Gour Kingdom

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Kingdom of Gour
600-900–1303
Capital	Borchola (first), Bank of Malini stream (royal) and Mona Rai hill (minister)
Languages	Sanskrit, Prakrit
Religion	Hinduism (official)
Government	Monarchy
Raja
• 630-660	Gurak (first (legendary))
• 1260-1303	Gour Govinda (last)
Chief minister
• 630-660	Marbel (first)
• 1060-1100	Vanamali Kar
• 1250-1260	Madan Rai
• 1260-1303	Mona Rai (last)
Historical era	Classical period
• Established	600-900
• Disestablished	1303
Preceded by Succeeded by Jaintia Kingdom Taraf Kingdom Lakhnauti Sultanate
Today part of	Bangladesh

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The Kingdom of Gour was one of the greater of the many

The 11th century king Govinda-Rana Kesava Deva is recognised for introducing the navadinga (nine war boats) and heavily improving the kingdom's infantry, cavalry, and elephant power.[1] Due to familial tensions, the kingdom split into two separate kingdoms in 1170; Gour (Northern Sylhet) and Brahmachal (Southern Sylhet), before being reunited by

There are many theories behind the naming of the Gour kingdom. Some say that the name originated from the kingdom's founder; Gurak, the son of Raja Guhak just as Jaintia was named after Jayantak and Laur after Ladduk. Other theories are that it was named following the 1170 partition of the kingdom into two. The north was renamed Gour (also transliterated as Gauda in Sanskrit) as in imitation of the great Hindu Gauda Kingdom which ruled Bengal from 590AD to 626AD.^[4]

Location and origin

The kingdom consisted of majority of the modern-day

The early rulers of Gour were said to have belonged to an animist clan known as the Pator-Chutia or Patro which later converted to Hinduism after Raja Guhak's interest in the religion and his initial invitation to Brahmins from Kamarupa to come and migrate to Sylhet. The small tribe remains in existence today and are also known by their endonym, the Laleng, and claim descent from these kings although this cannot be proven. Their traditions are a mixture of tribal animistic and Hindu beliefs. They have a distinct language to Bengali and Sylheti and many migrated to Assam and Meghalaya following the 1947 Partition of India and 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.^[7]

History

Establishment

Before the establishment of the Gour Kingdom, the area was a part of the Jaintia Kingdom in greater Kamarupa. When Guhak ascended the Jaintia throne, he married a princess from Kamarupa. Guhak had a deep interest in Hinduism and migration of Brahmins from Kamarupa to this area took place. On his way back, Guhak brought a stone image known as Kangsa-Nisudhana, an image of Krishna and Balarama murdering Kamsa, as well as Grivakali and Janghakali, and they put it on top of a hill in modern-day where they would worship it. During the British colonial Bengal Presidency, this hill was also home to the Civil Surgeon's Bungalow.^[4]

Guhak had three sons, Jayantak, Gurak and Ladduk, and two daughters, Sheela and Chatala. It is said that his eldest daughter, Sheela, was once bathing in a lake south of the Kangsa-Nisudhana hill and she was kidnapped. After being rescued by Guhak, Sheela started to become more religious and live a secluded life. Chatala indulged herself in an unlawful relationship with one of the palace servants, leading to her being disowned and dumped in a distant island in the middle of 2000 square mile lake to the south of the kingdom. After Sheela's death at a young age, Guhak gave up his kingdom to also lead a more ascetic life. This port-area around the lake, which was the largest centre in the Jaintia Kingdom for trade, was named "Sheela

Guhak split the Jaintia Kingdom into three for his three sons. He gave his eldest son, Jayantak, what would become the hilly Jaintia Kingdom. He gave his second son, Gurak, the southern plains which would be named Gour, and he gave his third son, Luddak, the western plains which would become the Laur Kingdom.^[10]

Gurak made the capital initially at Borchola, five miles northwest of modern-day Sylhet, but moved it to Malini stream bank, 7 miles south of Sylhet. He appointed Marbel as his chief minister. The minister was stationed in a hillock (now known as Mona Rai's Tila) near the port for ease in tax collection and civil duties.^[4]

Mass migration period

Being separated from Kamarupa by the Jaintia Kingdom, Gour started interacting more with the Hindu lands to its west such as Tripura and Prayagraj. Minister Marbel was ordered to find a wife for Gurak's son, Srihasta. He went south to the

.

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Etymology Timeline Traditional Urheimat
Ancient Neolithic, c. 7600 – c. 3300 BCE Bronze Age, c. 3300 – c. 1200 BCE Iron Age , c. 1200 – c. 200 BCE Janapada, c. 1200 – c. 600 BCE Northern Black Polished Ware, c. 700 – c. 200 BCE Pundra Kingdom, c. 700 – c. 200 BCE Bengal in Mahabharata, c. 400 – c. 325 BCE Gangaridai Kingdom, c. 350 – c. 325 BCE Mauryan Empire , c. 325 – c. 185 BCE Samatata Kingdom, c. 232 BCE – c. 800 AD Shunga-Kushan Period, c. 185 BCE – c. 75 AD Southwestern Silk Road, c. 114 BCE – c. 1450 AD Indo-Roman trade relations, c. 30 BCE – c. 600 AD
Classical Gupta Empire, c. 240 – c. 550 AD Harikela Kingdom, c. 600 - c. 650 Gauda Kingdom, c. 590 – c. 626 Gour (Sylhet), c. 600 – c. 1303 Khadga dynasty, c. 650 – c. 750 Pala Empire, c. 750 – c. 1100 Arrival of Islam, c. 800 – c. 1050 Candra dynasty , c. 900 – c. 1050 Sena dynasty, c. 1070 – c. 1320 Deva dynasty, c. 1100 – c. 1250
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He was succeeded by Navagirvan Deva (also known as Ananta Deva Navagirvanta) who is mentioned in the Bhatera copper-plate inscription as Kharavana (sharp arrow thrower). The Bhatera copper-plate inscription mentions the rulers of Gour from Navagirvan up to Kesava Deva providing evidence of the chronicles of Gour in this period whilst the previous history before Navagirvan is considered legendary. Navagirvan is attributed for bringing prosperity to Srihatta. His son, Gokul Kishore Deva was described in the inscription to be so strong that he imposed inactivity to enemy kingdoms. Gokul's son, Narayana Deva had a minister named Nandaka and a son named Govinda-Rana Kesava Deva.[11] He was faced with confronting a number of rebellions.^[12]

