The Varman dynasty (350-650), the first historical rulers of Kamarupa; was established by Pushya Varman, a contemporary of Samudragupta. This dynasty became vassals of the Gupta Empire, but as the power of the Guptas waned, Mahendra Varman (470-494) performed two horse sacrifices and threw off the imperial yoke. The first of the three Kamarupa dynasties, the Varmans were followed by the Mlechchha and then the Pala dynasties.

The genealogy of the Varman dynasty appears most fully in the Dubi and Nidhanpur copper plate inscriptions of the last Varman king, Bhaskar Varman (650-655), where Pushya Varman is named the founder. The Dubi copper plate inscription of Bhaskar Varman asserts that Pushya Varman was born in the family of Naraka, Bhagadatta and Vajradatta (as did the other two Kamarupa dynasties) three thousand years after these mythical ancestors. K.L. Barua opines that there was a Mlechha (i.e., Mech) revolt in Kamarupa and Salastambha, the leader or governor of the Mlecchas usurped the throne by deposing Bhaskar Varman's immediate successor Avanti Varman.

The dynasty traces its lineage from mythical Naraka. The exact ethnic genealogy of Naraka is in dispute, with authors such as N N Vasu and K L Barua claiming he was Dravidian, whereas authors like P C Choudhury consider him to be of Alpine origin. Since the claim to Naraka's lineage was made at the end of the Varman dynasty (Bhaskarvarman); and since it was natural for the ruling house to fabricate a respectable lineage, authors like Sircar refuse to give much importance to these claims.

Historical documents and legends are contradictory on the ethnicity of this dynasty. Naraka, according to an early account was the son of an asura named Hiranksha and Bhumi (Earth). In the late 10th-century Kalika Purana, Naraka is said to be the son of Vishnu in his Varaha form and Bhumi, who grew up in household of Janaka. The Kalika Purana goes on to describe two Narakas: one who was religious and the other who was hostile to Brahminism. The relationship of Bhagadatta, also mentioned as an ancestor of the Varmans, with Naraka is not clear from legendary sources either: Bhagadatta is called a grandson (Kalika Purana), a son (Bhagavata Purana) or not specified at all (Mahabharata, Harivamsha and Vishnu Purana). In the Mahabharata, a much earlier text, Bhagadatta, the son of Naraka is mentioned as Mleccha, an appellation used for non-Indo-Aryans. All three Kamarupa dynasties draw their lineage from Naraka and Bhagadatta.

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