Indra Manikya II (d. 1746) was the

Maharaja Maharaja (also spelled Maharajah or Maharaj; ; feminine: Maharani) is a royal title in Indian subcontinent, Indian subcontinent of Sanskrit origin. In modern India and Medieval India, medieval northern India, the title was equivalent to a pri ...

Tripura Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...

during the mid-18th-century. His reign was spent struggling for control of the kingdom with his relative

Joy Manikya II Joy Manikya II (died 1746) was the Maharaja of Tripura during the mid-18th-century. He originally gained the throne through popular approval for his military hostility to the Mughal Empire. However, Joy spent much of his reign warring against va ...

Life

Originally named Panch Cowrie Thakur, he was one of the sons of Maharaja Mukunda Manikya by his wife Prabhavati. During his father's reign, he was sent to the

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

court of

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

as a hostage. In 1739, after having been arrested by the Mughals on the grounds of neglecting to pay his tribute of elephants, Mukunda committed suicide. His cousin Joy Manikya was chosen by the populace as his successor over Mukunda's sons after the former drove the Mughals out of

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

. Panch Cowrie, who developed a grudge against Joy, approached

Alivardi Khan Alivardi Khan (1671 – 9 April 1756) was the fourth Nawab of Bengal from 1740 to 1756. He toppled the Nasiri dynasty of Nawabs by defeating Sarfaraz Khan in 1740 and assumed power himself. During much of his reign Alivardi encountered frequen ...

, the

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

, for aid in claiming Tripura in 1744. With his military support, he overthrew Joy and took the throne, assuming the regnal name Indra Manikya. However, Indra was unable to rule peacefully, as Joy ran a parallel government from the Matia Hills and had the support of influential

Zamindar A zamindar in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semi-autonomous feudal lord of a ''zamindari'' (feudal estate). The term itself came into use during the Mughal Empire, when Persian was the official language; ''zamindar'' is the ...

s. The latter monarch made repeated attempts to regain full power, though was always prevented by Mughal forces. The kingdom remained divided between the partisans of the rival rulers for a time, until Indra was ousted after Joy gained the support of the Mughals. However, Indra was later once again returned to the throne by the

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

after Joy failed to provide tribute. This restoration proved short, as by 1746, Indra had again lost the favour of the Nawab and a large army was dispatched against him. He was compelled to submit and was sent to Murshidabad, where he subsequently died. Joy, who had again retaken the throne, also died around this time.

References

{{reflist Kings of Tripura History of Tripura Dethroned monarchs 1746 deaths