Shashanka

Shashanka

Shashanka Dev (IAST: Śaśāṅka) was the first independent king of a unified polity in the Bengal region, called the Gauda Kingdom. He reigned in the 7th century, some historians place his rule between 600 and 636/7 CE, whereas other sources place his reign between 590 and 625 CE. Shashanka, is credited with creating the Bengali calendar. The term Bangabda (Bangla year) is found too in two Shiva temples many centuries older than Akbar era, suggesting that a Bengali calendar existed long before Akbar's time. He is the contemporary of Harsha and of Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in 16 different languages on Wikipedia. Shashanka is the 14,725th most popular politician (down from 11,929th in 2024). (down from 2,940th in 2019)