“Sati Sadhani”的意思、由来-开放百科全书

Sati Sadhani was the last queen of the Chutia dynasty. She was the daughter of the Chutiya King Dharmadhwajpal also known as Dhirnarayan. Born in Sadiya, she was married to Nityapal or Nitai.

In 1523, due to Nityapal's weak leadership, the Ahoms took advantage and attacked the kingdom at its weakest state, they conquered Sadiya and killed Nityapal. So Sadhani who played a prominent role in the fight against the Ahoms was asked to marry Sadiyakhowa Gohain, the Ahom governor of Sadiya. Sadhani preferred death to dishonour, and gave her life from the top of Chandragiri hills near Sadiya in 1524.

History

Queen of Chutia kingdom

Sadhani was born in the year 1503 A.D. to king Dhirnarayan. She was married at the age of 19 years in the year 1522 A.D. after the Chutia king had won the battle of Mungkhrang fort. Being unable to find a suitable groom for Sadhani a Swayamvara was organised by the king. The king promised to marry Sadhani to any person who would be able to shoot down a running squirrel on the top of a Maidam(tomb) with an arrow. To everyone's surprise, it was a cow-herder named Nitai(from the Chakusara clan) who was able to kill the squirrel. The king kept his promise and married off the princess to Nitai who was since then given the name Nitipal. The king retired to the hills leaving the throne to Nitipal and Sadhani.

Nitipal's weak rule

Being a cow herder before becoming king, Nitipal was an inefficient king. He didn't have any idea how to rule over a kingdom and it was Sadhani who had to take charge. Nitipal dismissed all the old wise ministers and instead recruited his own friends from his village as his ministers. This resulted in a rebellion within the kingdom by the old ministers which was led by the brother of the former king named Surdhwajpal.But, it was crushed soon. Due to this chaos spread in the kindgom, the Chutia chiefs of other areas like Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Biswanath became independent. Nitipal was popularly known as A-nitipal because of this inefficiency and recklessness. Sadiya was solitary and had no contact to any of the chutia chiefs of the other parts of the kingdom.^[1]

Prior Royal mandate

As per the Darrang buranji, one of the Chutia princesses was married to an Ahom prince(probably Suhunmung) in the years before the annexation. This princess helped him get one of the royal Golden Cat idols which were the heirlooms of the Chutia kings. Although it was not the original one, it later gave Suhungmung royal mandate to annex and rule over the chutia kingdom at a later time.

The first day of the attack

The Sadiya attack took place in the year 1524 A.D. on 21st April or 7th Bohag/Baisakh(which is the first day of Chutia Bisu/Bihu). This day is reserved for the Bor-bali(grand sacrifice). It is still practiced today in Sadiya. On this day, no other person is allowed to carry weapons besides the Deori priests. The invaders very well knew this fact. At that time, Chutias were the only people in the entire Northeast India who possessed firearms like Hiloi(guns) and Bortop(cannons). So, the invaders very well knew that a frontal attack was never possible.

So, they planned a sudden attack on this very day. They attacked when the entire city was busy celebrating Bisu. The siege of Sadiya is referred to as Kosu-kota Ran in the Buranjis which literally translates to Battle of Yam-cutting. This was evidently because there was no resistance provided by armless soldiers and the invaders slaughtered innocent people like chopping vegetables.

Last battle at Chandangiri

The sudden attack at Sadiya forced the king and queen along with some of the soldiers who survived, to flee to the Chandangiri hills situated above Sadiya. The Chutiyas attacked valiantly against the invaders from the hills. They applied gurella warfare strategies and used Karfai(crossbows) and spears. The army killed hundreds of enemies. Queen Sadhani formed a female fighting squad of 120 warriors. They assisted the army by rolling big boulders onto the enemy below. The invaders were unable to do anything. One of the former ministers of the Chutias whom Nitipal had removed sided with the Ahoms and suggested the Ahom commander Phrasengmung Borgohain to play the Dhul. Thus‌ the general ordered some captives to play the Bisu drum or Dhul. As it was the season of Bihu, the Chutia army took it to be a sign that re-enforcements had arrived from other parts and the ahoms were chased out. So, thinking the drum beats to be a signal of victory they came down to the lower hills where the enemies were hiding. Another former Chutia commander named Gajraj Borua who had sided with the Ahoms showed the enemies the exact way to the location where the king was hiding.^[2] The king was attacked and killed by an arrow while Sadhani fought till her last breath at the end sacrificing her life by jumping from a hill.

Sati Sadhani Divas

Every year in Assam, 21st April is celebrated as Sati Sadhani divas to honour the sacrifices made by the Sutiya Queen. The Government of Assam declares this day as state holiday.^[3]

Sati Sadhani Award

The award is instituted by the Sutiya Jati Unnayan Parishad. The award is given to a person every year, having outstanding contributions to the field of art, culture and literature. The person to be honoured by this Award is selected by a committee formed by the Parishad.^[4]