Caṇḍeśvara Thakkura was a Maithili-language political theorist and general during the 14th century. He served as minister for peace and war and chief judge in the court of

Harisimhadeva Harisimhadeva (also called Hari Singh Deva) was a King of the Karnat dynasty who ruled the Mithila (region), Mithila region of modern-day parts of North Bihar in India and South Nepal. He reigned from 1304 to 1325. He was the last king of the Karn ...

who was the last King of the

Karnat dynasty The Karnats of Mithila or Karnata dynasty () was a dynasty established in 1097 CE by Nanyadeva. The dynasty controlled the areas we today know as Tirhut or Mithila in India and adjoining parts of South Eastern Nepal. The main power centre of the K ...

Mithila Mithila may refer to: Places * Mithilā, a synonym for the ancient Videha state ** Mithilā (ancient city), the ancient capital city of Videha * Mithila (region), a cultural region (historical and contemporary), now divided between India and Nepa ...

. This dynasty ruled parts of modern-day Mithilanchal and Southern

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. His family had their origins in the village of Bisfi in modern-day

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 20 ...

Family

Chandeshvar was born in a family of

Maithil Brahmins Maithil Brahmins are the Indo-Aryan Hindu Brahmin community originating from the Mithila region and original inhabitants of Southern Nepal and bordering regions of India that comprises Madhesh Province & some areas of Koshi Province in Nepa ...

who were also learned scholars who worked in the Karnat court. He was the cousin of Jayadatta who was the grandfather of

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1448), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili), was a Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, law-theorist, writer, courtier and ...

who worked in the court of the Oiniwar dynasty a century after Candesvara's time. Candesvara was also the grandson of another scholar, Devāditya Ṭhakkura who was described as a "minister for War and Peace" in the court of the

. Candesvara most likely became a minister for peace and war for

in 1310 C.E.

Military career

Primary sources from the time describe him as a great diplomat and a successful minister cum commander who participated in battles against '' mlecchas'' (possibly referring to Muslim invaders). He was also described as having rescued the earth from being flooded by Mlechchhas (possibly by defeating some

Tughlaq The Tughlaq dynasty (also known as the Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty; ) was the third dynasty to rule over the Delhi Sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath ...

generals) as well as leading a successful military expedition to Nepal where he is said to have distributed gold equal in weight to himself on the banks of the

Bagmati River The Bagmati River flows through the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, separating the cities of Kathmandu and Patan, before flowing through Madesh Province of southern Nepal and joining the Kamla River in the Indian state of Bihar. It is considered ...

in 1314. Under Caṇḍeśvara's leadership and with the support of the King Harisimhadeva, the Karnatas of Mithila launched an attack on Nepal in 1314. The Karnats made the city of

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

their focus and plundered the city. After this, they targeted the Lalitpur region.

Literary works

Among his most notable works was the ''Rājanītiratnākara'', a treatise on organising the state. Furthermore, he also wrote a set of seven books that dealt with issues relating to the law among other themes. These were titled the ''Krityaratnākara, Dānaratnākara, Vyavahāraratnākara, Śuddhiratnākara, Pūjāratnākara, Vivādaratnākara, and Gṛihastharatnākara''. These books dealt with gratitude, philanthropy, conduct, purification, religious rituals, conflict and family life, respectively. Together, these books are referred to as ''Saptaratnākara (seven jewels)''.

References

{{Authority control Scholars from Bihar Mithila Maithili-language writers