Chand King Rudra Chandra: A Contemporary King of Akbar the Great

  (History of Kumaon from 1000-1790 AD)

         (History of Chand Dynasty Rule in Kumaon)

History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar) - Part 167

                                              By: Bhishma Kukreti

    Ruling period of Chand King Rudra Chandra – 1568-1597

              The Rudra Chandra inscriptions are available of years- 1565, 1567,1568,1575,1581,1594,1596,1597.

           The Chand king Rudra Chandra was contemporary to Akbar the Great (1556-1605); Garhwali kings Sahajpal (1548-1581); Balram Shah (1581-1591) and Man Shah (1591-1611).

                 Akbar the Great rule also affected Uttarakhand as the rule affected other Indian territories culturally and politically.

  When Chand king Balo Kalyan Chandra died his son Rudra Chandra was quite young.

               The Chand Kingdom at the time of Rudra Chandra Coronation  

   When the Chand king Rudra Chandra was crowned, the Chand kingdom was recently extended and the rule was not stable. In 1559, his grandfather king Bhishma Chandra was killed by rebellions.

  The Danpur and Sor were recently included in Chand Kingdom.  The Danpur people were called as monsters. Sor people were also famous for their cunningness and conspiracy deeds.

  When Balo Kalyan Chandra died his queen did not burn herself with the king as her son was in his teen. Rudra Chandra was intellectual and brave from his childhood. The queen arranged for his studies. Rudra Chandra used to take advices from his mother. The queen (his mother) was under the influence of Purohit or trusted Brahmins. That means there was influence of his mother and Purohit (Brahmins) on the Chand King Rudra Chandra.

                                  Establishing Baleshwar Temple

                 Immediately after his coronation, Rudra Chandra got the information that the Jagirdar of Kanth-Gola (Shahjahanpur) captured Mal (plains or Tarain of present Kumaon). A sage from Champawat (Baleshwar) informed King Rudra Chandra that an idol of lord Shiva is under the earth in Baleshwar. The Sage Ram Datt advised Rudra Chandra to dig out the Shiva idol and establish the temple. There was an idol when the digging was started in Baleshwar. The king built Shiva temple at Baleshwar (in Champawat).  The King ordered each nearby farmers of Baleshwar territory to donate a Nali cereal to the temple. The King appointed Ram Datt as chief priest of Baleshwar temple.  There is a Samadhi/burial place of Ram Datt in Baleshwar. It is said that the priests of Gannath temple are successors of Ram Datt.

*** Read about attack on Uttarakhand from Jagirdars of Akbar the great inHistory of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar) - Part 168

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti -bckukreti@gmail.com 17/10/2013

                                      References

Dr. Shiv Prasad Dabral, Uttarakhand ka Itihas Bhag 10, Kumaon ka Itihas 1000-1790

Badri Datt Pande, 1937, Kumaon ka Itihas, Shri Almora Book Depo Almora

Devidas Kaysth, Itihas Kumaon Pradesh

Katyur ka Itihas, Pundit Ram Datt Tiwari

Oakley and Gairola, Himalayan Folklore

Atkinson, History of District Gazette

Menhadi Husain, Tuglak Dynasty

Malfujat- E Timuri

Tarikh -e-Mubarakshahi vol 4

Kumar Suresh Singh2005, People of India

Justin Marozzi, 2006, Tamerlane: Sword of Islam

Bakshsingh Nijar, 1968, Punjab under Sultans 1000-1526 

The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Volume 13 page 52 

Bhakt Darshan, Gadhwal ki Divangit Vibhutiyan

Mahajan V.D.1991, History of Medieval India

Majumdar R.C. (edited) 2006, The Sultanate

Rizvi, Uttar Taimur Kalin Bharat

Tarikhe Daudi

Vishweshara nand , Bharat Bharti lekhmala

Aine-e Akbari

Akbari Darbar

Tareekh Badauni

Eraly Abraham , 2004 The Mogul Throne

(The History of Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar write up is aimed for general readers)

                           

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -168

History of Kumaon (1000-1790) to be continued….

 Middle Himalayan, Indian Medieval Age History of Chand Dynasty rule in Kumaon to be continued…

  (Middle Himalayan, Indian Medieval Age History (740-1790 AD to be continued…)

Notes on History of Chand King Rudra Chandra: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Pithoragarh, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Dwarhat, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Baleshwar, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Danpur, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Sor Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Gangoli, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Almora, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Bageshwar, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Champawat Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Nainital Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Ranikhet, Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Udhamsingh Nagar Kumaon: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Kumaon, Uttarakhand: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Kumaon, Himalaya: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Kumaon, North India: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great; History of Chand King Rudra Chandra of Kumaon, South Asia: A Contemporary of Akbar the Great;