Nara Narayan
| Naranarayan | |
|---|---|
| Reign | 1540 - 1587 |
| Successor | Lakshminarayan |
| Father | Vishwasingha |
Maharaja Naranarayan (Assamese: মহাৰাজ নৰনাৰায়ণ), (Bengali: মহারাজা নরনারায়ণ) was the third and last ruler of the undivided Koch kingdom of Kamata. He succeeded his father Biswa Singha. Under him the Koch kingdom reached its cultural and political zenith. He introduced a silver coin, called the Narayani,[1] that greatly influenced the numismatics of Assam. His patronage gave Srimanta Sankardeva the first royal patronage to Mahapuruxiya Dharma.
In 1581 Raghu Deva, the son of his brother Shukladhvaj became the de facto ruler of the eastern part of his kingdom Koch Hajo, though under suzerainty of his uncle. After the death of Nara Narayan, he declared his independence.
Nara Narayan's son Lakshmi Narayan succeeded him after his death, but only inherited the western part of his kingdom Koch Bihar. On December 23, 1596 Man Singh I married Nara Narayan's daughter Kshamadevi.[2]
Maharaj Nara Narayan is known as the 'Vikramaditya' of Kamrup. Nara Narayan was a noted patron of literature. Apart from Sankardeva, a galaxy of saints and scholars freely studied art, culture and literature at Coochbehar making it a centre of Vaishnavite learning and teaching. They also brightened Maharaja Naranarayan’s Royal court. For the housewives, Madhabdeva wrote Janma Rahashya following the request of Kamalapriya,the wife of Chilarai. Chilarai, younger brother of Nara Narayan requested Ram Saraswati to translate the verses from the Mahabharata. He also encouraged asked Sridhar to write Jyotish Sastra. Following his request, Bakul Kayastha wrote Lilavati, a landmark on mathematics. During Nara Narayan's reign, Purushottam Vidyavagish wrote the Prayogaratnamala, a treatise on Sanskrit grammar. A scholar par excellence, Chilarai himself wrote an analytical annotation of poet Joydeva’s Geet Govinda as Sarabatisar and left an indelible imprint in Sanskrit literature.
Notes
- ^ Rai Barma 1988
- ^ Sarkar 1984, p. 82
References
- Rai Barma, Hemant Kumar (1988). "Narayani Currency". Retrieved 2007-12-25.
- Sarkar, Jadunath (1984, reprint 1994), A History of Jaipur, Orient Longman, New Delhi
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