PREDECESSORS AND SHORT HISTORY: A
town
and district of British India, in the Patna division of Bengal. The
town
is on the left bank of the Little Baghmati river, and has a railway
station.
Population in 1901 was 66,244. The town is a collection of villages
that
have grown up round the residence of the Maharaja. This is a
magnificent
palace, with gardens, a menagerie and a good library. The district of
Darbhanga
extends from the Nepal frontier to the Ganges. It was constituted in
1875
out of the unwieldy district of Tirhut. Founded by Mahamahopadhyaya
Mahesh
Thakur, who received the Darbhanga raj (which includes large
parts of the modern districts of Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Monghyr,
Purnea
and Bhagalpur) from the emperor Akbar early in the 16th century. The
Maharaja
of Darbhanga is the titular head of the highest sub-caste of the
Maithils,
viz. the Srotriyas (those who could recite the Vedas from memory).
Rulers
were...
- Raja MAHESH THAKUR, granted title of Raja and Darbhanga Raj
by Akbar,
married
and had issue. He died 1558.
- Kunwar Ramchandra Thakur
- Raja GOPAL THAKUR (qv)
- Kunwar Achit Thakur
- Raja PARMANAND THAKUR (qv)
- Raja SUBHANKAR THAKUR (qv)
- Raja GOPAL THAKUR, ruled for a short time only.
- Raja PARMANAND THAKUR, ruled for a short time only.
- Raja SUBHANKAR THAKUR -/1607, married and had issue. He
died 1607.
- Raja PURUSHOTTAM THAKUR (qv)
- Raja SUNDAR THAKUR (qv)
- Raja NARAYAN THAKUR (qv)
- Raja PURUSHOTTAM THAKUR 1607/1642 (1623), died sp
1642 (1623).
- Raja NARAYAN THAKUR 1623/1642, married and had issue.
- Unknown, married and had issue.
- Unknown, married and had issue.
- Unknown, married and had issue.
- Raja PRATAP SINGH (see below)
- Raja MADHO SINGH (see below)
- Raja SUNDAR THAKUR 1642/1662, married and had issue. He
died 1662.
- Raja MAHINATH THAKUR (qv)
- Raja NIRPAT THAKUR (qv)
- Raja MAHINATH THAKUR 1662/1684, died sp 1684.
- Raja NIRPAT THAKUR 1684/1700, married and had issue. He
died 1700.
- Raja RAGHU SINGH 1700/1736, he obtained lease of whole of
Sarkar Tirhut including Darbhanga and
Muzaffarpur at an annual rent of Rs.100,000, which was a huge amount at
that time. The annual revenue of Sarkar Tirhut in 1685 AD was
officially returned at Rs.7,69,287. At one time, during reign of Raja
Raghu Singh, Nawab Mahabat Jung, Nawab Subahdar of Behar, got jealous
of the wealth of Raja Raghu Singh and imprisoned his family at Patna.
Raghu Singh escaped capture and later succeeded in getting the estate
back along with large grant with Mughal Governor on the condition that
"Do Justice, Relieve Distress, And Put The Country In Flourishing
Condition. This condition was fulfilled by Raja Raghu Singh and
subsequent Maharajas of Darbhanga. He built a mud fort at Bhawara near
Madhubani; married and had issue. He
died 1736.
- Raja BISHNU SINGH 1736/1740, died sp 1740.
- Raja NARENDRA SINGH 1740/1760, adopted his distant relative
as his successor.
He died sp 1760.
- Raja PRATAP SINGH 1760/1776, built a Rajbari at Darbhanga
and shifted the capital to Darbhanga from Bhawara. He died 1776.
- Raja MADHO SINGH 1776/1808, received grant of Dharampur in
District of Purnea, Bihar from Shah
Alam, Mughal Emperor of Delhi. Raja Madho Singh had a long dispute with
British Government over revenue payment and extent of his right over
the land; married and had issue. He died
1808.
- Maharaja CHHATRA SINGH Bahadur (qv)
- Kunwar Kishan Singh, died sp.
- Maharaja CHHATRA SINGH Bahadur 1808/1839, created Maharaja
Bahadur, resigned his powers to his eldest son, but died shortly
afterwards; married and had
issue. He
died
1839.
