Balinarayan
Balinarayan alias Dharmanarayan or Baldeo (r. 1616– 1638) of Mughals was the son of Koch King Raghudev and younger brother of King Parikshit and the first King of Darrang Desa (present-day Darrang). He was the chief conductor of the operations conducted against the Mughals during their occupation of Kamrupa erstwhile fallen Koch Hajo which got annexed to Mughal domains after the defeat of the latter.
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| Balinarayan Dharmanarayan Baldeo | |
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| Raja | |
| 1st King of Darrang | |
| Reign | 1616 CE to 1638 |
| Predecessor | Position established |
| Successor | Mahendra Narayan |
| Born | Koch Hajo |
| Died | 1638 Singri |
| Father | Raghu Dev |
| Religion | Hinduism |
Carrer
Background
The Mughal governor of Bengal after subduing Koch Behar, invaded Koch Hajo. In the initial conflicts the King of Hajo, Parikshit got defeated and was captured, and taken to Delhi (1613).[1] Balinarayan his younger brother went to Ahom Kingdom and took shelter there under then Ahom King Pratap Singha (r. 1601– 1641) for protection.[2] There he convinced Pratap Singha of his honesty by paying his full obeisances.[3]
In 1615, Mughals launched their aggressions towards Ahom Kingdom, with some initial success but at last ultimately crushed and pushed back off to Barnadi . Balinarayan was established by the Pratap Singha in the Darrang region as a tributary King.[4][5]
Balinarayan was called Dharmanarayan by Pratap Singha due to his religious deposition.[6]
Conflicts with Mughals
Mughal subjugation of Koch Hajo (Kamrupa) was incomplete and the latter could only effectively control the western part. Zealous, he was resolved to drive the Mughals out from Kamrupa and proved to be a noble tenacious fighter in both geographical divisions of Kamrup as Rana Pratap of Chittor.[7]
From this time till his death (1638), he was the most persistent enemy of the Mughal peace in Kamrup, and was a nightmare to the thanahdars there. Strengthened by the enormous resources of the Ahom king, he made many a daring raid upon Kamrup.
— Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya, A History Of Mughal North-east Frontier Policy
In 1616, utilizing the weakening of the imperial authority in Kamrup, Balinarayan along the hill-chieftains besieged Pandu but the Mughal defeat was prevented by a Bengal zamindars who came to rescue and the besiegers retreated. In a second attempt, Balinarayan occupied Pandu without any contest due to an internal feud in the Mughal camp. He then called Ahom King for reinforcement for retention, who accordingly sent a large number of troops under his chief commanders, and a grand attack was launched upon Hajo.[8][9] With initial gains, Mughals were reduced but were eventually compelled to retreat with the Burhagohain dead. Balinarayan escaped capture and took shelter in Ahom Kingdom.
In 1619, Balinarayan with Ahoms besieged Ranihat and captured it. Next year he made an attack on the Minari outpost but counter retaliation under Mirza Nathan, resulted in flight. Balinarayan (1626) seized Luki Duar and overrun the entirety of Dakhinkul (south bank of Brahmaputra ), attempts to subvert him proved abortive [10] In 1636, Balinarayan captured the imperial strongholds of Nowmati. The Mughals after being defeated on several engagements now made their last stand on Hajo, now both Balinarayan and the Borphukan made a combined attack which eventually fell to them.[11]
Death
The repeated news of reverse in Kamrup reached to Islam Khan II, Subahdar of Bengal and he sent strong reinforcement under Mir Zainuddin along with Allah Yar Khan. The reinforced Mughals now recovered the lost tracts one by one and finally captured Balinarayan at Singri ; and killed.[12]
Legacy
Historian Sudhindra Nath Bhattacharya notes about Balinarayan –
"In fact, the history of Mughal Eamrup, subsequent to the year 1616, is one long tale of the persistent attempts made by Bali Narayan to subvert Imperial authority there... Almost every page of the Baharistan-i-Ghaibi attests to his skilful leadership, crafty strategy and military genius."[13]
A life-sized statue of Balinarayan alias Dharamanarayan was unveiled in Mangaldoi, Darrang district.[14][15]
See also
Notes
- Gogoi 2002, p. 19
- Sarkar 1992, p. 103
- Nath (1989, p. 104):"Pratap Singha...was fully convinced of his honesty, and found that with this prince, he could fight. the Mughals, who had already taken possession of the territory from the Barnadi to the Bharali in the north by defeating the local Bhuyans ruling in that region."
- Nath 1989, p. 104
- Gogoi 2002, p. 19
- Nath 1989, p. 104
- Sarkar 1992, p. 109
- Sarkar 1992, p. 117
- Roy 1968, p. 157
- Roy 1968, p. 158
- Devi 1968, p. 234
- Baruah 1986, p. 250
- Bhattacharya 1929, p. 181
- Desk, Sentinel Digital (2021-03-08). "Life-size statue of Raja Dharma Narayan unveiled in Mangaldai - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
- Goswami, Mayukh (2021-03-07). "Assam: Life-size statue of Koch King Dharma Narayan unveiled in Mangaldai town". NORTHEAST NOW. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
References
- Bhattacharya, Sudendra Nath (1929), A History of Mughal North-east Frontier Policy: Being a Study of the Political Relation of the Mughal Empire with Koch Bihar, Kamrup and Assam, India: Chuckervertty, Chatterjee & Company Limited
- Baruah, S L (1986), A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
- Devi, Lakshmi (1968), Ahom-tribal Relations: A Political Study
- Roy, Atul Chandra (1968), History of Bengal: Mughal Period, 1526-1765 A.D., Volume 3, Bengal (India): Nababharat Publishers
- Gogoi, Jahnabi (2002), Agrarian system of medieval Assam, Concept Publishing Company, New Delhi
- Baruah, S L (1985), A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
- Nath, D. (1989), History of the Koch Kingdom, C. 1515-1615, Mittal Publications, ISBN 9788170991090
- Sarkar, J N (1992). "Assam-Mughal Relations". In Barpujari, H K (ed.). The Comprehensive History of Assam. Vol. 2. Guwahati: Publication Board Assam. pp. 148–256.