A History of Assam c13: Chapter VII. The Climacteric of Ahom Rule

A History of Assam c13

Language: English

Chapter VII. The Climacteric of Ahom Rule

THE fratricide now ascended the throne. He assumed the Ahom name Suklāmphā and the Hindu name Rāmdhvaj. He rewarded with the post of Bar Barua the ring leader of the conspiracy which brought him to the throne, whose name was Deberā *alias* Lāchāi. Almost immediately the Bar Gohāin set on foot a plot in favour of the Sāring Raja, but it was discovered, and he and the Sāring Raja were both put to death.

c13.4

Expeditions against Deori Chutiyas and Mishmis.

c13.5

A force was sent against the Deori Chutiyas, who had become insubordinate, and they were quickly reduced to order; many of their males were deported, and a yearly tribute of boats was exacted. There was also trouble with the Mishmis, who had made a raid in Ahom territory. They surrounded a small detachment of 100 men which was sent against them, but submitted on the arrival of a stronger force under the Bar Phukan, and gave up the men responsible for the raid.

c13.6

The king is murdered.

c13.7

The king now became seriously ill and sent for his brothers, the Rajas of Tipām and Nāmrup. In anticipation of his early decease, the question of the succession was hotly discussed by the nobles. Some were in favour of one or other of the king's brothers; others pressed the claims of Lādām, his son by the chief queen, and others again urged that the son of Udayāditya should be the next king. The Bar Barua, Debera, foresaw that his position would be one of great danger if the last-mentioned succeeded to the throne, and determined to do all in his power to prevent him from doing so. With this object he collected a band of armed men. The king heard of this and, thinking perhaps that there was a conspiracy on foot against himself, ordered him to be arrested. The Bar Barua, however, was on the alert and put to death the men sent to effect his arrest. He also killed or mutilated some other officers whom he looked on as his enemies, and finally, in March 1675, caused the king to be poisoned.

c13.8

The nobles in council decided to raise Udayāditya’s son to the throne, but they reckoned without the Bar Barua, who, calling in his band of armed men, seized and put to death his chief opponents, and installed as king a prince named Suhung from Sāmaguri. Suhung took as his chief queen one of the widows of Jayadhvaj Singh, who was a sister of the Bar Phukan. Suhung, 1675.

c13.9

The Tipām Raja, who was one of the rival claimants to the throne, raised an army and marched towards the capital. He was met and defeated by the Bar Barua, and was caught and executed. The Bar Barua also, on his own motion, put to death a number of his private enemies, whom he enticed from Gauhāti on the pretence that the king had sent for them. Suhung, finding that he was nothing more than a puppet in the hands of this crafty and overbearing minister, sought means to kill him, but the Bar Barua was informed of his danger by a servant, and so caused the king to be assassinated after a reign of only 21 days.

c13.10

The Bar Barua next brought from Tungkhang a prince named Gobar, grandson of the Deo Raja, and made him king. Soon afterwards he sent a message to the Bar Gohāin, who was then at Gauhāti, asking him to send in the Bar Phukan. The messengers were intercepted by the latter who, suspecting that his life was in danger, induced the Bar Gohāin and Sangrai Burhā Gohāin to join with him in putting an end to the reign of terror, which, he said, would prevail so long as the Bar Barua lived. They swore a solemn oath of fidelity to each other, raised an army, and marched against the Bar Barua. The Bar Barua advanced to meet them, but, when his enemies approached, his troops deserted him, and he was fain to seek safety in flight. He was pursued and captured, and taken before the Bar Phukan, who caused him to be executed. Gobar was also taken, and put to death. He had been king for barely a month. Gobar, 1675.

c13.11

Sujinphā, 1675 to 1677.

c13.12

It was by no means easy to find a suitable candidate for the throne. After a prolonged discussion it was decided to nominate a prince of the Dihingia clan named Sujinphā, a son of the Nāmrup Raja and a descendant of Suhungmung, the Dihingia Raja. He ascended the throne with great éclat. Large sums of money were distributed amongst the people and the festivities continued for seven days. Before installing him, the nobles had themselves appointed a new Bar Barua in the place of the deceased Debera.

c13.13

There had been so many conspiracies during the last few years that the new king resolved to protect himself by exacting an oath of fealty from all his officers. Cannon were posted at the gates of the city and the streets were lined with soldiers; the various officers of State were then summoned to attend and take the prescribed oath. Many of them, however, were so incensed by the order, and by the want of confidence in them that it implied, that, instead of going to the capital, they entered into a conspiracy with the Burhā Gohāin. This noble secretly collected some men and, in the dead of night, entered the city and surrounded the palace. At this moment the king woke up and saw them in the courtyard. He at once grasped the position and, rushing out, sword in hand, attacked them with such vigour that they fled leaving several of their number dead upon the ground. When morning came, many of the conspirators were caught. They were pardoned on their swearing to be faithful in the future. They were required to take a two-fold oath, one in the presence of Brāhmans before a Sālgrām of Lakshmi Nārāyan, a copy of the *Bhāgavat* and a *tulsi* plant, and the other according to the old Ahom method, by the shedding of blood before the great drum The Burhā Gohāin was not amongst those that were caught; he escaped in a boat and went down the Dikhu river to Lakhau, where he was joined by a number of disaffected people from Gauhāti. The king sent the Bar Gohāin and the Barpātra Gohāin to induce him to come in, under a solemn promise of pardon, but he was not convinced of the sincerity of these assurances and refused to submit. He tried to win over to his side the officers who had been sent to fetch him, and persuaded the Bar Gohāin to desert the king's cause; he was unable to seduce the Bar Pātra Gohāin from his allegiance, although he was his son-in-law, and so sent him under a guard to Koliābar. He himself advanced to Sinātali, where he met and defeated a force which the king had sent against him. The king thereupon fled to Garhgāon. He was seized, and his eyes were put out; and he was afterwards stoned to death.* His body was buried at Charāideo. This was in July 1677. Of the king's four sons the eldest, Dighala, managed to escape; the second was blinded and sent to Nāmrup, and the two youngest were put to death.

c13.14

The nobles urged the Burhā Gohāin to assume the kingly office, but he was not of the royal blood, and the Bāilong pandits, on being consulted, declared themselves strongly opposed to the suggestion. He therefore obtained the assent of the nobles to the nomination of Khāmcheo of the Parbatiya clan, a grandson of a former king, who was brought from Charāideo and installed under the Ahom name Sudaiphā. It does not appear that he took any Hindu name. On ascending the throne, he performed the *Rikkhvān* ceremony and offered sacrifices to Siva as well as to the Ahom gods. Warned by the fate of his predecessor, he determined to propitiate the Burhā Gohāin; he married his daughter, bestowed upon him a landed estate and numerous other presents, and gave him a high-sounding title. The ascendancy now enjoyed by the Burhā Gohāin aroused the jealousy of the other high officials. At his instance the Bar Barua, who had become obnoxious to him, was dismissed and, fearing for his personal safety, fled to Srighāt. The Belmela Phukan was the next to be disgraced. In revenge, he determined to assassinate the king. He crept into the palace at night, but in the darkness, by mistake, he killed the king's mother instead of the king; he then fled to Tāmulihāt.

c13.15

The Burhā Gohāin soon fell foul of the Bar Phukan, who had not shown himself sufficiently subservient, and sought for an opportunity to oust him from his appointment. The latter was informed of his impending ruin and, knowing that it would be useless to appeal to the king, entered into treasonable correspondence with the Nawāb of Bengal, who arranged to send Prince Muhammad Azam in the following February to take possession of Gauhāti, which the Bar Phukan agreed to deliver into his hands. The plot was divulged to Sudaiphā, who at once took steps to frustrate it. He hastily raised an army and divided it into two parts, one of which he stationed at Chintamani, while the other was sent down-stream to resist the Muhammadans. But it was too late to save Gauhāti, which was surrendered to the Muhammadans by the Bar Phukan early in March 1679. This is the Ahom version. In the *Maāsir-i-Alamgiri* the "conquest" of Gauhāti is mentioned, but no details are given.*

c13.16

∗ According to another account he committed suicide after he had been deprived of his eyesight.

c13.17

The dissatisfaction with the administration of Sudaiphā, or rather of the Burhā Gohāin, continued to spread; and soon afterwards three high officials openly allied themselves to the Bar Phukan, who raised an army and advanced towards the capital. He met with little or no resistance and, as he advanced, most of the local officials joined his force. Those who refused to do so were killed. By November 1679 he had made himself master of the whole kingdom. He seized the person of the king, and caused him to be put to death. This he did with the consent of a prince named Sulikphā, whom he proceeded to raise to the throne, without even pretending to consult the other great nobles.

c13.18

In this reign the town of Boka was built. The construction of a Sil Sāko or stone bridge is also mentioned, but this was not the well-known structure near Kamalpur in Kāmrup, which is believed to have been erected at a much earlier date.

c13.19

Larā Raja 1679 to 1681.

c13.20

Sulikphā, from his tender age, was generally known as Larā Raja, or "the boy king." Prompted by the Bar Phukan, his first act was to cause the execution of Sangrai, the Burhā Gohāin, who had compassed the death of Gobar and Sujinphā, and whose overbearing conduct had led to the rebellion which culminated in the late king's death. The Bar Phukan now occupied the position recently held by the Burhā Gohāin and, before him, by Debera Bar Barua. But, undeterred by their fate, he resolved not merely, as they had done, to exercise the power, but also to assume the rank of king. It is said that he communicated his design to the Emperor of Delhi, who sent a reply conveying his approval, but whether this be true or not, there is no doubt that he openly asserted his equality with the king and clothed himself in garments which the latter alone was allowed to wear. But his triumph was short-lived. His overweening arrogance set the other nobles against him, and he was assassinated. His three sons and two of his brothers shared his fate. The Bhātdharā Phukan, a third brother, who was at Koliābar, saved his life by a timely flight to Muhammadan territory, where he tried to induce the local officials to give him troops to avenge his brother's death. He seems to have received some encouragement from Prince Muhammad Azam, but the latter had not a sufficiently strong force at his disposal to invade the Ahom country with any great prospect of success; and, in the end, he decided not to interfere. In order to prevent further conspiracies, by removing all possible rivals, Larā Raja determined to maim or kill all the descendants of former kings, and it is said that several hundred scions of the royal family were deprived of life or mutilated. He failed, however, to find one of his most formidable rivals; and Gadāpāni, the son of Gobar, though he was sought for everywhere, succeeded in eluding his pursuers.

c13.21

∗ Ed. Bibl. Ind., page 73.

c13.22

Larā Raja soon proved himself to be a most unsatisfactory king. He aroused the resentment of his nobles, not only by his incapacity and utter want of aptitude for public business, but also by his tyrannical conduct. In July 1681, the Bar Phukan openly espoused the cause of Gadāpāni who, up to this time, had been living in concealment near Rāni in Kāmrup, in the house of a Gāro woman, wearing the garb of a common peasant, and working in the fields like an ordinary cultivator. The king prepared to resist, but he had no real supporters; and, as the rebels advanced towards the capital, his army melted away. The Dakhinpāt Gosāin, who was the Guru both of the king and of the Bar Phukan, in vain exhorted the latter to return to his allegiance. The king, deserted by all, sought safety in flight, but was caught and banished to Nāmrup. He was afterwards put to death for intriguing to recover the throne.

