Koch Rajbongshi Royal Family

Royal History of Cooch Behar:

The ancient territory of Kamrup played a role in the development of the present region of Cooch Behar district in West Bengal. The Allahabad Pillar Inscription of the famous Gupta Emperor Samudragupta mentions the existence of the Kamrup territory in the 4th century AD. During the 15th century AD, the western part of Kamrup came under the sway of the ‘Khen’ dynasty to usher a new kingdom there known as ‘Kamta’. The present Cooch Behar originates from this ‘Kamta’ land. The Khen dynasty is noted for the kings of Niladhvaja, the founder of the dynasty, his son Chakradhvaja and grandson Nilambar (1473-98/99 AD). The most widely accepted view holds that king Maharaja Viswa Singha was responsible for establishing an independent ‘Koch’ kingdom in 1510 AD or 1530 AD, but an alternative view is that the Koch dynasty followed the lineage of Nilambar.

Originally the capital of this kingdom was not fixed and became stable only when it was shifted to Cooch Behar. The territory of Cooch Behar was known as ‘Kamta’ even during the period of Maharaja Viswa Singha and his son Maharaja Nara-Narayan. The Mughal forces took certain parts of the ‘Kamta’ kingdom in the middle of the 17th century AD. Later on the accounts of Badshanama, Shah-Jaha-nama, Tarikh-I-Assam and the Alamgirnama ascribed this territory as Cooch Behar. It appears that the ‘Koch’ kingdom was known as ‘Kamta’ even during the middle of the 17the century AD when the Koch kings like Maharaja Viswa Singh, Maharaja Nara Narayan and Maharaja Pran Narayan used the title ‘Kamteswar’ for themselves. The valor of the ‘Koch’ kings is known best by the pride of Maharaja Nara Narayan. He has issued his own coins. The kings who ruled Cooch Behar till its union with Indian territory and its declaration as a district headquarter of the Province of West Bengal in 1950 are known as Maharaja Viswa Singha , Maharaja Nara Narayan , Maharaja Lakshmi Narayan , Maharaja Bir Narayan , Maharaja Pran Narayan , aharaja Basudev Narayan , Maharaja Mahindra Narayan , Maharaja Roop Narayan , Maharaja Upendra Narayan , Maharaja Devendra Narayan , Maharaja Dhairjendra Narayan , Maharaja Rajendra Narayan, Maharaja Dharendra Narayan , Maharaja Harendra Narayan , Maharaja Shivendra Narayan , Maharaja Narendra Narayan , Maharaja Nripendra Narayan , Maharaja Rajrajendra Narayan , Maharaja Jitendra Narayan and Maharaja Jagadipendra Narayan.

The history of Cooch Behar dates back to the period of the Pala-Senas (i.e., Circa 11th – 12th century AD) These include sculptures, coins of the Sultanate and the Mughal Periods, temples, mosques of the mediaeval and late mediaeval period. Ancient remains include the Rajpat of Gossanimari, Siva Temple of Baneswar and the Cooch Behar Palace. It is traditionally believed that the huge mound of Rajpat of the Gossanimari village at a distance of 13 kilometer to the west of Dinhata Police Station marks the site of the ancient capital of ‘Kamtapur’ of the ‘Khen’ kings.

The word Rajpat derives probably from the Bengali ‘Rajbari’ or ‘Rajbati’ or ‘Rajprasad’. The ‘Khen’ king Nilambar of this Kamtapur Kingdom was defeated in a battle by sultan Hussain Shah of Bengal in 1498 AD. The pomp and glory of Rajpat are now all in ruins under the huge deposit of earth flanked by bare greenaries all around. It is believed that the anicent palatial complex of Kamtapur including the early Kamteswari temple lie buried in this mound. This mound is at present protected by the Archaeological Survey of India.

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