Supangmung (reigned 1663–1670), also known as Chakradhwaj Singha ( as, স্বৰ্গদেউ চক্ৰধ্বজ সিংহ), was an important Ahom king under whom the Ahom kingdom took back

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

from 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 ...

following the reverses at the hands of Mir Jumla and the

Treaty of Ghilajharighat The Treaty of Ghilajharighat, Tipam, was signed between the Ahoms and the Mughal forces led by Mir Jumla II on January 23, 1663 or 9th Magh, 1584 saka. The treaty Mir Jumla II brought occupation of the Ahom capital, Garhgaon, to an end. Terms ...

. He is known for his fierce pride as an Ahom monarch.

Reign

Ascension

Jayadhawaj Singha left no sons, so the Ahom nobles called in the Charing Raja and placed him on the throne. He was a cousin of the Jayadhwaj Singha, and a grandson of Suleng Deoraja, a previous Charing raja and the second son of Suhungmung . The new monarch was named Supangmung by the Deodhais. He assumed the Hindu name Chakradhawaj Singha. At the installation ceremony, the Jaintia Raja sent an envoy to convey his congratulation. So also did the Koch Raja of Darrang, who had sided with Mir Jumla during his invasion, and with whom friendly relations were thus restored. About the same time Mughal emperor Aurangzeb had presented a ''khelat'' or robe of honour to Supangmung, and the imperial envoys insisted on the king's donning them in their presence. King Supangmung could not stand this grave humiliation. He shouted out from his throne--"Death is preferable to a life of subordination to foreigners. I have to surrender my independence for a suit of sewn garments!"

Recapture of Guwahati

Chakradhawaj Singha soon after the start of his reign started repairing the forts at Samdhara and Patakallangand and restored the army to a state of efficiency. In March 1665 the king summoned an assembly of his ministers and nobles and ordered them to devise and adopt measures for expelling Mughals from Western Assam, adding--"My ancestors were never subordinate to any other people; and I for myself cannot remain under the vassalage of any foreign power. I am a descendant of the Heavenly King and how can I pay tribute to the wretched foreigners. Early in 1667 Saiad Firuz Khan, who succeeded Rashid Khan as Thanadar of

, sent a strongly worded letter to the Ahom King, demanding the payment of the balance of the indemnity still outstanding. On receiving this letter, Chakradhavaj Singha made up his mind to fight the

. The necessary preparation were made with all speed, and in August 1667 a well-equipped army set out led by

Lachit Borphukan Lachit Barphukan was an Ahom commander, known for his leadership in the Battle of Saraighat that thwarted an invasion by Mughal forces under the command of Ramsingh I. Biography Lachit was born to Momai Tamuli, a commoner who rose to the ran ...

to wrest Guwahati from the Mughals. King Supangmung gave valuable gifts to the commanders of the expedition and delivered to them the following message--"I desire that your wives and children, and the cows and Brahmans should be duly protected and preserved; and I should also acquire the prestige and reputation of having vanquished the

. If you prove incompetent in the task of defeating the enemy at Itakhuli you shall not be let off with impunity. And, do you think that there will paucity of Phukans and Rajkhowas like yourselves." At midnight, around November 2, 1667,

Itakhuli Itakhuli or Sukreswar Hill is a small hill on the south bank of the Brahmaputra at Guwahati. The past official residence of the Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup District of Assam was located on top of this hill. The D.C. bungalow was vacated for t ...

and the contiguous garrison of Guwahati fell into the hands of Ahoms. The victors took possession of the elephants, horses, guns, coins and all other articles which they found in the imperial stores in Guwahati. The enemy was chased down to the mouth of Manas River, the old boundary of Assam and Mughal

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 ...

. The Ahoms also succeeded in bringing back the Assamese subjects who had been taken captives by the

during the expedition of Mir Jumla. Thus within the short span of two months the Ahoms succeeded in recovering their lost possession and along with it their lost prestige and glory, and this was due mainly to the determination and courage of Ahom King Supangmung. On receiving the news of victory the king cried out--"It is now that I can eat my morsel of food with ease and pleasure"

The Ideal Monarch

The king was regarded by Assamese as the fountain head of all energy and inspiration, and Lachit Barphukan was fortunate in having Supangmung as the supreme head of the state. The patriotism and self-respect of this monarch have but few parallels in the history of Assam. He had to suffer in the beginning from the shameful legacies of the preceding regime. During the two years long preparation for the war with the

, the monarch personally supervised the preparations—stocking of food, arms and ammunitions, he placed the smiths inside the palace enclosures to oversee their work, trained the archers with his own hand, then finally ordered the march to

Gauhati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

when he was fully satisfied with the preparation. Supangmung also sent letters to neighbouring chiefs in order to obtain their cooperation and support in his plan to resist the

. The king's patriotic intent and self-respect came out in the letters of the period. In June 1664, he wrote to Raja Prana Narayan of Koch Behar, "You know for yourself all about the manner in which we repeatedly dealt heavy blows upon the

. If God has inflicted on us a reverse on this occasion, does it imply that we shall be subjected to discomfiture a second time?" He wrote again in February 1666, "Because the

have humiliated us once, does it follow that we should make no attempt to throw off this position of subordination to them? Supangmung's insight and wisdom were best shown in the selection of Lachit Barphukan as the commander in chief to lead the new army. A wrong man would have behaved differently, but the king's nominee was imbued with the same zeal and patriotism of the spirited sovereign, and he succeeded in expelling the Mughal from

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 ...

. Supangmung also ordered his Prime Minister

Atan Burhagohain Atan Burhagohain was an influential 17th-century Burhagohain of the Ahom kingdom. He served as ''Rajmantri Dangaria'', the chief counsellor, for more than seventeen years, from January 1662 to March 1679. During this period Assam witnessed Mugh ...

, a skilled soldier, military engineer and diplomat to accompany

on the campaign to oust the Mughals from Assam. While the best brains of the country, whether in statesmanship or warcraft were in the frontline at

, the King had to manage the affairs of the country with inferior talents and abilities. Sitting at the capital for nearly two years he managed and gave logistic support to the army in the front supplying men, arms and food materials. After the recapture of

and recovery of the land up to the old boundary at Manas river, King Supangmung organised and streamlined the civil administration and revenue collection system of lower Assam under senior officers—Phukans and Rajkhowas adapting from the Mughal's system. From the capital he maintained an efficient civil administration in the country which was necessary to guarantee the regular reinforcements of men and materials to the Army in the frontline.

Death of King Supangmung

The long war has taken both physical and mental toll of the King and in April 1670 Supangmung died, just one year before the

Battle of Saraighat The Battle of Saraighat was a naval battle fought in 1671 between the Mughal Empire (led by the Kachwaha raja, Ram Singh I), and the Ahom Kingdom (led by Lachit Borphukan) on the Brahmaputra river at Saraighat, now in Guwahati, Assam, In ...

. The King did not get the satisfaction of seeing the final defeat of the imperialist Mughal Army at Saraighat, which sealed the fate of all the Mughal plans of expansion of their kingdom to the East. Supangmung gave the desired momentum which paved the way for the ultimate victory of the Assamese.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Supangmung Ahom kings Ahom kingdom 1670 deaths Year of birth unknown Deaths from edema Year of death uncertain