Raja Krishnachandra (born Krishnachandra Ray, (1710–1783) was a
raja
''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia.
The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested f ...
and
zamindar
A zamindar ( Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughals and later the British had begun using it as a ...
of ,
Nadia
Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both.
In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: Uk ...
, from 1728 to 1782.
He belonged to the
Nadia Raj family and
Shakta
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti (Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...
Hindu tradition. He is credited not only with his resistance to the
Mughal rule, but with his expansion and patronage of the arts in his kingdom.
Reign
According to Atul Chandra Roy, Krishnachandra was “the most important man of the period in the Hindu society of Bengal.”
During his reign, Krishnachandra was highly influential for Hindu religious practices, for which reason Raja Rajballabh Sen of
Bikrampur
Bikrampur ("City of Courage") was a pargana situated south of Dhaka, the modern capital city of Bangladesh. In the present day, it is known as Munshiganj District of Bangladesh. It is a historic region in Bengal and was a part of the Bhawal Est ...
sought the assistance of Krishnachandra's
pandit
A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...
s in supporting the overturning of the prohibition on widow remarriage after his own daughter was widowed young.
However, Krishnachandra strongly opposed the measure. To illustrate his feelings, legend relates, he had the visitors served the meat of a buffalo calf. Offended, they rejected the food on their honor as orthodox Hindus, and when challenged indicated that though it was not explicitly prohibited it was not practice nor custom. Krishnachandra's courtiers pointed out that they had taken umbrage at being presented something not forbidden but against custom, but that they expected Krishnachandra to accept their own unorthodox proposal.
With the opposition of Krishnachandra, Rajballabh failed to achieve the change he sought.
Another legend connected to Krishnachandra involved the conflict between his
diwan, Raghunandan, and Manikchandra, then diwan of
Burdwan
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
but in future to become raja himself.
After Raghunandan and Manikchandra quarreled, Manikchandra accused the other man of theft and had sufficient power to order and see to his execution. John McLane speculates that the root of the disagreement may have been Manikchandra's well-known resentment of Krishnachandra's patronage of the poet
Bharatchandra, who had insulted the Burdwan raj family in a poem in retaliation for their depriving him of his own family estate.
Krishnachandra is also legendarily associated with the popularization of the worship of the goddess
Jagaddhatri
Jagatdhatri or Jagaddhatri () is an aspect of the Hindu goddess Parvati, worshipped in the Indian states of West Bengal and Odisha.Her worship and rituals are derived from Tantra, where she is a symbol of Sattva beside Durga and Kali, who are r ...
.
According to the story, Krishnachandra had been imprisoned by Muslims, causing him to miss the celebration of
Durga Puja
Durga Puja ( bn, দুর্গা পূজা), also known as Durgotsava or Sharodotsava, is an annual Hindu festival originating in the Indian subcontinent which reveres and pays homage to the Hindu goddess Durga and is also celebrated ...
. Durga appeared to him in the form of Jagaddhatri and ordered him to worship her in one month, which he did, commissioning a sculptor to create a statue of the goddess.
Bharatchandra Ray
Bharatchandra Ray Gunakor ( bn, ভারতচন্দ্র রায় গুণাকর; 1712–1760) was an 18th-century Bengali and Sanskrit Sakta court poet and song composer. He is mostly known for his poetic work, '' Annadamangal'' or ...
is said to be the court poet of Krishnachandra.He was also the patron of Sadhak
Ramprasad Sen
( bn, রামপ্রসাদ সেন; c. 1718 or c. 1723 – c. 1775) was a Hindu Shakta poet and saint of eighteenth century Bengal. His '' bhakti'' poems, known as Ramprasadi, are still popular in Bengal—they are usually ad ...
.
Krishna Chandra was part of the group, which included
Jagat Seth
The Jagat Seth family was a wealthy merchant, banker and money lender family from Murshidabad in Bengal during the time of the Nawabs of Bengal.
History
The house was founded by Jain Hiranand Shah from Nagaur, Rajasthan, who came to Patna ...
,
Mir Jafar
Sayyid Mīr Jaʿfar ʿAlī Khān Bahādur ( – 5 February 1765) was a military general who became the first dependent Nawab of Bengal of the British East India Company. His reign has been considered by many historians as the start of the expan ...
,
Omichund
Omichund or Umichand ( bn, উমিচাঁদ; died 1767) was a native merchant of Bengal Nawabi period in India who was one of the principal authors of the conspiracy against Nawab and associated with the treaty negotiated by Robert Clive bef ...
, Ray Durlabh and others, which conspired against
Siraj ud-Daulah
Mirza Muhammad Siraj-ud-Daulah ( fa, ; 1733 – 2 July 1757), commonly known as Siraj-ud-Daulah or Siraj ud-Daula, was the last independent Nawab of Bengal. The end of his reign marked the start of the rule of the East India Company over Beng ...
and colluded with Robert Clive, which lead to defeat of Siraj ud-Dullah in
Battle of Plassey
The Battle of Plassey was a decisive victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757, under the leadership of Robert Clive. The victory was made possible by the defection of Mir Jafar, ...
and eventual foundation of British rule in India.
It is arguable that Krishnachandra or other members of the conspiracy group had no particular intention to found British rule in India, rather they were purely interested in their own political futures.
Krishnachandra remained on friendly terms with the British and especially with
Robert Clive
Robert Clive, 1st Baron Clive, (29 September 1725 – 22 November 1774), also known as Clive of India, was the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency. Clive has been widely credited for laying the foundation of the British ...
. This relationship served him well in the 1760s when Bengal Nawab
Mir Qasim
Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been su ...
ordered Krishnachandra's execution, for Clive not only overruled it but gifted Krishnachandra five cannons, the title
maharaja
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
, and governance as zamindar of the area of
Krishnanagar Krishna Nagar or Krishnanagar may refer to:
Places India
* Krishna Nagar, Delhi
** Krishna Nagar metro station (Delhi)
** Krishna Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency)
* Krishna Nagar, Hyderabad
* Krishna Nagar, Lucknow
** Krishna Nagar metro sta ...
.
In popular culture
Raja Krishnachandra features in all stories depicting the wit of the famous court jester
Gopal Bhar
Gopal Bhar or Gopal Bhand ( bn, গোপাল ভাঁড় ) was a court jester in medieval Bengal. He was in the court of Raja Krishnachandra (1710–1783), the then-king of Nadia in the 18th century. Gopal used to give joy to others by la ...
. While it is debated whether Gopal Bhar was real or fictitious, the corpus of stories paint a vigorous portrait of Krishnachandra, as a ruler who was whimsical but humble, sometimes eager to display his punitive power and at other times accepting the lessons that Gopal taught him through his jokes. His depiction also shows character depth in the sense that, while the king is clearly in awe of Gopal's wit, he is also jealous and seeking revenge due to past embarrassments caused by Gopal's scathing remarks, and this dichotomy often creates comic situations and so on
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roy, Krishnachandra
1783 deaths
1710 births
People from Krishnagar
Bengali zamindars
Bengali Hindus
Shaktas
Krishnanagar