Biswa Singha (1515–1540) was the progenitor king of the Koch dynasty of the Kamata kingdom. He was able to unify different Bodo tribes,["Bisu organised the different Bodo tribes of the region under his banner and launched a career of war and conquest and made the koches a power to be reckoned with.."] replace the of Kamata kingdom, and establish a dynasty the remnant of which still exists today.
Historical context of Biswa Singha
After break-up 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
Chutiya kingdom,
Ahom kingdom and the
Kachari kingdom kingdoms.
In the east, there arose the
Kamata kingdom. In the regions between the Kamata in the west and the Chutia and Dimasa kingdoms in the east was the region of the confederate Baro-Bhuyans landlords who formed the buffer. In 1498, Alauddin Hussain Shah the
Bengal Sultanate attacked Nilambar, the then king of Kamata, and occupied it. He left the region in the hands of his son
Danyal Husayn, who was attacked and defeated by a confederation 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 independent fiefdoms.
In this political vacuum Biswa Singha managed to unify different tribal groups and establish the Koch dynasty in the seat of the erstwhile Kamata kingdom.
Biography
Rise of Biswa Singha
Bisu, as he was then known, was born to Hariya Mandal of Mount Chikna in present-day Kokrajhar district of Assam, the head of twelve
Mech people families
[" Haria Mandal who was the head of twelve leading Mech families and inhabited Chiknabari in Mount Chikna near Bhutan hills"] and Hira, the daughter of Hajo, a
Koch people leader
["The Koches 'who had a number of chiefs, at first independent, but who gradually united under the authority of one of themselves named Hajo. occupied Rangpur and Kamrup. He had two daughters, Hira and Jira of whom Hira was married to Hariya, a member of the "impure tribe" called Mech"] in the later part of the 15th century. Bisu abandoned his father's legacy,
["It is interesting to note that Bisu, the founder of the dynasty and son of Haria Mandal, a chieftain of the Tibeto–Burman origin, discarded the tribal affinity of his father, but retained Koch identity of his mother (Bisu’s mother, Hira belonged to the Koch origin)"] received the political legacy of his grandfather, Hajo, and established himself as the chief of the eastern branch of the Koches in the Khuntaghat region and became a landlord,
probably around 1509.
["In the records of the later Koch kings, we find an era dating from 1509/1510...(it is) but a commemoration date of (Bisu's) inheritance to his grandfather's property." ] As a landlord Bisu fought alongside the Bhuyans against the occupation of
Kamata kingdom by Alauddin Husain Shah and thus learned their military tactics.
["Bisu, who might have fought Alauddin Hussain Shah or his government in Kamrup under the leadership of the Bhuyans and had a knowledge of their (the Bhuyans') military tactics..." ]
Bisu began his campaign around 1509
At Kamatapur
Brahman priest created a legend of Bisu being born as the son of
Lord Shiva to give legitimacy to his rule
["It is common to believe Biswa Singha's origin as son of Siva was nothing but creation of the Brahmans...The Brahmans needed royal patronage and the king wanted legitimacy which could be obtained through the universal religion to teach the people to be obedient, patient and submissive"] and bestowed on him the status of
kshatriya varna and here he took the Hindu name Biswa Singha. With this new found position, the Koch royal family adopted the name – Rajbanshi. 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 and recruited them from the twelve important Mech families of his tribesmen.
Two of the most important
Karjis and the
Yuvaraja (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).
The only Brahmin appointee was the royal priest (
raj purohit).
["One such Brahman was Swarbabhuma who was appointed as Rajapurahita or royal priest and also adviser to the king"]
In order to maintain a tribe-centric policy, Biswa Singha instructed his ministers not to get brides from foreign people but instead from the Koch, Mech or Kachari tribes.
Death
According to the
Darrangraj Vamshavali written in the last quarter of the 18th century, Biswa Singha reigned for 25 years and died of sores; and according to the
Kochbiharer Itihas he died of
smallpox.
In Yogini Tantra
In
Yogini Tantra, a 16th/17th century text describes Biswa Singha as the conqueror of Kàma(rupa) (
Kamrup region), Saumàra (
Ahom kingdom) and Gaudapañcama (Gauda).
Buffer state
Even though the restructuring of the Kamata kingdom was done in all earnest, the new administration was still tenuous. The Gaur 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 river, the western boundary of the Kamata kingdom, by the Ahom general Tonkham Borgohain. At the end of this expedition, Tonkham Borgohain restored Biswa 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, Biswa 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.
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 kingdom hold a strong base.
He sent his two son Nara Narayan & Sukladhaj (Chilarai) to a Sanskrit scholar named Brahmananda in Varanasi to introduce them to the ideals of Dvija Hindus.["He brought some learned Brahmanas from Mithila, Benaras, Kanauj, and Srikshetra (Puri) to his kingdom in order to perform the Brahminical rituals....all these factors went a long way in effecting a rapid transformation of Koch Behar royal family from tribalism to Saivaism and Vaisnavism"]
Legacy
Biswa Singha had the skill, intelligence and power which enabled him lay the foundation of a strong kingdom on the ruins of Kamarupa-Kamanta. He proved himself to be a successful conqueror and a efficient administrator. He had the qualities of a statesman which is evident from his relations with
Ahoms. It was he, who crushed the strong power of Bhuyans in western Assam and established a strong centralised monarchy, which was destined to play a far more important role during the reign of his illustrious son
Nara Narayan.
Notes
