Manika was a historical figure in the Jagannath culture, popularly called as Manika Gauduni ( Manika), it is believed that she offered yoghurt to Lord

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

and

Balabhadra In Jainism, Balabhadra or Baladeva are among the sixty-three illustrious beings called ''śalākāpuruṣas'' that are said to grace every half cycle of time. According to Jain cosmology, ''śalākāpuruṣa'' are born on this earth in every ...

when they were going to

Kanchi Kanchipuram ('; ) also known as ''Conjeevaram,'' is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from Chennaithe capital of Tamil Nadu. Known as the ''City of Thousand Temples'', Kanchipuram is known for its templ ...

expedition of Gajapati King.

Story of Manika

Manika was born in a cowherd (Gopala) family, who had the job of selling milk & yoghurt every days. She was also a devotee of lord

and had a dream from childhood of giving yoghurt to lord. One day the Gajapati king of

Kalinga Kalinga may refer to: Geography, linguistics and/or ethnology * Kalinga (historical region), a historical region of India ** Kalinga (Mahabharata), an apocryphal kingdom mentioned in classical Indian literature ** Kalinga script, an ancient writ ...

(now Odisha) started an expedition to Kanchi and prayed lord for help. Lord Jagannath and

Balarama Balarama ( Sanskrit: बलराम, IAST: ''Balarāma'') is a Hindu god and the elder brother of Krishna. He is particularly significant in the Jagannath tradition, as one of the triad deities. He is also known as Haladhara, Halayudha, Bala ...

were in the guise of soldier, one riding a black horse and another on a white horse marched way ahead of

Purushottama Deva Vira Pratapa Purushottama Deva (Odia: ବୀରପ୍ରତାପ ପୁରୁଷୋତ୍ତମ ଦେବ) was the second Gajapati emperor of Odisha who ruled from 1467 to 1497 C.E. He was the second ruler from the Suryavamsa Gajapati Empire. ...

's army. But they were not noticed by anyone. Near Chilika lake (still exists a few miles away from

Puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...

) as the soldiers rested to have some foods these two soldiers went to a nearby stall of Manika and requested her to sell them yoghurt. She didn't recognize the lords, thinking as soldiers she asked for money. Lord Jagannath gave her his own precious Gem-studded ring (called "Ratnamudrika") and said she could exchange this for money from the king, who will pass by shortly. When the king reached the spot later Manika stopped the marching king and told him that he must to pay her price of yoghurt consumed by his two soldiers in the lieu of a ring. When king saw the ''Ratnamudrika'' , he immediately recognized it to be of lord Jagannath. He was overjoyed to knowing that lords were leading his March against Kanchi. The king gave Manika a large number of money and granted a village to Manika for her sustenance. The village came to be known as Manikpatna.

In popular culture

'' Manika'', a black and white movie, was released in 1986 in the

Odia language Odia (, ISO: , ; formerly rendered Oriya ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Indian state of Odisha. It is the official language in Odisha (formerly rendered Orissa), where native speakers make up 82% of the population, and it is also ...

describing the background of this story. The legend of manika also written in Kanchi Kaveri poem of

Purushottama Dasa Purushottama Dasa (alternatively spelled ''Purushottam Das''; ; ) was a sixteenth century Odia poet and devotee of lord Jagannath. He was very popular for his poem "Kanchi Kaveri", based on a real historical incident. Life & work Purushottam D ...

. That was also the same name in Bengali of Rangalal Bandyopadhyay.

References

{{Reflist Cultural history of Odisha Devotees of Jagannath