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.
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
^Barathakur was a recently-created post which meant "principal prince".[10]
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.
Thakurta, S. N. Guha (1999). Tripura. National Book Trust, India. ISBN978-81-237-2542-0.
May 04, 2023
ratna, manikya, 1680, 1712, maharaja, tripura, from, 1685, 1693, again, from, 1695, 1712, maharaja, tripura1st, reign1685, 1693predecessorrama, manikyasuccessornarendra, manikya2nd, reign1695, 1712predecessornarendra, manikyasuccessormahendra, manikyabornratna. Ratna Manikya II c 1680 1712 was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1685 to 1693 and again from 1695 to 1712 Ratna Manikya IIMaharaja of Tripura1st reign1685 1693PredecessorRama ManikyaSuccessorNarendra Manikya2nd reign1695 1712PredecessorNarendra ManikyaSuccessorMahendra ManikyaBornRatnadevc 1680Died1712 aged 31 32 Wives 1 SatyavatiBhagavati118 other wivesHouseManikya dynastyFatherRama ManikyaReligionHinduismKingdom of TripuraPart of History of TripuraKings of TripuraMaha Manikyac 1400 1431Dharma Manikya I1431 1462Ratna Manikya I1462 1487Pratap Manikya1487Vijaya Manikya I1488Mukut Manikya1489Dhanya Manikya1490 1515Dhwaja Manikya1515 1520Deva Manikya1520 1530Indra Manikya I1530 1532Vijaya Manikya II1532 1563Ananta Manikya1563 1567Udai Manikya I1567 1573Joy Manikya I1573 1577Amar Manikya1577 1585Rajdhar Manikya I1586 1600Ishwar Manikya1600Yashodhar Manikya1600 1623Interregnum1623 1626Kalyan Manikya1626 1660Govinda Manikya1660 1661Chhatra Manikya1661 1667Govinda Manikya1661 1673Rama Manikya1673 1685Ratna Manikya II1685 1693Narendra Manikya1693 1695Ratna Manikya II1695 1712Mahendra Manikya1712 1714Dharma Manikya II1714 1725Jagat Manikya1725 1729Dharma Manikya II1729Mukunda Manikya1729 1739Joy Manikya IIc 1739 1744Indra Manikya IIc 1744 1746Udai Manikya IIc 1744Joy Manikya II1746Vijaya Manikya III1746 1748Lakshman Manikya1740s 1750sInterregnum1750s 1760Krishna Manikya1760 1783Rajdhar Manikya II1785 1806Rama Ganga Manikya1806 1809Durga Manikya1809 1813Rama Ganga Manikya1813 1826Kashi Chandra Manikya1826 1829Krishna Kishore Manikya1829 1849Ishan Chandra Manikya1849 1862Bir Chandra Manikya1862 1896Birendra Kishore Manikya1909 1923Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya1923 1947Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya1947 19491949 1978 titular Kirit Pradyot Manikya1978 present titular Tripura monarchy dataManikya 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 vteOnly 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 Contents 1 Background and first reign 2 Second reign 3 Overthrow and death 4 Notes 5 References 6 BibliographyBackground and first reign EditBorn 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 EditNarendra 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 EditTowards 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 Edit Barathakur was a recently created post which meant principal prince 10 References Edit a b c Sarma 1987 p 117 Sarma 1987 p 116 Sharma amp Sharma 2015 p 53 Sarma 1987 p 115 Sarma 1987 pp 116 17 Majumdar 1974 p 166 Roychoudhury 1983 p 30 Thakurta 1999 p 13 Sarma 1987 p 118 Saha 1986 p 63 Sarma 1987 pp 118 19 a b c Sarma 1987 p 119 Dey 2005 p 73 Roychoudhury 1983 p 31 Sarma 1987 pp 119 20 Acharjee 2006 p 30 Sharma amp Sharma 2015 p 62 Raatan 2008 p 152 Bibliography EditAcharjee 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Ratna Manikya II amp oldid 1142077721, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
