103 Kings in the complete Kachari Dynasty, History of Bodo/Kachari

Kachari Dynasty: The Kacharis were powerful rulers of medieval Assam. Dimapur, now in Nagaland was the capital of the Kachari dynasty and the ruins of this can be found in Dimapur. In the December of 1706, powerful Ahom king Rudra Singha defeated the Kachari king Tamradhaja. Tamradhaja fled south to Khaspur.

103 Kings in the complete Kachari Dynasty

The Ahoms settled into the tract between the Suriya and the Kachari Kingdoms that was inhabited by the Borahi and Matak peoples. The first clash with the Ahom Kingdom took place in 1490, in which the Ahoms were defeated. The Ahoms sued for peace, and an Ahom princess was offered to the Kachari king and the Kachari took control of the land beyond the Dhansiri. 

But the Ahoms were getting powerful and pushed the Kacharis back west. In 1526 the Kacharis defeated the Ahoms in a battle, but in the same year, they were defeated in a second battle. In 1531 the Ahoms advanced up to Dimapur, the capital of the Kachari Kingdom or Hirmba Kingdom, removed Khunkhara, the Kachari king, and installed Detsung in his place. 

But in 1536 the Ahoms attacked the Kachari capital once again and sacked the city. The Kacharies abandoned Dimapur and retreated south to set up their new capital in Maibang. Maibang is Dima Kachari origin dialect. Mai means Paddy and bang means Plenty or abundance. Then Maibang- plenty of paddies.

There have been 103 kings in the complete Kachari dynasty. 

The Kacharis then settled in the plains of Cachar and made Khaspur their court. Originally they named it the Hirimba kingdom after the demoness Hirimba. Hirimba was wife of second Pandava prince Bhima. They had a son named Ghatotkacha. From Ghatotkacha to Govinda Chandra Narayan who was the last Kachari king, there have been 103 kings in the complete Kachari dynasty. 

The remnants of the Kachari Dynasty are present in Khaspur near Silchar in Cachar and Dimapur, in Nagaland. In Dimapur, the remains can be seen at Rajbari Park which is easily accessible. One can see a number of large dome-shaped pillars. These are instances of the significant megalithic culture that once flourished in this region before the emergence of the Ahoms. 

The historical Khaspur, the capital of the 19th-century Kachari kingdom, is considered to be a favorite tourist destination. However, this majestic palace near Silchar fails to attract tourists from within and outside the region because of a lack of infrastructure development in the area. Negligence on the part of the government has rendered this wonderful site inaccessible and badly cared for.

Historically, in the December of 1706, the Kachari king, Tamradhaja (whose capital was at Maibong on the bank of the Mahur River now in the Dima Hasao district of Assam), was invaded by the most powerful Ahom king, Rudra Singha. Defeated by the Ahom king, Tamradhaja fled southwards to Khaspur. 

From then onwards, the Kachari princes settled in the plains of Cachar with their court located at Khaspur. It was originally named the Hirimba kingdom in memory of the demoness Hidimba, the wife of the Pandava Bhima, who was said to have resided in the region.

King Suradarpa Narayan aimed at pleasing his people and, to make improvements in the capital, he constructed brick palaces and temples in different parts of Khaspur. The last of the Kachari Kings, Raja Gobin Chandra, was assassinated by a group of seditious people along with some of his personal attendants on April 24, 1830, at Haritikar in Cachar. In the absence of natural heirs, his kingdom lapsed to the British under the terms of an agreement executed in 1826.