Biswa Singha of Kamata
Encyclopedia
Vishwa Singha (1515—1540) was the progenitor king of the Koch dynasty
of the Kamata kingdom
, a successor state of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom. A son of a Mech chieftain and grandson of a Koch hero, he was able to unify different tribal groups against the Baro-Bhuyan
s of Assam
and established a kingdom the remnant of which still exists today.
, Ahom
and the Kachari
kingdoms. To their west was the region of the Baro-Bhuyans that formed the buffer between the eastern kingdoms and the Kamata kingdom
. In 1498, Alauddin Hussain Shah
of Gaur
attacked Nilambar, the king of Kamata, and occupied it. He left the region in the hands of his son Daniyal, who was attacked and defeated by a conglomeration of Bhuyan landlords led by Harup Narayan. The Bhuyans succeeded in removing the conquerors, but they failed to create a kingdom and instead maintained their fiefdoms.
In that political vacuum, Viswa Singha managed to unify Mech, Koch, Garo and other tribal groups and attack and defeat the Bhuyans and establish the Koch dynasty in the seat of the erstwhile Kamata kingdom.
. Haria Mandal married Hira and Jira, the daughters of Koch Hajo, a Koch chief, and formed an alliance between the Mech and the Koch. Bisu, as Viswa Singha was called earlier, was born to Hariya Mandal and Hira. Bisu is suspected to have participated in the Bhuyan campaigns against Daniyal, when he acquired his military skills.
). His campaign against the Karnapur Bhuyan was particularly difficult, and he could defeat him only with a stratagem during Bihu
. His campaign caused problems for other adjoining Bhuyans, like those from Banduka and Sajalagram.
. He assumed the Hindu name Viswa Singha. This happened in 1515, which is taken as the beginning of the rule of the Koch dynasty in Kamata. He began consolidating his power with a well thought out administrative system. He appointed his brother Sisu (Sisya Singha) as the yuvaraj, the descendants of who became the Raikut kings of Jalpaiguri. He created positions for twelve ministers called Karjis who were chiefs of different tribal groups that helped him during his campaign against the Bhuyans. Two of the most important Karjis and the yuvaraj (Raikot) formed a cabinet. A commander of a small standing army, the senapati, was created. After a census, he created a gradation of officers who controlled the population. Individual able-bodied males were called Paiks, with commanders Thakuria (over 20 Paiks), Saikia (over 100 Paiks), Hazari (over 1000 Paiks), Omra (over 3000 Paiks) and Nawab (over 66,000 Paiks).
Viswa Singha maintained his relationship with the tribals by appointing them exclusively as Karjis. The only Brahmin appointee was the royal priest (raj purohit).
Viswa Singha formed alliances with various chiefs and kings around his kingdom via marriages. He had eighteen wives (from Nepal
, Gaur
, Kamarupa, Benaras, Mithila and Kashmir
) who bore him eighteen sons. These sons were given state duties. Nara Singha (son of Ratnakanti of Nepal) was in charge of the territory conquered from the king of Bhutan
. Malladev (later Nara Narayana, son of Hemaprabha of Gaur) was the heir apparent; Sukladhwaj (later Chilarai
, son of Padmawati of Gaur), Gosain Kamal (son of Chandrakanti of Kamarupa) was in charge of public works, etc.
rulers still had ambitions to conquer the Brahmaputra valley which brought them into conflict with the newly expanded Ahom kingdom
. One such invasion was by Turbak, who attacked the Ahoms in 1532–1533., most likely passing through the Kamata kingdom. Turbak was summarily defeated, and the remnant of his army was pursued to the Karatoya river, the western boundary of the Kamata kingdom, by the Ahom general Tonkham Borgohain. At the end of this expedition, Tonkham Borgohain restored Viswa Singha at his seat of power at Kamata Kingdom to act as a buffer between the Ahom kingdom and the Gaur ambitions in Brahmaputra valley.
An ambitious person, Viswa Singha could not bear the status of vassalage to the Ahom kingdom, and made an abortive attempt to invade the Ahom kingdom in about 1537. Due to logistical shortcomings, he had to abandon his ambitions, and instead paid a visit to the Ahom court, where he agreed to pay an annual tribute. This was unbearable to him, and his deathbed injunction to his successors were to remove this vassalage.
He invaded the kingdoms of Soumarpith, Bijni
, Bidyagram and Bijaypur and was victorious. Next he attacked Bhutan
and after victory made a treaty with Bhutan. Biswa Singha also acquired major portions of Gour
, then ruled by Hossien Shah. On the request of his mother he shifted his capital from the Chikna Mountains to Hingulabas in the plains. During his reign Muslim invaders, including Turuk Khan and Nasrat Shah, the king of Gour attacked his kingdom numerous times but after facing defeat they were forced to retreat. His bravery and courage helped the Kamata- Koch Kingdom
hold a strong base.
