Bir Hambir

Hambir Malla Dev, also known as Bir Hambir(Beera Hambeera) & Veer Hambir, was the forty-ninth king of the Mallabhum.He ruled from 1565 to 1620 CE.[1][2][3]

Hambir Malla Dev
49th king of the Mallabhum
Reign1565 - 1620 CE.
PredecessorDhari Malla
SuccessorDhari Hambir Malla Dev
ReligionHinduism

Personal life

Hambir was the 49th ruler of the Malla dynasty who flourished around 1586 AD and ruled in 16th-17th century, and was a contemporary of the Mughal emperor Akbar. He fought on the side of Akbar against the Afghans and paid an annual tribute to the Muslim viceroys of Bengal and thus acknowledged their suzerainty.[4]

Bir Hambir was a pious man who started following Vaishnavism. A story in two Vaishnava works (Prem-vilasa of Nityananda Das (alias Balaram Das) and Bhakti Ratnakara of Narahari Chakrabarti) recounts the manner in which Srinivasa and other devotees were robbed by Bir Hambir while travelling from Vrindavan to Gaur with a number of Vaishanava manuscripts. However, Bir Hambir was so moved by Srinivasa’s reading of Bhagavata that he converted to Vaishnavism and gave Srinivasa a rich endowment of land and money. He introduced the worship of Madan Mohan to Bishnupur.[4]

Dev Title

During his regime (1565 to 1620), Dev title was suffixed after title Malla and Mallabhum was very safe and secured.[5]

Rashmancha

The Rashmancha is a historical building located at Bishnupur. It was commissioned by Malla king Bir Hambir in 1600 CE. During the Vaishnava Ras festival, all the Radha Krishna idols of Bishnupur town used to be brought here to be worshipped by the citizens.[6]

Dal Madal Kaman (Cannon)

During the reign of Bir Hambir the Dal Madal, one of the largest-bored cannons even made, was founded, demonstrating the skill of artisans of that time.[7] Dal Madal was made by Jagannath Karmakar. "Dal Madal" means "destruction of enemy".[8]

Dal Madal Kaman (Cannon) or Dala Mardana
Left Side of Kaman Front Side of Kaman Right Side of Kaman Back Side of Kaman

See also

References
  1. Dasgupta 2009, p. 36.
  2. Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing ISBN 8129500442
  3. Mallik, Abhaya Pada (1921). History of Bishnupur-Raj: An Ancient Kingdom of West Bengal (the University of Michigan ed.). Calcutta. p. 129. Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  4. O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Bankura, Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 21-46, first published 1908, 1995 reprint, Government of West Bengal
  5. Dasgupta 2009, p. 22.
  6. "Bishnupur Sub-division". bankura.gov.in.
  7. "Bishnupur Sub-division". bankura.gov.in.
  8. Dasgupta 2009, p. 55.

Sources
  • website on Bankura
  • Kumkum Chatterjee. "Cultural flows and cosmopolitanism in Mughal India : The Bishnupur Kingdom" in Indian Economic and Social History Review Vol. 46 (2009), p. 147-182.
  • Dasgupta, Gautam Kumar; Biswas, Samira; Mallik, Rabiranjan (2009), Heritage Tourism: An Anthropological Journey to Bishnupur, A Mittal Publication, p. 22, ISBN 978-8183242943
  • O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Bankura, Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 21–46(25), 1995 reprint, first published 1908, Government of West Bengal
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.