Nayagarh State

Nayagarh State was one of the princely states of India during the British Raj.^[1] It was located in present-day Nayagarh district, Odisha.

Nayagarh State
Princely State of British India
1480–1948
Nayagarh State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
Area
• 1931	1,528 km2 (590 sq mi)
Population
• 1931	142,406
• Type	Odisha government
History
• Established	1480
• Accession to the Union of India	1948
Succeeded by India

The state was bounded in the north by Khandpara State and Puri District. The capital was at Nayagarh. The southern part of the state was forested and mountainous and was inhabited mainly by Khonds.^[2]

History

According to traditions, Nayagarh state was alleged to have been founded by a scion from the Rewa State before 15th century, but lack of written archival historical records marks them as untenable due to the non-alignment of timelines of both Nayagarh and its collateral Khandpara state with that of the corresponding Rewa state which was founded in 1618 succeeding from Bandhavgarh kingdom, which possibly points to its legendary origins due to the historical obscurity.^[3] None of the chiefs of Nayagarh appear to have received farmans from either Mughals or Marathas until the Bhonsle Maharaja of Nagpur Raghoji I Bhonsle gifted the chiefs for his assistance during the Maratha conquest of Orissa.^[4] Although it is likely that a local chieftain by the name Baghel Singh (1480-1510 CE) who is reputed to be the founder of Nayagarh, as it was known as Baghua Nayagarh, may likely be the founder of the state and also the progenitor of the dynasty with the same name.^[5][6][7]

Under Raghunath Singh's (1565–1595) successors, Khandpara State which was initially part of Nayagarh State became a separate kingdom in 1599 with his younger son Jadunath Singh inheriting Khandpara while his elder son Harihar Singh continuing at Nayagarh.^[5]

The last ruler signed the instrument of accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948, merging his state into Odisha forming a part of the Nayagarh district.

Rulers

The rulers of Nayagarh State bore the title of Raja. The emblem of the royal families of both Nayagarh and the neighbouring Khandpara State was the head of a tiger.

• Baghel Singh (1480–1510 CE)
• N/A
• Raghunath Singh (1565–1595)
• Harihar Singh
• N/A
• Chandrasekhar Singh Mandhata
• Purushottam Singh Mandhata
• Mrutyunjay Singh Mandhata (...–1784)
• Binayak Singh Mandhata (1784–1825)
• Braja Bandhu Singh Mandhata (1825 – 30 September 1851)
• Ladhu Kishore Singh Mandhata (30 September 1851 – 1889)
• Balbhadra Singh (1889–1890)
• Raghunath Singh Mandhata (2 Mar 1890–4 Sep 1897)
• Narayan Singh Mandhata (1897 – 7 Dec 1918)
• Krushna Chandra Singh Mandhata (7 Dec 1918 – 1 January 1948)

Titular

Krushna Chandra Singh Mandhata

Amarendra Kishore Singh Mandata

Rameswar Prasad Singh Mandata (present)

See also

• Eastern States Agency
• Political integration of India

References

1. Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nayagarh" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 318.
2. Great Britain India Office. The Imperial Gazetteer of India. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908.
3. Hermann Kulke (1976), Kshatriyaization and social change: A Study in Orissa setting (PDF), Popular Prakashan, p. 404
4. Cobden Ramsay (1910), Bengal Gazetteers Feudatory States Of Orissa, DLI, p. 263
5. District Survey Report Nayagarh (PDF), MoEF & CC, 25 July 2018, pp. 1–2
6. ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS NAYAGARH (PDF), GAD, Govt of Odisha, 2015, p. 44
7. Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 18, p. 436.

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