Tigiria State, was one of the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

s of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

during the period of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. It was located in present-day

Tigiria Tigiria is a tehsil (block) of Cuttack district. There are 14 ''(panchayats)'' with a total of 50 villages under the Tigiria administrative division. Tigiria is part of the Athagarh Odisha Vidhan Sabha constituency which includes as well Athagad ...

block of Cuttack district,

Odisha Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...

. Although it was the smallest of the states of the

Orissa States Agency The Eastern States Agency was an agency or grouping of princely states in eastern India, during the latter years of the Indian Empire. It was created in 1933, by the unification of the former Chhattisgarh States Agency and the Orissa States Agen ...

it was the most densely populated. The last ruler of Tigiria joined the state to the Indian Union in 1948. The state was bound in the north by

Dhenkanal State Dhenkanal State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state is now referred to as Dhenkanal district, Odisha, with Dhenkanal, India, Dhenkanal town as its district headquarters. History Foundation o ...

, in the east it was bound by

Athgarh State Athgarh (ଆଠଗଡ) was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. The state was founded by Raja SriKaran Niladri Bebarta Patnaik in 1178 and had its capital in Athgarh (Athagad) town. It was made part of Cutt ...

, in the south by the

Mahanadi River The Mahanadi is a major river in East Central India. It drains an area of around and has a total length of . Mahanadi is also known for the Hirakud Dam. The river flows through the states of Chhattisgarh and Odisha and finally merged with Bay o ...

and in the west by Baramba State.Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 357.
/ref>

History

The name 'Tigiria' likely originated in the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

''Trigiri'', meaning "Three Hills". Most of the inhabitants of Tigiria were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, members of the

Chasa caste Chasa is a community from the Indian state of Odisha. Chasas were traditionally cultivators but are now engaged in several professions. The Odia word ''chasa'' means farmer. They are third largest caste by population in Odisha. History The Or ...

, and important places of worship were located within the area of Tigiria State. Tigiria was founded at an uncertain date in the sixteenth century by a ruler named Nityananda Tunga of the local Kshatriya Tunga clan of Central Odisha region. According to legends he was directed to the spot in a dream while on a pilgrimage to

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...

.Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 357.
/ref> In 1682, the Marathas granted the title of Mahapatra to Raja Sankarsen Tunga for his services. His successor Gopinath Chamupati Singh has authored the war treatise ''Virasarvasvam''. The last Raja Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra signed the accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948Tigiria Princely State – "The Golden Book of India"; LETHBRIDGE, Roper, MacMillan & Co., 1893 p. 539
/ref> and was the final surviving royal of the British Raj-era princely states until he breathed his last in 2015.

Rulers

The rulers of Tigiria state of the Tunga dynasty.
/ref> *Nityananda Tunga *Sankarsen Tunga (1682–1742) *Gopinath Chamupati Singh (1743–..) *Jadumani Rai Singh (..–1793) *Jagannath Chamupati Singh (1797–1844) *Harihar Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (1844–8 April 1886) *Banamali Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (8 April 1886–1933) *Sudarshan Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (1933–1943) * Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (1943–1 January 1948)

Titular

* Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (1 January 1948–30th November 2015) *Bir Pratap Birbar Kshatriya Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (30th November 2015–current)

References

{{Princely states of the Eastern States Agency Princely states of Odisha Cuttack district

History

Rulers

Titular

See also

References