Bhomoraguri Rock Inscription and the Battle of Samdhara 1616

Ranjan Kumar Padmapati

(rkpadmapati@yahoo.co.in)

The famous battle of Saraighat needs no mention in which the valiant Lachit Borphukan exhibited a rare example of patriotism and beheaded his maternal uncle, saying, “Country is greater than my uncle,” for negligence of the duties assigned to him. The battles of Itakhuli and Alboi are also better known. But the battle of Samdhara, fought in 1616, which was the first engagement with the Mughals that took place on the bank of the Bharali River, near a place at Samdhara about 3 km from modern Tezpur town, is still relatively lesser known to many. The Ahoms won the first battle itself, defeated the Mughals, and expanded their territory beyond the Bharali up to the Bornadi.

The Bhomoraguri Rock Inscription at Bhomoraguri, near the Kaliabhomora Bridge on the Brahmaputra River near Tezpur, is standing tall and bears the testimony of the Ahoms’ victory in the battle of Samdhara. Koliya Bhomora erected the victory pillar; the inscription is in Assamese. The victory of Ahom king Swargadeu Pratap Singha (1545-1641) over the Mughals in the famous battle of Samadhara in 1616 AD was engraved in the Rock. The English rendition of the inscription is, “Blessed be all! The auspicious Sri Sri Swaganarayana Deva vanquished the Mughals; then, cutting through the hills, Bhandari Gosai erected the fort (1616 AD)”. The battle of Samdhara was only the beginning of the continued engagements of the Ahoms with the Mughal expansionists that lasted over 70 years, ending only in 1682 AD in the battle of Itakhuli. The win in the battle of Samdhara resulted in the expansion of the Ahom kingdom up to the Bornadi in the western limit, as mentioned earlier, and the creation of two new posts, Borbaruah and Borphukan, to oversee frontier areas. Above all, the victory in the battle elevated the self-respect of the Assamese. Swargadeu Pratap Singha was an able king who reformed administration, improved the Paik system, halted the maiden advancement of the Mughals, and gave stiff resistance to the expansionist Mughals in a series of battles. Even at an old age of more than 90 years, he fought battles. Assam prospered well during his reign (1603-1641 AD).

The mighty Koch kingdom, which worked as a buffer zone between the Ahom Kingdom and the Mughals, later disintegrated into two parts: Koch-Hajo, ruled by Parikshit Narayan from the Sankosh River to the Bharali in the east near Tezpur, and Koch Behar, ruled by Lakhmi Narayan from Tirhut in the west to the Sankosh. Koch Behar became a vassal kingdom of the Mughals within a short time. Parikshit Narayan tried to recapture lost territory of his father, forging a matrimonial alliance by giving his daughter in marriage to the Ahom king.

Parikshit Narayan renewed his series of expeditions into Koch Behar; at this, the vassal king, Lakshmi Narayan, sought help from the Mughals. The Mughals occupied Parikshit’s territory, engaged in a series of battles, and finally chased him up to Pandu. Soon after he died in 1614, the Mughals installed his son as a zamindar and set up a camp at Hajo. Parikshit’s brother, Bali Narayan, took shelter under the Ahom King. The Mughals tried to expand their sphere of influence up to the Bharali near Tezpur, exercising illegal trade rights and eyeing natural resources like elephants, ivory, musk, aloe wood, pepper, silk, tobacco, etc. The first-ever conflict took place over the illegal trade rights of the traders of the Mughals in the Ahom territory. A Mughal trader named Ratan Shah was arrested at the mouth of the Belsiri by Habung Chetia. Two other traders were killed; their merchandise was confiscated by the Ahom officials. Infuriated at this, the Mughal Viceroy sent Sayed Abu Baqr with 10,000-12,000 cavalry and infantry and 200 musketeers and 300-400 warboats in mid-November in 1615 AD, which triggered all other future conflicts.

The Mughals launched a sudden attack at the strategic place at Kajali Chouki maintained by the Ahoms at the confluence of the Kalang and Brahmaputra, defeating the Ahoms. The Mughals were able to penetrate further deep into the Ahom kingdom, up to the Bharali, stationed at its right bank opposite the Ahom fort at Samdhara. Meanwhile, the fort at Samdhra was fortified with additional contingents of the army and repaired. King Pratap Sigha sent additional troops to halt the further advancement of the Mughals. The first attempt of the Mughals was unsuccessful to cross over the Bharali because of rapids. In their second exploit they were successful in crossing the Bharali. The Ahom Army retreated to the fort. The strength of the Ahom army was further strengthened with another 14,000 soldiers. A strict warning was issued by the king: “The heavenly king ordered that he who retreats from the battlefield or would run away would be severely punished. The flesh of his body would be cut to pieces in the presence of all others.”. Three bridges were constructed by interconnecting boats over the Bharali to transport the weaponry, elephants, etc., and after capturing the stockade at the opposite bank, the Ahoms were waiting for an opportunity to attack the Mughals. On a wintry, foggy dawn on the 27th of January, 1616, a severe assault on the Mughals was launched; they were routed completely. The Mughals lost 1,700 soldiers, 3,400 were wounded, 3,000 went missing, and 9,000 were taken as captives. Abu Bakr, with his several commanders, including Sayed Hakim, was slain in the battle. It is written that several POWs were sacrificed at the nearby Bhairabi temple on the bank of the Bharali and at the temple of Kamrupa Kamakhya. The Ahom king rechristened Balinarayan as Raja Dharma Narayan, installed him as a tributary king of Darrang, and Pratap Singh sent many gifts to the newly installed king and also a new wife. With the cooperation of Balinarayan, the Ahoms reoccupied fallen Hajo from the clutches of the Mughals after many battles, and Balinarayan began to rule from Hajo. The Ahoms faced many reverses after the death of Bali Narayan in the battle of Singri in 1638; his son ascended the throne. The Mughal commander Allahyar Khan and Momai Tamuli Bor Boruah of the Ahoms in 1639 entered into a treaty as both powers were tired of a series of battles for a long time and also because of the old age of Burha Raja. The river Bornadi on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra and in the south of the Brahmaputra, the Asur Ali were the landmarks accepted by both powers as the demarcation of the boundary between the two powers.

Swargadeu Pratap Singha constructed a new upgraded fort to commemorate his victory; his general, Koliya Bhomora, had that exploit engraved on the huge rock, now known as the Koliya-Bhomora rock inscription. The rock is also engraved with other motifs, one with a lion and a dragon fighting face to face. The dragon motif represents royal power and can be spotted in other monuments as well. Another is a rectangular figure with 12 equal divisions representing the fort, and this now needs conservation efforts.