Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb

(History of Kumaon from 1000-1790 AD)

         (History of Chand Dynasty Rule in Kumaon)

History of Uttarakhand (Garhwal, Kumaon, Haridwar) - Part 185

                                              By: Bhishma Kukreti

Rule Period of Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra- 1638-1578

Inscriptions available of Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra-1640, 43,48,54,59,62,64,65,66,68,70,71,73,1675

Contemporary Kings

Garhwal- Nakkati Rani (1635-1640), Prithwipati Shah (1640-1664, expired in 1667), Fateshah (1664-1716)

Delhi Badshah- Shahjahan (1628-1659); Aurangzeb (1659-1707)

                   There are two names mentioned in the dateless Trimall inscription of Baleshwar temple –Trimall Chandra and Ballalchandra. Ballalchandra is said to be Bajbahadur Chandra.  There is his name Vijay Bahadur Chandra in the 1664, copper inscription of Baleshwar temple. The Shahjahanama a Shahjahan autography by Inayat Khan mentions Kumaon king as Bajbahadur Chandra.  The Kumaon court councilor Anantdev mentioned him as Bajbahadur Chandra and his father name as Neel Chandra in his book ‘Stutikaustubh’. Anantdev mentions that Neel Chandra visited various pilgrim places.

                Bajbahadur Chandra was not real son of King Trimall Chandra. Trimall Chandra was childless king. It was said that a Tiwari widow was nurturing the son of Neel Gusain (who was son of King Lakshmi Chandra) in a remote village. Bajbahadur Chandra adapted that boy who was called ‘Baj’ in the village. The court poet of Bajbhadur Chandra Anantdev described forefathers of Bajbahadur Chandra as Gyanchandra, Kalyan Chandra, Rudra Chandra, Lakshman Chandra, Trimall Chandra and Neel Chandra.

  Chandra king Vijay Chandra ousted eyes of Neel Gusain.

                   Atkinson stated that baj Bhadur Chandra died at the age of eighty years as per a folk saying. A folk saying mentions that “Baras bhaya asse . budh gayee nasee’ and folk story that son of Bajbahadur Chandra  Udyot Chandra sent white hair to his father for reminding his father that now the prince (Udyot Chandra) was becoming quite old and his father (Baj Bahadur Chandra ) should leave the crown for his prince.  However, the historical logic does not permit that Baj Bahadur Chandra was eighty years old when he died. The age of Baj Bahadur would be 55-56 at the time of his death.

  Baj Bahadur Chandra was a religious person and was strong believer on deities, temples and Brahmins. His court Brahmin poet Anantdev was a Karmkandi Brahmin who wrote about adopted son and Pryaschit theories. However, in ‘Smriti-Kaustubh’, there no mention is that Baj Bahadur Chandra did any Shradh or Prayschit for Neel Gusain.

               Religious Donation by King Baj Bahadur Chandra

              Baj Bahadur spent his childhood in a high class Brahmin family. He felt that it was deities blessing that he became the King.  He donated land to Lakhanpur temple in 1640, twice to Badrinath temple in 1643, Someshwar temple in 1648 and Pinnnath temple of Baurari in 1654.

Read more about Bajbhadur Chandra in next chapter

Copyright@ Bhishma Kukreti -bckukreti@gmail.com 11/11/2013

                                      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 Tazuk-i-Jahangiri

Maularam- Gadh Rajvansh Kavya

Ramayan Pradeep

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

                           

History of Garhwal – Kumaon-Haridwar (Uttarakhand, India) to be continued… Part -186  

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…)

Xx

Notes on History of Medieval Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Bageshwar, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Pithoragarh, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Dwarhat, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Nainital, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Almora, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Champawat, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb; History of Medieval Udham Singh Nagar, Kumaon King Baj Bahadur Chandra contemporary to Shahjahan and Aurangzeb;