Bhismaknagar is an archeological site in Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. It is located east of Roing in Lower Dibang Valley district.[1] The remains are ascribed to the rule of the Chutias, a Tibeto-Burmese ethnic group[2], who ruled over the region of Sadiya from 11th to 16th Century CE.[3] It formed part of the historical Sadhayapura capital region of the Chutia kingdom and can be identified with the fortified hill city of Doi-Thang described in the Buranjis.[4] Doi-Thang (also known as Thanggiri), was one of the three fortified cities mentioned in the Buranjis, the others being Barnagar (Che-lung in Tai) and Chandangiri (Doi-Chantan).[5] The original fort may have been associated with the line of hill-foot forts attributed to the Chutia king Gaurinarayan. According to the Chutia chronicles, Gaurinarayan, after consolidating his kingdom, “built a line of forts along the foot of the hills”, along with large tanks and temples.[6]

Location

It is located in the Lower Dibang Valley district. The campus of the old city is spread over an area of 2500 acres.

Map showing Bhismaknagar along with the two other cities of Sadhayapura.

Etymology

The name Bhismaknagar for the present-day site was first recorded in the book "Northeast Frontier of India" (1883) and later in the "Assam District Gazetteer" (1928)[7], where it appears to have been derived from references to works, attributed to the 16th-century Vaishnavite reformer Sankardev, that were popular in the Sadiya region (which eventually found its way into the later Chutia chronicles).[note 1]

Earlier colonial accounts by T. Rowlatt in 1845 and S. F. Hannay in 1848, however, referred to the present-day Bhismaknagar site as Sishupal Nagar,[10][11] while applying the name Bhismaknagar or Bishnook Nuggur to a different archaeological location in the Dibang-Dikrong foothill region. This suggests that the identification of the modern-day site with Bhismaknagar emerged from a later conflation of distinct archaeological sites during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.[12]

This brick stored in the Riwatch museum roing was found in Bhismaknagar and has the Chutia king Pratyakshnarayan's name inscribed in it. This king can be identified as one of the donors of the Dhenukhana land grant.

Historically, the entire region was known as Sadhayapura (the rulers being Sadhayapur-ishwar) as per copper inscriptions[13] and the fort formed part of the capital region of the Chutia king Laksminarayana.[14]

Identification

The Buranjis mention two hill-fortified cities of the Chutia kingdom in the capital region, namely Chandangiri (Doi-Chantan), located near the Dibang river, and Thanggiri (Doi-Thang), situated near the Kundil river, in addition to the capital city of Barnagar (Che-lung). The present-day site of Bhismaknagar, located near the Kundil river, has been identified with the historical Doi-Thang hill fortification described in the Buranjis.[15]

Captain John Mitchell in his book "Northeast Frontier of India" (1883) noted that the hills to the north of Bhismaknagar were known as Thengri-thaya by the Mishmis,[16][17] where thaya means "hill" in the Mishmi language.[18] This linguistic continuity suggests that the Bhismaknagar hill may have been historically known as Thanggiri.

History

Bhismaknagar is an important ancient archaeological site. The site was one of the strongholds of the Chutia Kingdom. The ruins have been dated between the 11th–16th centuries.[19] Bhismaknagar formed part of Sadhayapura (or Svadhayapura), the political centre of the Chutia Kingdom.[20]

The Buranjis record that the fortified hill city of Doi-Thang served as the seat of the Chutia minister Kasitora (written as Kai-tora). He was attacked by the Ahom general Chao-seng-kung-rin (Kong-Sheng) in 1524, who killed and beheaded him, presenting his head to the Ahom king Suhungmung, then stationed at Barnagar.[21] The Chutias of Doi-Thang are further recorded to have revolted in 1529 CE, though the uprising was subsequently suppressed.[22]

Architecture

According to early accounts by T. Rowlatt (1845), the fort was situated on an elevated plain at the foot of the hills and was protected by a double line of defence. This consisted of a rampart of compact red clay, likely transported from elsewhere, with a terrace approximately 20 yards wide below it. Beyond this, the hillside was sharply scarped, rising between 10 and 30 feet in height.[23] The fort appears to have been defended on three sides, with the steep slopes of the Mishmi Hills to the north providing a natural barrier, eliminating the need for additional fortifications.[24]

This diagrams show the offset(bent) gateway fortifications of some Medieval forts.

The principal entrance and adjoining defensive sections were constructed of brick, and remains of multiple brick structures within the enclosure suggest that residential buildings were built of masonry.[25] British explorer Rowlatt writes,

"..and on many spots in the interior I observed remains of the same materials (bricks), so that in all probability the houses occupied by the inhabitants must have been built of masonry."

