Mahendra Manikya (d. 1714) was the

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Tripura Tripura (, Bengali: ) is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a population of 36.71 lakh ( 3.67 million). It is bordered by Assam and Mizoram to the east a ...

from 1712 to 1714.

Background

Originally named Ghanashyam Thakur, he was born the second son of Maharaja Rama Manikya. His elder brother was

Ratna Manikya II Ratna Manikya II ( – 1712) was the Maharaja of Twipra Kingdom, Tripura from 1685 to 1693 and again from 1695 to 1712. Only a small child when he became ruler, Ratna spent much of his life under the control of external forces, having been used ...

who, after having been previously overthrown by a cousin, was restored to the throne by the Mughals in 1695. However, in return Ghanashyam was temporarily sent to the Mughal court as a hostage. At some point, he was awarded the title of ''Barathakur'' by his brother. In 1712, Ghanashyam launched a conspiracy against his brother, having gained the assistance of Murad Beg, an influential member of the royal court. The latter was sent to

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city ...

, where he recruited some itinerant forces as well as the assistance of Muhammad Sapi, a local high-ranking officer. Ratna Manikya was forcibly removed from power and Ghanashyam claimed the throne, assuming the regnal name Mahendra Manikya. He had his predecessor first confined to the palace apartments and then killed soon after, with two of the latter's prominent officers also being beheaded.

Reign

Though little is known about his reign, with the ''

Rajmala ''Rajmala'' is a chronicle of the Kings of Tripura, written in Bengali verse in the 15th century under Dharma Manikya I. Overview The ''Rajmala'' chronicles the history of the Manikya kings of Tripura. While it serves as an invaluable sou ...

'' only describing him as being an "impious ruler", Mahendra appears to have enacted some reforms to the administration. His brothers Durjoy Singh and

Chandramani Mukunda Manikya (d. 1739) was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1729 to 1739. Life Originally named Chandramani Thakur, he was the youngest of the four surviving sons of Maharaja Rama Manikya. Each of his elder brothers had successively ruled Tripur ...

were named ''

Yuvraj Yuv(a)raj(a) (Sanskrit: युवराज) is an Indian title for the crown prince, and the heir apparent to the throne of an Indian (notably Hindu) kingdom or (notably in the Mughal Empire or British Raj) princely state. It is usually applied t ...

'' and ''Barathakur'' respectively. He also attempted to strengthen ties with the neighbouring Ahom kingdom, located in what is present-day

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Assamese envoys, already present in Tripura at the time of his ascension, were formerly received at court, with Mahendra sending his own representative, Aribhima Narayana, back with them to Rangpur. Subsequently, a series of warm correspondence, embassies and gifts were dispatched between Mahendra and the Ahom king,

Rudra Singha Sukhrungphaa (reigned 1696–1714), or Swargadeo Rudra Singha, was a Tungkhungia ahom king and 30th king of the Ahom kingdom under whom the kingdom reached its zenith of power and glory, he is considered as the most illustrious of the Ah ...

. However, in August 1714, soon after a third embassy to Tripura was sent, Rudra Singha died, with his successor

Siva Singha Sutanphaa also Siva Singha was a king of Assam who reigned from 1714 to 1744 A.D. He was the eldest son of Rudra Singha. Siva Singha was with his dying father at Guwahati, who then proceeded to the capital Rangpur where he ascended to the th ...

having little interest in continuing his father's habits. By the time these envoys had arrived in Tripura, in January 1715, Mahendra too had died, having reigned for only 14 months. He was succeeded by his ''Yuvraj'', Durjoy Singh, who took the name

Dharma Manikya II Dharma Manikya II (died 1729) was the king of Tripura Kingdom from 1713 to 1725 and again in 1729, although his power was greatly diminished in 1732 with the rise to power of Jagat Manikya with the aid of the Nawab of Bengal, Shuja-ud-Din Muhamm ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Kings of Tripura History of Tripura 1714 deaths