom was visited by the Chinese monk Xuanzang.

The century following Śaśāṅka’s death stands as an obscure period of the Bengal-Magadha region—matsyanyāyam—with a succession of local conflicts and a multiplicity of independent sovereignities as well as a few invasions from outside. A noticeable event is Yaśovarman’s conquest of Kanauj, celebrated in the poem ‘Gaüḍavaho’, with two lines that possibly refer to the ‘slaughter’ of the king of Magadha, vassal of Gauḍa. The period of darkness came to an end in c.750 with the rise of the Pālas.

Sources on the Gauḍa Period in Bengal: Essays in Archaeology deals with the history and archaeology of Gauḍa, especially inscriptions, literary sources, scupltures, ceramics, and regional organizations of the period.