Maharani Kamasundari Devi, the last surviving queen of the Darbhanga royal family, died at her residence in Darbhanga on Monday, family sources said. She was 96 and had been unwell for the past six months.
The Maharani breathed her last at Kalyani Niwas, a part of the historic Darbhanga royal estate. Her last rites will be performed at the Shyama Mai Temple complex within the estate, a site traditionally used for funeral rituals of the Darbhanga royal family.
Kamasundari Devi was the third wife of Maharaj Kameshwar Singh, the last ruler of the Darbhanga Raj, whom she married in 1940. The Maharaj’s earlier marriages were to Maharani Rajlakshmi Devi and Maharani Kameshwari Priya Devi. While Kameshwari Priya Devi passed away in the same year as the marriage, the Maharaj died in 1962. Rajlakshmi Devi died in 1976. Kamasundari Devi remained childless.
Following the Maharaj’s death, Kamasundari Devi devoted herself to preserving his legacy and promoting educational initiatives. She established the Kalyani Foundation in his memory, through which she set up a library named after the Maharaj. The library, located in Darbhanga, houses more than 15,000 books and has served as a resource for scholars and readers over the years.
Condolences poured in from across the political spectrum following news of her death. JD(U) national working president Sanjay Jha, BJP state president Sanjay Saraogi, and Bihar Social Welfare Minister Madan Sahni expressed their grief. Minister of Industries and Road Construction Dilip Jaiswal is expected to attend the last rites.
With her passing, an important chapter in the history of the Darbhanga royal household has drawn to a close, marking the end of a generation closely linked to the region’s princely past and its transition into modern Bihar.
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