The Kamata kingdom split at a time when the Mughals under Akbar were aggressively expanding their empire. The state soon became a dependency of the Mughal empire, and steadily lost territory to the empire.
Lakshmi Narayan (1587-1621 C.E.), Nara Narayan's son, was the first ruler of the Koch Bihar portion of the Kamata kingdom. He was an ineffectual ruler. After losing much territory to the Mughal commander Ali Kuli Khan, he accepted Mughal sovereignty and assistance in defending against his neighbors. The next Mughal emperor, Jahangir, again attacked Bihar and captured territory including Tripuraand Manipur. Lakshmi Narayan went to Delhi and won guarantees for the much-reduced state. On his return, he established his capital at the Atharokotha village.
Lakshmi Narayan was a patron of scholars and the arts. He partially restored the Shiva Temple of Jalpesh, but did not complete construction of the temple during his lifetime. Influenced by Madhavdeva, a famous preacher, he made Ekasarana dharma the imperial/state religion.
Bir Narayan (1621-1626 C.E.), Lakshmi Narayan's son and successor, was a pleasure-loving ruler who failed to exert his authority to levy taxes on the king of Bhutan. In his peaceful reign, he sponsored schools for the aristocracy and supported intellectuals. His successor Pran Narayan (1626-1665 C.E.) ruled in peace until 1657, when a struggle for succession in the Mughal empire began betweenAurangzeb and his brothers. Pran Narayan invaded Bengal, seizing Ghoraghat, the center of Mughal power in 1658, and in 1661 capturing Dhaka, the capital. However, by this time Aurangzeb had consolidated his power, and sent his armies to invade Bihar and Assam. Pran Narayan retreated to the mountains and waged a guerrilla war for three years, finally making a pact with the Mughal NawabShaista Khan in 1664. During his rule, the Behar kingdom expanded to Tajhat Baharband Pargana in the south, Basakpur near Khutaghat of Goalapara district in
