Bhurshut ( bn, ভুরশুট, Bhurśut) or Bhurishreshtha ( bn, ভূরিশ্রেষ্ঠ, Bhūriśreṣṭha) was a medieval

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

kingdom spread across what is now Howrah and Hooghly districts in the

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History

Bhurshut kingdom grew up in the southern parts of Rarh region. It had a high concentration of ''Bhurisresthis'', a community of traders and as such came to be called Bhurshut. However, it was possibly the main centre of Rarhi Brahmins. It could have been ruled by a Sur king during the period when the

Pala Empire The Pāla Empire (r. 750-1161 CE) was an imperial power during the post-classical period in the Indian subcontinent, which originated in the region of Bengal. It is named after its ruling dynasty, whose rulers bore names ending with the suffi ...

was a rising force. Different feudatory kings may have ruled over the kingdom. At a later time there is mention in folklore of a Dhibar dynasty, possibly in the 14th–15th century. Subsequently, the area came to be ruled by a Brahmin family.Ghosh, Binoy, ''Paschim Banger Sanskriti'', (in Bengali), part II, 1976 edition, pp. 218-234, Prakash Bhaban Shanibhangar, the last Dhibar king of Burshut, was defeated by Chaturanan Neogi of Garh Bhawanipur. Chaturanan's grandson (by his daughter) Krishna Roy of the Mukhti royal family of Phulia took over the

reign A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, List of Belgian monarchs, Belgium, Co-prince of Andorra, Andorra), of a people (e.g., List of Frankish kings, the Franks, List of ...

and established the Brahmin dynasty of Bhurishrestha. Krishnanarayan Ray ruled in 1583–84, at a time when Akbar was the

Mughal emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

. Maharaja Rudranarayan Raymukhuty was the ruler of Bhurishrestha, who consolidated and expanded the kingdom and converted it into one of the most powerful Hindu kingdoms of the time. He broke the traditional alliance with the Pathan sultans of Odisha and accounted for the downfall of the Pathan regime in Bengal. Krishna Ray's great-grandson Pratap Narayan Ray (ruled around 1652–1684) was the greatest of Bhurshut kings. There is mention about the exemplary bravery of a lady of the family, popularly referred to as ''Roy Baghini'', but it is difficult to identify the person. She is probably named Rani Bhavashankari Devi. In '' Ain-i-Akbari'', it is mentioned that amongst the thirty-one mahals under Sirkar Suleimanabad, the highest revenue was earned by Basandhari pargana, followed by Bhurshut. No other pargana under Sirkar Satgaon or Sirkar Mandaran earned so much revenue. Bhurshut was conquered by Kirtichand Rai of Bardhaman in the 18th century. Bhushut kingdom had three forts at Garh Bhabanipur, Pandua ('Pedo' or 'Pedo Basantapur') and Rajbalhat. There is hardly any trace of these forts, There are still places called Dihi Bhurshut and Par Bhurshitta in Howrah district, across the Damodar from Rajbalhat.

Bharatchandra Ray Bharatchandra Ray Gunakor ( bn, ভারতচন্দ্র রায় গুণাকর; 1712–1760) was an 18th-century Bengali and Sanskrit Sakta court poet and song composer. He is mostly known for his poetic work, '' Annadamangal'' or ...

(''Raygunakar''), 18th-century Bengali poet, hailed from Pedo Bhurshut and possibly belonged to the ruling family of Bhurshut kingdom.

References

{{coord, 22.76, N, 88.04, E, source:fallingraingenomics_region:IN-WB , format=dms, display=title Ancient divisions in Bengal Howrah district Hooghly district