The 'Koch dynasty' of
Assam and
Bengal, named after the Koch tribe of Tibeto-Burmese affiliation, took control of the
Kamata kingdom in
1515 after the fall of the
Khen dynasty in
1498. The capital was located at
Cooch Behar town.
Beginning of the Koch dynasty
The first major king was Vishwa Singha, who established himself in
1515 as the ruler of the
Kamata kingdom after the
Khen dynasty was defeated by Alauddin Hussein Shah in
1498. According to J N Sarkar Viswa Singha belonged to one of the dominant Koch tribes,
[1] which were a collection of
Mongoloid tribes,
[2] losely allied to the Meches,
Garos, Tharus and also Dravidians. They had adopted Hinduism a few generations before Vishwa Singha and claimed the Kshatriya varna. The earliest known ancestor of Viswa Singha was Haria Mandal,
[3] from the Chiknabari village in
Goalpara district, the head of the twelve most powerful Koch families. He was married to Jira and Hira, daughters of a Koch chief named Hajo, after whom
Koch Hajo was named. Viswa Singha was the son of Haria Mandal and Hira.
[4]
Viswa Singha's two sons, Naranarayan and Shukladhwaj (
Chilarai), the king and the commander-in-chief of the army respectively, took the kingdom to its zenith. Nara Narayan made Raghudev, the son of Chilarai, the governor of
Koch Hajo, the eastern portion of the country. After the death of Nara Narayan, Raghudev declared independence. The division of the Kamata kingdom into
Koch Bihar and
Koch Hajo was permanent.
Nara Narayan was impressed by the
bhakti saint
Srimanta Sankardeva who became a member of his court in the last three years of his life and who established a sattra in the kingdom.
Early history
In earlier time in the north eastern frontier of India which was known as
Pragjyotisha, which later came to be known as
Kamarupa. Ancient Kamrup was divided into four parts, namely Kampith, Ratnapith, Subarnapith and Soumarpith. Ancient Kamrup was ruled by many dynasties.
History of Cooch Behar
The princely state known as Cooch Behar during the British rule was a part of the
Kamarupa Kingdom from
4th century–
12th century ruled by the
Varman,
Mlechchha and
Pala dynasties. From 12th century, the area became a part of
Kamata kingdom, first ruled by the
Khen dynasty from their capital at Kamatapur. The most important Khen rulers were Niladhaj (1440-1460), Chakradhaj (1460-1480) and Nilambar (1480-1498) The Khens were an indigenous tribe and they ruled till about 1498 CE when they fell into the trick of
Alauddin Hossein Shah, the independent Pathan Sultan of
Gour and lost their empire. The new invaders came into conflict with the local
Bhuyan chieftains and the
Ahom king
Suhung, and lost control of the region.
After the Muslims left the area there was confusion and commotion in the country. During this time independent Bhuiyans started ruling over small areas. Among these a Koch Bhuiyan named Hajo had two daughters named Jira and Hira. On the other side there was a small territory at Chikna Mountains situated between the
Sankosh River and the
Champabati River about 80 kilometers north of
Dhubri in present-day
Goalpara District of
Assam. This territory was ruled by Haridas Mondal, a Mech chieftain. To establish unity with Chikna, Hajo wedded off his daughters to Haridas. In due time Jira gave birth to Madan and Chandan while Hira gave birth to Sishu (Sisya Singha) and Bishu (Biswa Singha). Among the four brothers Bishu was the cleverest and strongest.
One day the four brothers were praying to
Goddess Bhagwati in a playful mood and they offered one of their friends for sacrifice; it is believed that mysteriously the head of the friend was cut off his body.
Turka Kotwal ordered their arrest; fearing capture they took shelter in the forest.
Later they collected soldiers, elephants and horses and attacked the Turka Kotwal. Madan was killed in the battle; to take revenge Biswa Singha killed Turka Kotwal. To please step-mother Jira, whose son Madan was killed instead of becoming himself the king, Biswa Singha enthroned Chandan as the King. In this way in
1510 the
Koch kingdom was started.
Kings
Rulers of undivided Koch kingdom
★
Maharaja Chandan
★
Biswa Singha (
1515-
1540)
★
Nara Narayan (
1540-
1586)
Rulers of Koch Bihar
★ Lakshmi Narayan
★ Bir Narayan
★ Pran Narayan
★ Basudev Narayan
★ Mahindra Narayan
★ Roop Narayan
★ Upendra Narayan
★ Devendra Narayan
★ Dhairjendra Narayan
★ Rajendra Narayan
★ Dharendra Narayan
★ Harendra Narayan
★ Shivendra Narayan
★ Narendra Narayan
★ Nripendra Narayan
★ Rajrajendra Narayan
★ Jitendra Narayan
★ Jagadipendra Narayan
Rulers of Koch Hajo
★ Raghudev (son of
Chilarai, nephew of Nara Narayan)
★ Parikshit Narayan
★ Bali Narayan
Rulers of Darrang
★ Sundar Narayan (son of Bali Narayan)
★ ...
Rulers of Beltala
★ Gaj Narayan (brother of Bali Narayan)
★ ...
Rulers of Bijni
★ Chandra Narayan (son of Parikshit Narayan)
★ ...
Rulers of Khaspur
★ Kamal Narayan (Gohain Kamal, son of Viswa Singha)
★ ...
Notes
1. Sarkar 1992, p69
2. Sarkar 1992, f69. "Minjahuddin found the features of the Koch, Mech and Tharu tribes similar to a south Siberian tribe. Bryan Hodgson (JASB) xviii (2) 1849, 704-5, classes the Koches with the Bodo and Dhimal tribes. Buchanan agrees. Dalton takes them to be Dravidian. But Risley thinks they represented a fusion of Mongoloid and Dravidian stock, with the later predominating. According to Waddell Mongoloid type of Koches predominated in Assam."
3. Sarkar 1992, f70
4. Sarkar 1992, f70. But according to some Koch chronicles, a son of Haria Mandal, Chandan, became the king in 1510. Vishwa Singha, another son of Haria Mandal, became the king after Chandan.
References
★ Sarkar, J N (1992) ''Chapter IV: Early Rulers of Koch Bihar'' in The Comprehensive History of Assam, Vol II, (ed H K Barpujari), Publication Board, Assam.
★
Royal History of
Koch Bihar.
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