Pitambar Charairongba

Charairongba (20 May 1673 – 1709; ), known in Ancient Manipuri as Chalailongpa , was a Meitei king of the Ningthouja dynasty of Medieval Manipur. He ruled from 1697 to 1709.

Background Charairongba was born on 20 May 1673 as the son of Prince Tonsen Ngamba and Meitei-Reima Ngangbam Chanu Ngaikhong Ngambi . Prince Tonsen Ngamba was the younger brother of King Paikhomba. He died before his elder brother. As Paikhomba did not have any heirs, his nephew Charairongba succeeded him in 1697 at the age of twenty-five, and was crowned king in 1698. He was well aware of the evolving situations in the Kabaw Valley and the neighboring Ava Kingdom.

Charairongba had four consorts, namely, 1) Heiwam Chanu, 2) Satpam (Sapam) Nungthin Chaipi, 3) Hicham Nongthonpam Chanu Sengoirempi, 4) Thangcham Chanu Thapa Ngampi. Out of all of them, the first consort did not have any child. (2) Lai-mayum, (3) Laipubam, (4) Hangoibam, (5) Hazari-mayum, (6) Manohar-mayum, (7) Mathurabasi-mayum, (8) Lai-mayum-Anoubam, and (9) Choudhuri mayum. The forebears of these Brahmin families originated from the following places: (1) Shweta Ganga in Puri (Orissa), (2) Tripura, (3) Kanchan Nagar (possibly in Orissa), (4) Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), (5) Krishna Nagar (West Bengal), (6) Gambhila Nagar (West Bengal), (7) Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), (8) Tripura, and (9) Utkal (Orissa).

Conversion to Vaishnavism King Charairongba was the first Manipuri king to be initiated into Vaishnavism through a devoted Brahmin called Krishnacharya (also known as Rai Vanamali) who came to Manipur with some of his followers from Shweta Ganga in Puri, Odisha in the month of Mera in 1703. On the 5th of Sajibu month, the king of Manipur was formally initiated into Vaishnavism by the Brahmin. Since Rai Vanamali was the guru (preceptor) of Charairongba, his descendants came to be known as Guru Aribams (family of the old guru).

Planned invasion of Burma and death

In 1704, Charairongba married off his sister Chakpa Makhao Ngambi to the Burmese king Sanay Min. However, when she gave birth to a son, the Burmese king removed her from the position of chief queen. When the news reached the Manipuri king, Charairongba was enraged and heartbroken. Charairongba then organised a gathering in Kangla. Following a lengthy discussion, the court declared war on Burma in retaliation for the insult to the Meitei princess. Eventually, war broke out between the two kingdoms. However, the Meitei king was struck by lightning, and on his deathbed, he directed his son Pamheiba to invade and devastate Myanmar for the mistreatment of his sister/daughter. The struggle lasted from the reign of Charairongba until the reign of King Pamheiba.

Contributions to Meitei literature

Meitei King Charairongba is also known for being a writer. He is best known for authoring the text named "Leiron". The Leiron is a Meitei language account of flowers bearing testimonies to the loves of nature and appreciations of its beauty by the ancient Meitei people of ). In the literary works, king Charairongba is described as a king with a glorious reign over ten tributary kings. He was also traditionally believed to be an incarnation of King Nongda Lairen Pakhangba, the first able ruler of the Ningthouja dynasty.

Leiron The "Leiron" written by Charairongba quotes the beauties of nature, among which the following is one of them:

The Leiron contains description of 100 flowers and orchids, endemic as well as exotic species. The diction in the text is greatly archaic as well as endowed with swift rhythmic flow.

Description of Kabok Lei flower Giving reference to King Khagemba and the Manipur Kingdom, the beauty and grace of Lei Kabok, also called , is described by King Charairongba, as follows:

Other notable mentions Other notable mentionings of the plant species include the "nongleishang" , the "santhong maiba lei" , "kusum lei" , "kakyai padam lei" , "singut yenga lei" , "thambal" , the "laiyen hanbi paothil lei" , among the 100s.