Cheitharol Kumbaba

Cheitharol Kumbaba, also spelled as Cheitharon Kumpapa, is the official royal chronicle of the kings of Manipur.It claims to trace the history of the meetei kingdom back to 33 CE, and it ends with the last king, Bodhchandra, in 1955.^[1] It deals with the uninterrupted record of the Meetei Kings or of the Royal family of Manipur regardless of the manner of the king taking possession of the throne and his origin. It is to the manipuris what the Buranji is to the Assamese, the Bakhlian to the Marathas, the Twarikhi to the Moguls and the Yazawin to the Burmese.^[2] It is written in Meetei Mayek, the archaic Meetei script.The recording of the Cheitharol Kumbaba was done by the scribes of the royal palace.

Bengali versions

Cheitharol Kumbaba was transliterated in Bengali script by Pundit Thongam Madhob Singh and published by visvabharati Mandir in 1940s. Then with the permission of Maharaja Churchand Singh the chronicle was edited by L. Ibungohal Singh and Pundit N. Khelchandra Singh and published by the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad in 1967. ^[3]

English versions

In 1891 Major Maxwell, the Political Agent of Manipur, instructed the court to translate the Cheitharol Kumbaba into english. The translation was carried out by a Bengali clerk, Mamacharan. It was editied and published by L. Joychandra Singh in 1995 under the title "The Lost Kingdom".^[4] Another English version of the Chronicle was produced by Saroj N. Arambam Parratt under the title ' The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: Cheitharon Kumpapa Vol.1(Routledge, London and New Delhi)^[5] in 2005. Parratt includes a facsimile of the original manuscript of the Cheitharol Kumbaba. The Cheitharol Kumbaba adopted three chronological systems or eras: Kalyabda, Saka era, Chandrabda or Kangleipak era. From 1666 CE onwards, the days of the week is mentioned in the Cheitharol Kumbaba. In 2010 Rajkumar Somorjit Sana produced an edited english version of the Cheitharol Kumbaba with the corresponding Western dates for each Manipuri day under the title 'The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs ( From 1666 CE to 1850 CE)(Imphal: Waikhom Ananda Meetei, 2010)^[6] .^[7]

References

1. ^ Parratt, Saroj N. Arambam (2005). The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, the Cheitharon Kumpapa, Vol.1. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-34430-1. 
2. ^ Singh, Manihar Ch (2003). A History of Manipuri Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akadami. pp. 71. ISBN 81-260-1586-1. 
3. ^ Kabui, Gangmunei (1991). History of Manipur, Vol.1. New Delhi: National Publishing House. pp. 34. ISBN 81-214-0362-6. 
4. ^ Singh, L. Joychandra (1995). The Lost Kingdom. Imphal. 
5. ^ Saroj N. Arambam, Parratt. "The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur". Royal chronicle. Routledge. http://books.google.com/books?id=oDQ2HMmU8_MC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+court+chronicle+of+the+kings+of+manipur&hl=en&ei=HG2uTunGDsPjrAfv_MSNDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 31 October 2011. 
6. ^ Sana, Raj Kumar Somorjit. "The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs". Chronology of Kings and Rulers. http://books.google.com/books?id=eybpM1KZjVoC&pg=PA38&dq=the+chronology+of+meitei+monarchs&hl=en&ei=zi-uTrf8DIb3rQf08KS4DA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false. Retrieved 31 October 2011. 
7. ^ Sana, Rajkumar Somorjit (2010). The Chronology of Meetei Monarch(1666 CE to 1850 CE). Imphal: Waikhom Ananda Meetei. ISBN 978-81-8465-210-9.