While the rest of India sings tales of bravery of Rani Laxmibai, Bengal boasts of its own furious queen named Rani Bhavashankari. The ruler of Bhurishrestha Kingdom (now Howrah and Hooghly districts of West Bengal) defeated the Pathan resurgence in Bengal and successfully established Hindu sovereignty back in the 16th century.
She was titled ‘Raibaghini’ by the then emperor Akbar for her bravery and might.
Childhood
Bhavashankari was born in a Brahmin family to Dinanath Chaudhuri, a Nayak under the commander of the Pendo fort. She was the first of two children of Dinanath. Her mother passed away while giving birth to her younger brother, leaving her at a young age.
After her mother’s death, Bhavanshankari spent her girlhood in the company of her father. Dinanath commanded a troop of more than a thousand soldiers. He held a huge estate and encouraged his subjects to get trained in warfare. For the very same attitude, Dinanath started to train his daughter in horse riding, swordsmanship, and archery from an early age.
Bhavashankari used to dress up in military armor and accompany her father on horseback. Soon Bhavashankari grew up into a brave young soldier of Bhurishrestha. She then also took lessons in war, diplomacy, politics, sociology, philosophy, and theology.
When Bhavanshankari met the king of Bhurishrestha
When Bhavashankari grew up, she used to go for hunting in the forest adjoining Damodar and Ron. Once while hunting a deer, she was attacked by wild bison which she killed single-handedly. At that time Rudranarayan, the king of Bhurishrestha was passing by in a ship along with the Damodar. He was enthralled by the sight of a young woman killing a wild buffalo with a spear. Just then he decided to marry Bhavashankari.
But Bhavashankari had her own rules. She initially resolved that she would marry the man who could defeat her in a sword fight. However, as it was not possible for the king to engage in a mock sword fight with a commoner. This made her change her resolve. Her new proposal was that the king shall have to sacrifice a pair of water buffaloes and a sheep in a single stroke in front of Rajballavi, the patron deity of Bhurishrestha along with her. Soon after fulfilling the condition, the two married.
Becoming a queen
After marriage, Bhavashankari moved to the newly built palace on Damodar and began to assist the king in his royal duties as a consort. As she was highly trained in warfare, she took a special interest in the military administration of the State. The queen used to visit the trainee soldiers and made arrangements for up-gradation and modernization of the military infrastructures. Bhavashankari started to encourage each and every subject to undergo military training. This was, later on, made compulsory conscription in Bhurishrestha. Besides that in order to secure the kingdom, she built new garrison fortresses along the boundaries of Bhurishrestha and renovated the existing ones.
During their reign, Bhurishrestha began to prosper in agriculture and trade. Indigenous industries like handloom textiles and metal works flourished as well.
Rajvallabhi’s boon
According to a popular legend, the kula devata of the Bharadwaj dynasty of Bhurishrestha, Rajvallabhi, an incarnation of Chandi was worshipped by Bhavashankari. She made a wish that no man would ever be able to defeat her in a battle. After fasting for two days, her prayer was finally accepted on the third day. The goddess blessed her with her own strength and gave her a sword that lay at the bottom of the lake near the royal palace at Garh Bhawanipur. The devoted queen found the sword while taking a bath in the lake.
Later on, Bhavashankari built a temple outside the bordering moat of the fortress at Chhaunapur, near Tarakeshwar. The temple was connected to the adjoining fort by a tunnel which served as an escape route and her temporary residence when she made administrative visits to the fort.
Taking charge of the Kingdom
Bhavashankari and King Rudranarayan were blessed with a baby boy named prince Pratapnarayan. However, Rudranarayan died when Pratapnarayan was only five. As the then custom, Bhavashankari attempted to commit Sati (burn-in husband’s pyre), but she was persuaded by the royal priest to act otherwise. It is said that she took a break from the affairs of the State to lead a life of a brahmacharini, for a period of three months after her husband’s death.
Battle of Kastasangrah
Bhurishrestha was mostly neutral during the rule of the Pathan Nawabs of Gaur & Pandua. However, during the conversion of Kalapahad by the Karranis, Rudranarayan started making extensive war preparations in anticipation of a possible invasion. Defeated by the Mughals, the Pathans of Bengal took refuge in Orissa from where they were planning to attack Bengal under the leadership of Osman Khan.
