The Famous Maharaja Nandakumar and His Established Guhyakali:-

Author - BISWARUP CHATTERJEE.

Bhadrapur, formerly known as 'Bhadur' Latitude: 24.25948 N 24°15'34.11036" Longitude: 87.94941 E 87°56'57.87492" , is an ancient as well as a prospering village of Birbhum district under West Bengal, India. The village occupies an important position in the history of Bengal, due to a controversial as well as a historical character was born in this village and letter on became famous in the history of Bengal, who is known as Maharaja (King) Nandakumar, probably born in 1705 CE. The king had an incredible sense of patriotism and nationalism, though a number of historians has referred to the patriotic thoughts of Nandakumar as his personal selfishness. It is true that Nandakumar couldn't accept the superiority as well as the principal of Sirajuddolla, the then Nawab of Bengal. He wanted the downfall of the Nawab, parallelly he was also against the British rule in his country, rather he was in favour of its abolition from the country.

It is quite impossible to draw a clear sketch about the lineage of Nandakumar due to the lack of information about him, however the little bit of information which is presently available , on basis of that it can be said, that he and his ancestors were originally belongs from a prospering village, named Jarul Latitude: 24.4296 N 24°25'46.57656" Longitude: 88.01307 E 88°0'47.05452" located near Raghunathganj subdivision of Murshidabad district under present West Bengal ,India His great-grandfather Ramgopal Roy started living in Bhadrapur village after marriage. Nandakumar's grandfather was Chandicharan Roy and father's name was Padmanabh Roy, his wife was name was Maharani (queen) Kshemankari and both they had three daughters and one son namely Smmani, Anandamayi, Kinumani and only son Gurudas.

After the fall of Nawab Siraj-ud-Daula (1733 - 1757 CE), the last independent Nawab of undivided Bengal, in the great battle of Plassey, The British government appointed Mirzafar as the Nawab. On the other side at that time Robert Clive was the present governor of Bengal, who appointed Nandakumar as his Munshi as well as Dewan (government officials) due to his sharp intellect. gradually he became very close as well as very much beloved of the present governor, especially due to his intelligence and other qualities, Nandakumar was also appointed as tahsildar (tax collector) of some places like Nadia, Burdwan etc. to collect the revenue. After Robert Clive, Warren Hastings became the next Governor of Bengal and also the Resident of Murshidabad, Hastings didn’t like Nandakumar much and even Hastings could not accept Clive's appointment of Nandakumar as Tahsildar. Hastings had frequent grudge with Nandakumar on various issues, which later escalated. The manner in which Nandakumar resisted Hastings in the social context of that time is truly unimaginable. Ultimately the final outcome of this grudge is a deep conspiracy against Nandakumar by Warren Hastings with the help of some locally interested people, who didn't like Maharaja Nandakumar, since their individual interests were not being safeguarded. Finally Nandakumar's trial began on June 9, 1775 CE under the then Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Elijah Impe, who was also a friend of Hastings. The court ordered his death sentence and he was hanged on 16 June based on the testimony of the accused witness. Without regard to any custom of formality, only on the testimony of fabricated witnesses and the dirty conspiracy of Warren Hestings, Nandakumar was hanged on 5th August, 1775, in Calcutta. The death of Nandakumar brought temporary relief to the British government, as Nandakumar had been a hindrance to them from step to step. Among the numerous social, religious & developmental works of King Nandakumar, the most notable as well as remarkable works is the installation of goddess Guhyakali on the banks of the Brahmani river in Akalipur village of Birbhum district, which deserves special attention Latitude: 24.26604 N 24°15'57.72672" Longitude: 87.94022 E 87°56'24.79308"

