Shiva Simha Singh
Brahman King of Mithila
Reign1412–1416
PredecessorDevasimha
SuccessorLakhima Devi
BornSivasimha
ConsortLakhima Devi
Wives
  • Padmavati
  • Lakhima Devi
  • Viśvasadevi
Regnal name
Mithila Naresh Raja Sivasimha
House Oiniwar Dynasty
FatherDevasimha
MotherHasini Devi
ReligionHinduism

Shiva Simha Singh was the King of Oiniwar dynasty in Mithila.[1] He is also known as Sivasimha. He was very handsome and highly intelligent, so he was also called as Rūpanārāyana. He was the King of Mithila. He declared himself independent and stopped paying taxes to Jaunpur Sultanate. Due to his decision to challenge the authority of the Sharqi empire, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi attacked Mithila but was defeated.

Mithila, Bengal and Arakanese accounts say that brahmin ruler Sivasimha helped another Brahmin ruler, and his friend Raja Ganesha of Bengal, in defeating the Jaunpur Sultanate in Bengal-Jaunpur conflict. Ganesha had previously freed Bengal from Muslim occupation.[2]

Earlier life

Sivasimha was born in a Mithila Brahmin family. His father was King Devasimha of Mithila.[3] His mother was Hasini Devi.[4] 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 for 12 years from 1416 to 1428. She sacrificed herself into fire in a Sati 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.

A modern Artist's impression of Shiva Simha Singh

Rule

Sivasimha ruled Mithila mainly between 1412 and 1416. He was actively taking part in the kingdom's administration since he was 15, when his father, king Devasimha, was alive.[5] He transferred his capital from Devakuli to Gajarathapur (also known as Shiv Singhpur) near Darbhanga .[4][6]

Legacy

The people of Mithila remember him for digging several large tanks in several villages of the kingdom. Among these tanks, the tanks in villages Rajokhari, and Barh are associated with various proverbs. He issued gold coins, two specimens of which were found at Pipra village of Champaran district in 1913. On those coins were the inscriptions "Shri" on the obverse and "Shiva" on the reverse, which indicates that the coins were minted during the reign of Sivasimha. He granted Bisfi village in the present Madhubani district to his friend Vidyapati for his poems Kirtilata and Kirtipataka.[7] He is also said to have erected a Masoleum known as Mamoon Bhanja at Jaruha, near Hajipur.

Wars

In his copper plate grant to Vidyapati, he claimed to have won the kings of Gauda and Gajjanpur. He was also involved in the Bengal–Jaunpur confrontation.[8]

He led an expedition against Gauda to extend his rule over that land. Sivasimha thought of conquering this newly converted Muslim ruler. He defeated Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah, the Sultan of Bengal, and annexed a portion of the sultanate while making his region free.[9]

Maharaja Shiva Simha Singh in a war against Mohammedan Kings


Origin of his dynasty

References

  1. ↑ Mishra, Vijayakanta (1953). "Chronology of the Oiniwara Dynasty of Mithila". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 16: 200–210. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44303873.
  2. ↑ Hussain, Syed Ejaz; Husain, Syed Ejaz (2002). "The Rise of Raja Ganesh in Medieval Bengal and Eaton's Theory of the Crisis of Confidence: A Fresh Study". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 63: 272–280. ISSN 2249-1937.
  3. ↑ "History of Muslim Rule in Tirhut (1206–1765 A.D.)". INDIAN CULTURE. Retrieved 2023-09-16.
  4. 1 2 Thakur (Ed.), Gajendra. Videha 018 Ist Maithili Fortnightly ejournal मानुषीमिह संस्कृताम् ISSN 2229-547X (in Hindi). Gajendra Thakur.
  5. ↑ Jha, Makhan (1997). Anthropology of Ancient Hindu Kingdoms: A Study in Civilizational Perspective. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-7533-034-4.
  6. ↑ Kapoor, Subodh (2002). Encyclopaedia of Ancient Indian Geography. Cosmo Publications. ISBN 978-81-7755-299-7.
  7. ↑ Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  8. ↑ Mishra, Vijayakanta (1979). Cultural Heirtage Of Mithila.
  9. ↑ Thakur Upendra. (1956). History Of Mithila (1956). Bhola Nath Mishra Acharya At Sudhakar Press.
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