plea that better opportunities were bound to come sooner or later. Soon after, early in October 1769, Nahar Khora and Ragha Moran, both disciples of the Mayamara Satra, were mercilessly beaten and the ears of the former cut off at the orders of the Barbarua on the alleged charge of bringing for him a lean elephant. Ragha writing in pain cried out: "This land is infested with devils. The sun, the moon, the air and the clouds are standing spectators of this injustice and cruelty. Retribution is writ large on the fate of the wrong doer". When the followers of Nahar took both of them took both of them under heavy bandages to their Guru at Khutiapota the latter was shocked to learn of the incident and could not but give a qualified sanction to take up arms against the Ahom government. Rebellion The Morans were the first to raise the banner of rebellion. Towards the close of October 1769, When the Barbarua sent his men to cut timber from the Maran area, the people of the locality led by Nahar's two wives Bhatuki and Bhabuli, who took the names Radha and Rukmini, respectively, refused them entrance to the area and declared that they were independent under their own king and Barbarua. Considering it a minor local uprising, the king sent a small contingent of 2,000 soldiers under the command of a Tekela Bara named Bez but the army sustained a serious defeat with the loss of vast quantity of provisions. The Tekela Bara made a hair-breadth escape and informed the king of the seriousness of the situation. He further reported that two female leaders were possessed of supernatural powers by whose strength they were catching the bullets in their chadars or wrappers. Meanwhile, another division of the Moamariyas of 7,000 strong, under the command of Ragha had pitched their camp on the bank of the Secha, and in the south of river Dihing a strong advance guard was stationed at Namrup. The inhabitants of the area, who were mostly Morans and Kacharis extended their full support to the rebellion. The Moamroriyas then made alliance with the three exiled Ahom princes- Mohanmala Maladev Gohain, third son of Rudra Singha, and Saru Gohain and Ratneshwar, both sons of Rajeswar Singha, assuring them in case they won success, they would place one of them on the throne. The rebels calculated that such