22-532: The Manikya dynasty was the ruling house of the Twipra Kingdom and later the princely Tripura State , what is now the Indian state of Tripura . Ruling since the early 15th century, the dynasty at its height controlled a large swathe of the north-east of the Indian subcontinent . After coming under British influence, in 1809 they transitioned from feudal monarchs into rulers of a princely state , though
44-524: A Hindu kingdom, the Manikyas developed a rivalry with the successive Muslim rulers of Bengal, coming into conflict with Sultans , governors and Nawabs before being brought under Mughal suzerainty in the early 17th century. As Mughal power waned, the antagonism with Bengal re-erupted, which drove the Manikyas to first approach the British for aid. In 1761, Tripura succumbed to British influence, becoming
66-525: A princely protectorate , though control of the region remained under the Manikya dynasty. In 1870, Bir Chandra Manikya ascended the throne and began a series of political reforms to his kingdom, modelling his government on the British system. A lover of the culture of Bengal , Bengali was adopted by the court under his rule and he developed a friendship with the poet, Rabindranath Tagore . After Tripura
88-471: Is now believed that the Rajmala had been mistaken in the genealogy and chronology of the initial Manikya rulers. Numismatic evidence suggests that the first historical Manikya was in fact Maha Manikya , a Tripuri chief who founded the kingdom after establishing dominance over neighbouring tribes in the early 1400s. This monarch then took the title "Manikya" in honour of a historic victory over Bengal, with
110-487: Is split up into six parts, written over the course of several centuries under the patronage of different Tripura monarchs. It was initially commissioned by Dharma Manikya I in 1458, who bestowed the task upon the royal priest Durlabhendra and two Brahman pandits , Sukheshwar and Baneshwar. Their work formed the first part of the text and covered the traditional period of Tripura's history and incorporated various mythological accounts. Subsequent portions were composed during
132-588: The Islamic invaders . This is also the time of origin of the Manikya Dynasty , when Chhengthung Fa adopted the title Manikya , becoming Maha Manikya , with the cognomen being held by all Kings of Tripura until the death of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya in 1947. Under Ratna Manikya I , the capital shifted to Rangamati on the banks of the river Gumti , now in South Tripura . Tripura was one of
154-460: The 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th centuries under Amar Manikya , Govinda Manikya , Krishna Manikya and Kashi Chandra Manikya respectively. The entire revised text was finally compiled by Durgamoni Uzir during the reign of Krishna Kishore Manikya in the mid-19th-century. The Rajmala presents a list of 149 kings of Twipra as of 1431. The first king of the chronicle is Chandra , the Moon himself;
176-528: The British takeover. The plains of Tripura, however, fell to the attacks from Mughals. The plains territories comprise today's South-East Dhaka and Comilla areas. While the plains areas were thus Islamized, the Hills of Tripura served as a continuous bulwark against penetration to the East. The Tripura Hill Kings were major sponsors of Hindu traditions and customs. In the modern age, they are remembered as one of
198-518: The Manikyas maintain control of the region until 1949, when it ascended in union with India. Tracing a descent from the mythological Lunar dynasty , the Rajmala royal chronicle records an unbroken line of 144 (likely legendary) monarchs of Tripura up to the ascension of one Ratna Fa , who is stated to have become the first Manikya after being granted the cognomen by the Sultan of Bengal . However, it
220-714: The bank of river Varavakra and found the capital Khalangma. In the 8th century, the kingdom shifted its capital eastwards along the Surma river in Sylhet , near the present-day town of Kailasahar in northern Tripura. The religion of the Tipra had 14 deities known as Chaturdasa Devata and is still preserved in the Chaturdasha Temple in Agartala , which is maintained by the Tipra priests known as Chantais , who oversee
242-563: The courtesy title of "Maharaja". Rajmala Rajmala is a chronicle of the Kings of Tripura , written in Bengali verse in the 15th century under Dharma Manikya I . The Rajmala chronicles the history of the Manikya kings of Tripura. While it serves as an invaluable source of information for the region, its historical accuracy in some aspects has been doubted. The text