c13.23

In this reign the Dauki Ali was made.

c13.24

Since the death of Chakradhvaj Singh in 1670, i.e., in the short space of eleven years, there had been no less than seven kings, not one of whom had died a natural death. Udayāditya was deposed and poisoned by his brother, Rāmdhvaj, who succeeded him. Debera, who had headed the conspiracy, was rewarded for his infamous services with the post of Bar Barua; but he was a born intriguer, and not long afterwards, Rāmdhvaj himself met his death at his hands. He then set up Suhung, but subsequently caused him also to be assassinated. Having thus been responsible for the death of three kings, Debera at last met the end he deserved at the hands of the Burhā Gohāin, who, however, was equally false and unscrupulous. He put to death Suhung's successor Gobar, and placed Sujinphā on the throne. He afterwards caused the latter to be deprived of his sight and put to death, and appointed Sadaiphā as his successor. This king and the Burhā Gohāin himself next suffered the death penalty at the hands of Lāluk Bar Phukan, and Sulikphā became king. The Bar Phukan, growing more ambitious, was preparing to seize the throne for himself, when the other nobles caused him to be assassinated. Sulikphā was soon afterwards deposed and put to death on the ground of his unfitness to rule, a circumstance which had probably constituted his chief qualification in the eyes of the ambitious Lāluk. With his death, and the accession of Gadāpāni, the era of weak and incompetent princes, and of unscrupulous and ambitious ministers came to an end; internal corruption and dissensions ceased, and the Ahoms were once more able to present a united front against their external foes.

c13.25

On ascending the throne, Gadāpāni assumed the Ahom name Supātphā, and the Hindu name Gadādhar Singh. He made his capital at Barkola.

c13.26

His first act was to equip an army to oust the Muhammadans from Gauhāti. He appears to have met with very little opposition. The forts at Bānsbāri and Kājali fell at the first assault, and a great naval victory was gained near the mouth of the Bar Nadi, the whole of the enemy's fleet falling into the hands of the Ahoms. This misfortune seems to have paralyzed the Faujdar of Gauhāti; and he fled without offering any further resistance to the advancing Ahoms, who pursued him as far as the Monās. A vast amount of booty was taken at Gauhāti, including gold and silver; elephants, horses and buffaloes; cannon of all sizes; and guns, swords and spears. These spoils were offered to the king and were distributed by him among the officers who had led the troops to victory. The Bhātdharā Phukan, who had attempted to incite the Muhammadans to invade Assam, was captured with his son, and an awful punishment was inflicted upon him. His son was killed and he was compelled to eat his flesh, after which he also was put to death. A Muhammadan spy, who was caught, was taken round the camp and shown all the dispositions of the Ahom commanders, and was then killed.

c13.27

This was the last Muhammadan war. Henceforward the Monās was accepted by both sides as the boundary. This final loss of Gauhāti is not mentioned by Muhammadan historians. The Buranjis give the name of the defeated Musalmān General as Mansar Khān, a doubtful name. Possibly the word *Mansabdār*, which means ‘commander,’ was taken by the Ahoms as the general’s name; or the word may be a corruption of Masum Khān, which was the name of a Muhammadan Bhuiyā of Sunārgaon who took part in the invasion of 1636.

c13.28

Three cannon are still in existence, one at Dikom, one in the Indian Museum, and the third outside the house of the Deputy Commissioner of Lakhimpur, which bear the following inscription:—“King Gadādhar Singh, having vanquished the Musalmāns at Gauhāti, obtained this weapon in 1604 Sak (1682 A.D.).”

c13.29

There were several conspiracies during the early part of Gadādhar’s reign. The Bar Phukan and Pāni Phukan, who were accused of plotting against the king, were arrested and tried by the three Gohāins, who reported them guilty, in spite of their protestations of innocence. Their lives were spared in consideration of their past services, but they were dismissed from their appointments: a number of minor officials accused of complicity were put to death. Soon afterwards a second conspiracy was detected, and on this occasion the ringleaders suffered the death penalty. A searching enquiry was now made into the origin of these conspiracies, and all suspects were severely dealt with; the Burhā Gohāin, the Bar Barua and the newly appointed Pāni Phukan were dismissed, and many others were executed, or banished to Nāmrup. The man who was now made Burhā Gohāin soon got into trouble. A servant of his predecessor complained that he had misappropriated a number of stray cattle. The charge was investigated and found to be proved, and he and his sons were put to death.

c13.30

In 1685 the Miris raided by night, and set fire to the house of the Sadiyā Khowā Gohāin. A punitive expedition was sent against them, and they were defeated, with the loss of four killed and a large number of prisoners; much booty was also taken. As a precaution against further raids embanked roads were constructed from the Brahmaputra to two forts in the Miri country, and were furnished with fortified gateways.* The Sadiyā Khowā Gohāin was dismissed from his appointment on account of the apathy shown by him during these operations.

c13.31

The Nāgas made a raid on the inhabitants of the Doyang valley, and a punitive expedition was sent against them. They fled, but their houses were burnt down, and they then submitted and were pardoned, after they had given compensation for the losses inflicted on the villagers. A raid by the Nāmsāng Nāgas led to another expedition, in which many Nāgas, including the tribal chief, were captured and beheaded.

