Manik Rai is a legendary 7th century rajput king from

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. According to the bardic tradition, Manik Rai was the brother of Dula Rai, the

Chauhan Chauhan, historically ''Chahamana'', is a clan name historically associated with the various ruling Rajput families during the Medieval India in Rajasthan. Subclans Khichi, Hada, Songara, Bhadauria, Devda etc. are the branches or subclan ...

king of Ajmer. In 684 CE, he fled from Ajmer after Dula Rai was killed by their enemies. He managed to gain control of the area around Sambhar Lake with the blessings of the goddess

Shakambhari Shakambhari (Sanskrit: शाकम्भरी, IAST: Śākambharī), also referred to as Shatakshi, is a goddess of nourishment. She is regarded to be an incarnation of Mahadevi, and identified with both Lakshmi and Durga in Hinduism. Afte ...

. Historian R. B. Singh identifies Manik Rai as

Samantaraja Samantaraja ( IAST: Sāmantarāja, r. c. 7th century CE ) was an Indian king belonging to the Chahamana dynasty of Shakambhari (modern Sambhar). He ruled parts of present-day Rajasthan in north-western India. The exact period of Samanta is not ...

, the 7th century Chahamana ruler of Shakambhari.

References

Bibliography

* 7th-century Indian monarchs History of Rajasthan People from Ajmer Rajput rulers {{india-royal-stub