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Ambika, Bar Raja (born Draupadi; died 1738) was the Chief Consort of Ahom King, Sutanphaa. She became Bar Raja, shortly after the death of her older sister,
Ambika was born with the name Draupadi.
Draupadi was married to Ramnath Solal Gohain of the Miri Handikoi family, by whom she had two sons.
Draupadi's elder sister,
Ambika, Bar Raja (born Draupadi; died 1738) was the Chief Consort of Ahom King, Sutanphaa. She became Bar Raja, shortly after the death of her older sister, Phuleshwari
Phuleswari, also known as Pramateswari Devi, was the chief consort of an Ahom king Siva Singha of Ahom kingdom of what is now Assam who ruled the kingdom from 1722 to 1731 A.D. She was the first queen of Ahom kingdom to govern the kingdom dire ...
. She is known for constructing the Sivasagar Sivadol
Siva dol (meaning the temple of the Lord Shiva) is a group of structures comprising three Hindu temples of Sivadol, Vishnudol (meaning temple of the Lord Vishnu) and Devidol (means temple of the Goddess Devi Durga in the local Assamese language) ...
and the Sivasagar Tank. She was a great patron of learning and education.
Life and marriages
Ambika was born with the name Draupadi.
Draupadi was married to Ramnath Solal Gohain of the Miri Handikoi family, by whom she had two sons.
Draupadi's elder sister, Phuleshwari
Phuleswari, also known as Pramateswari Devi, was the chief consort of an Ahom king Siva Singha of Ahom kingdom of what is now Assam who ruled the kingdom from 1722 to 1731 A.D. She was the first queen of Ahom kingdom to govern the kingdom dire ...
, died in 1731. The King, Siva Singha
Sutanphaa also Siva Singha was a king of Assam who reigned from 1714 to 1744 A.D. He was the eldest son of Rudra Singha. Siva Singha was with his dying father at Guwahati, who then proceeded to the capital Rangpur where he ascended to the th ...
, then forcibly married Draupadi and forced her to separate from her husband. Her two sons from her previous marriage then lived with their father and Draupadi took on the name Ambika. They had a son, Ugra Singha, the Tipam Raja.
Ambika was a great patron of art, at her patronage, the famous manuscript on elephantry Hastividyarnava
The Hastividyārnava, written by Sukumar Barkaith, is one of the best known illustrated manuscripts of Assam. Commissioned under the patronage of King Siva Singha (1714-1744 C.E.) and his queen consort Ambika, it deals with the management and car ...
was commissioned. Bhagavada book VI, and Dharma Purana composed by Kavichandra Dvijya and illustrated by Badha Ligira, are another important works of art at that time.
Ambika died in 1738 at north of Chinatali. The King in 1739 married Akari Gabhuru, daughter of deposed Solal Gohain, of Madurial family, and conferred her the title of Bar Raja, and renamed her as Sarbeswari.
References
Ahom kingdom Queens consort of India 1738 deaths Year of birth unknown {{India-royal-stub