Tigiria State was one of the princely states of India during the period of the British Raj. It was located in present-day Tigiria block of Cuttack district, Odisha. Although it was the smallest of the states of the Orissa States Agency it was the most densely populated.[1] The last ruler of Tigiria joined the state to the Indian Union in 1948.[2]

Tigiria State
Princely State of British India
16th century–1948

Tigiria State in the Imperial Gazetteer of India
CapitalTigiria
Area 
• 1931
119 km2 (46 sq mi)
Population 
• 1931
24,822
History 
• Established
16th century
1948
Succeeded by
India
Today part ofCuttack district, Odisha

The state was bound in the north by Dhenkanal State, in the east it was bound by Athgarh State, in the south by the Mahanadi River and in the west by Baramba State.[1]

History edit

The name 'Tigiria' likely originated in the Sanskrit Trigiri, meaning "Three Hills".[citation needed] Most of the inhabitants of Tigiria were Hindu, members of the Chasa caste, and important places of worship were located within the area of Tigiria State.

Tigiria was founded at an uncertain date in the sixteenth century by a ruler named Nityananda Tunga of the local Kshatriya Tunga clan of Central Odisha region. According to legends he was directed to the spot in a dream while on a pilgrimage to Puri.[3][4][1] In 1682, the Marathas granted the title of Mahapatra to Raja Sankarsen Tunga for his services. His successor Gopinath Chamupati Singh has authored the war treatise Virasarvasvam.[5]

The last Raja Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra signed the accession to the Indian Union on 1 January 1948[2] and was the final surviving royal of the British Raj-era princely states until he breathed his last in 2015.[6][7]

Rulers edit

The rulers of Tigiria state of the Tunga dynasty.[8]

  • Nityananda Tunga (1682-1682
  • Sankarsen Tunga (1682–1742)
  • Gopinath Chamupati Singh (1743–1767..)
  • Jadumani Rai Singh (..1767–1793)
  • Jagannath Chamupati Singh (1797–1844)
  • Harihar Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (1844–8 April 1886)
  • Banamali Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (8 April 1886 – 1933)
  • Sudarshan Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh (1933–1943)
  • Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (1943–1 January 1948)

Titular edit

  • Brajraj Kshatriya Birbar Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (1 January 1948 – 30 November 2015)
  • Bir Pratap Birbar Kshatriya Chamupati Singh Mahapatra (30 November 2015–current)

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 23, p. 357.
  2. ^ a b Tigiria Princely State – "The Golden Book of India"; LETHBRIDGE, Roper, MacMillan & Co., 1893 p. 539
  3. ^ ODISHA DISTRICT GAZETTEERS CUTTACK (PDF), GAD, Govt of Odisha, 1993, pp. 46–70
  4. ^ Cobden Ramsay (1910), Bengal Gazetteers Feudatory States Of Orissa, DLI, p. 335
  5. ^ Manugayatri Rath (December 2013). "Virasarvasvam : A War Treatise of Gopinath Chamupati Singh" (PDF). Odisha History Congress. p. 192. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  6. ^ "A prince dies a pauper". Times of India. 6 December 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  7. ^ Mohanty, Debabrata (1 December 2015). "Erstwhile king of Tigiria Brajraj Mahapatra dies in Odisha". The Indian Express.
  8. ^ Princely States of India K-W

20°29′N 85°31′E / 20.483°N 85.517°E / 20.483; 85.517