During an Assam Rifles expedition of 1919–20, L. W. Shakespear recorded further details of the ruins. He described a high earthen rampart with a ditch in front, and observed that masses of bricks scattered around it indicated that the rampart had originally been topped by a brick wall. The rampart enclosed what he described as “a vast space”, within which were traces of tanks then choked with earth and jungle growth, numerous brick plinths and stone platforms, and the brick foundations of what had evidently been an extensive building. Parts of the walls of this brick foundation remained standing to a height of three to five feet.[26] Shakespear noted that the bricks were large, thick and nearly square, without visible marks or ornamentation.[27]

The fortifications and associated structures are largely composed of fired bricks, and the fortified city is spread over an area of approximately 10 square kilometres. The defensive walls, extending along the eastern, western, and southern sides, measure about 4.5 metres in height and 6 metres in width.[28][29][30]

Although only limited excavation has been carried out, preliminary investigations have revealed the presence of three tanks and two gateways located along the eastern and western sides of the fortification.[31] The central complex of Bhismaknagar extends over an area of approximately 1,860 square metres and comprises three halls, six entrances, and two additional chambers. A stone wall about 2 metres in height has also been identified within the complex. The material culture recovered from the site, including pottery, terracotta figurines, terracotta plaques, and decorative tiles, reflects the artistic and architectural traditions of the medieval period.[29]

