Battle of Mundamala Ghat

The Battle of Mundamala Ghat was a battle that took place in 1575 AD near the Mundamala Garh fort.[1] The Mallabhum army led by Hambir Malla Dev attacked the Pathan army led by Daud Khan Karrani when he invaded mallabhum.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

Battle of Mundamala Ghat
Date1575 CE
Location
Bishnupur
Result

Decisive Mallabhum Victory

  • Dawood Khan was taken as prisoner
Belligerents
Mallabhum kingdom
Mughal Empire		 Karrani dynasty
Commanders and leaders
Bir Hambir
Man Singh I		 Daud Khan Karrani
Strength
9000 15,000[1]
Casualties and losses
Negligible Heavy
Mallabhum army devastated Karrani army 10,000 soldiers of Karrani dynasty was taken prisoner.

Background

Daud Khan Karrani dreamed of seizing the whole of Bengal. In this situation, in 1575 AD, Daud Khan attacked Bishnupur with a large number of Pathan troops.[1]

"Dawood Khan suddenly came and encamped at a village called Ranisagar near Bishnupur with more than One lakh soldiers and similar ammunition."

— Fakir Narayan Karmakar Mahasaya

The people of Ranisagar were embarrassed by the sudden attack of Dawood Khan's army of lakhs. The Bishnupur army was still not ready for battle. At this moment, the heroic prince of Bishnupur, Hambir Malla, started the war by arming the army. The army of Bishnupur, intoxicated with the dream of victory, proceeded to subdue the enemy by worshiping the Maa Mrinmayee, the kuladevi of Mallabhum.[1]

Battle

The state of Bishnupur had total twelve forts, one of which was the Mundmala fort. Near this Mundmala Garh, the Mallabhum army attacked the Pathan forces. After a fierce battle between the two sides, Hambir Malla defeated the Pathan forces in such a tragic manner that the battlefield at the eastern gate of the fort was filled with the corpses of Pathan soldiers. The vanquished commander Dawood Khan was taken prisoner. He waited for death in a state of siege. But the noble Hambir arranged for his release and reached a safe place.

"There were so many corpses of the dead Nawab's soldiers at the eastern gate of the fort that it was called" Mundmala ghat ".[2]

It is said that Hambir Malla cut off the heads of the invading Pathan soldiers, made a garland (mundamala) and offered it as a gift to the demon-destroying Goddess Mrinmayi Devi. He was awarded the title of "Bir Hambir" for accomplishing that difficult task.[3]

References
  1. বিষ্ণুপুৱেৱ অৱকাহিনী ("Immortal Story of Bishnupur" - Page: 26)
  2. ('Travel in Bengal', 204)
  3. "Mallabhum Bishnupur" - Manoranjan Chandra.
  4. Panigrahi, Tara Sankar (1982). The British Rule and the Economy of Rural Bengal: A Study of Mallabhum from 1757 to 1833. Marwah Publications. ISBN 978-0-8364-1036-5.
  5. Dasgupta, Samira; Biswas, Rabiranjan; Mallik, Gautam Kumar (2009). Heritage Tourism: An Anthropological Journey to Bishnupur. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-8324-294-3.
  6. Sengupta, Kaustubh Mani; Das, Tista (2021-08-12). Rethinking the Local in Indian History: Perspectives from Southern Bengal. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-000-42552-9.
  7. Sinha, Surajit; Sciences, Centre for Studies in Social (1987). Tribal Polities and State Systems in Pre-colonial Eastern and North Eastern India. Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Calcutta. ISBN 978-81-7074-014-8.

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