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#1732772536901264-567: The east. The princely state of Tripura existed outside British India , in a subsidiary alliance with it, and was a self-governing area known as Hill Tippera , the present-day state of Tripura . However, the kings retained an estate known as Tippera district of the British Bengal Presidency or Chakla Roshanbad, which after the partition of India became part of the greater Comilla region of Bangladesh. Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896) modelled his administration on
286-487: The eldest son of Trilochona the king of his land. After the death of Trilochona, his second son Daksina became King of Tripura. Daksina shared the wealth of the kingdom among his eleven brothers. Being the eldest son of Trilochona, the King of Hedamba demanded his kingdom from his brothers. In denial, the enraged King of Hedamba attacked Tripura and destroyed the capital. The eleven brothers left Trivega and moved to Khalangma on
308-591: The festivals of the Kharchi and Ker according to traditions. Twipra is mentioned in Ming Shilu as Di-wu-la . By the early 15th century, its territory was occupied by Da Gu-la , an unidentified state. In Cheitharol Kumbaba chronicles of Manipur, Tripura is referred to as Takhen. The earliest historical records concerning the Twipra kingdom appears in the 15th century, when it first came under pressure from
330-500: The king's ancestry to the mythological Lunar Dynasty . Druhyu , the son of Yayati , became king of the land of Kirata and constructed a city named Trivega on the bank of Kapila river . His kingdom was bounded by the river Tairang on the north, Acaranga on the south, Mekhali on the east, Koch and Vanga on the west. The daughter of the King of Hedamba was married to King Trilochona of Trivega. The King of Hedamba, having no heir, made
352-462: The longest and most stable dynasties from the Indian East. Dhanya Manikya (reigned 1463 to 1515) expanded Twipra's territorial domain well into Eastern Bengal. Rangamati was renamed Udaipur after Udai Manikya . The kingdom flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries with kings such as Govinda Manikya putting up a strong defence against
374-562: The name being inherited by his descendants. Maha Manikya's early successors achieved considerable military success, conquering territory in Bengal, Assam and Burma . Tripura reached its zenith in the 16th century under such prominent kings as Dhanya Manikya and Vijaya Manikya II , with its lands stretching from the Garo Hills in the north to the Bay of Bengal in the south. As monarchs of
396-468: The pattern of British India, and enacted reforms including the formation of Agartala Municipal Corporation. The last king was Kirit Bikram Kishore, son of Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarma , who ruled for two years, 1947–1949. In 1949, Tripura became part of the Republic of India . The Tripuri "heir apparent" is Kirat Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma (born 1978), the son of the last king, who is sometimes given
418-583: The pressure of the Muslim kingdoms to the west. However, the plains areas fell away from Tripura state due to the actions of a renegade Tripuri prince who was backed by Mughal governors of Eastern Bengal plains. After this, plains Twipra became a separate Mughal client kingdom, with the Mughal rulers exerting influence on the appointment of its kings. However, the Mughals could never penetrate the Hills territories to
440-508: The states that pushed back successive waves of invasions from Turks , Afghans , and Mughals . On many occasions, Tripuris (Tiprasa) also pushed back Burmese and Arakanese invasions from the East. At its height it comprised what is now Tripura , Sylhet division of Bangladesh, Cachar region of Assam state and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of what is now Bangladesh, and even managed to remain free and independent before
462-570: Was briefly incorporated into the province of Eastern Bengal and Assam at the beginning of the 20th century, the last Manikya monarch, Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore , chose to come under the jurisdiction of the predominantly Hindu Dominion of India in 1947. The final ascension of Tripura into the modern Indian nation was signed by his widow, Kanchan Prava Devi , in place of the minor Kirit Bikram Kishore , bringing to an end five centuries of Manikya rule. Twipra Kingdom The Twipra Kingdom ( Sanskrit : Tripura , Anglicized : Tippera )
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#1732772536901484-675: Was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India . The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are: The Twipra Kingdom in all its various ages comprised the areas with the borders: A list of legendary Tripuri kings is given in the Rajmala chronicle, a 15th-century chronicle in Bengali written by the court pandits of Dharma Manikya I (r. 1431). The chronicle traces
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