Sutanphaa
Siva Singha Sutanphaa | |
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Swargadeo Chaopha Rajadhiraja Swarganarajayandeva | |
31st king of Ahom Kingdom | |
Reign | 27 August 1714 CE – 14 December 1744 CE |
Coronation | 27 August 1714 |
Predecessor | Sukhrungphaa |
Successor | Sunenphaa |
Regent | Phuleshwari (1722–1731) Ambika (1732–1739) Sarbeswari (1739–1744) |
Born | Rudra Singha |
Mother | Keree |
Religion | Hinduism (Shaktism) |
Royal Seal |
Sutanphaa also Siva Singha (c. ? – 14 December 1744) was the 31st king of
Reign
As per the death bed injunction of
Siva Singha is said to have established such an elaborate system of espionage during his reign that he had accurate information of everything that was done or spoken in the kingdom.[2]
Dafla expedition
There was no war in his reign, except in January 1717 there was an expedition against the
After the successful expedition, he had constructed embankments(Garhs) and Duars(gates)to control the maurading tribes of northern hills. Peace returned to the plains. At Biswanath Ghat Swargadeo Siva Singha rebuilt the Shiva temple, Biswanath Doul originally built during reign of Swargadeo Pratap Singha, near the location of the legendary Gupta Kashi. Swargadeo Siva Singha also built the Purvashankar and Umadevi temples in 1741 C. E.
Bar Rajas
Ahom dynasty |
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Siba Singha was a staunch
Queen Phuleswari minted coins in the joint name of her and her husband where she used
Phuleshwari in 1731 died while giving birth.[6]
The king then married her sister Draupadi, and made her the Bar Raja, after which she assumed the name of
Religious proclivities
It was during his reign that Hinduism became the predominant religion among Ahoms, and those who persisted in holding old tribal beliefs and customs came to be regarded as a separate degraded class.[9]
He made numerous temples and made large-number of land grants to Brahmanas, so that out of 48 copper plates recording land grants by all Ahom kings 19 of them belonged to him. He made an attempt to use Saktism as an counterforce against the growing power of
Administrative and public works
During Siba Singha's reign, the chief public works were the construction of Dhai Ali and the tanks and temples at Gaurisagar,
Siva Singha had the land surveyed in Kamrup and Bakata. The register, or Pera Kagaz, based on this survey of Kamrup was still used at the time of the British occupation. This contained a list of all occupied lands, except homesteads with their areas, and particularly of all rent free estates.
It was recorded that in 1739, four Europeans, whose names appear to have been Bill, Godwin, Lister, and Mill, visited King Siva Singha at
Art and literature
Siva Singha was a great patron of literature and music. His reign is considered the golden era of Assamese manuscripts, many notable manuscripts were written one of which was the Hastividyarnava which received royal patronage. Foreign musicians were invited into his country to instruct his own and the Monarch became the author of a large collection of pious songs.[11] Siba Singha erected numerous temples and gave away land for the support of the Brahmins and temples with all generosity. His court poets like Ananta Acharyya composed the Ananda Lahari and Kavichandra, the Kam-Kumar Haran Haran and the Dharma Puran at the instance of the king and his first chief queen Phuleshwari.
Death
According to Tungkhungia Buranji, Siva Singha died on Friday, the tenth of Aghon, 1666
Gallery
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Court depiction
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Full-rupee, inscribing Siva Singha and Ambika
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Half-Rupee, inscribing Siva Singha and Bar Raja Sarbeswari
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King Siva Singha
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Ahom king Siva singha holding bow and arrow
See also
Notes
- ^ (Baruah 1985:294)
- ^ (Baruah 1985:295)
- ^ Gait 1905, p. 177.
- ^ (Baruah 1985:294)
- ^ (Baruah 1985:296)
- ^ (Dutta 1985:295)
- ^ (Gogoi 1968:513)
- ^ (Dutta 1985:88)
- ^ (Baruah 1985:296)
- ^ (Dutta 1985:88)
- ^ Wade, John Peter,An Account of Assam. R. Sarmah, Assam. p. 141.
References
- Baruah, Swarna Lata (1933), Last Days of Ahom Monarchy: A History of Assam from 1769-1826, Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, New Delhi
- Baruah, S L (1985), A Comprehensive History of Assam, Munshiram Manoharlal
- Dutta, Sristidhar (1985), The Mataks and their Kingdom, Allahabad: Chugh Publications
- Gogoi, Padmeshwar (1968), The Tai and the Tai Kingdoms, Guwahati: Gauhati University
- Gait, Edward (1905), A History of Assam, Thacker, Spink & Co, Calcutta