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JOYMOTI (?-1680)


Joymoti was the wife of Godadhor or Godapani Singha who became ruler of Assam. She was tortured to death by another Assamese prince, Sulikphaa (Loraa Rojaas )she would not tell him where her husband was hiding. Her son Rudra Singha had a lake named Joysagar dug at the spot where she was tortured. Between the death of Chakradhwaj Singha in 1670 and accession of Gadadhar Singha in 1681 there was a period of turmoil in Assam. Then in 1679 a fourteen year old boy-king (Lora Raja) was set on the throne and given the title Sulikphaa, while the real power behind the throne was Laluk Sola, his counselor. During the bloody purge of the preceding years Godapani had fled and was now in hiding. Determined to crush all possible challengers, Laluk Sola captured Joymoti and tortured her to find out where Godapani was hiding. She was severely tortured for seven days without a break, and died on the seventh day. Some weeks later Laluk was murdered and Godapani came out of hiding. He was crowned and took the title of Suphatphaa. His son succeeded him in 1696 and created the Joysagar lake in memory of his mother, as well as a mausoleum for her., March 27 is observed as Sati Joymati Divas in Assam. The first Assamese movie Joymati in 1935 by Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was based on the play by Lakshminath Bezbarua.
 
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