JOURNAL OF CRITICAL REVIEWS

ISSN- 2394-5125 VOL 7, ISSUE 16, 2020

ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF MEDIEVAL AHOM KINGDOM: A

The Ahoms occupy a great role in medieval history of Assam. They were the descendant of Tai race who migrated to the
Brahmaputra valley under the leadership of Saulung Sukapha in 1228 and the rest was the history which encompassed a
long 600 years of their rule in Assam. Their prime contribution was the state formation among the diverse tribal
chiefdoms in an unknown place full of uncertainty. However, they succeeded to bring the politically fragmented valley
under the same political boundary with their influence in polity, economy, society, etc and successfully overcame
multiple attacks by the Mughal power. Chronicles refer to the rich architectural developments during Ahom reign and
many of them are still standing with pride as epitomes of the prosperous Ahom rule in medieval Assam. The Ahom rulers
constructed both secular and religious kinds of architectures which achieved the peak at the latter half of the Ahom rule
mainly from the Tungkhungia rulers. In this study, I am only giving a brief description of Ahom architecture highlighting
their three capital cities- Charaideo, Garhgaon and Rangpur.

1.Introduction:

Ahom rule is remarkable for the architectural history of Assam. They ruled in Assam for around six hundred years and
contributed significantly towards the polity, economy, society, and culture. An abundance of archeological remains
scattered in different parts of the present-day Sivasagar district underscores the richness of Ahom architecture. The Ahom
rulers created capital cities made several buildings and temples, constructed roads, and dag many tanks during their rules.

The Ahoms arrived in the Brahmaputra valley in 1228 under the leadership of Saulung Sukapha, the prince born at Mong
Mau Lung of Yunan. They were the members of the Shan branch of the great Tai or Thai family of south East Asia
(Baruah, 220). They had to cover a very long way and it was indeed a journey full of hardships through the mountain
Patkai's hilly road. As they entered the valley they were affected largely by floods. They finally reached Charaideo,
where they found it comfortable to settle in primarily because of the safety from flood and established their capital in
1253. Based on the Buranjis, it is cleared that theirconquest was not an invasion; rather it was a peaceful penetration that
caused no problem for the existing tribes. To maintain a peaceful relation with the communities Sukapha started
matrimonial relations with them and he also took them confidence in various purposes (Barpujari, 53). In this way,
Sukapha set up the basis of the Ahom kingdom in the Brahmaputra valley. Subsequently, the boundary of the Ahom
kingdom was widely extended towards the vast areas of the valley. The entire Ahom period covered the activities of
almost 38 Ahom kings until the beginning of the British colonial rule.

The entire period of Ahom's reign did not witness the development in architecture equally. Most of the structural
developments emerged from the seventeenth century onwards. This systematic progress was initiated by king Gadadhar
Singha which continued almost till the reign of Rajeshwar Singha (1761-68). They constructed numerous structures of
both religious and secular architecture. This trend ended with the continuous rebellion of Moamorias followed by the
Burmese invasions into Assam.

The reign of Rudra Singha records the peak of the architectural development of Ahom architecture. The exotic structural
beauty of the Ahom architecture was enriched by the initiatives of this great Ahom ruler. This study deals with a
discussion on the architectural heritage of three considerable places viz. Charaideo, Garhgaon and Rangpur of Ahom
period where a great number of the Ahom architectures are scattered.

2.Objective :

A considerable progress in architectural constructions of both religious and secular kind of structures can be seen during
the Ahom rule in medieval Assam. The main aim of this paper is to study the significance of architectural heritage of
three considerable places- Charaideo, Garhgaon and Rangpur- of Ahom period where a great number of the Ahom
architectures are scattered.
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3.Methodology :

The historical methodology is used in the present paper. The source of this research have been drawn from a wide range
of primary and secondary materials collected from varied sources along with the use of the internet on occasions and also
personal observation. The present study is carried out on descriptive mode of analysis.

4.Discussion :

4.1. Architecture of Charaideo :

The most important place during the Ahom period was Charaideo. This historic place is recently declared as a district of
Assam which is situated 28 km away from the Sivasagar district. After leaving his homeland, Sukapha reached the
Brahmaputra valley after long thirteen years and established his permanent capital in this area. From the beginning of the
establishment of the Ahom capital here by Sukapha, Charaideo remained the capital of the Ahom kingdom for the next
one hundred and fifty years. Although the capital was shifted to different places in the subsequent period, Charaideo
acquired a distinctive place in the Ahom kingdom for association with the various activities of the later Ahom period.

