The Great Ahom ruler: Rudra Singha

The Ahom Kingdom was one of much power and glory. Being one of the kingdoms that had zenith power, the Ahom kingdom saw many kings come and go. However, this king stood out from the rest. He was Rudra Singha.

The Ahom Kingdom is the present-day Assam; Source: Wikipedia

Rudra Singha was the 30th king of the kingdom of Ahom. He was also the one responsible for making the Ahom kingdom reach where it was then, which was nearly among the stars.

Rudra was the son of Gangadhar Singha. However, his name was Rudra only as per the Hindus. He was also known by the name Sukhrungphaa. After the death of his father, he was the first in line for the throne and acceded in 1696, taking over the kingdom.

Rudra Singha is widely regarded as the best king that ruled the Ahom Kingdom. And certainly, why not? His works and his devotion to the kingdom were impeccable compared to all the other previous kings the kingdom had seen. He not only created a whole new city, Rangpur, that became the capital but also looked after other kingdoms to be subjugated. He established the capital at Rangpur, making it his favoured territory. After Rangpur became a fully functioning city in Meteka, Rudra shifted his eyes to expanding his kingdom and persuading every other kingdom to become an ally.

Only when persuasion didn't work did Rudra Singha resort to invading these kingdoms. The first one to be ticked off the list was the Kachari Kingdom. The motive of taking over this kingdom had been set from the time the Ahoms got into a conflict-like stage with the Mughals.

True resistance was portrayed by the king of the Kachari Kingdom. However, they couldn’t keep up with the fight when Rudra sent the two biggest troops of his army to end the fight once and for all. Seeing him lose his kingdom from his hands, the help needed was signalled to the Jaintia kingdom.

However, the help was heavier than expected as the king of the Jaintia kingdom took advantage of the situation and captured the king of Kachari. This is when Jaintia too appeared on the radar to be invaded and taken over next by the Ahoms.

The Jaintias prepared for battle with the Ahoms in Kachari, hoping to win and take over the kingdom with the king already in their possession. However, with great losses on both sides, the Jaintias ultimately had to accept defeat and lose the reigns.

With this done, the Ahom kingdom grew more powerful than ever. There was no going back now. Hence, Rudra thought this time to be perfect to accept and perform the initiation offered by Auniati Gosain to grant him as the king. Since he received the invitation from the Gosains, he also reinstated the Vaishnavas and the Mahantas in the kingdom.

As excited as he was for the invitation, he didn’t want anyone in his kingdom to perform the same. He thought of everyone in his kingdom as being below him, and someone less privileged than him wasn't fit to perform his initiation.

Ultimately, Rudra was gripped by a deadly disease to which he succumbed and took his last breath in 1714. While the medics thought he was improving and waited for him to get better, there was no improvement at all, to which he lost his life, and the Ahom Kingdom lost its greatest king.

Rudra Singha’s real Ahom name was Sukhrunphaa; Source: Wikipedia