Cheitharol Kumbaba

Cheitharol Kumbaba, also spelled Cheithalon Kumpapa, the "Royal Chronicle of Manipur" is a court chronicle of the kings of Manipur, which claims to start from 33 CE and to cover the rule of 76 Kings until 1955.[1] The work of chronicling actually began during the reign of King Kiyamba in 1485 CE.[2] The earlier events were reconstructed later during the reign of Bhagyachandra, presumably from oral sources or from scattered written records.[1] According to scholar Saroj Nalini Parratt, the earlier parts have relatively little detail but contain numerous inaccuracies.[3] But they are still said to be useful in reconstructing Manipur's early history.[1]

Etymology

Ancient Meitei counting methods involved sticks (chei) being placed (thapa) to represent a base number. Kum signifies a period of time and paba is a verb meaning to read or reckon. The chronicle's title therefore connotes the "placing of sticks or using a base as a means of reckoning the period of time, the years" and is indicative of the Meitei approach to counting and recording.[4]

Description

The oldest extant version was copied in the early 19th century, under Jai Singh, the puppet king installed after the Burmese invasion, as "the former copy was no more available".[5] It is the main source for the list of pre-modern kings of Manipur, tracing the genealogy of the ruling Ningthouja dynasty back to a ruler named Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, said to have ruled for more than a century, from 33–154 CE. It is to the Meiteis what the Buranji is to the Assamese and the Yazawin to the Burmese.[6]

Bengali versions

Cheitharol Kumbaba was transliterated to Bengali script by Pundit Thongam Madhob Singh and published by Vishvabharati Mandir c. 1940. With Maharaja Churchand Singh's permission, the chronicle was edited by L. Ibungohal Singh and Pundit N. Khelchandra Singh and published by the Manipuri Sahitya Parishad in 1967; this edited version is the Hindu-oriented version. The Sanamahi followers (people of Kangleipak) do not want to consider the book edited by Khelchandra Singh as a final version as he added many words which are imported from Sanskrit and Hindi in his translation.

English versions

In 1891, Major Maxwell, the Political Agent of Manipur, instructed the court to translate the Cheitharol Kumbaba into English. The translation was carried out by a Bengali clerk named Mamacharan. It was edited and published by L. Joychandra Singh in 1995 under the title The Lost Kingdom.[7]

A Meitei scholar, Saroj N. Arambam Parratt, produced another English version of the Chronicle under the title The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: Cheitharon Kumpapa in 2005.[4] Parratt includes a facsimile of the original manuscript of the Cheitharol Kumbaba. The Cheitharol Kumbaba adopted three chronological systems or eras: Kalyabda, Saka era, Chandrabda or Kangleipak era. From 1666 CE onwards, days of the week are mentioned in the Cheitharol Kumbaba.

In 2010, Rajkumar Somorjit Sana produced an edited English version of the Cheitharol Kumbaba with the corresponding Western dates for each Meitei date under the title The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs (From 1666 CE to 1850 CE) (Imphal: Waikhom Ananda Meetei, 2010).[8] In 2012, Mr. Nepram Bihari, a retired bureaucrat of Manipur made another translation of Cheitharol Kumbaba into English. It took him 17 years to complete the task.[9]