Maidams

One of the significant contributions of Ahom architecture is its Maidams. These are burial mounds of the Ahom kings,
queens, and nobility. The word Maidam is a Tai word which comes from Phrang Mai Dam, Phrang Mai refers to put into
the grave or bury, and dam refers to the spirit of the death (Gogoi, 92). The constructions of the Maidam were chiefly
limited to the Ahom royalty and nobility. Although Maidams are found in the different parts of the upper Assam, most of
the Ahom royals were given Maidam at Charaideo. There are hundreds of Maidams at this place and its neighborhood.
The Ahom kings buried the demised along with several objects used by him during his life, like clothes, ornaments,
weapons, etc in the Maidams.

Besides, officers were appointed to look after them. To guard and clean these sacred areas, maidamiya paiks were posted
under the officers. Chang Rung Phukan, a special officer was appointed by the Ahom kings for the construction and
preservation of all civil works including Maidams. Chang Rung Phukanar Buranji is the most authentic record of the
Maidams. A Maidam consists of three significant features (i) a massive underground vault or chamber with a domical
superstructure crowned with a small open pavilion known as the chow chali, means the four roofed cottage, (ii) a
hemispherical earthen mound covering the entire masonry work excluding the chow chali and (iii) an octagonal boundary
wall around the base of the mound having an arched gateway on its west. All maidams of Ahom period are not equal in
size. The Maidam of Gadadhar Singha was the biggest amongst them. However, the smaller Maidams do not contain all
of the above-mentioned elements(Barpujari, 331).

Although hundreds of Maidams are scattered across Charaideo, only four Maidams are still under the Archaeological
Survey of India. Some of these are protected by the government of Assam while a large number of them are left
unprotected. The maidams of Ahom kingdom are comparable with the pyramids of Egypt. In this way Charaideo
becomes the most important place of Ahom kingdom in their long six hundred years' rule and is considered as a sacred
place even today.

4.2.Architectural remains of Gargaon:

Garhgaon was the third capital of the Ahom kingdom. Swargadeo Suklenmung moved his capital from Saraguwa to
Garhgaon, a place on the eastern bank of the Dikhow River. Ahom ruler continued their rule from this place for long two
hundred and fifty years with great success. It is assumed that the king decided to transfer his capital to this place
considering the advantages of transport and communication and also for security purposes. Earlier the site was known as
Hemenabari where the family of Hemena resided. It is referred to in the Ahom chronicles that he even refused to leave
that place to construct the capital in his place. However, after his death, the king completed the construction of the new
capital and this was secured with fortification (Bhuyan, 35).

As per the suggestion of Queen Chaoching Kuonri the king fortified the capital with rectangular inner rampart
(Bhitargarh) and outer rampart (Bahirgarh) around the hoo luang Ghar, the Royal Ahom palace (Konwar, 7). The new
city, Garhgaon was named after these ramparts or Garhs. The royal palace was used to serve for administrative purposes.
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From Suklenmung to Pratap Singha, several buildings and Kareng were constructed in this capital city whilst only the
Kareng Ghar now exists.

Kareng Ghar of Gargaon stands with the utmost pride of the Ahom period. This majestic building was constructed during
the reign of Rajeswar Singha. It is believed that this masonry palace was comprised of seven storeys. Three out of them
are under the ground and the rest is above the ground. The outer length of this royal palace in north-south direction is
74ft 9 inches and its breadth in east-west direction is 58ft 10.5 inches (Konwar, 10). The first storey over the ground of
the Kareng Ghar is rectangular in size and height is about four meters. This story has three rooms, one is big in size and
other two are small.The second storey made up of one big room and two medium rooms. There were four chambers in
each corner of the storey for four watch-men. The third storey consists of one big room which was also equipped with
four small watching rooms for royal security gourds. The top floor of the palace has a dome-like roof with a small
chamber. The upper storeys of the palace are gradually smaller. It is believed that there was a secrete tunnel from the
ground floor of the Kareng Ghar which was connected with the Talatal Ghar in Rangpur.

