Nayagarh State

Nayagarh State
ନୟାଗଡ଼ / नयागढ़
Princely State of British India
c. 1500–1948 →

Flag

Nayagarh State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
History
 - Established c. 1500
 - Accession to the Union of India 1948
Area
 - 1931 1,528 km2 (590 sq mi)
Population
 - 1931 142,406 
Density 93.2 /km2  (241.4 /sq mi)
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Nayagarh State (Oriya: ନୟାଗଡ଼; Hindi: नयागढ़) was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was located in present-day Nayagarh district, Odisha.

The state was bounded in the north by Khandpara State and Puri District. The capital was at Nayagarh. The southern part of the state was forested and mountainous and was inhabited mainly by Khonds.[1]

History

Nayagarh was founded before 1550 by Raja Surya Mani, a scion of the Rewa Royal Family.[2] Khandpara State was initially part of Nayagarh State, but became a separate kingdom in 1599. The rulers were Rajputs of the Baghela or Vaghela dynasty. The last Raja of Nayagarh signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948.[3]

Epic events

The story of the foundation of Nayagarh State is an important chapter in the political history of Odisha. Surya Mani of the Baghela dynasty came to Puri on a pilgrimage from Rewa of Madhya Pradesh and established his kingdom at Nayagarh. On the way to Puri, Both Surya Mani and his brother Chandramani rested at Gunanati for the night. The area was full of tigers and at night one of them attacked him. Both brothers fought the tiger and killed it. The local people praised the brave brothers and elected Surya Mani as their leader. Surya Mani gradually built his fort at Gunanati and married a Mali girl.

After the death of his first wife Surya Mani married again, this time a Kshatriya girl. From Gunanati he then attacked Haripur and Ralaba,a beautiful place. While sleeping a tiger attacked him at Ralaba he again fought and killed it. At that moment he saw a lady passing by with an empty pot to fetch water. Astonishingly, she returned with a little boy. Immediately, Surya Mani obstructed the way of that lady and wanted to know about the mystery. The lady told she was Bouri Thakurani, a local goddess, and the tiger that the king had killed was the boy. She advised Surya Mani to kill her and worship her as his deity. From that date Surya Mani worshiped Bauri Thakurani at Ralaba and built his fort there and adopted the tiger head as a state symbol.

Bagel Singh (1480–1510), the Ninth king of the dynasty came on a hunting to a place in between Rukshi and the Balaram mountains and saw a wonderful sight that a rabbit pressed down a dog there. After seeing this he selected and shifted his capital to this place. As per his name this place was known as "Baghua Nayagarh". The place where such an event occurred is now known as "Kukur Tasara".

The 12th King of Nayagarh Raghunath Sing (1565–1595) was highly powerful. During this time Muslims had already captured Odisha and coastal Odisha was in a state of anarchy. Last independent king Mukunda Dev (1565) was defeated in Gohritikira and died. By taking advantage of the political situations of coastal Odisha, Raghunath Singh attacked Ranpur and captured Odagaon, Sarankul and Baunsiapara area from Ranpur State and dispossessed Nayagarh-Daspalla border area from the King of Boudh and Sunamuhin area of Odgaon from the King of Ghumusar. He also captured a portion from Banpur. Before death, Ragunath Singh divided his estate between his three sons. Harihar Singh was in possession of Nayagarh and Jadunath Singh got four Khandagrams (large area of land) which was known as Khandapada later. Gadadhar Singh was the son of Harihar Singh. When he was engaged in a fight with Ranpur State the king of Ghumusar attacked Nayagarh. Pindik Patsahani of village Sunalati with 150 soldiers fought the great army of Ghumusar and defeated him. But, in subsequent war he was captured by the enemy and sacrificed his life. Gadadhar Sing's daughter married the great poet Upendra Bhanja of Ghumusar who settled at Malisahi of Nayagarh State after marriage. When the British captured Odisha, Binayak Singh was the King of Nayagarh and the great Jadumani Mahapatra was his poet.

Rulers

The rulers of Nayagarh State bore the title of Raja. The emblem of the Nayagarh royal family was the head of a tiger, the same state symbol as that of the rulers in neighbouring Khandpara State.[4]

Rajas

See also

References

  1. ↑ Great Britain India Office. The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.
  2. ↑ Nayagarh (Princely State)
  3. ↑ Rajput Provinces of India - Nayagarh (Princely State)
  4. ↑ Princely States of India

Coordinates: 20°08′N 85°06′E / 20.13°N 85.1°E