Notes

Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 4.
Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 3: "The chronicle itself indicates that in the year 1485 CE King Kyampa began to keep the court chronicle in accurate detail, with the cheithapa method of dating after a meeting with the king of Pong, an ancient kingdom in what is now upper Myanmar.".
Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 2: "It claims to trace the history back to 33 CE, though as we shall see the earlier part is problematic. Comparatively little has been written about the early history of Manipur, and what there is, is often inaccurate.".
Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 3.
"The manuscripts collected by W. Yumjao Singh consist of literary, historical, astronomical, astrological and miscellaneous other works of which mention may be made of Cheitharon Kumbaba, the Ningthourol Shingkak, the Poireiton Khunthokpa, Dharani Samhita, Srimat Bhagabat. “The Cheitharol Kumbaba or the royal chronicle has been the most valuable for historical investigations, as it professes to record all the important daily transactions and occurrences of the State.... By orders of Jai Singh this book was rewritten as the former copy was no more available then”. “The Nigthourol Shingkak is a work written in the way of prediction. It professes to predict all important events that would happen from the time of Khagemba downward. It, therefore, professes to be a work of the early 17th century. It is an anonymous work, and in this book, we see for the first time Gharib Niwaz’s having had some Naga connection in his childhood. " Jyotirmoy Roy, History Of Manipur, 1958, p. 8.
Singh, Ch Manihar (2003). A History of Manipuri Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akadami. p. 71. ISBN 9788126000869.
Singh, L. Joychandra (1995). The Lost Kingdom. Imphal.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Sana, Raj Kumar Somorjit (19 September 2023). The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs: From 1666 CE to 1850 CE. Waikhom Ananda Meetei. ISBN 978-81-8465-210-9.
Pisharoty, Sangeeta (25 February 2012). "Walk with the kings". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012.

References

Parratt, Saroj Nalini Arambam (2005). The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur: The Cheitharon Kumpapa, Volume 1. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-34430-1.

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[FOOTNOTEParratt,_The_Court_Chronicle_of_the_Kings_of_Manipur,_Vol._120054-1] Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 4.

[FOOTNOTEParratt,_The_Court_Chronicle_of_the_Kings_of_Manipur,_Vol._12005p._3:_"The_chronicle_itself_indicates_that_in_the_year_1485_CE_King_Kyampa_began_to_keep_the_court_chronicle_in_accurate_detail,_with_the_cheithapa_method_of_dating_after_a_meeting_with_the_king_of_Pong,_an_ancient_kingdom_in_what_is_now_upper_Myanmar."-2] Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 3: "The chronicle itself indicates that in the year 1485 CE King Kyampa began to keep the court chronicle in accurate detail, with the cheithapa method of dating after a meeting with the king of Pong, an ancient kingdom in what is now upper Myanmar.".

[FOOTNOTEParratt,_The_Court_Chronicle_of_the_Kings_of_Manipur,_Vol._12005p._2:_"It_claims_to_trace_the_history_back_to_33_CE,_though_as_we_shall_see_the_earlier_part_is_problematic._Comparatively_little_has_been_written_about_the_early_history_of_Manipur,_and_what_there_is,_is_often_inaccurate."-3] Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 2: "It claims to trace the history back to 33 CE, though as we shall see the earlier part is problematic. Comparatively little has been written about the early history of Manipur, and what there is, is often inaccurate.".

[FOOTNOTEParratt,_The_Court_Chronicle_of_the_Kings_of_Manipur,_Vol._120053-4] Parratt, The Court Chronicle of the Kings of Manipur, Vol. 1 (2005), p. 3.

[5] "The manuscripts collected by W. Yumjao Singh consist of literary, historical, astronomical, astrological and miscellaneous other works of which mention may be made of Cheitharon Kumbaba, the Ningthourol Shingkak, the Poireiton Khunthokpa, Dharani Samhita, Srimat Bhagabat. “The Cheitharol Kumbaba or the royal chronicle has been the most valuable for historical investigations, as it professes to record all the important daily transactions and occurrences of the State.... By orders of Jai Singh this book was rewritten as the former copy was no more available then”. “The Nigthourol Shingkak is a work written in the way of prediction. It professes to predict all important events that would happen from the time of Khagemba downward. It, therefore, professes to be a work of the early 17th century. It is an anonymous work, and in this book, we see for the first time Gharib Niwaz’s having had some Naga connection in his childhood. " Jyotirmoy Roy, History Of Manipur, 1958, p. 8.

[6] Singh, Ch Manihar (2003). A History of Manipuri Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Akadami. p. 71. ISBN 9788126000869.

[7] Singh, L. Joychandra (1995). The Lost Kingdom. Imphal.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

[8] Sana, Raj Kumar Somorjit (19 September 2023). The Chronology of Meetei Monarchs: From 1666 CE to 1850 CE. Waikhom Ananda Meetei. ISBN 978-81-8465-210-9.

[9] Pisharoty, Sangeeta (25 February 2012). "Walk with the kings". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 February 2012.