Raghunath Singha Dev II (also known as Raghunath Singh Deo II) was the fifty-fourth king of the

Mallabhum Mallabhum (The country originally known as Mallabhoom or Mallabani or Bishnupur kingdom) was the kingdom ruled by the Malla kings of Bishnupur, primarily in the present Bankura district in Indian state of West Bengal. History Territory of th ...

. He ruled from 1702 to 1712.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing

History

Personal life

Raghunath Singha Dev II and his wife

Princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

Chandraprava of Chetbarda had no children so his younger brother

Gopal Singha Dev Gopal Singha Dev I was the fifty-fifth Raja of Mallabhum. He ruled from 1712 to 1748.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing Midnapore Raj The Rajas of Mallabhum were an independent kingdom, not subject to the a ...

was the next king.Malabhum, Bishnupur-Chandra, Manoranjan; 2004; Kolkata. Deys Publishing History of Bishnupur Raj-Malick Abhaayapada. 1982, West Bengal

Mughals

Raghunath Singha Dev was the son of Durjan Singha Dev and a very brave king. He took care of his military force. He was also a very pious king and very much fond of music, dance and other performing arts. His time period. coincides the Aurangjeb and

Bahadur Shah Bahadur Shah may refer to: *Bahadur Shah of Gujarat (died 1537) *Bahadur Shah I (1643–1712), Mughal Emperor *Bahadur Shah II (1775–1862), the last Mughal Emperor and final ruler of the Timurid house * Bahadur Nizam Shah, ruler of the Ahmadnagar ...

’s reign. During his rule Jijia tax(

Jizya Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Sharia, Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Soc ...

) was imposed.

Bishnupur gharana

During the time of Alamgir Aurangjeb, who was very orthodox, as per his order any type of performing art was strictly prohibited. Ignoring his order Raghunath Singha Dev II developed Bishnupur as a very important place of performing art. He brought

Ustad Bahadur Khan Ustad Bahadur Khan (born Bahadur Hossain Khan; 19 January 1931 – 3 October 1989) was an Indian sarod player and film score composer. Early life and family Ustad Bahadur Khan, a Bengali, was born on 19 January 1931 in Shibpur, Brahmanbaria, ...

a descendant of

Tansen Rāmtanu ( – 26 April 1589), popularly referred to as Mian Tānsen (), or Sangeet Samrāt (), was a Hindustani classical musician. Born into a Hindu Gaur Brahmin family in Gwalior, he learnt and perfected his art in the northwest regio ...

in a monthly payment of rupees 500 and Pir Box. Gradually Bishnupur gave us several vocalists, instrumentalists and other performing artists. A new

gharana In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular musi ...

of classical music named as

Bishnupur gharana The Bishnupur gharana (alternatively spelt Vishnupur gharana) is a form of singing that follows the dhrupad tradition of Hindustani music, one of the two forms of Indian classical music. History The gharana originated in Bishnupur, West Ben ...

developed.

Revolt

In his regime,

Sobha Singha Sobha may refer to: Places * Sobha, Algeria, a town and commune in Chlef Province * Sobha, Nepal, a village development committee * Sobha Hi-tech city, a proposed township in India People * Sobha Brahma (1929–2012), Indian painter and sculptor ...

was

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

of Chetuwa — Baroda (

Midnapur Medinipur or Midnapore is a city known for its history in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the West Medinipur district. It is situated on the banks of the Kangsabati River (variously known as ''Kasai'' and ''Cossye'') ...

) rose in revolt against the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

. After the death of Sobha Singha, Raghunath married Chandraprava daughter of Shobha Singha.

Marathas

During the ending phase of his reign

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

(Bargi) raiders raided Bishnupur marking the start of Bishnupur's decline.

In popular culture

Film

Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre The Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (abbreviated as EZCC) is an autonomous organization under Ministry of Culture (India), Government of India covering the states of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Odisha, Sikkim, Tripura, West Bengal and Andama ...

, Kolkata, brings you the Fourth Documentary from 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗙𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹. The video is a presentation on the dhrupad gharana of

Bishnupur kingdom Mallabhum (The country originally known as Mallabhoom or Mallabani or Bishnupur kingdom) was the kingdom ruled by the Malla kings of Bishnupur, primarily in the present Bankura district in Indian state of West Bengal. History Territory of th ...

References

Sources

* * O’Malley, L.S.S., ICS, Bankura, Bengal District Gazetteers, pp. 21-46(26), 1995 reprint, first published 1908, Government of West Bengal. Kings of Mallabhum 18th-century Indian monarchs {{India-royal-stub