Kareng Ghar is one of the most beautiful buildings in Ahom period. Although most of the construction during Ahom
period has ruined in this capital city, yet Kareng Ghar is shining the memories of the rich architectural development of
medieval Assam at this place.

4.3.Architectures of Rangpur :

Rangpur was the fourth capital of Ahom kingdom. The great Ahom king Rudra Singha (1696-1714) transferred the
capital from Garhgaon to Rangpur. This place was originally known as Meteka. Later on the city witnessed a large scale
growth so far as the architectural constructions are concerned. A very beautiful description of the city of Rangpur is
recorded in the history of Chang Rung Phukan. King Rudra Singha decorated the capital with new approaches. He
patronized several structural activities. But due to the lack of skilled artisans to construct temples, roads etc., he imported
several artisans from Cooch Bihar. Among the name of Ghanashyam Khanikar, the chief architect to build the capital city
of Rangpur is significant (Buragohain, 112). He was the mastermind behind several architectures in Rangpur. Rudra
Singha and his successors constructed several roads, palaces, temples and dug many tanks in this capital city and its
neighbouring areas.

4.3.1.Temple architecture:

The temples of Ahom monarchy are the cornerstone of the Ahom architecture. Even though Ahom rule continued for
such a long time, the building activities were mostly confined to the eighteen century(Barpujari, 336). Ahom Chronicles
referred to the construction of the earliest temple Nagasankara Devalaya by the Ahom king Sushenpha (1439-88) at
Jamuguri in today's Sonitpur district. But except a tank, no evidence could be traced regarding the temple in that place. In
this regard, Garakhiya dol is one of the earliest pieces of evidence of the construction of temples in the Ahom kingdom.
Swargadeo Pratap Singha (1603-41) erected this temple. This temple is also in a ruinous condition where most of its
sculptures have been damaged. Gadadhar Singha also constructed a few temples including Thaora dol and the Umananda
temple on the river island Umananda in Guwahati. During his reign, a group of Assamese artisans was sent to Cooch
Bihar to learn the art and the techniques of making clay images of Durga to worship her. Afterward, they returned to their
homeland and created clay images in the temple. This tradition also helped in the construction of the Devidol in the
subsequent period (Barpujari,). King Rudra Singha imported artificers and technology from neighboring Bengal who
helped to make the temple of varied shapes and sizes (Gait, 176).

Ahom temple architecture received a fine shape under the Tungkhungia Rulers. Simultaneously, their embrace of
Hinduism also influenced the construction of the temples. The most significant outcome of their devotion to Hinduism
was the construction of the temples dedicated to the Shiva, Vishnu, etc. These were mainly erected during the reign of
King Rudra Singha and his successor king Shiva Singha. The constructions took place extensively by the king Rudra
Singha after he transferred his capital from Gargaon to Rangpur. He started the building of the temples on the bank of the
Jaisagar Tank which was excavated in 1697 and completed within 45 days (Handique, 46). There he constructed three
main temples viz. Joydol, Devidol, and Sivadol. The Joydol is the most beautiful temple amongst them. It is also known
as the Kesavanarayana Temple. Owing to its graceful proportion and external decorations, this temple may be said to the
best of the Ahom edifices. The architectural style of the temple is Nilachala type with Pancaratha and its shikhara is
dome-shape.

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Temples are mainly constructed in the Sivasagar, Jaysagar, and Gaurisagar areas. The temple architecture reached its
zenith in the years of Shiva Singha. During his reign temples were mainly constructed in two places- Gaurisagar and
Sibsagar respectively. The Gaurisagar tank (presently beside NH 37) was excavated in 1724 and he constructed three
temples viz. Devidol, Sivadol and Vishnu dol on the north bank of this tank. Among these temples, Devidol is the largest
and well preserved. This temple is dedicated to the goddess Durga. The architectural style of Devidol is Nagara type
while the other two contain the Nilachala style.