The 11th King of Gour was Govinda-Rana Kesava Deva, also known as the Ripuraj Gopi Govinda. He became king in 990 AD after the death of his father, Narayan Deva. He is considered to be one of the greatest kings of Gour. In 1027, he constructed a towering stone

Pravir Deva became the Raja of Gour when he reached a mature age in 1080 AD. He had a son named Bhujavir.

Partition

Brahmachal infiltration
Date 1253 Location Brahmachal palace (Baramchal, Kulaura ) Result Amar Singh replaces Upananda as the ruler of Brahmachal Territorial changes Brahmachal re-annexed to Gour
Belligerents
Gour Kingdom	Brahmachal Kingdom Twipra Kingdom (defector)
Commanders and leaders
Raja Govardhan Minister Madan Rai Commander-in-chief Virabhadra Commander Shandul Prince Garuda	Raja Upananda † Commander Amar Singh (defector) Minister (name unknown) Jaidev Rai (minister's son) Kuki chiefs (defector)

In 1140 AD, after the death of Bhujavir Deva, his son Kshetra Pal ascended the throne. Raja Kshetra Pal also practised polygyny and had two wives; Ratnavati and Surama. During his reign, an earthquake took place which changed the country's contour and topography. It is said that a new river emerged in the town, which the King named after his second and favourite wife, Rani Surama, as the Surma River. The King's first son came from Surama and his name was Brahmajit. A few years later, Kshetra's first wife Ratnavati also gave birth to a son, called Dharmadhwaj. However, conspiracies emerged in the country as a number of people were suspicious of Ratnavati accusing her of jealousy and child illegitimacy as Kshetra was an old man by this time. After Kshetra died, his eldest son, Brahmajit stepped to the throne. His stepmother Ratnavati and her associates gave Brahmajit a hard time as she believed that as she was the elder wife, her son should have been the King.

Scared for his life, Brahmajit moved his capital to a place known as Brahmachal (now Baramchal,

Brahmachal which was ruled by Upananda contained the territory of Tungachal. In effect, this meant that the feudal ruler of Tungachal, Epivishnu - who was not given a choice - was effectively under the control of Amar Singh. Having close ties with Brahmachal and Tripura, Epivishnu was adamant to Govardhan and Singh's amicable compromises. With Epivishnu refusing every pleasant proposal given to be a feudal ruler under Gour, Govardhan and Singh decided it was time that they dethrone Epivishnu and appoint someone else to govern Tungachal. The Gour forces entered Tungachal, and a battle emerged on the banks of the Ghungi Jurir Haor. Raja Epivishnu was murdered and his commander-in-chief General Raghu was kidnapped and taken as a captive back to Gour. Govardhan then appointed his second general, Shandul, to be the feudal ruler of Tungachal.

Tribal invasion

The Raja of the Twipra Kingdom, Ratan Manikya was informed of Singh's treacherous actions and how he tricked the Kuki chiefs, he decided that he has to take action. He was also told of the murder of Raja Epivishnu, whom he was a friend of. Ratan believed the Gour administration was going too far and decided to also put a stop to Govardhan's scheme to invade other neighbouring kingdoms. He sent a contingent towards Brahmachal to attack Amar Singh. Singh's forces were outnumbered, and requested assistance from Govardhan. However, Govardhan was unable to help as Gour was facing an invasion in the north from the Jaintia Kingdom. Singh was killed by the Tripura forces and the Kuki chiefs saw this as an opportunity for them to annex Brahmachal to the Twipra Kingdom. Jaidev Rai, son of the minister of Raja Upananda, who was the king of Brahmachal before Amar Singh, was made the feudal ruler under the Tripuris. The Tripuris then proceeded to Tungachal, in an attempt to dethrone Shandul. Shandul decided to flee to Gour, thus enabling the Tripuris to bloodlessly annex Tungachal to its kingdom as well. The former minister of Tungachal, Bhadra Janardan, was appointed as the feudal ruler of Tungachal under the Twipra Kingdom.

The Jaintia Kingdom, north of Gour, attempted to invade and annex Gour to its kingdom as they could see that Govardhan was focused on the insurgencies in the southern areas of his kingdom and on securing Brahmachal and Tungachal. The various indigenous tribes and neighbouring kingdoms including the

Govinda successfully settled many

• Sylhet region
• History of Sylhet

Further reading

• Gupta, Prof Dr K M (1927–1928). Hirananda Krishna Sastri (ed.). "49. The Bhatera Copper-plate Inscription of Govinda-Kesavadeva (C. 1049 A.D.)". Epigraphia Indica. XIX. Sylhet: 277–286.

References