Udai Manikya

Udai Manikya (died 1572), also known as Gopi Prasad, was the Maharaja of Tripura from 1567 to 1572. Though from a lowly background, he later rose to become one of the most powerful figures in the kingdom. Following the death of the previous monarch, his son-in-law, Udai took royal power himself, for a time supplanting the ruling dynasty with his own line.

Udai Manikya
Maharaja of Tripura
Reign1567–1572
PredecessorAnanta Manikya
SuccessorJoy Manikya I
BornGopi Prasad
Died1572
ConsortHira Mahadevi[1]
Issue
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 Manikya1567–1573
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 II1739–1744
Indra Manikya II1744–1746
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
Radha Kishore Manikya1896–1909
Birendra Kishore Manikya1909–1923
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)
Shamsher Gazi (Usurper)

Life

Originally named Gopi Prasad, he was of humble origins.[2] He began his career during the reign of Vijaya Manikya II, serving as a gomasta (rent-collector) in Dharmanagar,[3] though was later driven out of this position after having climbed a tree belonging to a Brahmin.[4] Thereafter, he was appointed as a cook in the royal kitchens, then a chowkidar, before ultimately rising to become Commander-in-Chief of the Tripura army. His influence further increased when Vijaya, wishing to ensure the ambitious officer's loyalty, married his own son to the latter's daughter, Ratnavati.[5]

Upon the ascension of his son-in-law, Ananta Manikya, to the throne in 1563, Gopi Prasad expanded his already extensive power,[6] keeping the new king completely under his control.[2] This arrangement proved to be short-lived, when, in 1567, Ananta died under uncertain circumstances. According to differing versions of the Rajmala, this was either the result of a fever or through strangulation on Gopi Prasad's orders.[7][8] Regardless, the latter subsequently claimed royal power and adopted the regnal name Udai Manikya, assuming the erstwhile ruling dynasty's cognomen.[3]

Udai proved to be a talented administrator and renamed the kingdom's capital, changing it from Rangamati to Udaipur after himself. He extensively worked to beautify the city with the construction of buildings, temples and reservoirs, among which were the Chandra Gopinath Temple and the Chandrasagar. He was less successful in warfare however, having become involved in a 5-year-long conflict with Sulaiman Khan Karrani, the Sultan of Bengal, resulting in the heavy loss of money, 40,000 troops and the area of Chittagong.[9][7]

Tradition states that Udai had 240 wives, several of whom, on charges of infidelity,[note 1] he had executed through being trampled by elephants or devoured by dogs. Udai himself was poisoned to death in 1572, after having ingested a pill of quicksilver supplied by a certain woman. He was succeeded by his son Joy Manikya I.[9]

Notes

  1. A visiting prince of Bengal was said to have numbered among their paramours.[4]

References

  1. Majumdar, Ramesh Chandra (1974). History of mediaeval Bengal. G. Bharadwaj. p. 361.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Roychoudhury, Nalini Ranjan (1983). Tripura through the ages: a short history of Tripura from the earliest times to 1947 A.D. Sterling. p. 21.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  3. Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1987). Political History of Tripura. Puthipatra. p. 75.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  4. Long, James (1850). "Analysis of the Bengali Poem Raj Mala, or Chronicles of Tripura". Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta: Asiatic society. XIX: 547.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Sarma (1987, pp. 72, 75)
  6. Sarma (1987, pp. 73–75)
  7. Roychoudhury (1983, p. 22)
  8. Sarma (1987, p. 6)
  9. Sarma (1987, p. 76)
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