- Maharaja RUDRA SINGH Bahadur (qv)
- Maharajkumar Bisdeo Singh
- Maharaja RUDRA SINGH Bahadur 1839/1850, married and had
issue. He died
1850.
- Maharaja MAHESHWAR SINGH Bahadur (qv)
- Maharajkumar Ganeshwar Singh
- Maharajkumar Nitreshwar Singh
- Maharajkumar Gopeshwar Singh
- Maharaja MAHESHWAR SINGH Bahadur 1850/1860, married and had
issue. He
died
20th October 1860.
- Maharaja LACHMESHWAR SINGH Bahadur (qv)
- Hon. Maharajadhiraja Sir RAMESHWAR SINGH Bahadur
(qv)
- Maharaja LACHMESHWAR SINGH Bahadur 1860/1898, born 25th
September
1858, educated
by an English tutor, succeeded to the Raj after attaining his majority,
he served as a member of the legislative council
of
the
viceroy with conspicuous ability and moderation of view. As
representative
of the landowners of Berar and Bengal he took an important part in the
discussion on the Bengal Tenancy Bill. He entirely devoted himself to
public work and was
recognized as one of the greatest nobles and philanthropists of India
at that time, and as a tribute to him, his statue was
installed in Calcutta in 1904 at Dalhousie Square. He died sp
17th December 1898.
 Hon.
Maharajadhiraja Sir RAMESHWAR SINGH Bahadur 1898/1929, born 16th
January 1860,
K.C.I.E. [cr.1902], G.C.I.E. [cr.1915], K.B.E. (civil)[cr.1918], Raja
Bahadur
[cr.1886], Maharaja Bahadur (personal) [cr.1898], Maharaja Bahadur
(hereditary)
[cr.1907], Maharajadhiraja (hereditary) [cr.1920], 17th in succession
from
the founder of the House, the premier territorial noble of Bihar,
educated
by an English tutor, appointed to the Indian Civil Service in 1878,
serving
as assistant magistrate successively at Darbhanga, Chhapra and
Bhagalpur,
he was exempted from attendance at the civil courts, and was appointed
a member of the legislative council of Bengal, MLC of Bengal 1885,
Member
of Council of Governor General of India in 1899 and 1904, President of
Bihar Landholder's Association, President of All India Landholder's
Association,
President of Bharat Dharma Mahamandal, Member of Council of State,
Trustee
of Victoria Memorial, Calcutta, President of Hindu University Society,
M.E.C. of Bihar and Orissa, Member of Indian Police Commission
1902/1903, awarded
the Kaiser-i-Hind medal in 1900, married 1stly, 1877, married 2ndly,
1901,
and had issue. He died 3rd July 1929.
- Col. Honourable Maharajadhiraja Sir KAMESHWAR SINGH
Bahadur (qv)
- Raja Bishweshwar Singh Bahadur, he was granted the estate
of Rajnagar and a pension of 30,000Rs which was later raised to
48,000Rs; he married and had issue, 3
sons.
- Babu Saheb Jeeveshwar Singh, became an ascetic later in
life and
renounced worldy
possessions, married twice and had issue, seven daughters.
- Babu Saheb Yajneshwar Singh, mentally unstable and was
overlooked in the
succession, married and had issue, two sons.
- Kumar Ratneshwar Singh, presently contesting the
succession to the title.
- Kumar Rajmeshwar Singh
- Maharajadhiraja SUBHESHWAR SINGH Bahadur (qv)
- Col. Honourable Maharajadhiraja Sir KAMESHWAR SINGH
Bahadur 1929/1962, born 28th
November 1907, K.C.I.E., LL.D., D.LITT., Member of the Council of State
1933/1946, Member of the Constituent Assembly 1947/1950, Member of the
Provisional Parliament 1950/1951 and the Rajya Sabha 1952/1958 and
1960/1962,
married 2ndly, Maharani-adhirani (name
unknown) Sahiba of Darbhanga, died 28th October
1940, married 3rdly, Maharani-adhirani Kamsundari Sahiba. He died sp
8th November 1962.
- Maharajadhiraja SUBHESHWAR SINGH Bahadur 1962/2006, born
about 1945, Indian Nation proprietor, appointed head of the Shrotriya
Brahmins, who are the leaders of Maithili Brahmins; married and had
issue, one son. He died
2006.
- Kumar (name unknown)
Singh, presently contesting the succession to the title.
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