A History of Assam c10.6

c10.6

Bisva Singh. The progenitor of the Koch kings was a Mech or Koch—it is not certain which—named Hāriya Mandal, a resident of Chikangrām, a village in the Khuntaghāt pargana of the Goālpāra district. He was recognized head of twelve leading families of Meches (or Koches) living in the pargana.* He married, it is said, two sisters named Hirā and Jirā, the daughters of one Hāju, by whom he had two sons, namely, Bisu the son of Hirā, and Sisu the son of Jirā. They were born some years before the conquest of Kāmatā by the Muhammadans under Husain Shāh. The latter did not retain a permanent hold on the country, and the people, left to themselves, split up into numerous petty principalities, each under its own chief. Bisu was a man of unusual enterprise and courage, and he soon forced his way to the front. He defeated the chiefs, or Bhuiyās, of Uguri and Luki, but was repulsed by Chāru Bhuiyā. Nothing daunted, he renewed his attack, at a time when the Bhuiyās' soldiers had dispersed for a festival, and killed him and the few followers that remained with him. Following up this success, he subdued the chiefs of Phulguri, Bijni and other places, and gradually extended his rule as far as the Karatoya in the west and the Bar Nadi in the east. He rose to power about 1515 A.D.