Rayashrestha Maharaja Pratapaditya

At the beginning of the 16th century, when the shadowy darkness of the tyrannical Mughal Empire began to spread throughout India, the 8 independent Hindu kingdoms of Bengal kept the torch of independent traditional rule burning in Eastern India during the period of unrest. Among these kingdoms, under the leadership of Agnikul Gaurab Raishrestha Maharajadhiraj Pratapaditya of Jessore kingdom, the power of Hindus gradually took shape, and by landing on the front line against the invasion of the Mughal empire, he spread his rule over the whole of Bengal and built an integral traditional Jessore empire.

At the end of the 16th century, Maharaja Pratapaditya extended Jessore's borders from Puri to Sandwip by suppressing the Lohani Pathans of the Orissa Sultanate and the Portuguese in the creeks. By ousting the Mughals from the whole of Eastern India and declaring the independence of Bengal, he re-established the Bengali nation's past glory of valour. Maharaj Pratapaditya defeated the Mughals in a total of 8 battles, conquered the region up to Patna in Bihar and established independent rule in the entire East India. The famous Chaushatti Ghat established by Maharaja Pratapaditya at Varanasidham still remains in his glory.

Prince Pratapaditya was born in 1561 AD (Bangabda 968) in the palace of King Srihari Vikramaditya of the Kashyap clan Agnikuldipaka: Bangaj Kulin Kshatriya Kayastha Guhra Dynasty as the son of his mother Bhavani. On the fifth day of his birth, his mother left this world in Sutikagriha, Abhayadevi, the wife of paternal Vasantnarayan Ray, brought him up as a son. Abhayadevi was known by Pratap as his mother and later she was honored as Rajmata of Jessore kingdom. Pratap studied scriptures like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Sri Sri Chandi in his childhood near Abhayadevi; The stories of great emperors like Shashanka, Dharmapala, Devapala, Lakshmanasena, etc. evoked in his mind the love of the world; The 200-year history of Hindu resistance against the heathen invaders of Swavarna Deva clansmen planted the seeds of desire to build an independent Hindu empire in his mind.

As a child, Pratap studied Sanskrit, Bengali and Persian languages. He studied weaponry under his paternal Vasant Roy. He became unrivalled in handling the new weapons of the time with spears, swords, bows etc. Pratap along with his friends entered the deep forest of Sundarbans and often hunted animals like tiger, deer, rhinoceros etc. During this time, Pratap met Shankar Chakraborty, a brave Brahmin youth from Dwarhatt, gradually they became best friends and Sardar Shankar Chakraborty was appointed as the commander and diplomatic chief of the Jessore kingdom.

● Coronation of Pratapaditya and assuming the title of Maharajadhiraja:

According to Suryasiddhanta, the coronation ceremony of Yashashastra Pratapaditya was completed in Dhumghat, the capital of Jessore, in 989 Bangabda (1582 AD) through the mediation of Savapandita and Guru Sri Krishna Tarkapanchanan. After his inauguration, Pratapaditya assumed the title of 'Maharajadhiraja' and proclaimed himself as the sovereign one-man emperor of India.

Setting up the capital at Dhumraghat or Dhumghat, Maharaja Pratapaditya renovated and rebuilt the Jessoreshwari temple, the goddess of the Jessore kingdom. Maharaja Pratapaditya as an independent coiner of the Jessore kingdom issued his own nominal silver coin, inscribed in pure Bengali script – “SriSrikali Prasaden Bhavati Srimanmaharajapratapadityarayasya” (first floor)/ “Badatchikkavachimo Jarshe Bangala Maharaja Pratapaditya Jaddal” (second floor).

● Jessore State Army Reforms:

On his accession to the throne of Jessore, Maharaja Pratapaditya concentrated on expanding his empire, which made his conflict with the Mughal emperor inevitable. So planning future wars, he greatly improved Jessore's army by investing in disciplined training and advanced technology weapons.

Maharaja Pratapaditya had nine divisions in his army. Each division had a separate army under the Commander-in-Chief. The army consisted of Dhali or infantry, Cavalry, Archers, Gunners, Naval, Gupta, Guards, Elephants, Mountaineers, Kukis, etc. Weapons such as shields, swords, swords, spears, tails, cannons, guns, spears, arrows etc. were used in the war.

It is written in Kshitishvamsabalichari that at that time he had fifty-two thousand spearmen, fifty-one thousand archers, many horsemen, many elephants, and numerous soldiers with seals.

"Yasya dwari dvapanchashatsahsaracharminah: ekpanchashatsahasradhanbinah: asvaroha api bahuvah: matthastinang bahuyutha: santi anaye chasankhya mudgarprasadihsta:."

Maharaja Pratapaditya's chief commanders were two Brahmin chieftains Shankar Chakraborty and Rudraditya Bhattacharya. The chief of the navy was Commander Suryakant Guhra and Augustus Pedro. Kalidas Dhali and Madanamohan Malla were the chiefs of the infantry. Pratap's artillery was commanded by the Portuguese Francisco Roda. The chiefs of the guard were Ratneshwar Roy, Yajneshwar Roy, Vijayaram Bhakta Chowdhury and others. Jamal Khan Lohani was the head of the elephant army.

According to Bharatachandra's 'Annadamangal', Pratapaditya's army consisted of 52000 Dhali foot soldiers. Many Kuki soldiers participated in the Jessore army under the command of Senapati Raghuram. The cavalry consisted of 10,000 soldiers, whose commander was Pratapsingh Dutta. The Jessore army had a total of 51,000 archer warriors, led by Sundardas and Dhulian Beg. According to Jaipur genealogy, a total of 1600 elephants were trained for war in the Jessore army. Pratapaditya also had a strong intelligence force, headed by a daring warrior named Sukha.

● Battle of Hijli, Conquest of Orissa and Restoration of Jagannath Temple (1589 AD) –

In 1568 AD Karrani Afghans conquered Orissa and made their camp in Puri region. After their crushing defeat at the hands of the Mughals in the Battle of Rajmahal in 1576 AD, the Karrani Afghans of Bihar fled to Orissa with Katlu Khan of Sipahsala and established the independent Afghan kingdom of Sultanate-e-Orissa (سلتانا به ودیشا). Needless to say, under this Afghan rule, the Hindus living in Orissa had a miserable condition. Previously, the Puri Jagannath temple and idols were damaged by the Pathans, now by the order of the Pathan Sultan, this Jagannath temple, a place of worship of idolaters, was completely closed and the annual Jagannath Rath Yatra was banned.

In this difficult situation, Vijayaram Bhanja, a guardian of the Puri temple, came to Jessore, the independent Hindu kingdom of Bengal, and described the plight of the Jagannath temple to the Maharaja in detail. The Maharaja was so enraged at the news of this persecution of the neighboring Swadharmiyads that he decided to invade Orissa to restore the Srikshetra Jagannath temple. At the beginning of Asadha, the naval forces began to mobilize for the attack on Orissa, naval commanders Suryakant Guhra and Madanmohan Malla along with Kosha, Machoa, Bepari, Jalia and the most destructive Ghurab etc. equipped various Bengali boats and proceeded towards Orissa.

At that time Orissa was ruled by 'Masnad-e-Ala' (علا در مسند) Isha Khan Lohani, who became very infamous for his persecution of idolaters. Hearing the news of the attack by the king of Jessore, Isha Khan organized an army at the port of Hijli on the northern border of Orissa. On a rainy day in Asadha, Maharaj Pratapaditya met Isha Khan in Hijli. Jessore army had a devastating naval battle with the Pathan army on the west bank of Subarnarekha river. In the afternoon, Maharaj Pratapaditya defeated Isha Khan miserably and Isha Khan died on the battlefield.

The victorious Ray Shrestha Pratapaditya entered Puri Kshetra and after 14 years of deadlock, the opening of the doors of the Jagannath temple and daily worship began. The direct rule of Maharaja Pratapaditya was established at Puri and the Sultanate of Orissa became a vassal state under the Jessore kingdom, Shahzada Jamal Khan of Orissa and Kamal Khan of Sipahsala joined the Jessore army as commanders.

Pratapaditya brought the Utkaleshwar Shivlinga and Govindeva Vigraha from Puri at the request of Pithrivya Vasantanarayan Ray as a commemoration of the conquest of Orissa. The statue of Govindadev was established in Gopalpur of Jessore and the Utkaleshwar idol was established by constructing a temple in Bedkashi under the initiative of Vasant Ray. The inscription of the Utkaleshwar Shiva temple at Vedkashi mentions –

“Nirmamme Vishwakarma jat Padmayoni Pratisthitam.

Utkaleshwar Sangyancha Shivalingamnuttammam ॥ Pratapadityabhupenanitmut kaldesat:

Tato Vasantrayen Sthapitang Sebitanch Tat ॥”

● Battle of Satgah and possession of trading port (1592 AD)

After defeating the Pathans in Orissa, King Pratapaditya's confidence and ambition to expand the empire increased, and his dream of establishing an independent religious kingdom by ousting the heathen rulers from India was revived. Then his eyes were fixed on the Mughal Empire in the West. He was determined to free India from the prison of Mughal rule.

Satgah seaport was one of the most important trading centers of the Mughals in eastern India. Pratapaditya decided to economically damage the Mughals by capturing this port, moreover, a magnificent port like Satgah would be the reason for the prosperity of the Jessore kingdom. So in 1592 AD Pratapaditya attacked Satgah with 100 Ghurab warships with 64 stands and Portuguese commander Francisco Roder with devastating artillery.

The Mughal Nawab of Satgah was not prepared for this sudden attack. On the west bank of the Hooghly River, the Mughal army prepared to intercept Jessore's army, but Jessore's formidable Ghurab naval attack and innumerable shellings killed all the Mughals. Pratapaditya conquered Satgah and established it as the main port of the Jessore Empire.

Battle of Raigarh and defeat of Azim Khan (1595 AD)

The glory of Bangadhip Pratapaditya's empire was spreading day by day throughout India. The loss of an important port like Satgah was a huge loss to the Mughal Empire. Then the Mughal Emperor Akbar sent another sepoy named Azim Khan to attack Bengal with a large number of skilled soldiers to eliminate the power of Pratap. Azim passed through Patna and Rajmahal without any hindrance, as per Pratap's previous instructions. Considering the situation to be calm, Azim Khan of Sipahsala camped in the lush wilderness of Bangala near Raigad and enjoyed rest and relaxation.

"Sambadamasibang Shrutva Akbar Mahipati: . Preshyamas senanyamazimkhansangyakong ॥ Twenty thousand soldiers were killed in a moment.

Ajimang Patayamas was severely injured in Bhootle.

In this situation, Pratapaditya's army attacked the Mughal army from four directions in the night. The Mughal army was devastated by this sudden attack. All night there was fierce fighting on both sides. Many Mughal armies fell to pieces at the mercy of the Bengali warriors. In this fierce battle, Azim Khan fell dead, about twenty thousand Mughal soldiers were killed and captured, and Pratap's treasury was filled with many warlike valuables.

● Battle of Rajmahal (1597 AD)

After the victory in the Battle of Raigarh, Maharaj Pratapaditya's military supremacy spread throughout India, the entire subcontinent became state that the Mughal emperor who held the entire Hindustan under his control was being miserably defeated in one battle after another by the vassals of Bengal. Meanwhile, 2,000 captured Mughal soldiers also joined the Jessore army and strengthened the empire.

In this situation, he decided to attack Rajmahal, the Mughal capital of eastern India. The brave commander Shankar Chakraborty started diplomatic planning for the upcoming war. Commander Pratapsingh Dutta organized a force of 5000 cavalry, while Commander Kalidas Dhali raised a force of 2000 cavalry.

Then Maharaja Pratapaditya attacked the Rajmahal with about twenty five thousand Jessore soldiers. Nawab Sher Khan was the Mughal Subedar of the Rajmahal at that time. Jessore royal army had a fierce battle with Sher Khan's Nawab's forces in the Rajmahal on the banks of the Ganga. Finally the Nawab's army was defeated and Sher Khan fled to Delhi in fear of his life. Maharaja Pratapaditya conquered the Rajmahal, brought down the Mughal capital of Eastern India and made Jessore flourish by getting about ten crores of tankas and a lot of wealth.

● Conquest of Patna and establishment of the unbroken Jessore Empire (1598 AD)

After the conquest of the Mughal capital Rajmahal, the only Mughal stronghold in eastern India was at Patna (بیهار در سوبا) in Subah-e-Bihar. Nawab Sheikh Ibrahim Khan Salim of Patna knew that Pratapaditya would come to occupy Patna after winning Rajmahal. Actually he did not have the power to face Pratap, but he kept the Mughal army ready on the border.

Meanwhile, Pratapaditya crossed the Ganges and entered Bihar and started advancing rapidly. Jessore army fought with Mughal army at Motalagarh near Patna. The attacking Jessore army formed an elaborate three-pronged formation, with the Dhali infantry attacking the front as planned by Sardar Shankar Chakraborty, and the swift advance of Commander Pratapsingh's cavalry from both sides decimated the Mughals. In such a devastating assault, most of the Mughal soldiers were killed, Ibrahim Khan was defeated and imprisoned. Maharaja Pratapaditya conquered Killa-e-Patna (पतना दर कीला).

The Jessore Empire of Raishrestha Pratapaditya spread across the whole of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa together. The auspicious conch of the glory of the Hindu empire rang out all over Eastern India. As a memorial to the victory of Bihar, General Shankar Chakraborty established the Jagajjanani Bhagwati temple at Hayaghat in Dwarbhanga province of Mithila. Maharaj Pratapaditya built the famous Chaushatty Ghat and Chaushatty Yogini Temple at Punyakshetra Kashidham.

Maharaja Pratapaditya's coronation not only established him as a king on par with other large kingdoms, but also saw the rise of a Hindu empire in the Middle Ages centered on Bengal. And this rise was made possible by Pratapaditya's military and organizational skills, repeatedly attacking foreign powers like the Karranis and the Mughals. His spirit of patriotism, the spirit of freedom later initiated everyone from Bhushanadheeshwar Maharaja Sitaram Ray to the revolutionaries of the Agni Yuga in the great mantra of struggle.