One day Bhavashankari entrusted the affairs of the State with Durlabh Dutta, the revenue minister, and Chaturbhuj Chakravarti, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and left for the Shiva temple at Kastasangrah along with prince Pratapnarayan and her most trusted female bodyguards. The queen was habitual on being clad in war attire throughout most part of the day and carried her sword and firearm with her. During her visit, all rituals were conducted grandly with lots of charity. She used to engage herself in Shiva sadhana every night alone inside the temple, with only a handful of bodyguards outside.
In the queen’s absence, Chaturbhuj Chakravarti entered into a secret pact with Osman Khan and promised to join the Pathan forces in a battle against the Mughals with the intent to become the new ruler of Bhurishrestha upon victory. He also plotted the capture of Bhavashankari and her son by sending the Pathan forces to Kastangarh. Soon Osman Khan himself, along with twelve of his well-trained, experienced, and most trusted soldiers infiltrated into the territory of Bhurishrestha in the guise of Hindu monks. It was planned that another 200 Pathan soldiers would follow them in disguise.
But Osman’s forces were spotted at Amta and as soon as the news reached the queen, she summoned a detachment of 200 guards from the nearest garrison. At nightfall, she engaged herself in worship posting her female bodyguards outside the temple and also ordered spreading soldiers along with the jungles. Soon one of the Pathan soldiers tried to enter the temple complex by breaching the security. Just then the female bodyguards swung into action and the royal guards joined the fight. The Pathans were miserably defeated and killed. Later on, the second detachment of Pathan mercenaries was killed by the warrior monks of the Shaiva akhara in the nearby jungles in the wee hours. However, Osman fled.
Battle of Bashuri
Bhavashankari demoted Chaturbhuj Chakravarti as there was a lack of evidence of his deeds. Raja Bhupati Krishna Ray, the commander of the Pendo fort, was promoted to the post of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. The queen also took immediate steps to strengthen the army.
Bhavashankari’s coronation was due and was to be held at the temple in Bashuri village. While she was away at the village, Osman regrouped and once again bought Chaturbhuj. The two conspired to capture Bhavashankari on the night of her coronation when she would be guarded only by a few of her female bodyguards. Osman led a contingent of five hundred Pathan soldiers and infiltrated into Bhurishrestha territory traveling throughout the night. They camped in a jungle near Khanakul on the morning of the D-Day.
To their dismay, the Pathan army was spotted in the jungle by Kalu Chandal, a hunter, who reported it to the police at Khanakul. As per reports, the officer in duty immediately dispatched a Dandanayak with the news to Garh Bhawanipur. Chaturbhuj planned things quite well as at that time Raja Bhupati Krishna Ray was away at Pendo fort, and the acting commander was Chaturbhuj himself. He dismissed the incident as a false alarm. However, the Dandanayak was not satisfied. He dispatched the news to Pendo anyway. On the other hand, Chaturbhuj advanced with his forces towards Khanakul. He sent a message to Osman Khan to launch the attack towards the end of the night. The Pathans then moved towards Bashuri, crossing the Damodar near Pursurah.
The queen’s coronation was complete. Just then she received a message from Raja Bhupati Krishna Ray about the Pathans. To this, she immediately deployed the troops from Chhaunapur, Basdingagarh, Lashkardanga, and the female battalion. The local Bagdi and Chandal population also joined in. Raja Bhupati Krishna Ray led the troops from Pendo and Dogachhia to confront the renegade battalion of Chaturbhuj Chakravarti.
The Pathan forces were cornered into a battleground surrounded with trenches on the three sides. They initially mistook the Bhurishrestha army as the renegade army of Chaturbhuj and lost the initial edge. The queen herself led the battle atop an elephant, and armed with her hand cannon Rudragnishakti she accounted for a sizeable Pathan casualty. Soon Osman Khan was wounded and defeated and so fled the battleground.
Raibaghini
Mughal emperor Akbar was always wary of a Pathan resurgence in Bengal and so he decided to strengthen the alliance with Bhurishrestha. He signed a treaty to maintain the sovereignty of Bhurishrestha. The emperor also bestowed the title of Raibaghini to Maharani Bhavashankari.