Shukladhwaja (Pron:ʃʊkləˈdwɑːdʒ) (1510-1577AD), or more popularly known as Bir Chilarai(Pron:/ʧɪləˌraɪ/), was the 3rd son of Biswa Singha, founder of the Koch Dynasty in Kamata Kingdom and younger brother of

Nara Narayan Naranarayan (reign 1554–1587) was the last ruler of the undivided Koch dynasty of Kamata Kingdom. He succeeded his father, Biswa Singha. Under him the Koch kingdom reached its cultural and political zenith. Under his rule, and under the ...

, the 2nd king of the

Koch dynasty Koch may refer to: People * Koch (surname), people with this surname * Koch dynasty, a dynasty in Assam and Bengal, north east India * Koch family * Koch people (or Koche), an ethnic group originally from the ancient Koch kingdom in north east ...

of the

Kamata kingdom The Kamata Kingdom (pron: ˈkʌmətɑ) emerged in western Kamarupa probably when Sandhya, a ruler of Kamarupanagara, moved his capital west to Kamatapur sometime after 1257 CE. Since it originated in the old seat of the Kamarupa kingdom, a ...

in the 16th century. He was Nara Narayan's commander-in-chief and chief Minister (Dewan) of the kingdom. He got his name Chilarai because, as a general, he executed troop movements that were as fast as a ''chila'' ( kite/Eagle).

Biography

Chilaray was the third son of Biswa Singha (1515–1540). It was only due to his royal patronage that

Sankardeva Srimanta Sankardev( শ্ৰীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱ )(; ; 1449–1568) was a 15th–16th century Assamese polymath; a saint-scholar, poet, playwright, dancer, actor, musician, artist social-religious reformer and a figure of im ...

was able to establish the ekasarana-namadharma in Assam and bring about his cultural renaissance. Several rulers, namely the then king of

Manipur Manipur () ( mni, Kangleipak) is a state in Northeast India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. It is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west. It also borders two regions of Myanm ...

and the Khasi tribal chief (Viryyavanta), submitted to Chilaray. Chilaray and his army also vanquished and killed the Jaintia king, and kings of

Tippera Tripura State, also known as Hill Tipperah, was a princely state in India during the period of the British Raj and for some two years after the departure of the British. Its rulers belonged to the Manikya dynasty and until August ...

(Tripura) and Sylhet. Chilaray is said to have never committed brutalities on unarmed common people, and even those kings who surrendered were treated with respect. He was harsh to kings and soldiers who refused to surrender, but neither him nor his brother ever annexed territories or oppressed the common people. They only collected tributes from the vanquished kings. They even treated enemy prisoners kindly, and gave them land-grants to settle. The duo (Chilaray and

) turned towards

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

, but unforeseen circumstances led to Chilaray's capture by the Afghan Sultan Sulaiman Khan Karrani, while Naranarayan retreated to his capital. Much of the Koch kingdom was then captured by the Afghans. Chilaray died in 1577 of small pox on the bank of

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Bir Chilaray Divas

The birth anniversary of Mahabir Chilaray is organised by

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, ...

annually from 2005. The Government also declares this day as state holiday. It is celebrated on the Purnima of Phagun Maah of Hindu Calendar.

Bir Chilaray award

The Directorate of Cultural Affairs, Government of Assam instituted these awards in 2005. Theycomprise a shawl, a citation, and a cash award of Rs. 100,000http://www.samachar.com/Bir-Chilaray-Ganesh-Gogoi-Bhaben-Saikia-awards-presented-lcvkPDcbeja.html

Notes

References

* * * * {{Citation, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ECxUOSudNGYC, last=Nath , first=D. , title=History of the Koch Kingdom, C. 1515-1615 , pages=5–6, publisher=Mittal Publications, year= 1989, isbn=8170991099 16th-century Indian people People from Assam