c13.32

The neo-Vaishnava sects, founded on the teaching of Sankar Deb, had now attained remarkable dimensions. The country was full of religious preceptors and their followers, who claimed exemption from the universal liability to fight and to assist in the construction of roads and tanks and other public works. This caused serious inconvenience, which the Sākta Brāhmans, who had the king's ear, lost no opportunity of exaggerating. Gadādhar Singh was himself a good liver; and he feared the physical deterioration that might ensue if his people obeyed the injunction of the Gosāins and abstained from eating the flesh of cattle, swine and fowls, and from indulging in strong drinks. He bore, moreover, a personal grudge against some of the leading Gosāins for having refused to shelter him in the days when he was in hiding, and for having endeavoured to dissuade the Bar Phukan from his design to set him up as king in the place of Larā Raja. He therefore resolved to break their power for good and all.* Under his orders many of them were sent to Nāmrup and put to death there. The Auniāti Gosāin, Keshab Deb, escaped this fate by hiding in a Chutiya village, but Rām Bāpu, the Dakhinpāt Gosāin, was captured and deprived of his eyes and his nose; his property was confiscated and his gold and silver idols were melted down.

c13.33

∗ The Muhammadans describe similar gateways in connection with Mir Jumlah's invasion of Koch Bihar. They stood upon a broad raised road, mostly overgrown with trees, with deep and broad ditches on either side.

c13.34

Nor did their *bhakats*, or disciples, fare much better. Those belonging to the better castes, such as Ganaks, Kāyasths and Kalitās, were left alone, but those of low caste, such as Kewats, Koches, Doms and Hāris, were hunted down, robbed of their property, and forced to eat the flesh of swine, cows, and fowls. Many of them were deported to out-of-the-way places and made to work as coolies on the roads; others were mutilated; others were put to death, and a few were offered up as sacrifices to idols. The persecution spread far and wide, and at last no one of any persuasion was safe if he had anything worth taking. When the king found that things had reached this pass, he ordered the persecution to be stopped, and restitution to be made in all cases where people had been wrongfully despoiled.

c13.35

Gadādhar Singh died in February 1696, after a reign of fourteen years and-a-half. When he ascended the throne the kingly office was fast sinking into the low estate which it held amongst the later Marāthās, and the real authority was gradually being monopolized by the nobles; but in a very short time he effectually broke their power and vindicated the supreme authority of the monarch. At the time of his

c13.36

Death of king. His character and general events of reign.

c13.37

∗ An exception was made in favour of the Jakhalābāndhā Gosāin, who had sheltered the king when he was a fugitive and had foretold that he would eventually gain the throne.

c13.38

accession, the power of the Ahoms was being sapped by internal dissensions; and patriotic feeling had become so weakened that many deserted to the Muhammadans, who had re-occupied Gauhāti, and were gradually pushing their frontier eastwards. The hill tribes too, emboldened by immunity from punishment, were harrying the submontane villages and perpetrating frequent raids. Before he died, he had quelled all internal disputes, revived the waning national spirit, driven the Muhammadans beyond the Monās, and, by prompt punitive measures, put a stop to raiding and restored the prestige of the Ahoms among the turbulent tribes on the frontier.

c13.39

He was a patron of Sākta Hinduism. The temple of Umānanda, on Peacock Island opposite Gauhāti, was built under his auspices, and the earliest known copper-plates, recording grants of land by Ahom kings to Brāhmans or Hindu temples, date from his reign.

c13.40

It is impossible to justify, or palliate, the brutal severity of the measures which he adopted with a view to overthrow the Vaishnava sects but there can be no doubt that the power of their priesthood was already becoming excessive; and the history of the Moāmariā insurrection in later times shows that the inordinate growth of this power is not only prejudicial to progress, but may easily become a very serious menace to the safety of established institutions.

c13.41

Gadādhar Singh was keenly alive to the importance of public works. During his reign the Dhodar Ali, the Aka Ali and other roads were made; two stone bridges were built, and several tanks were excavated. A noteworthy measure of this monarch was the commencement of a detailed survey of the country. He had become acquainted with the land measurement system of the Muhammadans during the time when he was in hiding in Lower Assam, before he succeeded to the throne, and, as soon as the wars which occupied the earlier years of his reign were over, he issued orders for the introduction of a similar system throughout his dominions. Surveyors were imported from Koch Bihar and Bengal for the work. It was commenced in Sibsāgar and was pushed on vigorously, but it was not completed until after his death. The method of survey adopted is nowhere described, but it was probably the same as that which was in vogue when Assam was first occupied by the British, i.e. the area of each field was calculated by measuring the four sides with a *nal*, or bamboo pole, 12 feet long, and multiplying the mean length by the mean breadth. The unit of area was the *purā*, which contained four standard Bengali *bighās* of 14,400 square feet.

c13.42

This king is reputed to have been a man of very powerful physique with a remarkably gross appetite. His favourite dish was coarse spring rice, and a calf roasted in ashes.

c13.43

Gadādhar Singh left two sons, of whom the elder succeeded him. He ascended the throne at Garhgāon, taking the Hindu name Rudra Singh, and the Ahom name Sukhrungphā.

c13.44

Rudra Singh, 1696 to 1714.

c13.45

The body of the late king was interred at Charāideo with great ceremony. An effigy of him was made and adorned with fine clothes, and men were appointed to make to it daily offerings of pigs, fowls, fish and wine. At the same time the Ahoms were feasted on the flesh of swine and buffaloes.

c13.46

The new king at once began to reverse his father's policy in regard to the Vaishnava Gosāins. Those of them who were Brāhmans were allowed to resume their old position and avocations, subject only to the condition that they made their headquarters on the Mājuli, which from that time forward became their chief seat. The Auniāti Gosāin was specially honoured, as the king not only recalled him from his exile, but appointed him his spiritual preceptor. The persecution of the Sudra Medhis also ceased, but Brāhmans were forbidden to bend the knee to them, and they were compelled to wear as their distinctive badge small earthen jars hanging from a string round the neck.

c13.47

Persecution of Vaishnava sects stopped.

c13.48

Rudra Singh was anxious to build a palace and city of brick, but there was no one in his kingdom who knew how to do this. He therefore imported from Koch Bihar an artisan named Ghansyām, under whose supervision numerous brick buildings were erected at Rangpur, close to Sibsāgar, and also at Charāideo. When Ghansyām had finished his work, and was on the point of departing, richly rewarded by the king, it was accidentally discovered that he had in his possession a document containing a full account of the

c13.49

Palace and temples built by a Bengali architect.

c13.50

country and its inhabitants. It was assumed that his object was to betray the Ahoms to the Muhammadans, and he was arrested and put to death.

c13.51

During the long period that had elapsed since the last war with the Kachāris, the latter had gradually forgotten their frequent defeats at the hands of the Ahoms, and had become more and more reluctant to acknowledge their hegemony. At last Tāmradhvaj, who was their king when Rudra Singh ascended the throne, boldly asserted his independence. Rudra Singh at once resolved to reduce him to submission, and, with this object, caused two large armies to be fitted out. The Bar Barua was deputed to enter the Kachāri country by way of the Dhansiri valley with a force which numbered over 37,000 men, while the Pāni Phukan with another, 34,000 strong, was to march viâ Rahā and the valley of the Kopili.

c13.52

The Bar Barua started from Salā in the latter part of December 1706, and, ascending the valley of the Dhansiri, reached the Sāmaguting fort on the Dijoā Hill, 106 miles from Salā.[*] In order to maintain communications and to facilitate the transmission of supplies, forts were constructed and garrisoned at regular intervals along the line of march. In spite of this precaution, the Nāgas gave great trouble and constantly plundered the convoys on their way to Sāmaguting. Troops were sent against them, and a few Nāgas were killed, but it was not until the garrisons of the forts near Sāmaguting had been very greatly strengthened that these raids were put a stop to.

c13.53

The march was continued to the Namirā fort on Nomāl hill, a distance of 36 miles.[†] In the valley below this hill the Kachāris made their first stand. But the Ahom forces were too strong for them and they fled, after a very feeble resistance, to the Lāthia hill, a distance of 9 miles. Here they ambuscaded several small parties which had been sent forward to clear the jungle, but, when an advance was made in force, they were defeated with considerable loss, and retreated, carrying their dead with them. They now took up a position on a hill near Āmlakhi but fled on the arrival of the Ahoms at Tarang, a place about four miles distant. The Ahom army continued its advance, *viâ* Nādereng, to the Kachāri capital at Maibong, a distance of nine miles, and was allowed to enter the town unopposed. A good deal of booty was here taken, including a cannon and 700 guns.

c13.54

∗ The place which I have identified as Sāmaguting is called Samaguri in the Buranjis. The itinerary is as follows:—From Salā to Nāga Chauki, 49 miles; on to Deopani, 18 miles; to Dilas fort, 11 miles; to Kākajan, 13 miles; to Tim Muri, 7 miles; and to Sāmaguting, 8 miles. The distances are only approximate. There was, it is said, a tank of the "Dijoā Raja" on the Dijoā hill, measuring 400 yards by 300.

c13.55

† To Marnai 7 miles, to Bāgmarā 11 miles, to Gerekāni 10 miles, to Namirā 8 miles.

c13.56

Having thus achieved the immediate object of his advance, the Bar Barua occupied an entrenched position at Māhur, a little to the north of the town, and sent word of his success to the Bar Phukan and to the Ahom king.

c13.57

In the meantime the Pāni Phukan proceeded down the Kallang to Rahā. As there was no road between this place and Demerā, forty-one miles distant, the army had to cut its way through dense jungle. This was a most tedious operation, and the rate of progress did not greatly exceed a mile a day.* On the way to Demerā, Salgāon, Lambur and a village of Dharmapur, belonging to a temple of the Goddess Kāmākhyā were sacked. The Kachāris had made preparations to repel the invasion, but were deterred on seeing the strength of the hostile army. As the Ahoms advanced, the inhabitants of the villages along the line of march deserted their homes and fled towards Maibong. Demerā was occupied without opposition. A garrison of 3,000 men was left there, and the army then entered the hills and continued its arduous march to Nādereng, 23 miles distant, which was reached in thirteen days. Here a letter was received from the Bar Barua saying that he had already occupied Maibong. The Pāni Phukan pressed on to join him, and covered the remaining distance of seventeen miles in two days. During his march he had taken in all 322 prisoners and a small quantity of loot.

c13.58

∗ Titelikhara, a distance of 7 miles, was reached in 6 days; Jamuna fort, 6 miles, in 5 days; Katāha, 7 miles, in 6 days; Deoduki, 9 miles, in 5 days; Saralpāni, 7 miles, in 5 days; and Demerā, 6 miles, in 5 days.

c13.59

Sickness at Maibong.

c13.60

At Maibong the troops suffered greatly from the pestilential climate, and many, including the Bar Barua, fell ill. Provisions also began to run short, and the vigour with which the campaign had been conducted up to this period was succeeded by a long spell of inaction. The king, who was now at Rahā, sent repeated orders to the commanders to press on to Khāspur, but they were either unwilling or unable to do so. At last, in obedience to very peremptory orders, the Pāni Phukan marched as far as Sāmpāni. The Bar Barua, who was now seriously ill, started to return to Demerā, but died during the journey.

c13.61

Return of the expedition.

c13.62

About the end of March 1707, the king was at last persuaded to abandon his project of taking Khāspur. He recalled the Pāni Phukan, who brought back the whole force, after demolishing the brick fort at Maibong, burning down the houses there, and erecting a pillar, thirteen feet high, to commemorate the success of his troops. This pillar has long since disappeared. The return journey to Demerā, along the track which had been cut during the advance, occupied only three days. Fortifications were constructed at this place, and a strong garrison was left there. But when the rainy season set in, the sickness and mortality amongst the troops became so serious that the king was obliged to order them to be withdrawn.

