Raghunath Singha Dev II was the fifty-fourth king of the

Mallabhum Mallabhum (The Country originally known as Mallabhoom or Mallabani bn, মল্লভূম or Bishnupur kingdom ) was the kingdom ruled by the Malla kings of Bishnupur, primarily in the present Bankura district in Indian state of West Bengal ...

. He ruled from 1702 to 1712.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing

History

Personal life

Raghunath Singha Dev II and his wife

Princess Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Chandraprava of Chetbarda had no children so his younger brother

Gopal Singha Dev Gopal Singha Dev ( bn, গোপাল সিংহ দেব) was the fifty-fifth Raja of Mallabhum. He ruled from 1712 to 1748 CE.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing He helped the Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi ...

was the next king.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing History of Bishnupur Raj-Malick Abhaayapada. 1982, West Bengal

Mughals

Raghunath Singha Dev was the son of Durjan Singha Dev and a very brave king. He took care of his military force. He was also a very pious king and very much fond of music, dance and other performing arts. His time period. coincides the Aurangjeb and Bahadur Shah’s reign. During his rule Jijia tax(

Jizya Jizya ( ar, جِزْيَة / ) is a per capita yearly taxation historically levied in the form of financial charge on dhimmis, that is, permanent Kafir, non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The jizya tax has been unde ...

) was imposed. During the time of Alamgir Aurangjeb, who was very orthodox, as per his order any type of performing art was strictly prohibited. Ignoring his order Raghunath Singha Dev II developed Bishnupur as a very important place of performing art. He brought

Ustad Bahadur Khan Ustad Bahadur Khan (born Bahadur Hossain Khan; 19 January 1931 – 3 October 1989) was an Indian sarod player and film score composer. Early life and family Ustad Bahadur Khan, a Bengali, was born on 19 January 1931 in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, B ...

a descendant of

Tansen Tansen ( – 26 April 1589), also referred to and commonly known as Sangeet Samrat () , was a Hindustani classical musician. Born in a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest region of modern Madhya Pra ...

in a monthly payment of rupees 500 and Pir Box. Gradually Bishnupur gave us several vocalists, instrumentalists and other performing artists. A new

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...

of classical music named as Bishnupur gharana developed. In his regime. Shobha Singha was

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 Chetuwa — Baroda (

Midnapur Medinipur or Midnapore (Pron: med̪iːniːpur) is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as '' ...

) rose in revolt against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...

Marathas

During the ending phase of his reign

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

(Bargi) raiders raided Bishnupur marking the start of Bishnupur's decline.

References

Sources

* * O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Bankura, Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 21-46(26), 1995 reprint, first published 1908, Government of West Bengal. Malla kings Kings of Mallabhum 18th-century Indian monarchs Mallabhum Mallabhum temples {{India-royal-stub