Akalipur is a small village within Nalhati PS under Birbhum district and adjacent with king Nandakumar's village Bhadrapur, located about 4 miles south-west from Lohapur railway station on the Nalhati-Azimganj section of the Eastern Railway. The village is well known for King Nandakumar and the temple of goddess Guhyakālī founded by him, the temple is located in the southern part of the village. Inside the temple there is a 250 year old ancient idols installed by Maharaja Nandakumar, which bearস great historical as well as mythological importance. The imageis depicted as Sarpāsīnā (sitting on snake), Sarpābharaṇebhῡṣitā (ornamented by snake), Varābhaydāyīnī (giving refuge) Dwibhῡjā (two handed) naramunḍamālīnī ( ornamented with the garland of skull) Jaganmātā (mother of the world). This sculpture of goddess Guhyakālī is one of the finest examples of Indian art. This beautiful sculpture is made from one piece of touchstone and the pleasing form of this goddess is mesmerizing. The goddess is seated in yoga posture. On a rectangular black stone altar, with the four snake hoods are at the four corners of the altar. The idol is seated in Ardha Padmasana posture on two coiled snakes. The right leg touched the head of a snake. The serpent crown on the goddess's head is the symbol of the 'Sahasrādhāra chakra’ (Seventh chakra in the human body and is associated with the enlightenment and connection to the spirit). Around the neck of the goddess there is a garland made of fifty beads. Two new-born human babয় emerging from the lughole, which reflected here the ideas about the mother, who give the birth of a child and also regarded as the symbol of the creation of entire world. In Spite of the sacred thread the body of the goddess is wrapped with the snake, probably the snake represents here the sacred thread, above the naval core the serpent encircle the waist. Snake rings on both hands. The idol has three wide-eyes with a huge exposed tongue. The body of the goddess is adorned with snakes which are reminiscent of the in HaṭhaYoga (a type of yoga). It is said that the idol is enshrined on a 'yantra' (a geometrical diagram, mainly from the Tantric traditions of the Indian religion) or 'manḍal' (geometrical configuration of symbols, in various spiritual traditions) according to the Tantric system of worship. According to the local as well as the popular belief, it is stated in Mahabharata that the goddess was worshiped by Magadha king Jarasandha. In course of time the sculpture came into the hands of Chaita Singha, King of Kashi (Varanasi) and he started worshiping this goddess by building a temple. There are some popular local beliefs regarding the establishment of this deity in Akalipur, it is said that King Chait Singha immersed this sculpture in to the Ganges to protect her from Warren Hastings, at that time after receiving the order from goddess Gujyakali in his dream, he established her secretly in his own zamindari, although there is doubt about the authentication of this view. According to another opinion, when this sculpture was looted by Hastings and smuggled through the Ganges, Nandakumar recovered it and installed it at Akalipur. One of the prime reasons for establishing the image at this place was that the place was surrounded by forests, not easily accessible and inhabited by ferocious wild animals. Perhaps this remote location was chosen to protect the image from Hastings as well as the British government, as Nandakumar knew that if Hastings got the chance, then he would steal this image to the museum of England. what king Nandakumar never desired. He could never accept that the wealth of his own country should be stolen by someone else. However, it is true that Nandakumar installed this goddess.