c13.63

The Jaintias seize the Kachāri king,

c13.64

While these events were in progress, the Kachāri king Tāmradhvaj had fled to Bikrampur, in the plains portion of what is now the district of Cachar, whence he sent an urgent appeal for help to Rām Singh, Raja of Jaintia. The latter collected an army, but, before he could march, Tāmradhvaj sent a second message, reporting that the Ahom forces had been withdrawn and saying that he was no longer in need of help. Rām Singh was now guilty of an act of gross treachery. The Ahoms had dispersed the Kachāri troops, and it occurred to him that, if he could obtain possession of the person of the Kachāri king, he would be able also to become master of his kingdom. He marched to Mulāgul and, under the pretext of a friendly meeting at Bālesvar, seized Tāmradhvaj and carried him off to his capital at Jaintiapur, in the plains country north of the Surma river, now known as the Jaintia parganas. Several members of his family, who were induced to join him there, were also placed in close confinement, and the Kachāri frontier forts at Bandasil and Ichchhāmati were attacked and taken.

c13.65

Tāmradhvaj managed to send to the Ahom king, by the hands of a *bairāgi*, a letter saying what had happened to him, asking forgiveness for his past offences, and begging for deliverance from the hands of his captor. Rudra Singh, who seems to have been delighted, alike with the submissive tone of the Kachāri king's letter, and with the opportunity thus afforded him to display his power in a new direction, at once directed the officer in charge of the Ahom outpost at Jāgi to send word to Rām Singh, through his tributary chief of Gobhā, demanding the immediate release of his captive.

c13.66

Rām Singh refused to comply, whereupon Rudra Singh closed the market at Gobhā, on which the hill Jaintias were largely dependent for their supplies, and commenced collecting troops with a view to the invasion of their country as soon as possible after the close of the rains. A start was made at the beginning of December 1707. As in the case of the Kachāri war, he decided to despatch his troops by two different routes. The Bar Barua, with 43,000 men, was to march on Jaintiapur, *viâ* the Kopili valley and the Kachāri country, while the Bar Phukan with another force, the strength of which is not stated, was to proceed by the direct route through Gobhā and the Jaintia Hills.

c13.67

The route taken by the Bar Barua lay through a friendly country, and Sāmpāni, the furthest point attained by the Kachāri expedition of the previous year, was reached without any occurrence worthy of note.* At that place he received a deputation of prominent Kachāris, who assured him that nothing was to be feared from the neighbouring Nāga tribes. He proceeded to Bikrampur,† taking the precaution to send messengers ahead to reassure the people, who, at each camping place, came and paid their respects, and were much relieved to find that they were not expected to supply provisions for the army. The Jaintia outposts at Bālesvar, Dalāgaon and Mulāgul were easily taken. On reaching the last-mentioned place, the Bar Barua again sent messengers to Rām Singh, calling upon him to surrender Tāmradhvaj. Seeing that resistance was hopeless, he did so, and, at the same time, requested the Bar Barua to stay his advance and to direct the Bar Phukan, who was also rapidly drawing near, to do the same. The Bar Barua replied that unless the family and officers of Tāmradhvaj were also given up, he would continue his march next day. After some hesitation, this further demand was also complied with, but the Bar Barua nevertheless continued his march to Jaintiapur.

c13.68

∗ The halting places *en route* were Kardaiguri, Katahā, Sāmaguting, Demerā, Gelembu, Jātrāgarh hill, Doyang fort, Doyang ford fort, Baila hill, Māhur hill and Maibong.

c13.69

† The route to Bikrampur was *viâ* Hojāi fort, Rangji, Meghpur, Sāmaguri, Kākani, Ahārura, Panisarā, Aranggāon.

c13.70

Rām Singh prepared to resist him, and placed cannon on the walls; but, as the Ahoms approached, he lost heart and, after burying his treasures, prepared for flight. His intention was discovered by his nobles who, from the beginning, had done their utmost to dissuade him from incurring the enmity of the Ahoms and, being unwilling that he should escape scot-free and leave them to suffer the consequences of his folly, they compelled him to make his submission to the Bar Barua. He therefore proceeded with an escort of twenty elephants towards the Ahom camp. On approaching it, he was made to dismount and ride on horse-back, unattended, to the tent of the Bar Barua, who received him in state. After the interview he wanted to return to his capital, but was not allowed to do so. News of his capture was sent to the king, who directed the Bar Phukan to press on and join the Bar Barua at Jaintiapur.

c13.71

Route taken by the Bar Phukan.

c13.72

The progress of the Bar Phukan's army may now be briefly described. Starting from Jāgi he marched to Gobha and conciliated the chief of that place by presents.* At Hātibāndha, 19 miles from Gobhā, the Jaintias made a demonstration against some detachments that were engaged in clearing the jungle, but retreated when they saw the strength of the Ahom army. Eight miles further on, at Athitbhagā, they attacked the Ahoms, but were defeated and retreated, carrying their killed and wounded with them. At Lachor hill another and more determined onslaught was made by a stronger force, which was accompanied by some elephants. The Ahoms, taken by surprise, wavered, but rallied and eventually drove back their opponents. The victory, however, was by no means decisive, and the Jaintias made a fresh stand at the Buritikar hill, about two miles away, where they occupied some stockades which they had previously prepared. The Ahoms, who had exhausted a great part of their ammunition, waited for a fresh supply. When this was received, they attacked the stockade, on a day chosen by the astrologers as auspicious, and drove out the Jaintias, who, however, at once occupied three new stockades five miles away, on the bank of the Barpāni river. They now tried to stop the further advance of the Ahoms by promising to give up the Kachāri king if they would return to Gobhā, but the Bar Phukan refused to negotiate and at once advanced to the attack. The stockades were taken, and from this time there was no further active opposition. On reaching Pavanāi, the Bar Phukan heard of the arrival of the Bar Barua at Jaintiapur and hastened to join him there.