The proper development of temple architecture can be seen in the temples of Sivasagar. In 1734, the large Sivasagar tank
was excavated under the instruction of Bar Raja Ambika, the second wife of Siva Singha. This is also known as the
Barpukhuri of Sivasagar and situated at the heart of the present day's Sivasagar district. Siva temple (also known as the
Siva dol in Assamese) was built on the west bank of the tank in the year of 1734. This temple is one of the tallest Siva
temples in the country and the tallest Ahom architecture in Assam. Standing with a height of forty meters (Barpujari,
340) the Sivadol has a golden dome of 2.4 meters which is attached to the top of the temple. As for the temple types, the
dol is Nagara type with Shikhara rising over the Garbhagriha where the reverse form of Shiva lingam is deified. With a
rectangular structure, 'Mukhamandapa' is attached to the Garbhagriha. The outer walls of the temple were decorated with
various engravings of gods and goddesses. The two other temples Devi dol and Vishnu dol are situated by the side of the
Shiva dol. The height of the temples is equal to 18 meters. Architectural style of both these temples is Nilachala type.

Siva dol is one of the tourist spots of the region. Lakhs of people across the country gather in the temple every year to
celebrate during the great festival of Mahasivaratri. Apart from these, many other temples were also constructed by the
kings who came to throne after Shiva Singha. Although some of these temples do not reflect the previous structural
prosperity, all are more or less important to explore the temple architecture of entire Ahom period.

4.3.2.Rangghar :

Rang Ghar is one of the major monuments of the Ahom capital Rangpur. This building was made for royal amusement
during Rudra Singha. It can be recognized as a present-day amphitheater. In Ahom kingdom games and sports and other
certain cultural events acquired a significant place and the monarchs patronized them. Certain games were shown
publicly in the huge field and the king himself enjoyed them with his followers. The king took the pleasure of the
programs from the Rangghar which were performed under the appreciation of the king while common people enjoyed
them from the adjoining field, which was well known as Rupohi Pathar. In this field, bullfights, cockfights, and wrestling
etc. were organized. The Rang Ghar was first constructed during the reign of Rudra Singha. It was a two-storeyed
construction from the wood. But this monument was beautified by coloring with the color of Hengul Haital and it was
initially decorated by the stonecutting of different shapes of animals, flowers, etc. The Rang Ghar was rebuilt by the
Ahom king Pramatta Singha in 1745 keeping the previous two-storeyed constructions. He also erected some small Rang
Ghars near this construction which are currently not visible.

The Rang Ghar has two beautiful stone-carved crocodile structures on either side of its entrance. The roof of the
monument is shaped like an inverted royal Ahom longboat. The base of it has a series of arches adorned with unique
sculptures. The Rangghar is 10 meters in height. It is about 27 meters in length and 11 meters in width. There three
turrets in the center of the roof and its eastern and western ends are embellished with a pair of a curved stone crocodile.

4.3.3.Talatal Ghar :

Talatal Ghar is the largest structural splendid of the Ahom kings. It was constructed during the reign of Swargadeo
Rajeswar Singha in 1765. It is a seven-storied bricks building. Three out of them were built below the ground and the rest
were above it. There were two stories of a wooden structure on the remaining two stories of bricks of the building now.
The wooden part was burnt down during the Moamariya Rebellion. Several doors are attached with every storey of the
Talatal Ghar and all these doors look identical. On the contrary, windows were not much used in its walls. However, the
size of the doors is not also tall which is shorter than the average height of a person. To find out the proper direction from
underground rooms to the above stairway there were certain suggestions. Without proper guidance of the entry and exit,
if someone proceeds to the inside, he may get it difficult to find out the door to come out. Talatal Ghar is famous for its
incredible structure and design.

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This palace was originally an army base and later used in administrative purposes. Earlier it was built during the tenure
of the king Rudra Singha with the bamboo woods cans etc. which was shined with the excellent craftworks. The palace
was incorporated with several rooms for different administrative purposes. Kings from Rudra Singha to Pramatta Singha
run their administration from this wooden palace. Later on, it was completely constructed during the reign of Rajeswar
Singha. It was surrounded by a fortification of bricks. Garhkhaoi (the earthen fort with water ditch) also excavated
outside the wall. There is a Golaghar (gun powder and ammunition store) near the Talatal Ghar. A huge number of
visitors visit this royal palace every year.