The temple of this goddess is also quite impressive. The temple is made of small local bricks. plastered with lime and dust brick. And one of the masterpieces of contemporary temple architecture. The temple is an octagonal in shape, surrounded by a circular path with four walls. The main entrance to the temple is on the south and there are two other entrances on the east and west. The framework of the temple is made of basalt stone. According to the information given in the “Birbhum Bibbaran” edited by Mahimaniranjan Chakraborty, there were two arcades, one in the east and the other in northern part, about from this there was a nabhatkhana (drum house or orchestra pit that was used during ceremonies) near the eastern part of the gate, but presently there are no existence of it. It is said that when this temple was built, According to conventional information during the time of construction of the temple, it suddenly was about to collapse along with the Nahavatkhana as well as the Toranadwara (gate) of the temple. Even until a few years back, the debris of Nandakumar's royal palace was noticed on the southern side of the village, which was covered with weeds and bush with a dilapidated condition, (few portions of the royal palace like Dewankhana (A guest house or room), some fragmented parts of the Thakurbari (House of the deity) and andarmahal (Inner portion of the traditional bengali house of the upper class people) ere still visible. However, at present none of these exist and all the signs of the glorious past have been entirely eradicated. Apart from the daily worshiping, every year on designates an auspicious occasion, pooja is conducted with pomp and grandeur in this temple. The village is also significant as well as important from the archaeological point of view, there is no doubt that this entire area is a large archaeological site, even though there are scattered archaeological remains in various places of Akalipur and neighboring Bhadrapur villages. The fragmented stone sculpture and images scattered everywhere in the place bears the testimony of annuity for a long period. Among these the fragmented sculpture of Umamāheśvara, Viṣňu as well as a few fragmented images of various Buddhist deities which are quite interesting as well as highly impressive and at the same time aroused considerable curiosity. The neighboring Bhadrapur village is also a very significant as well as a rich archaeological site, ruins of the palace of king Nandakumar as well as some old architectural structure can also be seen, here also the fragmented stone sculptures which are worshiping daily as graāmdebotā (local deity) under the tree, which attract special attention and also have a great archaeological value to defining the contemporary history and social structure. At a proximal temple an idol of ‘Abolokiteswara’ is of paramount significance. Perhaps all these regions were once dominated by Buddhist Tantrism, and these Buddhist sculptures probably bears that evidence. According to Dr. Binayatosh Bhattacharya, the entire Bengal, Bihar, and Odisha once had a great influence of Vajrayani Buddhism, later on these Vajrayanis left these places and shifted to other places, leaving behind their art, culture, architectures and the god and goddess of their daily worship. On the other side of the village, a brick kiln can be seen, which is said to have been built by ‘Nilkar Sahib’. The Britishers involved in indigo plantation and business and built kilns and produced bricks in these places to built their residence or bungalows. which are known as the bunglow of the Nilkar sahib.

Finally, it can be said that Akalipur and Bhadrapur villages of Birbhum district and their adjoining areas are quite rich in historical as well as archaeological and mythological aspects.

These ancient settlements are the witnesses of various historical events. The Bhadrapur village which is adjacent to Akalipur, bears the ruins of the palace of Maharaja Nandakumar, along with some others architecture in dilapidated condition. parallay the temple of goddess Bhadarakali also exist here, from which the village got its name Bhadrapur. This temple was founded by Rani Bhavani (1716-1795 CE). According to the prevalent Legend, the temple was damaged during the Borgi invasion (light cavalry mercenary group of maratha Empire). On one had, as these places are quite popular as a holy places of pilgrimage beside this on the other hand it also grabs the importance to the inquisitive researcher, as there is still a considerable lack of historical as well as archaeological research in various places of Birbhum. numerous archaeological sites are still remained unexplore, if further excavations and historical research can be carried out in near future, then more new information will be unearthed which will enrich the history of the contemporary period of that place.

References:-

1) Bhattacharjee, Binaytosh. Bouddhader Deb-Debi. Ed. Ramesh Chandra Mukhopadhayay & Sumanapal Bhikkhu. Calcutta (now Kolkata): Maha Bodhi Book Agency, 2021. (Rpt. of Revised Mahabodi ed. 2015 with 169 Pictures.) (1st ed. 1955 by Visba-Bharati University.)

2) Chakraborty, Debkumar. Bīrbhūm Jelār Purāakīṛti. Calcutta (now Kolkata): Directorate of Archaeology and Museum Department of Information and Cultural Affair, Government of West Bengal, 2015. (Rpt.). (1st edn. 1972 by Public Works Department, government of West Bengal ).

3) Chakrabortty , Mahimaniranjan (ed.). Birbhum Bibaran 1st part. Suri: Prakashbhumi, Nayaprajanma, 2009 (Rpt.). (1st edn. Birbhum Anusandhan Samiti, 1323 BS = 1916 C.E.).

4) Chattapadhyay, Rick. “ākālipur kṣetra samĪkṣā - ekṭI kṣudra nibandha.”. In. Grāmīṇ Puthi - PrācĪn Itihas o Lokasaṃskṛti Saṃkhyā śārada. Uttar Dinajpur : Mohonbati, 2015. 80-82.

5) Personal fieldwork.