According to tradition, she was the daughter of King Dharmadhwajpal, also known as Dhirnarayan. Born in Sadiya in 1493, Sati Sadhani had married Nityapal, alias Nitai in the year 1512 at the young age of 19.
According to legend; unable to find a suitable groom for Sadhani, the king had devised a smart strategy. He decided and promised to marry Sadhani to anyone who could shoot down a running squirrel on the top of a Mori-xali (cemetery) with an arrow. To everyone's surprise, a cowherd named Nitai (from the Chakusara clan) killed the squirrel. The king kept his promise and married the princess to Nitai who was then given the name Nitipal. The king retired to the hills leaving the throne to Nitipal and Sadhani.
According to historians, Nitipal was inefficient and had no idea how to rule a kingdom, so Sadhani took charge and was crowned Queen in 1522. However, a lot of chaos and anarchy had already happened by then. During his rule Nitipal had dismissed the experienced ministers and instead recruited his own friends from his village. The old ministers had rebelled, led by Surdhwajpal, the brother of the former king. Although the rebellion was soon crushed, chaos had spread across the kingdom, and the Chutia Chiefs of other areas became independent. Nitipal was popularly known as A-nitipal because of this inefficiency and recklessness. Sadiya became isolated and had no contact with the Chutia Chiefs of the other parts of the kingdom
In 1524, the Ahoms took advantage of Nityapal's weak leadership and attacked the Chutia Kingdom. The Sadiya attack took place on the first Wednesday of Chutia Bisu/Bihu, i.e. on 16 April 1524. The sudden attack at Sadiya forced the king and queen, along with some of the soldiers who survived, to flee to the hills above Sadiya.
The Chutiyas applied guerrilla warfare strategies and used faakdhenu (crossbows) and spears to defend themselves. Sadhani formed a female fighting squad of 120 warriors. They assisted the Army by rolling boulders onto the enemy below. That day was 21 April (7th Bohag) and was widely considered as Ujha (drummer's) Bisu. One of the former ministers of the Chutia's whom Nitipal had removed sided with the Ahoms and suggested that the Ahom Commander Phrasengmung Borgohain play the dhol. The General ordered the captives to climb up ghila creepers and play the Bisu drum or dhol. As it was the season of Bihu, the Chutia Army took this to be a sign that reinforcements had arrived. They considered this to be a sign of victory and thought that the Ahoms had been chased out. Consequently, they came down to the lower hills where the enemy forces were hiding. Another former Chutia Commander, Gajraj Borua, who had sided with the Ahoms showed the enemy the way to the king's hideout. The king was attacked and killed by an arrow. When Sadhani, who had played a prominent role in the fight against the Ahoms, was asked to marry Sadiyakhowa Gohain, the Ahom Governor of Sadiya, she preferred death to dishonour and sacrificed her life by jumping from the top of Chandragiri Hills near Sadiya in 1524.
Every year in Assam, 21 April is celebrated as Sati Sadhani Divas to honor the sacrifices made by this Chutia Queen. The Government of Assam has marked this day as a state holiday.
The Sati Sadhani Award was established by the Chutia Jati Unnayan Parishad. The Award is given to someone who has made outstanding contributions to the field of art, culture and literature. The honoree is selected by a committee formed by the Parishad.
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