Shiva Simha Singh (

Maithil Maithils (Tirhuta: মৈথিল, Devanagari: मैथिल), also known as Maithili people, are an Indo-Aryan ethno-linguistic group from the Indian subcontinent, who speak the Maithili language as their native language. They inhabit the M ...

: शिव सिंह ) was the King of Oiniwar dynasty in Mithila. He is also known as Sivasimha (शिवसिंह). He was very handsome and highly intelligent, so he was also called as Rūpanārāyana. He was the King of

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 Nepal ...

in India and Nepal. He declared himself to be independent King and stopped paying taxes to Tughlak empire. Due to his decision to challenge authority of Tughlaks empire, Ibrahim Shah Tughlak attacked

. In the battle, King Sivasimha was arrested by the Tughlak army but some scholars claimed that the King Sivasimha had martyred in the battle and similarly some scholars claimed that the King Sivasimha got missing from the battle. These are some disputes on the death of the King Sivasimha. The great Maithili poet

Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili language, Maithili), was a Maithili language, Maithili and Sanskrit polymath-poet-saint, playwright, composer, biographer, philosopher, ...

was the royal priest in the court of the Kingdom of the King Sivasimha and also his friend.

Earlier Life

King Sivasimha was born in a

Maithil Brahmin Maithil Brahmins are a Hindu Brahmin community from the Mithila region of the Indian subcontinent that comprises Tirhut, Darbhanga, Kosi, Purnia, Munger, Bhagalpur; Bokaro in Jharkhand and Santhal Pargana divisions of India and some adj ...

family in

. His father name was King Devasimha. He was the King of Mithila. His mother was Hasini Devi. King Sivasimha was married to six wives. Queen Lakhima Devi was the most famous and scholarly wife of the King Sivasimha. She ruled Mithila from Banauliraj in Nepal for 12 years since 1416 AD to 1428 AD. She sacrificed herself into fire on a

Sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...

ritual, after the 12 years waiting for the King Sivasimha. Padmavati was the eldest wife of the King Sivasimha. She also ruled Mithila for 3 years.

Rule

King Sivasimha ruled the Kingdom of

mainly between 1413 AD to 1416 AD around three years nine months. But he was actively taking part in the administration of the Kingdom from his age of 15 years, when his father Devasimha was alive. He transferred his capital from Devakuli to Gajarathapur ( also known as Shiv Singhpur ) near

Darbhanga Darbhanga is the fifth-largest city and municipal corporation in the Indian state of Bihar situated centrally in Mithila region. Darbhanga is the headquarters of the Darbhanga district and the Darbhanga division. It was the seat of the erst ...

Legacy

The people of

remember him for digging several large tanks in several villages of the Kingdom. Among these tanks, the tanks in villages Rajokhari, Barh, etc., are notable which are associated with various proverbs. He issued gold coins. Two specimens of the gold coins were found at Pipra village of

Champaran Champaran is a region of Bihar in India. It is now divided into an East Champaran district and a West Champaran district. Notable people * Manoj Bajpai – Indian film actor * Dinesh Bhramar – poet and noted figure in Hindi and Bhojpu ...

district in 1913. On those coins, there was "Shri" and "Shiva" on the obverse and reverse sides respectively which indicates that the coins belonging to the reigning period of the King Sivasimha. He granted

Bisfi Bisfi is a mandal in the Madhubani district of Bihar, India. It is the birthplace of Vidyapati Vidyapati ( – 1460), also known by the sobriquet ''Maithil Kavi Kokil'' (the poet cuckoo of Maithili language, Maithili), was a Maithili l ...

village in the present

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight List of districts of Bihar, districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani, India, Madhubani. The district has an area of ...

to his friend

for his poems Kirtilata and Kirtipataka. He is also said to have erected a Masoleum known as Mamoon Bhanja at Jaruha, near

Hajipur Hajipur (, ) is the headquarters and largest city of Vaishali district of the state of Bihar in India. Hajipur is the 16th most populous city of Bihar, besides being the second-fastest developing city, next to Patna. It had a total population ...

Wars

In his copper plate grant to

, he claimed to have won kings of Gauda and Gajjanpur.

Origin of his dynasty

The Oiniwar Dynasty of Mithila was originated from Oini village of

Muzaffarpur district Muzaffarpur District is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar States and territories of India, state, India. Muzaffarpur district is part of and also the headquarters of Tirhut division, Tirhut Division Tirhut is the ancient name of all of ...

in the

region of the present

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

state in 1324 AD. The period of the dynasty was between 1325 AD to 1695 AD. The first King of the Oiniwar Dynasty was King Nath Thakur. He became King of

in 1324 AD.

References

{{reflist Mithila 15th century in Asia Indian royalty History of Bihar