Yashodhar Manikya (d. 1623), also known as Jashodhar Manikya, 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 ...

from 1600 to 1618. His reign is considered to be the nadir of the kingdom's history, with the temporary overthrowing of the monarchy and the region's incorporation into the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

Early reign

The son and heir of Rajdhar Manikya I, Yashodhar was not able to immediately claim the throne upon his father's death in 1600; the kingdom's nobles were hesitant in supporting his ascension due to the inauspicious horoscope at the time of his birth. He eventually took the throne after fighting off his kinsman Ishwar Manikya, who had claimed power in the meantime, as well as attempts by pretenders such as Dharma Manikya (supported by the rival Arakan Kingdom) and Virabhadra Manikya. Like Rajdhar, Yashodhar was a devout ruler who continued the spread of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

in the kingdom which had begun under the former's reign. As with his father, he had little interest in administration and warfare, resulting in the weakening of royal power and the decline of the army. However, there are records of some military campaigns during his reign. This included conflict with the Arakanese king Hussein Shah as well as raids against the

Bhulua Kingdom The Kingdom of Bhulua () was a medieval kingdom of Bengal and later a zamindari, covering the present-day Noakhali region of Bangladesh. According to local tradition the establishment of the kingdom dates from the thirteenth century, when Bishwa ...

, which ultimately resulted in the latter's destruction.

Mughal conquest

In 1618,

Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang Mirza Ibrahim Beg (), later known as Ibrahim Khan Fath-i-Jang (; d. 1624) was the Subahdar of Bengal during the reign of Mughal emperor Jahangir. He was the brother of Empress Nur Jahan who was the wife of Emperor Jahangir. Biography Born to a Shi ...

, 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 ...

governor 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 ...

, launched a land and sea assault on Tripura, with the intention of incorporating the kingdom into Bengal. Alongside a formidable naval fleet, two land forces were dispatched, consisting of 1000 cavalry, 60,000 infantry and 200 war-elephants. The Tripura army was quickly overwhelmed, with the capital

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 ...

being captured. Yashodhar, along with his wives, fled into the jungle but were soon taken captive and escorted to

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 ...

. Though he was offered the return of his throne on the condition of providing tribute to the

Mughal emperor The emperors of the Mughal Empire, who were all members of the Timurid dynasty (House of Babur), ruled the empire from its inception on 21 April 1526 to its dissolution on 21 September 1857. They were supreme monarchs of the Mughal Empire in ...

, Yashodhar refused. He was kept in Mughal custody for the remainder of his life, first being imprisoned in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

and then in

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

. It was there that he died in 1623, while meditating, at the age of 72. Tripura remained under the control of the Mughal empire until the ascension of Yashodhar's distant kinsman Kalyan Manikya in 1626.

References

{{reflist Kings of Tripura Dethroned monarchs 1623 deaths