Ratna Manikya II
Maharaja of Tripura
1st reign1685–1693
PredecessorRama Manikya
SuccessorNarendra Manikya
2nd reign1695–1712
PredecessorNarendra Manikya
SuccessorMahendra Manikya
BornRatnadev
c.1680
Died1712 (aged 3132)
Wives[1]
  • Satyavati
  • Bhagavati
  • 118 other wives
HouseManikya dynasty
FatherRama Manikya
ReligionHinduism
Kingdom of Tripura
Part of History of Tripura
Maha Manikyac.1400–1431
Dharma Manikya I1431–1462
Ratna Manikya I1462–1487
Pratap Manikya1487
Vijaya Manikya I1488
Mukut Manikya1489
Dhanya Manikya1490–1515
Dhwaja Manikya1515–1520
Deva Manikya1520–1530
Indra Manikya I1530–1532
Vijaya Manikya II1532–1563
Ananta Manikya1563–1567
Udai Manikya I1567–1573
Joy Manikya I1573–1577
Amar Manikya1577–1585
Rajdhar Manikya I1586–1600
Ishwar Manikya1600
Yashodhar Manikya1600–1623
Interregnum1623–1626
Kalyan Manikya1626–1660
Govinda Manikya1660–1661
Chhatra Manikya1661–1667
Govinda Manikya1661–1673
Rama Manikya1673–1685
Ratna Manikya II1685–1693
Narendra Manikya1693–1695
Ratna Manikya II1695–1712
Mahendra Manikya1712–1714
Dharma Manikya II1714–1725
Jagat Manikya1725–1729
Dharma Manikya II1729
Mukunda Manikya1729–1739
Joy Manikya IIc.1739–1744
Indra Manikya IIc.1744–1746
Udai Manikya IIc.1744
Joy Manikya II1746
Vijaya Manikya III1746–1748
Lakshman Manikya1740s/1750s
Interregnum1750s–1760
Krishna Manikya1760–1783
Rajdhar Manikya II1785–1806
Rama Ganga Manikya1806–1809
Durga Manikya1809–1813
Rama Ganga Manikya1813–1826
Kashi Chandra Manikya1826–1829
Krishna Kishore Manikya1829–1849
Ishan Chandra Manikya1849–1862
Bir Chandra Manikya1862–1896
Birendra Kishore Manikya1909–1923
Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya1923–1947
Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya1947–1949
1949–1978 (titular)
Kirit Pradyot Manikya1978–present (titular)
Tripura monarchy data
Manikya dynasty (Royal family)
Agartala (Capital of the kingdom)
Ujjayanta Palace (Royal residence)
Neermahal (Royal residence)
Rajmala (Royal chronicle)
Tripura Buranji (Chronicle)
Chaturdasa Devata (Family deities)

Ratna Manikya II (c.1680 – 1712) was the Maharaja of 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 as a puppet-monarch by domineering relations as well as being both deposed and enthroned by the powerful Mughal Empire. He was eventually killed in a coup orchestrated by his younger brother.

Background and first reign

Born Ratnadeva, he was the eldest of Maharaja Rama Manikya's four surviving sons and the only one to be born of his chief queen.[2][3] During his father's reign, he held the post of Yuvraj.[4]

Rama died in 1685 and Ratna, then only 5 years old, ascended the throne under the name Ratna Manikya. The state of confusion which had ensued upon his father's death continued throughout the early years of Ratna's reign. Due to his young age, control of the state was held by his maternal uncle, Balibhima Narayana, who is described in the Champakvijay (a contemporary political work) as having been an oppressive ruler.[5] Narayana eventually fell afoul of the Subahdar of Bengal, Shaista Khan, who, in reprisal for an invasion of the Mughal territory of Sylhet,[6] launched an assault on Tripura in 1693. Narayana was imprisoned and the young Ratna was overthrown and replaced with his cousin, Narendra Manikya, who had aided Khan in the campaign.[1]

Second reign

Narendra reigned for about two years, during which time Ratna was kept by his side and treated affectionately.[7] The former was eventually deposed by Shaista Khan, who had been influenced against him by another cousin,[8] Champak Ray, among others. Ratna was subsequently restored to the throne, though once again had little actual power, having become a puppet-ruler under Ray, who was named his Yuvraj. The latter was eventually assassinated by the king's supporters.[9]

Finally secure as ruler in his own right, Ratna enacted a number of administrative changes, such as restoring earlier ministerial positions as well as creating new ones. One of his brothers, Durjoy Singh, was named the new Yuvraj while another, Ghanashyam, was made Barathakur.[note 1] Ratna also had dealings with other kingdoms, having battled King Paikhomba of Manipur in 1696, as well as sending another brother, Chandramani, as a hostage to the Mughal court.[11] Between 1710 and 1715, a series of embassies and letters in Sanskrit were exchanged between the court of Tripura and that of the ruler of the Ahom kingdom, Rudra Singha, with the purpose of developing a Hindu confederation against Mughal attacks.[12][13]

Due to the internal instability during his reign, Ratna had little opportunity to contribute to public works within his kingdom. Among the few he did commission was the Sateroratna Mandir, a temple dedicated to the god Jagannath in Comilla, located in what is present-day Bangladesh. Images of the goddess Kali were also installed in Comilla as well as at the temple at Kasba.[12]

Overthrow and death

Towards the end of his reign, a conspiracy was launched against Ratna by his brother Ghanashyam. The latter was assisted by Murad Beg, an influential noble at court whose married sister had been dishonoured by the king.[14][12] Murad was dispatched to Dhaka, where he recruited some itinerant forces as well as a high-ranking local officer against Ratna. Ghanashyam himself was frequently absent from the capital, using the excuse that he was holding wild elephants. According to the Rajmala, Ratna was informed by his supporters that his brother was plotting against him, though he ignored the information. Historian Ramani Mohan Sarma suggests that this inaction may either have been due to the king's inexperience with diplomacy resulting in a misplaced trust in Ghanashyam, or that he was fearful of moving against his powerful brother.[15]

In 1712, Ratna was forcibly removed from the throne and confined to the royal apartments. Ghanashyam, who took power under the name Mahendra Manikya, later had him strangled to death, with his body being cremated on the banks of the Gomti River.[16][17] Ratna's wives, said to have numbered 120,[1] all immolated themselves on his funeral pyre.[18]

Notes

  1. Barathakur was a recently-created post which meant "principal prince".[10]

References

Bibliography

  • Acharjee, Jahar (2006). ""Tripura Buranji" A Diplomatic Mission between Assam and Tripura". Bulletin of the Assam State Museum, Gauhati. Assam State Museum. 17.
  • Dey, Sitanath (2005). A Reflection to Our Cultural Heritage Through Sanskrit Studies. Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar.
  • Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1974). History of mediaeval Bengal. G. Bharadwaj.
  • Raatan, T. (2008). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7835-068-4.
  • Roychoudhury, Nalini Ranjan (1983). Tripura through the ages: a short history of Tripura from the earliest times to 1947 A.D. Sterling.
  • Saha, Sudhanshu Bikash (1986). Tribes of Tripura: A Historical Survey. Agartala: Rupali Book House.
  • Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1987). Political History of Tripura. Calcutta: Puthipatra.
  • Sharma, Suresh Kant; Sharma, Usha (2015). Discovery of North-East India: Tripura. Vol. 11. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-8324-045-1.
  • Thakurta, S. N. Guha (1999). Tripura. National Book Trust, India. ISBN 978-81-237-2542-0.
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