Majhauli Raj
Majhauli Raj is a town and a nagar panchayat in Deoria district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The temple of Baba Dirgheswar Nath, a deity of Shiva is nearby. It is believed to have been found and worshipped by Ashwathama, a character in the epic Mahabharata.
History
Majhauli Raj was the seat of an eponymous Bisen/Visen feudal estate known as the Majhauli Raj, which is said to have been founded around 1100 to 1300 CE. King Vishwa Sen was a son of a Bhumihar Malla king, one of the sole king of Malla Desh or Malla Bhumi or Malla Rastra, had ruled prior to Mahajanpad Era from Kushinagar as capital of eastern Koshala. Later one of descendant of King Vishwa Sen King Bhim Malla went to conquer the pargana of Salempur, Uttar Pradesh and Majhauli, where he founded a fort and established the Majhauli Raj around 1100 to 1300 CE. One branch of this dynasty comes from a founder named Mayyur who has been variously described as a Brahmin, Bhumihar or even a Bhat. He had come from Kashi to Kushinara had children with four wives: One Brahmin, one Malla princess, one more Bhumihar Malla, as well as one Rajput Malla. His son from his Bhumihar wife named King Bir Sen founder of Baghochia Royal Dynasty and his descendants established Bans Gaon Estate, Hathwa Raj and Tamkuhi raj and started Bhumihar branch. Raja Bir Sen was the overall ruler of Malla Mahajanpada and he was supported by his other brothers from different mothers. One son from his Malla princess name King Vishwasen founder of Vishwasen Rajput dynasty and his descendant King Bhim Dev stablished Majhuli Raj, One son from his Brahmin wife went on to become the ancestor of the Misra Brahmins; and the son from his Kurmi concubine went on to found the Kakradih estate.As the kings of Majhauli Raj were descendants of King Vishwasen of Malla Mahajanpad, they stills put this name as a surname i.e. Vishen/Bisen short form of Vishwasen in their names. They are Suryavanshi Rajput and claim to be sons of God Laxmana from his one of the sons Chandraketu who was ruler of Malla Rastra or Malla Mahajanpada in ancient India. Later many kings who were of Majhauli Kingdom established many estates of names Manakpur, Bhadri,, Raja Madhav Mall, Kalakankar and many more in north India.
In 1774, the raja of Majhauli, Ajit Mal, openly refused to pay revenue to the amil in Gorakhpur, crossing over into Bihar whenever the officials attempted to collect payment. He also gave refuge to the Kurmis of Pachlakh, who were openly in arms against the British East India Company. In 1777, Ajit Mal also refused to pay revenues to the British for his lands in Bihar. The British, already beleaguered by the ongoing rebellion of Fateh Sahi of the Huseypur raj, were initially unwilling to go after Ajit Mal: while they charged Fateh Sahi "guilty of the atrocious crime of premeditated murder and rebellion", they held Ajit Mal guilty of "no offence". When the authorities in Gorakhpur in Oudh State asked for assistance in pursuing Ajit Mal, the British refused. However, when the Gorakhpur authorities offered to join the fight against Fateh Sahi if the British helped them capture Ajit Mal, the British quickly agreed. They were, however, unsuccessful in both measures.