4.4.Roads and Bridges:

Apart from the above mentioned architectural marvel, Ahom rulers constructed a huge number of roads (Ali in native
language), embankments, ramparts (Garhs), tanks, and bridges (Sakos) etc. Their interest towards the road construction
helped to the greatest development of the communication during the Ahom period. Some of these road constructions are-
Rajmao ali, Senchowa ali, Naga ali, Nahar ali, Sukati ali, Bar ali, Salaguri ali, Bairagi ali, Dhodar ali, Halau Phukanar
ali, Kharikatia ali, Meteka ali, Barpatra ali, Dhai ali, Aideo ali.

Ahoms made several bridges (Sako or Dalang) over the canals and the rivers. Initially, they constructed mainly bridges of
wood and bamboo. Later on, rulers started to make stone bridges. The earliest evidence of stone bridge of Ahom rulers
can be found over the river Darika at Gargaon which was made during the early part of the tenure of Pratap Singha. This
bridge on the river Darika is situated 5/6 km east to the Gargaon city and connected the Dhodar Ali. King Gadadhar
Singha made two stone bridges over the river Dijoikhana and the Rahdai to the east of the Garhgaon City. Ahom
chronicles referred to 12 stone bridges during the Ahom rule in Assam which were mainly built over the rivers namely
Dijai, Darika, Rahdai, Dimow, Hanhchara, Namdang, Nafuk, etc.(Buragohain N.,62). Among these stone bridges, the
stone bridge over Namdang River is important which is still in good form. It was constructed during the reign of Rudra
Singha in 1701. To build this bridge a massive stone was used and cut several holes in it. The bridge is about 60 meters
in length and 6.5 meters in breadth. Most of the stone bridges had already been ruined. Along with Namdang the bridges
over the Darika and Dijai etc. are still running in good condition. Although the Ahoms made significant progress in
building several bridges, the earliest evidence of bridge construction has been found over a channel of river Barnadi, at
North Guwahati which is also ruined over time. Numerous tanks were excavated by the Ahom rulers. In Sivasagar alone
there are more than 170 tanks (Chauley, 299). Among these tanks of Ahom period Jaisagar tank is the biggest one with
measuring about 241 puras (1 pura is equal to 1 and ¼ acre) of land including its banks, ditches and outer bunds
(Handique, 46).

5.Use of Materials for Constructions :

The early rulers of the Ahom kingdom used commonly available material for their construction. These constructions of
Ahom architecture were based on the wood and bamboo. They used mainly wood, bamboo, cane etc. for their
construction of the numerous buildings which were decorated beautifully with different colors and craftworks. Later on,
the Ahom rulers started building masonry constructions from the wooden form. Some of these still exist with the pride of
the golden Ahom rule in Assam. They used stones, bricks, and Karhal (indigenous cement) etc for these later groups of
religious and secular groups of structures. They collected stones of different qualities from the stone queries mainly of
hill areas connected with the Ahom state. In Ahom administration silakutia paiks (a special group of labour) were kept
for the various stone works. Stones were mainly used to build the temples, buildings, maidams, embankments, bridges
(sil sakos) etc. Similarly, Bricks are also used in construction of several structures during Ahom rule. They knew the
different brick-making techniques and designed them with different shapes and sizes. These were later colored with the
blood of leeches. Like stones, a large number of bricks were made during the Ahom period to be used in the construction
work of the palaces, temples, maidams, etc. To construct the masonry structures one of the most important ingredients is
cement. It is stated that Ahoms made an indigenous type of cement which was known as the Karhal. We can get a long
list of materials to prepare the Karhal from the Chang Rung Phukanar Buranji. Some of these materials were jaggery,
black gram, xon (a kind of plant fiber) snail slime, stone lime, fishes, oil, resin of sal tree etc.(Boruah, 12).

6.Conclusion:

In every corner of the Sivasagar district, lots of architectures of the Ahom era are found. All these precious assets have
been reflecting the glorious template of the Ahom kingdom of the medieval Assam. Tourists come from different parts of

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the country to watch these architectures. But sometimes these centuries-old architectures seem to be devoid of proper
attention. Moreover, the initiatives taken by the department of archaeology to preserve these historical assets are
commendable. It is very important to preserve the historical architectures in scientific manners, which keeps the glorious
templates of six hundred years Ahom kingdom, and the government has to take a strong initiative so that they carry
forward the glorious chapter of the Ahom kingdom to the times to come.

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