The ancient legend of Khamba and Thoibi () is one of the epic cycles of incarnations of Meitei mythology and folklore, that is originated from Moirang kingdom of Ancient Kangleipak (early Manipur).
Among the countless retelling editions of the epic story, the "Khamba Thoibi Sheireng" (), a Meitei language epic poem, containing 39,000 lines, that is considered as the national epic of the Manipuris, is the magnum opus of its author Hijam Anganghal, the "Bard of Samurou".
Background
Moirang was created by the God Thangching (Thangjing). The first King of Moirang at the beginning era of the kingdom was Iwang Fang Fang Ponglenhanba, who was born of Moirang Leima Nangban Chanu Meirapanjenlei. He attacked tribal villages, brought Thanga under his rule, and fixed his boundaries to the north, where the Luwang King bore sway. He brought in captives, and buried the heads of his fallen enemies in the Kangla or Royal enclosure. Then the God Thangching bethought himself that the King and his subjects were so prosperous that they were likely to forget their duties to him, and after taking counsel sent seven Gods, Yakhong Lai, to frighten the King and his people. At night there were mysterious sounds, but the soldiers at first could find no one. Then, when the sounds occurred a second time, they became aware of the Gods, the Yakhong Lai, and reported what they had seen to the King, who took counsel of his ministers. They besought him to call the famous maibi Santhong Mari Mai Langjeng Langmei Thouba. She was in the fields cultivating, but came running, whence (says the historian) all the dwellers of Moirang say apaiba ("to fly"), instead of chenba, ("to run") which is the ordinary Meitei language word. The King begged the maibi "very respectfully to raise the Khuyal Leikhong which the angry storm raised by the Gods had blown down, and by way of showing his respect said, "If you cannot raise the Khuyal Leikhong, I shall kill you." The maibi persuaded the seven Gods to tell her the hymn, and ordered her to convey a message to the King, who was bidden to send all the maibas and maibis of the country to sleep in the temple of Thangching wearing their sacred clothes. When she went to the Khuyal Leikhong she saw Pakhangba there. She raised the edifice by means of the hymn and then gave the message to the King, who bade the maibas and maibis go and sleep in the temple of Thangching in their sacred clothes. There in their dreams they were instructed to divide the people into sections, some for one duty and some for others. Then the village offices were created and their order of precedence fixed. The maibas chant the name of the God and the maibis ring the bell. Then, when they had told the King all the wonderful things communicated to them in their dreams, they were bidden to do as the God had said. Then the King died and was succeeded by his son Telheiba, so called by reason of his skill with the bow. In his, and in the following reigns, there were raids against tribals and various villages. Then we get into complications, for in the reign of King Laifacheng we are told, the Khumans were wroth with Konthounamba Saphaba and compassed his death. They took him into a wood and fastened him to a tree and left him, but by the aid of the Gods he broke the creeper and made his way to Moirang where he married and had a son. He left Moirang, and went to the land of the Meiteis. The King kept the child, who by favour of the God Thangching grew so strong that the folk of Moirang begged the King to rid himself of the lad, for he would supplant the King. So they put the lad in chains for seven years, and all that time there fell no rain in Moirang. Then the God Thangching appeared to the lad and told him to ask the King to take off his chains. Then the King set the lad free, and the rain fell, but many had died of fever and cholera. The King implored the lad to pardon him for his cruelty and promised him, that when he was dead the kingdom should be his for seven years, even as many years as the years of his bondage. So it fell out, and for seven years the lad reigned as King where he had been in chains.