Ratna Manikya II

Ratna Manikya II (c. 1680 – 1712) was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1685 to 1693 and again from 1695 to 1712.

Ratna Manikya II
Maharaja of Tripura
1st reign	1685–1693
Predecessor	Rama Manikya
Successor	Narendra Manikya
2nd reign	1695–1712
Predecessor	Narendra Manikya
Successor	Mahendra Manikya
Born	Ratnadev c. 1680
Died	1712 (aged 31–32)
Wives[1]	Satyavati Bhagavati 118 other wives
House	Manikya dynasty
Father	Rama Manikya
Religion	Hinduism

Kingdom of Tripura
Part of History of Tripura
Kings of Tripura Maha Manikya c. 1400–1431 Dharma Manikya I 1431–1462 Ratna Manikya I 1462–1487 Pratap Manikya 1487 Vijaya Manikya I 1488 Mukut Manikya 1489 Dhanya Manikya 1490–1515 Dhwaja Manikya 1515–1520 Deva Manikya 1520–1530 Indra Manikya I 1530–1532 Vijaya Manikya II 1532–1563 Ananta Manikya 1563–1567 Udai Manikya 1567–1573 Joy Manikya I 1573–1577 Amar Manikya 1577–1585 Rajdhar Manikya I 1586–1600 Ishwar Manikya 1600 Yashodhar Manikya 1600–1623 Interregnum 1623–1626 Kalyan Manikya 1626–1660 Govinda Manikya 1660–1661 Chhatra Manikya 1661–1667 Govinda Manikya 1661–1673 Rama Manikya 1673–1685 Ratna Manikya II 1685–1693 Narendra Manikya 1693–1695 Ratna Manikya II 1695–1712 Mahendra Manikya 1712–1714 Dharma Manikya II 1714–1725 Jagat Manikya 1725–1729 Dharma Manikya II 1729 Mukunda Manikya 1729–1739 Joy Manikya II 1739–1744 Indra Manikya II 1744–1746 Vijaya Manikya III 1746–1748 Lakshman Manikya 1740s/1750s Interregnum 1750s–1760 Krishna Manikya 1760–1783 Rajdhar Manikya II 1785–1806 Rama Ganga Manikya 1806–1809 Durga Manikya 1809–1813 Rama Ganga Manikya 1813–1826 Kashi Chandra Manikya 1826–1829 Krishna Kishore Manikya 1829–1849 Ishan Chandra Manikya 1849–1862 Bir Chandra Manikya 1862–1896 Radha Kishore Manikya 1896–1909 Birendra Kishore Manikya 1909–1923 Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya 1947–1949 1949–1978 (titular) Kirit Pradyot Manikya 1978–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)

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

1. Sarma (1987), p. 117.
2. Sarma (1987), p. 116.
3. Sharma & Sharma (2015), p. 53.
4. Sarma (1987), p. 115.
5. Sarma (1987), pp. 116–17.
6. Majumdar (1974), p. 166.
7. Roychoudhury (1983), p. 30.
8. Thakurta (1999), p. 13.
9. Sarma (1987), p. 118.
10. Saha (1986), p. 63.
11. Sarma (1987), pp. 118–19.
12. Sarma (1987), p. 119.
13. Dey (2005), p. 73.
14. Roychoudhury (1983), p. 31.
15. Sarma (1987), pp. 119–20.
16. Acharjee (2006), p. 30.
17. Sharma & Sharma (2015), p. 62.
18. Raatan (2008), p. 152.

Bibliography

• Acharjee, Jahar (2006). ""Tripura Buranji" A Diplomatic Mission between Assam and Tripura". Bulletin of the Assam State Museum, Gauhati. Assam State Museum. 17.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Dey, Sitanath (2005). A Reflection to Our Cultural Heritage Through Sanskrit Studies. Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1974). History of mediaeval Bengal. G. Bharadwaj.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Raatan, T. (2008). Encyclopaedia of North-East India. Gyan Publishing House. ISBN 978-81-7835-068-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Roychoudhury, Nalini Ranjan (1983). Tripura through the ages: a short history of Tripura from the earliest times to 1947 A.D. Sterling.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Saha, Sudhanshu Bikash (1986). Tribes of Tripura: A Historical Survey. Agartala: Rupali Book House.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1987). Political History of Tripura. Calcutta: Puthipatra.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Sharma, Suresh Kant; Sharma, Usha (2015). Discovery of North-East India: Tripura. 11. Mittal Publications. ISBN 978-81-8324-045-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Thakurta, S. N. Guha (1999). Tripura. National Book Trust, India. ISBN 978-81-237-2542-0.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)