Sati Sadhani was a legendary 15th/16th-century queen of the Chutia dynasty. According to tradition, she was the daughter of King Dharmadhwajpal, also known as Dhirnarayan. Born in Sadiya, she married Nityapal, alias Nitai. In 1524, the Ahoms took advantage of Nityapal's weak leadership and attacked the kingdom, conquering Sadiya and killing Nityapal. When Sadhani, who played a prominent role in the fight against the Ahoms, was asked to marry Sadiyakhowa Gohain, the Ahom governor of

Sadiya Sadiya is a town in Tinsukia district, Assam. It was the capital of the Chutia Kingdom and after the downfall of the kingdom it became the seat of the ''Sadiya-khowa-Gohain'' of the Ahom kingdom. Extensive remains of buildings and fortifica ...

, she preferred death to dishonour and sacrificed her life by jumping from the top of Chandragiri hills near Sadiya in 1524.

Version of the Legend

Queen of Shutia

Sadhani was born around 1493 to king Dhirnarayan. In 1512, she married at age 19, and was crowned Queen in 1522. after Chutia King Dhirnarayan won the battle of Mungkhrang fort (1520). Unable to find a suitable groom for Sadhani, the king organised a meeting. The king promised to marry Sadhani to anyone who could shoot down a running squirrel on the top of a ''Mori-xali'' (cemetery) with an arrow. To everyone's surprise, a cowherd named Nitai (from the Chakusara clan) killed the squirrel. The king kept his promise and married the princess to Nitai who was then given the name Nitipal. The king retired to the hills leaving the throne to Nitipal and Sadhani.

Nitipal's rule

A cowherd before becoming king, Nitipal was inefficient in the role. He had no idea how to rule a kingdom, so Sadhani took charge. Nitipal dismissed the experienced ministers and instead recruited his own friends from his village. The old ministers rebelled, led by Surdhwajpal, the brother of the former king. The rebellion was soon crushed. Chaos spread in the kingdom, and the Chutia chiefs of other areas became independent. Nitipal was popularly known as ''A-nitipal'' because of this inefficiency and recklessness. Sadiya was solitary and had no contact with Chutia chiefs of the other parts of the kingdom.

Prior royal mandate

As per the Darrang buranji, one of the Chutia princesses was married to an Ahom prince (probably Suhunmung) in the years before the

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

. This princess helped him get one of the royal Golden Cat idols that were the heirlooms of the Chutia kings. Although it was not the original one, it later gave Suhungmung royal mandate to annex and later rule over the Chutia kingdom.

The first day of the attack

The Sadiya attack took place on the first Wednesday of Chutia Bisu/Bihu, on 16 April 1524. This day is known for the ''Bor-bali'' (grand sacrifice). It is still practiced in Sadiya. On this day, no other person is allowed to carry weapons besides Deori priests. The siege of Sadiya is referred to as ''Kosu-kota Ran'' in the Buranjis, which literally translates to Battle of Yam-cutting, because no resistance was offered by unarmed soldiers.

Last battle of Chandangiri

The sudden attack at Sadiya forced the king and queen, along with some of the soldiers who survived, to flee to the hills above Sadiya. The Chutiyas applied guerrilla warfare strategies and used ''Faakdhenu'' (crossbows) and spears to defend themselves. Sadhani formed a female fighting squad of 120 warriors. They assisted the army by rolling boulders onto the enemy below. That day was 21 April (7th Bohag) and was widely considered as Ujha (Drummer's) Bisu. One of the former ministers of the Chutias whom Nitipal had removed sided with the Ahoms and suggested the Ahom commander Phrasengmung Borgohain play the ''

Dhol Dhol (IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...

''. The general ordered captives to climb up Ghila creepers and play the Bisu drum or ''Dhol''. As it was the season of Bihu, the Chutia army took it to be a sign that reinforcements had arrived and that it was a sign of victory, thinking the Ahoms had been chased out. So, thinking the drum beats to be a signal of victory they came down to the lower hills where the enemy forces were hiding. Another former Chutia commander, Gajraj Borua, who had sided with the Ahoms showed the enemy the way to the king's hideout. The king was attacked and killed by an arrow while Sadhani took her own life by jumping from a hill.

Divas

Every year in

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

, 21 April is celebrated as Sati Sadhani divas to honor the sacrifices made by the Sutiya Queen. The

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

marked this day a state holiday.

Award

The Sati Sadhani award was established by the Sutiya Jati Unnayan Parishad. The award is given to someone with outstanding contributions to the field of art, culture and literature. The honoree is selected by a committee formed by the Parishad.

References

*{{cite book , first = Col. Ved , last = Prakash , title = Encyclopedia of North East India.Vol.2 , year = 2007 , publisher = Atlantic Publishers & Dist. Legendary Indian people Indian female royalty Kingdoms of Assam People from Dhemaji district Indian torture victims 16th-century Indian monarchs 16th-century Indian women 16th-century Indian people 1523 deaths Year of birth unknown Women from Assam People from Tinsukia district Women in 16th-century warfare Indian women in war Chutiya community Hindu monarchs