c13.73

∗ The full route was:—Gobhā 7 miles; Amāseongā hill 9 miles; Hātibāndha 10 miles; Narottam hill 7 miles; Athitbhanga 1 mile; Lachor hill 2 miles; Buritikar 2 miles; Barpāni 5 miles; Saralpāni 13 miles; Silsāko 2 miles; Nartung 5 miles; Lakimpur 3 miles; Chāmtang Nartung 2 miles; Natagāri 3 miles; Pavanāi 8 miles; Mukutapur 16 miles; Jaintiapur Nāogāon 2 miles.

c13.74

Rudra Singh directed the two captive kings to be produced before him, Tāmradhvaj being taken viâ Maibong and Rām Singh across the Jaintia hills. He also ordered the Jaintia king's garments, jewels, arms, elephants and horses to be brought to him, and his treasure to be divided amongst the troops who had taken part in the campaign. The Ahom subjects who had fled to Khāspur during Mir Jumlah’s invasion were to be brought back, and an army of occupation under the Bar Barua and the Bar Phukan was directed to remain at Jaintiapur. These orders were carried out in February 1708. Envoys announcing that the Kachāri and Jaintia kingdoms had been annexed to the dominions of the Ahom Raja were sent to Māti Ullah, the Muhammadan Faujdar of Sylhet, who, it is said, made a courteous reply.

c13.75

Proposed annexation of Jaintia and Kachāri kingdoms.

c13.76

These measures caused the greatest possible irritation amongst the Jaintia nobles. They had been quite willing to permit the rescue of the Kachāri king, but they were not prepared to allow their own ruler to be carried off and their independence to be subverted without a far more strenuous resistance than they had yet attempted; and they induced the Bar Dalai, the Raja of Khairam, and the inhabitants of two hundred independent Khāsi villages to join them in a supreme effort to expel the invaders.

c13.77

They would fain have attempted to rescue their Raja as he was being taken to Gobhā, but the force escorting him was too strong, and they were afraid to risk an encounter. Shortly afterwards, however, a simultaneous attack was made on the eight forts in which the Bar Phukan had left garrisons on his way through the hills. Three of these forts were taken unawares and were captured by the Jaintias, who put the defenders to death. The other garrisons succeeded in repelling the first attack, but, being without a sufficient supply of food and ammunition, were soon obliged to retreat. At the same time a small detachment, which was taking the copper image of the Goddess Jaintesvari to Rudra Singh, was attacked and put to flight and the image was rescued. The survivors of this detachment, and of the various garrisons, rallied at Nartung, and held it for a time, but they eventually beat a retreat towards Gobhā. On their way they were attacked again. The officers did their utmost to preserve order, but in vain. The soldiers, seized with panic, broke and fled, hotly pursued by the Jaintias. Most of them were put to death, but a few escaped to Saralpāni whence they, with the garrison of that fort, made their way to Sarupāni; here they remained till rescued by the troops who had taken the Jaintia Raja to Gobhā.

c13.78

On hearing of the rising, Rudra Singh promptly sent up reinforcements, including the detachment of four thousand men under the Burhā Gohāin which had again been stationed at Demerā. The combined forces attacked the Jaintias wherever they could find them, but, as the practice of the Jaintias was to disperse when attacked, and then return and harass the Ahom troops on their way back to camp, it was found impossible to achieve any decisive victory.

c13.79

They destroyed, however, a number of villages round Nartung and took many head of cattle. Meanwhile, news of the rising had reached the Bar Phukan and Bar Barua at Jaintiapur, and they despatched a force to relieve two garrisons in the south of the Jaintia Hills. This operation was successfully performed, but, as the rainy season was now approaching and it was thought dangerous to pass it in a hostile country, both these officers agreed to retreat at once to Gobhā. Before departing, a thousand inhabitants of Jaintia were put to the sword, and Jaintiapur and all the surrounding villages were destroyed. The exasperated Jaintias attacked the Ahoms both at Jaintiapur and at Mulāgul, but were driven off. The troops then marched back by the route by which the Bar Phukan had advanced and reached Gobhā without molestation.

c13.80

Rudra Singh at first intended to punish the two commanders for the ultimate failure of the expedition, but he pardoned them on the intercession of the other nobles. In the course of the rising the Ahoms had lost 2,366 men killed, including twelve high officers.* On the side of the enemy, excluding the massacre at Jaintiapur, very few were killed, but seven hundred were made prisoners. In addition, about 1,600 persons, chiefly Assamese refugees, were brought from Khāspur, and about 600 from Jaintiapur. The booty taken in the course of the expedition included three cannon, 2,273 guns, 109 elephants, 12,000 pieces of silver of the Muhammadan, Ahom, Koch and Jaintia mints, and numerous utensils of gold, silver and other metals. Certain articles of jewellery, which formed part of the loot, were misappropriated by some of the officers attached to the expedition, but they were detected and compelled to disgorge them.

c13.81

On the conclusion of the expedition, Rudra Singh removed his camp from Bijaypur to Salā, while the Jaintia and Kachāri kings were kept in separate camps near Bishnāth. In the middle of April, Rudra Singh, surrounded

c13.82

Interviews between Rudra Singh and Kachāri and Jaintia kings.

c13.83

∗ Of the men who were killed 960 came from Upper Assam, 1,009 from Gauhāti, 280 from the Dhekeri country and 105 from Sonāpur. These figures throw some light on the sources on which at this time the Ahoms were able to draw for their soldiers.

