Biswa Singha

Biswa Singha Biography

Biswa Singha was the progenitor king and the powerful founder of the Koch dynasty of the Kamata kingdom of present day Assam. Koch dynasty emerged as the ruling house in the Kamata kingdom in 1515 after the downfall of Khen dynasty in 1498 and Biswa Singha was its first ruler. He was succeeded by his second son Nara Narayan and his younger son Chilarai who succeeded as the General of the Army played a significant role in annexing many kingdoms across Assam and Bengal and expanding the power of Koch dynasty. Chilarai has fought many successful battles for his elder brother and he was married to the niece of Srimanta Sankardeva.

Biswa sinha was born in 1515. His father Haria Mandal was a Bodo chief commanding about 12 families of Goalpara region, Assam. Haria Mandal married two daughters of a Koch chief and Biswa was born to his first wife, Hira. Biswa acquired military skills and took part in many agitations as well. He unified many tribal chiefs including Bodo, Koch, Garo and other tribal groups to campaign against the Karnapur Bhuyan which was a difficult task. He defeated Bhuyans and later concentrated to Kamatapur. He declared himself the ruler of Kamata kingdom and took new name, Biswa Singha in 1515.

He maintained his relationship with the tribals by appointing them exclusively as Karjis. He had 18 wives and 18 children. He was successful in invading kingdoms such as Soumarpith, Bijni, Bidyagram and Bijaypur. He successfully defeated Muslim invaders - Turuk Khan and Nasrat Shah. He was a good administrator who was inclined towards education. After crowning his second son as his successor he set out for the Himalayas at the age of 53.

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Updated: September 24, 2017