Bot at 16:40, 1 October 2022

2022-10-01T16:40:18Z

New page

{{EngvarB|date=March 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Bhavashankari
| title = Maharani of Bhurishrestha
| image =
| caption =
| succession =
| spouse = [[Rudranarayan]]
| spouse-type = Spouse
| coronation =
| reign =
| house =
| predecessor = [[Rudranarayan]]
| successor = [[Pratapnarayan]]
| father = Dinanath Chaudhuri
}}
{{History of Bengal}}
'''Bhavashankari''' ({{lang-bn|মহারানী ভবশঙ্করী|Bhavaśaṅkarī}}) was a ruler of [[Bhurishrestha Rajya|Bhurishreshtha kingdom]] of Bengal, who resisted the [[Lohani]] [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] sultans of South Bengal and established hindu sovereignty in her kingdom.<ref>Ghosh, ''Paschimbanger Sanskriti'', Volume II, pp. 224</ref><ref>{{cite book |script-title=bn:বীরত্বে বাঙালী |language=bn |trans-title=Heroism of the Bengalis |last=Ghosh |first=Anil Chandra |edition=9th |publisher=Presidency Library |location=Kolkata |pages=48–50}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web|title=Bengal’s Rani Bhavashankari, called Raibaghini by Akbar was no less than Rani Lakshmibai!|url=https://www.getbengal.com/details/bengals-rani-bhavashankari-called-raibaghini-by-akbar-was-no-less-than-rani-lakshmibai|access-date=2021-09-07|website=Get Bengal|language=en|archive-date=1 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001164000/https://www.getbengal.com/details/bengals-rani-bhavashankari-called-raibaghini-by-akbar-was-no-less-than-rani-lakshmibai|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Early life==
Bhavashankari was born in a [[Brahmin]] family as the eldest daughter of to Dinanath Chaudhuri, a Nayak. Her mother died while giving birth to her younger brother, leaving her at a young age.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tanima|date=2020-09-14|title=Known Famously As "Raibaghini", This Queen Of Bengal Was No Less A Fighter Than Rani Laxmibai|url=https://lifebeyondnumbers.com/rani-bhavashankari-raibaghini/|access-date=2022-01-11|website=lifebeyondnumbers.com|language=en-US|archive-date=11 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220111082829/https://lifebeyondnumbers.com/rani-bhavashankari-raibaghini/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Coronation and the Battle of Bashuri ==

Bhavashankari returned to the capital early next morning and assumed control of the affairs of the State.<ref name="abp2">{{cite news |first=Suphal |last=Sarkar |url=http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1060731/31south2.htm |script-title=bn:উদয়নারায়ণপুরে ধ্বংসের মুখে প্রাচীন মন্দির |publisher=Anandabazar Patrika |date=31 July 2006 |access-date=7 August 2010 |location=Kolkata |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707140949/http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1060731/31south2.htm |archive-date=7 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In absence of hard evidence, she couldn't try Chaturbhuj Chakravarti and instead demoted him on the pretext of security breach. Raja Bhupati Krishna Ray, the commander of the Pendo fort, was promoted to the post of ''Sarbadhinayak'', the [[commander-in-chief]] of the armed forces. Apart from that she took immediate steps to strengthen the army in terms of numbers as well as infrastructure. She herself took the responsibility of their training.

== Relationship with Mughals ==
[[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] emperor [[Akbar]], who was always wary of a [[Pashtun people|Pathan]] resurgence in [[Bengal]], decided to strengthen the alliance with [[Bhurishrestha]]. He sent [[Man Singh]], the then [[Subahdar|governor]] of [[Bengal]] to the court of [[Bhurishrestha]] as the representative of the [[Mughal Empire]]. Man Singh arrived at Garh Bhawanipur with the Mughal seal. In a special ceremony, the charter of alliance was signed between the [[Bhurishrestha|Kingdom of Bhurishrestha]] and the [[Mughal Empire]]. Through this treaty, the sovereignty of Bhurishrestha was formally accepted by the Mughal empire. The treaty required the former to send a gold coin, a goat and a blanket to the latter as a token of alliance. Maharani Bhavashankari was bestowed with the title of ''Raybaghini'' and the Mughals never ever interfered with her Kingdom of [[Bhurshut]].<ref name="abp3">{{cite news |first=Suphal |last=Sarkar |url=http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1081231/31south1.htm |script-title=bn:রায়বাঘিনীর স্মৃতি পরে রয়েছে অবহেলায় |publisher=Anandabazar Patrika |date=31 December 2008 |language=bn |access-date=7 August 2010 |location=Kolkata |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720034050/http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1081231/31south1.htm |archive-date=20 July 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Legacy==
Maharani Bhavashankari became famous by her title ''Raibaghini'', who gradually came to denote a courageous or sometimes rebellious woman and became a part of Bengali proverb. Her story of valour became a part of folklore and were immortalised by ballads and village poets. In February 2012, the West Bengal government inaugurated the annual Raybaghini Rani Bhavashankari Smriti Mela to commemorate her.<ref name="abp15052012">{{cite news|url=http://archives.anandabazar.com/archive/1120515/15hgly5.html|script-title=bn:সংস্কারের অভাবে হারাচ্ছে ইতিহাস|last=Gangopadhyay|first=Ramaprasad|date=15 May 2012|work=Anandabazar Patika|language=bn|access-date=17 October 2014|location=Kolkata|archive-date=21 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021054305/http://archives.anandabazar.com/archive/1120515/15hgly5.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Refbegin}}
*{{cite book |last=Bhattacharya |first=Bidhubhusan |title=Raybaghini O Bhurishrestha Rajkahini |year=2009 |publisher=Nababharati Prakashani |location=Kolkata }}
*{{cite book |last=Ray |first=Bharat Chandra |title=Raibaghini }}
{{Refend}}

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|Bharadwaj Dynasty}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rudranarayan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bhurishrestha|Maharani of Bhurishrestha]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Pratapnarayan]]}}
{{S-end}}

[[Category:Rulers of Bengal]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian women in war]]
[[Category:Hindu monarchs]]

Bhavashankari - Revision history

Bot at 16:40, 1 October 2022