c13.84

by all his chief nobles, received Tāmradhvaj at a grand durbar in a tent supported by posts of gold and silver. The captive chief was conveyed across the Brahmaputra in the royal barge, and on landing, was placed on an elephant carrying a golden howdah. When he reached the camp, he descended from the elephant, and rode on horseback to the durbar tent, where he dismounted and, advancing on foot, prostrated himself and knelt down before the king. He was introduced by the Bar Barua, who recited the events which had culminated in his detention at Bishnāth. The king offered him a seat and addressed him in a speech which was practically a repetition of that already made by the Bar Barua. To this oration Tāmradhvaj made a submissive reply. He was given formal permission to return to his own country and was dismissed from the durbar with numerous presents. Before setting out he was received at a second durbar. He also paid a visit to the temple of Bishnāth, in order to worship the idol of Siva which it contained. He was given an escort of Ahom troops as far as Demerā, where he was met by a number of his own people from Khāspur.

c13.85

A few days later the Jaintia Raja was received in the same way, and was told that, if his nobles would appear and make their submission, he would be allowed to return to his kingdom. The nobles, fearing to appear in person, sent submissive messages; but these were not deemed sufficient, and they were informed accordingly. Meanwhile Rām Singh succumbed to an attack of dysentery. His son, who was also a captive, gave two of his sisters in marriage to the Ahom king. No further mention is made of him in the Buranjis, and it may be presumed that he was released soon afterwards.

c13.86

Proposed invasion of Bengal.

c13.87

A few years later Rudra Singh began to make preparations for a fresh war against the Muhammadans. His motive for doing so is not very clear; according to some he merely wished to achieve a victory which should shed glory on his name, while others aver that his ambition was to include a portion of the sacred Ganges within his dominions. But whatever his object there is no doubt as to the thoroughness of his preparations. He proceeded in person to Gauhāti and there organized a great army and a powerful fleet, and collected all his available cannon. The Kachāri and Jaintia Rajas joined his army with 14,000 and 10,000 followers, respectively, and 600 Daflas came from the hills north of the Darrang district.

c13.88

But his preparations were in vain. Before they were completed he was seized with a mortal illness and died in August 1714.

c13.89

The most striking events of his reign, which extended over seventeen eventful years, were the wars against the Kachāri and Jaintia kings, which have already been described. But he was by no means a mere military adventurer. Although illiterate, Rudra Singh was possessed of a retentive memory and of exceptional intelligence and power of initiative; and he is regarded by many as the greatest of all the Ahom kings. The construction of a brick city at Rangpur has already been mentioned. He caused masonry bridges to be constructed over the Nāmdāng and Dimau rivers.* The great tanks at Jaisāgar, and the temple at the same place, were made by him, and also the tank and temple at Rangnāth, and the Khārikatiya, Dubariyām and Meteka roads. He is said to have received the submission of all the hill tribes, and to have established an extensive trade with Tibet. Abandoning, to some extent, the isolating policy of his predecessors, he encouraged intercourse with other nations and sent envoys to visit the contemporary rulers of other parts of India.† He studied foreign customs and adopted those that he thought good. He imported many artifieers from Bengal, and established numerous schools for the Brāhmans; he also sent many Brāhman boys to study at the great centres of learning in Bengal. The survey of Sibsāgar, which had been commenced under the orders of Gadādhar Singh, was finished in this reign. Nowgong was also surveyed; and the settlement which followed was supervised by Rudra Singh himself.

c13.90

∗ According to Wade the bridge over the Nāmdāng river was constructed by workmen imported from Bengal as the local masons did not possess the necessary skill (Annual Asiatic Register, 1805).

c13.91

† The intercourse seems to have been of a one-sided character; and although he sent envoys to other kings, he did not apparently encourage them to return the compliment. In this respect the Ahoms appear to have conformed to the Tibetan ideas regarding foreign relations. Lord Cornwallis, in the minute which he wrote prior to Captain Welsh's expedition to Assam, said:—" However extraordinary it may appear to people in Europe, we are under the necessity of admitting that, owing to the unremitting jealousy which the chiefs of those countries have hitherto shown of the English, we know little more of the interior parts of Nepal and Assam than of the interior parts of China."

c13.92

Hindu proclivities. His Hindu proclivities increased as he grew older, and he at last decided formally to embrace that religion and become an orthodox Hindu. This involved the ceremony known as "taking the *Sharan*": the neophyte prostrates himself before the *Guru*, who teaches him a secret text, or *mantra*, and takes him under his spiritual protection. Rudra Singh could not bear the thought of humbling himself in this way before a mere subject, however saintly. He therefore sent to Bengal and summoned Krishnarām Bhattāchārjya, a famous Mahant of the Sākta sect who lived at Mālipotā, near Sāntipur in the Nadia district. The Mahant was at first unwilling to come, but consented on being promised the care of the temple of Kāmākhyā, on the Nilāchal hill, just below Gauhāti. When he arrived the king changed his mind and refused to become his disciple, and the priest departed again in high dudgeon. At this moment a severe earthquake occurred which shattered several temples; and Rudra Singh, interpreting the phenomenon as an indication that the Mahant was a real favourite of the Gods, hastened to recall him. He still hesitated to take the decisive step, but satisfied the Mahant by ordering his sons and the Brāhmans of his entourage to accept him as their *Guru*. It is said by some that, when he died, his body was cremated on the Mani Karnesvar hill, instead of being buried in a vault at Charāideo according to the custom previously in vogue, and that the Rudresvar temple, which was subsequently erected by Pramata Singh in honour of his memory, stands on the spot where his body was burnt. In the *Buranjis* of the Ahoms themselves, however, it is distinctly stated that his remains were buried like those of his forefathers.

First 91 of 142 passages. Read on