Charairongba
Charairongba, known in Ancient Manipuri as Chalailongpa, was a Meitei king of the Ningthouja dynasty of Medieval Manipur. He ruled from 1697 CE to 1709 CE.
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 Hicham Nongthonpam Chanu Sengoirempi, 4) Thangcham Chanu Thapa Ngampi. Out of all of them, the first consort did not have any child. From the three other consorts, Charairongba had five sons, namely, 1) Pamheiba Loiyamba Khampamba Khamlang Pamsaba, and 5) Mungyamba. Sapam Chanu Nungthin Chaipi and Heiwam Chanu had already died before Charairongba became the king.
Conquests
In 1717, he ordered Pamheiba to invade Burma. The Burmese King had insulted Charairongba's daughter by asking for another daughter in marriage. Instead of sending his daughter, Charairongba sent his son Pamheiba along with a strong cavalry force. They crushed the Burmese in battle.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.