Nadia Raj were a dynasty of

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 ...

s and the rulers of territories that are now part of the

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influenti ...

region of

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

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 ...

. Their seat was at the city of

Krishnanagar, Nadia Krishnanagar (; also spelled Krishnagar) is a city and a municipality. in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarter of the Nadia district. History Krishnanagar municipality was established in 1864 and is one of the oldest municipali ...

. The estate of Nadia Raj was estimated to cover an area of . The rulers of Nadia Raj established many

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 ...

schools in Nadia, since they were the patron of Sanskrit literature and music. They were also patrons of Sanskrit culture in Bengal.

History

The Nadia Raj family is believed to have descended from

Bhatta Narayana Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Mṛgarājalakśman, also known as Nishānārāyana, was a Sanskrit scholar and writer who belonged to the ''Pancharatra'' Rarhi branch of ''Sandilya'' family of Brahmins. He lived before 800 A.D. for he is cited by Vāmana ...

, who was a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (gur ...

of the ''Sandilya'' Gotra. He was summoned from Kanyakubja (

Kannauj Kannauj ( Hindustani pronunciation: ənːɔːd͡ʒ is a city, administrative headquarters and a municipal board or Nagar Palika Parishad in Kannauj district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The city's name is a corrupted form of the class ...

) by Raja Adisura of Bengal, for the conduct of ceremonies of purification. Raja Kshitish Chandra Roy

The Nadia Raj family is one of the oldest Hindu families in Bengal, spanning more than 35 generations from the founder. Since the establishment of

British rule 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 hims ...

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 ...

each of the

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 ...

s of Nadia were created a

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, a ...

Bahadur in succession.

References

{{West Bengal Hindu families Bengali families Indian families Bengali zamindars Zamindari estates Bengali Hindus Indian nobility Indian noble families