Apart from being a great king, Maharaja Biswa Singha was also a good administrator. He was inclined towards education, and sent his son Nara Narayan & Sukladhaj to Varanasi
for their education. He was a worshiper of Shiva
and Durga
. He brought several priests from places like Kanauj, Mithila
and established various temples. In 1554 A.D. at the age of 53 he set out for the Himalayas to lead the rest of his life as a saint after crowning his second son Nara Narayan.
Koch dynasty
The Koch dynasty of Assam and Bengal, named after the Koch tribe, emerged as the dominant ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the fall of the Khen dynasty in 1498...
of the Kamata kingdom
Kamata Kingdom
The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the...
, a successor state of the ancient Kamarupa kingdom. A son of a Mech chieftain and grandson of a Koch hero, he was able to unify different tribal groups against the Baro-Bhuyan
Baro-Bhuyan
The Baro-Bhuyans were warrior chiefs and landlords of medieval Assam and Bengal who maintained a loose independent confederacy. In times of aggression by external powers, they generally cooperated in defending and expelling the aggressor. In times of peace, they maintained their respective...
s of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and established a kingdom the remnant of which still exists today.
Establishment of the Koch dynasty
After breakup of the Kamarupa kingdom in the 12th century, its territories were divided among small kingdoms, local chiefs and landlords. To the very east emerged the SutiaChutiya Kingdom
The Sutiya kingdom was established by Birpal in 1187 in northeastern Assam, with the capital at Sadiya. The Sutiya are an indigenous ethnic group that speak a Tibeto-Burman language. According to tradition, Birpal at first became the chief of sixty families....
, Ahom
Ahom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
and the Kachari
Kachari Kingdom
The Kachari Kingdom was a powerful kingdom in medieval Assam. The rulers belonged to the Dimasa people, part of the greater Bodo-Kachari ethnic group...
kingdoms. To their west was the region of the Baro-Bhuyans that formed the buffer between the eastern kingdoms and the Kamata kingdom
Kamata Kingdom
The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the...
. In 1498, Alauddin Hussain Shah
Alauddin Hussain Shah
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian Sultan, Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah, whom he had served under as wazir...
of Gaur
Gaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
attacked Nilambar, the king of Kamata, and occupied it. He left the region in the hands of his son Daniyal, who was attacked and defeated by a conglomeration of Bhuyan landlords led by Harup Narayan. The Bhuyans succeeded in removing the conquerors, but they failed to create a kingdom and instead maintained their fiefdoms.
In that political vacuum, Viswa Singha managed to unify Mech, Koch, Garo and other tribal groups and attack and defeat the Bhuyans and establish the Koch dynasty in the seat of the erstwhile Kamata kingdom.
Origin of Viswa Singha
Viswa Singha's father was Haria Mandal a Mech chief commanding about 12 families in the Chikana hills, a region in Goalpara district of AssamAssam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. Haria Mandal married Hira and Jira, the daughters of Koch Hajo, a Koch chief, and formed an alliance between the Mech and the Koch. Bisu, as Viswa Singha was called earlier, was born to Hariya Mandal and Hira. Bisu is suspected to have participated in the Bhuyan campaigns against Daniyal, when he acquired his military skills.
Campaign against the Bhuyans
Bisu began his campaign to unify the tribal chiefs around 1509 from his seat at Chikana. Some of the tribal chiefdoms that allied with him were Darrang, Karaibari, Atiabari, Kamtabari and Balrampur. Some of the Bhuyan chiefs he defeated during his campaign were the Bhuyans of Ouguri, Kusum Bhuyan, Dighala Bhuyan, Kalia Bhuyan, the Bhuyan of Jhargaon, Kabilash Bhuyan, the Bhuyans of Karnapur, Phulaguri, and Bijni and finally the Bhuyan of Pandunath (Pandu at GuwahatiGuwahati
Guwahati, Pragjyotishpura in ancient Assam formerly known as Gauhati is a metropolis,the largest city of Assam in India and ancient urban area in North East India, with a population of 963,429. It is also the largest metropolitan area in north-eastern India...
). His campaign against the Karnapur Bhuyan was particularly difficult, and he could defeat him only with a stratagem during Bihu
Bihu
Bihu denotes a set of three different cultural festivals of Assam and celebrated by the Assamese diaspora around the world. Though they owe their origins to ancient rites and practices they have taken definite urban features and have become popular festivals in urban and commercialized milieus in...
. His campaign caused problems for other adjoining Bhuyans, like those from Banduka and Sajalagram.
At Kamatapur
Having defeated the Bhuyans, Bisu now moved his seat of power from Chikana to Kamatapur, a few miles southeast of the present Cooch Behar town, and declared himself the ruler of Kamata kingdomKamata Kingdom
The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the...