Notes

  1. ↑ Among many works of Śankaradeva, the Rukmiṇiharaṇa, the poem of Rukmimi and Krishna, gained considerable popularity in the Sadiya area and influenced its regional identity construction. Rukmiṇī, in this poem, was a daughter of king Bhīṣmaka.[8]The Bhīṣmaka lineage became a part of the new literary tradition of the region and eventually found its way into the later Chutiya chronicles.[9]
  1. ↑ "Bhismaknagar". Government of Arunachal Pradesh. Archived from the original on 11 June 2017.
  2. ↑ The Sutiyas belong to the Bodos, a linguistic group of the Brahmaputra valley, speaking a Tibeto-Burman language and having different cognate groups within them.(Shin 2020, p. 51)
  3. ↑ http://asiguwahaticircle.gov.in/bhismaknagar.html Remains at Bhismaknagar (ASI official website), "The remains are generally ascribed to the rule of the 'Chutias', a Tibeto-Burmese tribe who ruled over the region of Sadiya from 11th to 16th Century CE."
  4. ↑ Mitchell, John. Confidential Report (Topographical Political and Military) on the North-East Frontier of India. p. 119.
  5. ↑ Barua, Gopal Chandra,"Ahom Buranji",p.56-63
  6. ↑ Brown, W.B. (1895). An Outline Grammar Of The Deori Chutiya Language. Shillong: Assam Secretariat Printing Office. pp. 75, 84. Returning with his bride to his chosen seat of government, he (Gaurinarayan) sought no further extension of his dominions, bur directed his whole attention to the improvement of what he had acquired and to the consolidation of his power. He built a line of forts along the foot of the hills, probably to restrain the hungry barbarians, his former countrymen; made large tanks and founded temples.
  7. ↑ "Again at Bishemnagar or Bishmuknagar, situated near Chipulin village up the Balijan (Sunpura) river and accessible from mile 27 on the Lohit valley road, is the remains of a large fort and settlement. It is supposed to have been built by Raja Bishmook or Bhikrum, Raja of Kundilpur, father of Rukmini."(C. Allen 1928:19)
  8. ↑ Shin 2020, p. 55.
  9. ↑ Shin 2020, p. 57.
  10. ↑ Rowlatt, T. (1845). "Notes on the Tribes, Ruins and Antiquities in the Neighbourhood of Sadiya". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 494.
  11. ↑ Hannay, S. F. (1848). "Account of the Ruins in the Vicinity of Sadiya". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 471.
  12. ↑ "The ruins of two forts in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh are said to be the remains of Bhīṣmaka’s city, viz. Bhismaknagar (sk. Bhīṣmakanagara): one ruin about 16 miles northwest of Sadiya at the foot of the hills between the rivers Dikrang and Dibang is known as the fort of Bhīṣmaka, and the other about 24 miles north of Sadiya between the gorges of those two rivers is believed to be the fort of Śiśupāla. Based on an inscribed brick with the name of Śrī-śrī-Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, discovered from the ruins of the forts in Bhismaknagar, it is assumed that Chutiya king Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa of the early fifteenth century had his capital in the area. The paleographical analysis of the inscription supports this dating." (Shin 2020:56)
  13. ↑ "Furthermore, it is fairly certain from the dates available in the inscriptions that Nandin and Satyanārāyaṇa ruled Sadhayāpurī in the latter half of the fourteenth century, while Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa belonged to the beginning, and Dharmanārāyaṇa to the middle of the fifteenth century. It is also nearly clear that Sadhayāpurī (or Svadhayāpurī) mentioned in the inscriptions is the same as Sadhiyā or Sadiya of later times." (Shin 2020:52)
  14. ↑ "The ruins of two forts in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh are said to be the remains of Bhīṣmaka’s city, viz. Bhismaknagar (sk. Bhīṣmakanagara): one ruin about 16 miles northwest of Sadiya at the foot of the hills between the rivers Dikrang and Dibang is known as the fort of Bhīṣmaka, and the other about 24 miles north of Sadiya between the gorges of those two rivers is believed to be the fort of Śiśupāla. Based on an inscribed brick with the name of Śrī-śrī-Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa, discovered from the ruins of the forts in Bhismaknagar, it is assumed that Chutiya king Lakṣmīnārāyaṇa of the early fifteenth century had his capital in the area. The paleographical analysis of the inscription supports this dating." (Shin 2020:56)
  15. ↑ Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 56–63.
  16. ↑ Mitchell, John. Confidential Report (Topographical Political and Military) on the North-East Frontier of India. p. 119.
  17. ↑ The map titled "Karte von Assam und seinen Nachbar-Ländern" by Heinrich Berghaus, dated 1834, showing Tengri-Thaya hill above present day Bhismaknagar
  18. ↑ Sastry, Garima Devi Prasad (1961). Mishmi-English-Hindi Dictionary. p. 38.
  19. ↑ Tada, Dutta & Deori 2012, p. 8.
  20. ↑ Momin, Mawlong & Qādrī 2006, p. 47.
  21. ↑ Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 56–57.
  22. ↑ Barua, Gopal Chandra, Ahom Buranji, pp. 62–63.
  23. ↑ Rowlatt, T. (1845). "Report of an Expedition into the Mishmee Hills". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 494.
  24. ↑ Rowlatt, T. (1845). "Report of an Expedition into the Mishmee Hills". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 494.
  25. ↑ Rowlatt, T. (1845). "Report of an Expedition into the Mishmee Hills". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal: 494.
  26. ↑ Shakespear, L. W. (1929). History of the Assam Rifles. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 267. We found ourselves crossing a high earthwork rampart with ditch in front, and which from the masses of bricks lying about showed a wall must have topped the rampart which enclosed, as far as we could get along it, a vast space. Inside this we found traces of tanks now choked with earth and jungle growths, many plinths and stone platforms, while a good way into this space was a brick plinth with in places 3 to 5 feet of wall standing, of what must have been an extensive building.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  27. ↑ Shakespear, L. W. (1929). History of the Assam Rifles. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 267. The bricks were large and thick, nearly square, reminding one rather of those found in Mesopotamia at ruined Ur of the Chaldees, but without marks or ornamentation.Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  28. ↑ (Gait 1906:16)
  29. 1 2 Tada 2011, p. 114.
  30. ↑ Chattopadhyay 1984.
  31. ↑ A. Raikar 1980, p. 19.

References

  • Gait, Edward Albert (1906), A history of Assam, Calcutta, Thacker, Spink & co.
  • Shin, Jae-Eun (2020). "Descending from demons, ascending to kshatriyas: Genealogical claims and political process in pre-modern Northeast India, The Chutiyas and the Dimasas". The Indian Economic and Social History Review. 57 (1): 49–75. doi:10.1177/0019464619894134. S2CID 213213265.
  • Tada, Tage; Dutta, J. C.; Deori, Nabajit (2012). Archaeological Heritage of Arunachal Pradesh. Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Department of Cultural Affairs, Directorate of Research.
  • Momin, Mignonette; Mawlong, Cecile A.; Qādrī, Fuz̤ail Aḥmad (2006). Society and Economy in North-East India. Regency Publications. ISBN 9788189233402.
  • Tada, Tage (2011). Archaeological remains of Arunachal Pradesh up to 16th century (Ph.D.). Rajiv Gandhi University. hdl:10603/288770.
  • A. Raikar, Yashavant (1980). Archaeology in Arunachal Pradesh. Directorate of Research, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh.
  • Chattopadhyay, Subid (1984). History and archaeology of Arunachal Pradesh (Ph.D.). University of Calcutta. hdl:10603/159414.
  • C. Allen, B (1928). Assam district gazetteers. Vol. XI. Baptist Mission Press.

See also

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhismaknagar