Naranarayan of Bhurishrestha
Encyclopedia
Maharaja Naranarayan was the king of Bhurishrestha who maintained the integrity and sovereignty of the kingdom by diplomatically averting the occupation of the kingdom by the Mughal forces.
was the Mughal
emperor
and Shaista Khan
was the governor
of Bengal
. At that time the British East India Company
was making heavy inroads into the delta and Naranarayan's first task was to strengthen the security of the kingdom. He erected temporary forts on both sides of the Damodar
, near the confluence of Damodar
and Bhagirathi, and garrison
ed his troop
s there. He enhanced the patrol
at the watch towers erected by Pratapnarayan. Prince Lakshminarayan assumed the role of the commander-in-chief
of the armed forces
of Bhurishrestha. The Mughal
governor
Shaista Khan
approached Naranarayan for help against the British
. Naranarayan agreed and temporary Mughal
outposts and watch towers were established at Bargachhia, Krishnanagar near Khanakul
and Dilakash, on the Ron. Bhurishrestha, however, remained unaffected during the course of the Mughal
-British
conflict.
In the meanwhile, Krishnaram Ray, a Punjabi
Khatri
merchant obtained the zamindari of Burdwan and few other estates in 1689. But he began to forcefully collect tax
es from the northern regions of Bhurishrestha. Naranarayan sent him an official warning regarding the infringement upon the sovereignty
of Bhurishrestha. When the warning went unheeded, Naranarayan dispatched the army under the command of prince Lakshminarayan to subdue Krishnaram. In the ensuing battle Krishnaram not only lost much of his resources including men and money, he was forced pay a huge indemnity
.
s. During his deeksha, he granted the royal guru, the village of Senpur as pranami and more than 50 bigha
s of tax free
lands. He made a total of more than hundred debottar and brahmottar grants.
on Virata Parva
and the story of Nachiketa
as mentioned in the Katha Upanishad
of Krishna Yajurveda were compiled and rewritten. These two works were significant because they were required during the sraddha
ceremony. The other works composed during his times were few smriti
s and agamas
.
Reign
Naranarayan ascended the throne of Bhurishrestha when he was well past his prime. At that time AurangzebAurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
was the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
and Shaista Khan
Shaista Khan
Mirza Abu Talib, better known by his title Shaista Khan , was a Subahdar and general in the army of the Mughal Empire. A maternal uncle to Emperor Aurangzeb, he served as the Mughal governor of Bengal from 1664 to 1688, and was a key figure during the rule of his nephew, the emperor...
was the governor
Subahdar
Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin...
of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. At that time the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
was making heavy inroads into the delta and Naranarayan's first task was to strengthen the security of the kingdom. He erected temporary forts on both sides of the Damodar
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
, near the confluence of Damodar
Damodar River
Damodar River originates near Chandwa village, Palamau district, on the Chota Nagpur Plateau in the Jharkhand state in eastern India, and flows eastward for about 592 km through the states of Jharkhand and West Bengal to the estaury of the River Hooghly...
and Bhagirathi, and garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
ed his troop
Troop
A troop is a military unit, originally a small force of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron and headed by the troop leader. In many armies a troop is the equivalent unit to the infantry section or platoon...
s there. He enhanced the patrol
Patrol
A patrol is commonly a group of personnel, such as police officers or soldiers, that are assigned to monitor a specific geographic area.- Military :...
at the watch towers erected by Pratapnarayan. Prince Lakshminarayan assumed the role of the commander-in-chief
Commander-in-Chief
A commander-in-chief is the commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military...
of the armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
of Bhurishrestha. The Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
governor
Subahdar
Subahdar was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah during the Mughal era of India who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin...
Shaista Khan
Shaista Khan
Mirza Abu Talib, better known by his title Shaista Khan , was a Subahdar and general in the army of the Mughal Empire. A maternal uncle to Emperor Aurangzeb, he served as the Mughal governor of Bengal from 1664 to 1688, and was a key figure during the rule of his nephew, the emperor...
approached Naranarayan for help against the British
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. Naranarayan agreed and temporary Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
outposts and watch towers were established at Bargachhia, Krishnanagar near Khanakul
Khanakul
Khanakul I is an administrative division in Arambag subdivision of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Khanakul police station serves this block. Headquarters of this block is at Khanakul...
and Dilakash, on the Ron. Bhurishrestha, however, remained unaffected during the course of the Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
-British
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
conflict.
In the meanwhile, Krishnaram Ray, a Punjabi
Punjabi people
The Punjabi people , ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ), also Panjabi people, are an Indo-Aryan group from South Asia. They are the second largest of the many ethnic groups in South Asia. They originate in the Punjab region, which has been been the location of some of the oldest civilizations in the world including, the...
Khatri
Khatri
Khatri is a caste from the northern Indian subcontinent. Khatris in India are mostly from Punjab, region but later they migrated to regions like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu, Uttarkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber...
merchant obtained the zamindari of Burdwan and few other estates in 1689. But he began to forcefully collect tax
Tax
To tax is to impose a financial charge or other levy upon a taxpayer by a state or the functional equivalent of a state such that failure to pay is punishable by law. Taxes are also imposed by many subnational entities...
es from the northern regions of Bhurishrestha. Naranarayan sent him an official warning regarding the infringement upon the sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
of Bhurishrestha. When the warning went unheeded, Naranarayan dispatched the army under the command of prince Lakshminarayan to subdue Krishnaram. In the ensuing battle Krishnaram not only lost much of his resources including men and money, he was forced pay a huge indemnity
Indemnity
An indemnity is a sum paid by A to B by way of compensation for a particular loss suffered by B. The indemnitor may or may not be responsible for the loss suffered by the indemnitee...
.
Welfare
Like his father, Naranarayan too was a charitable ruler. He grants huge brahmottar properties to the branch of the royal family based at Pendo. In 1685, he granted Maniray Giri Goswami, the priest of the Maninath Shiva temple a debatra of 101 bighaBigha
The bigha is a unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in Nepal, Bangladesh and in a few states of India including Uttaranchal, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan etc. The precise size of a bigha appears to vary considerably...
s. During his deeksha, he granted the royal guru, the village of Senpur as pranami and more than 50 bigha
Bigha
The bigha is a unit of measurement of area of a land, commonly used in Nepal, Bangladesh and in a few states of India including Uttaranchal, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan etc. The precise size of a bigha appears to vary considerably...
s of tax free
Tax exemption
Various tax systems grant a tax exemption to certain organizations, persons, income, property or other items taxable under the system. Tax exemption may also refer to a personal allowance or specific monetary exemption which may be claimed by an individual to reduce taxable income under some...
lands. He made a total of more than hundred debottar and brahmottar grants.
Art and culture
Naranarayan, like his illustrious father, too was a patron of art and culture. Under his patronage a commentaryExegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
on Virata Parva
Virata Parva
Mahabharta Book 4 Virata Parva is the book of the Mahabharata about the 13th year of exile spent incognito at the court of Virata.-External links:* by Kisari Mohan Ganguli....
and the story of Nachiketa
Nachiketa
Nachiketa is the child protagonist in an ancient Hindu fable about the nature of the soul and Brahman. The story is told in the Katha Upanishad , though the name has several earlier references. He was taught Self-knowledge, the separation of the human soul from the body, by the god of Death, Yama...
as mentioned in the Katha Upanishad
Katha Upanishad
The Katha Upanishad , also titled "Death as Teacher", is one of the mukhya Upanishads commented upon by Shankara. It is associated with the school of the Black Yajurveda, and is grouped with the Sutra period of Vedic Sanskrit. It is a middle Upanishad...
of Krishna Yajurveda were compiled and rewritten. These two works were significant because they were required during the sraddha
Śrāddha
Śrāddha or Shraaddha is a Sanskrit word which literally means anything or any act that is performed with all sincerity and faith . In the Hindu religion, it is the ritual that one performs to pay homage to one’s 'ancestors' , especially to one’s dead parents...
ceremony. The other works composed during his times were few smriti
Smriti
Smriti literally "that which is remembered," refers to a specific body of Hindu religious scripture, and is a codified component of Hindu customary law. Smṛti also denotes non-Śruti texts and is generally seen as secondary in authority to Śruti. The literature which comprises the Smrti was...
s and agamas
Āgama (Hinduism)
Agama means, in the Hindu context, "a traditional doctrine, or system which commands faith".In Hinduism, the Agamas are a collection of Sanskrit scriptures which are revered and followed by millions of Hindus.-Significance:...
.