. He assumed the Hindu name Viswa Singha. This happened in 1515, which is taken as the beginning of the rule of the Koch dynasty in Kamata. He began consolidating his power with a well thought out administrative system. He appointed his brother Sisu (Sisya Singha) as the yuvaraj, the descendants of who became the Raikut kings of Jalpaiguri. He created positions for twelve ministers called Karjis who were chiefs of different tribal groups that helped him during his campaign against the Bhuyans. Two of the most important Karjis and the yuvaraj (Raikot) formed a cabinet. A commander of a small standing army, the senapati, was created. After a census, he created a gradation of officers who controlled the population. Individual able-bodied males were called Paiks, with commanders Thakuria (over 20 Paiks), Saikia (over 100 Paiks), Hazari (over 1000 Paiks), Omra (over 3000 Paiks) and Nawab (over 66,000 Paiks).
Viswa Singha maintained his relationship with the tribals by appointing them exclusively as Karjis. The only Brahmin appointee was the royal priest (raj purohit).
Viswa Singha formed alliances with various chiefs and kings around his kingdom via marriages. He had eighteen wives (from Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Gaur
Gaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
, Kamarupa, Benaras, Mithila and Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
) who bore him eighteen sons. These sons were given state duties. Nara Singha (son of Ratnakanti of Nepal) was in charge of the territory conquered from the king of Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. Malladev (later Nara Narayana, son of Hemaprabha of Gaur) was the heir apparent; Sukladhwaj (later Chilarai
Chilarai
Shukladhwaj , or more popularly Chilarai , was the younger brother of Nara Narayana, the king of the Kamata kingdom in the 16th century. He was Nara Narayana's commander-in-chief, and he got his name Chilarai because his movement as a general was as fast as a chila .Chilarai is known to have...
, son of Padmawati of Gaur), Gosain Kamal (son of Chandrakanti of Kamarupa) was in charge of public works, etc.
Buffer state
Even though the restructuring of the Kamata kingdom was done in all earnest, the new administration was still tenuous. The GaurGaur
The gaur , also called Indian bison, is a large bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. The species is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986 as the population decline in parts of the species' range is likely to be well over 70% over the last three generations...
rulers still had ambitions to conquer the Brahmaputra valley which brought them into conflict with the newly expanded Ahom kingdom
Ahom kingdom
The Ahom Kingdom was a medieval kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley in Assam that maintained its sovereignty for nearly 600 years and successfully resisted Mughal expansion in North-East India...
. One such invasion was by Turbak, who attacked the Ahoms in 1532–1533., most likely passing through the Kamata kingdom. Turbak was summarily defeated, and the remnant of his army was pursued to the Karatoya river, the western boundary of the Kamata kingdom, by the Ahom general Tonkham Borgohain. At the end of this expedition, Tonkham Borgohain restored Viswa Singha at his seat of power at Kamata Kingdom to act as a buffer between the Ahom kingdom and the Gaur ambitions in Brahmaputra valley.
An ambitious person, Viswa Singha could not bear the status of vassalage to the Ahom kingdom, and made an abortive attempt to invade the Ahom kingdom in about 1537. Due to logistical shortcomings, he had to abandon his ambitions, and instead paid a visit to the Ahom court, where he agreed to pay an annual tribute. This was unbearable to him, and his deathbed injunction to his successors were to remove this vassalage.
He invaded the kingdoms of Soumarpith, Bijni
Bijni
Bijni is a town and a town area committee in Chirang district in the state of Assam, India.-Geography:Bijni is located at . It has an average elevation of 53 metres .-Demographics:...
, Bidyagram and Bijaypur and was victorious. Next he attacked Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
and after victory made a treaty with Bhutan. Biswa Singha also acquired major portions of Gour
Gaur, West Bengal
Gour, or Gaur , as it is spelt mostly in modern times, or Lakhnauti is a ruined city, in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, on the west bank of the Ganges river, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal.-History:...
, then ruled by Hossien Shah. On the request of his mother he shifted his capital from the Chikna Mountains to Hingulabas in the plains. During his reign Muslim invaders, including Turuk Khan and Nasrat Shah, the king of Gour attacked his kingdom numerous times but after facing defeat they were forced to retreat. His bravery and courage helped the Kamata- Koch Kingdom
Kamata Kingdom
The Kamata kingdom appeared in the western part of the older Kamarupa kingdom in the 13th century, after the fall of the Pala dynasty. The rise of the Kamata kingdom marked the end of the ancient period in the History of Assam and the beginning of the medieval period. The first rulers were the...
hold a strong base.
Apart from being a great king, Maharaja Biswa Singha was also a good administrator. He was inclined towards education, and sent his son Nara Narayan & Sukladhaj to Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
for their education. He was a worshiper of Shiva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
and Durga
Durga
For the 1985 Hindi Film of Rajesh Khanna see DurgaaIn Hinduism, Durga ; ; meaning "the inaccessible" or "the invincible"; , durga) or Maa Durga "one who can redeem in situations of utmost distress" is a form of Devi, the supremely radiant goddess, depicted as having eighteen arms, riding a lion...
. He brought several priests from places like Kanauj, Mithila
Mithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...
and established various temples. In 1554 A.D. at the age of 53 he set out for the Himalayas to lead the rest of his life as a saint after crowning his second son Nara Narayan.