Suteuphaa

Suteuphaa was the second king of Ahom kingdom who ruled from 1268 CE to 1281 CE. Suteuphaa succeeded his father Sukaphaa, who laid the foundation of Ahom kingdom in Assam. His reign was characterized by the expansion of his father’s kingdom. He also had conflicts with the Shans or Naras of Mungkang, a Shan kingdom in Upper Burma.

Suteuphaa was the eldest son of Ahom king Sukaphaa. After a reign of 39 years, Sukaphaa died in 1268 CE. The nobles installed Suteuphaa as the new king of Ahom kingdom. After his accession, Suteuphaa sent embassy to the ancestral homeland of Sukaphaa, informing its ruler Sukhranphaa, the brother of Sukaphaa, about the demise of Sukaphaa and his accession to the throne. Sukhranphaa sent gifts to Suteuphaa consisting of caps made of gold and silver and two specially designed bows, congratulating his coronation as the king of Ahom kingdom.

Suteuphaa desired to expand his father’s kingdom. Therefore in order to fulfill his desire, he came in conflicts with the Kacharis residing in the neighbouring region. At that time, many parts of Upper Assam were inhabited by the Kacharis, though it was not known whether all the Kachari tribes were part of the same kingdom. He forced the Kacharis to abandon the country which lies to the east of Dikhou river. One of the Ahom Buranji or historical document describes the event in an interesting way. Suteuphaa claimed the tract east of Dikhou river as his own. The local Kachari inhabitants opposed his claim. Instead of resorting to warfare, both sides decided to solve this matter in a peaceful way. The Ahom challenged the Kacharis to build a canal from their settlement to Dikhou river within a duration of one night. If the Kacharis successfully complete the work within allotted time, the tract will be theirs otherwise it would come under Ahom rule. The Kacharis accepted the challenge. They worked on the construction of canal and were on the verge of completing it, when the Ahoms resorted to tricks. On Suteuphaa’s personal instruction, some Ahom soldiers were hiding in the forest near the construction site. Each soldiers had one rooster along with them. Seeing that the Kacharis were on the verge of completing the canal, the Ahom soldiers hiding in the forest, made the roosters to cock. Since it was full moon night, the Kacharis could not determine the actual time and they believed that they have lost the bet, since cocking of rooster signifies morning. The Kacharis abandoned the tract, and the Ahoms immediately occupied it.

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