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{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Lakshminarayan
| title = Maharaja of Bhurishrestha
| image =
| caption =
| succession =
| spouse = Himadrija
| spouse-type = Spouse
| coronation =
| reign = 1695 - 1712
| house =
| predecessor = [[Naranarayan of Bhurishrestha|Naranarayan]]
| successor =
| father = [[Naranarayan of Bhurishrestha|Naranarayan]]
| mother = Amritakala
}}
{{History of Bengal}}
'''Maharaja Lakshminarayan''' ({{lang-bn|মহারাজা লক্ষ্মীনারায়ণ}}) was the last ruler of [[Bhurishrestha Kingdom|Bhurishrestha]]. When he was the prince, he had defeated and humiliated [[Krishnaram Ray]], the ruler of [[Bardhaman Raj|Bardhaman]] in a battle. The latter was subsequently killed by a rebellious feudatory called [[Shobha Singh]], who killed most of Krishnaram's family as well. However one of his grandsons Kirtichand Ray later rose into prominence and earned the favour of [[Murshid Quli Khan]]. With the latter's active patronage he conspired to annex [[Bhurishrestha]] while Lakshminarayan was away from the capital. Lakshminarayan returned to fight valiantly against Kirtichand, but failed to maintain the sovereignty of the kingdom due to sabotage from within.

== Early life ==
While he was a young prince he rose to the position of [[commander-in-chief]] of the [[armed forces]]. He was a great soldier and a skilled archer. When Krishnaram Ray infringed upon the territory of Bhurishrestha, he led the royal forces against him. He showed remarkable bravery in the battle and defeated Krishnaram Ray.

== Reign ==
Lakshminarayan ascended the throne of [[Bhurishrestha]] some time between 1690 and 1695, after [[Naranarayan of Bhurishrestha|Naranarayan]] died. The Mughal empire was on the decline, the law and order situation in the province of Bengal was worsening under the [[Subahdar|governorship]] of Ibrahim Khan. Taking advantage of the situation in the mid of 1695, Shobha Singh, the zamindar of Chetua-Borda revolted against the [[Mughal empire]] and began to annex the neighbouring estates. He became so powerful, that he decided to attack [[Bardhaman Raj|Bardhaman]]. Krishnaram, sensing danger, pleaded Lakshminarayan for help. But the latter, irritated with Krisharam's activities and allegiance to the Mughals refused any kind of help and instead allowed Shobha Singh to pass through the Bhurishrestha territory and attack Burdwan. Krishnaram was killed in the conflict. Shobha Singh sacked Bardhaman and took Krishnaram's family members as [[hostage]]s.

After [[Murshid Quli Khan]] became the Naib Nazim of [[Bengal]], he adopted a policy of expansion by which he planned to bring the independent [[Hindu]] states like Bhurishrestha and Bishnupur under the standard of [[Islam]]. Kirtichand Ray, the successor to Krishnaram's son Jagatram was close to Murshid Quli Khan and he was entrusted with the conquest of Bhurishrestha. Kirtichand conspired with Rajvallabh, the younger brother of Sadashiva, the ''garhnayak'' of Pendo to overthrow the kingdom. Rajvallabh managed to get the ''diwan'' Radhavallabh Datta on his side with promises of promotions and other benefits. They were waiting for the opportune moment to wreck the kingdom with a [[sabotage]] from within. Soon, Lakshminarayan made plan to perform puja at the Bargabhima temple at [[Tamluk]] along with his wife. At that time Rajavallabh engineered a rumour that a band of [[Bargi]]s were approaching Bhurishrestha and were joined by ferocious [[dacoit]]s from [[Telangana]]. Lakshminarayan deployed his troops to Tamluk leaving the capital under the command of Radhavallabh. In the meantime, Rajvallabh led the forces of Kritichand into the kingdom accompanied by the forces of the Mughal ''faujdar'' of Hooghly. After capturing the forts of Chhaunapur and Naskardanga, their combined troops surrounded Garh Bhavanipur. Bamacharan Paladhi, the ''kotwal'' held the fort for two days before being killed by an insider. His wife Veermati manned the defence after his death, before being martyred. Lakshminarayan returned with the troops and a heavy battle ensued. Kirtichand's forces had taken control of most of the fort and drove the advantage to victory. Lakshminarayan fled with the royal family to [[Chandrakona]].

== Welfare ==
Lakshminarayan like his father was a patron of art and culture. In 1705, he erected the temple of Gopinath Jiu in Garh Bhavanipur.<ref name="abp2">{{cite news |first=Nurul |last=Absar |url=http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1100420/20hgly1.htm |script-title=bn:গড়ভবানীপুরে খননকার্যে মিলল প্রাচীন মাটির পাত্র, প্রদীপ |work=[[Anandabazar Patrika]] |location=Kolkata |date=April 20, 2010 |language=bn |access-date=August 28, 2010 |title=Archived copy |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720034107/http://www.anandabazar.com/archive/1100420/20hgly1.htm |archive-date=July 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> He granted the village of Bally to the royal priest Ram Kishor. The village of Lakshminarayanpur in [[Howrah district|Howrah]] bears the legacy of his rule.

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

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

{{S-start}}
{{s-hou|Bharadwaj Dynasty}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Naranarayan of Bhurishrestha|Naranarayan]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Bhurishrestha|Maharaja of Bhurishrestha]]|years=169?-1712}}
{{s-aft|after=Kingdom abolished}}
{{S-end}}

[[Category:History of Bengal]]
[[Category:Rulers of Bengal]]

Lakshminarayan of Bhurishrestha - Revision history

imported>বঙ্গীয় ব্যক্তি at 16:38, 15 July 2021