Twipra Kingdom

The Twipra Kingdom (Sanskrit: Tripura, Anglicized: Tippera) was one of the largest historical kingdoms of the Tripuri people in Northeast India.

Kingdom of Tripura
c. 1400–15 October 1949
Coat of arms
South Asia 1525 CE DELHI SULTANATE (LODIS) TIMURID EMPIRE (Babur) SHAH MIR SULTANATE KANGRA PHAGMODRUPAS KHANDESH SULTANATE BERAR SULTANATE MALWA SULTANATE ARGHUNS MAKRAN SULTANATE LANGAH SULTANATE AMARKOT JAISALMER SHEKHAWAT BUNDI BIKANER GUJARAT SULTANATE MEWAR MARWAR AMBER KARAULI MEWAT SIROHI VAGAD DIMASA TRIPWA AHOM KAMATAS SUGAUNAS BENGAL SULTANATE GAJAPATI EMPIRE GONDWANA AHMADNAGAR SULTANATE VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE BIJAPUR SULTANATE BIDAR SULTANATE GOLKONDA SULTANATE Location of the Tripura kingdom and neighbouring South Asian polities circa 1500 CE.
Status	historical kingdom
Capital	Udaipur Agartala
Common languages	Kokborok Bengali
Religion	Hinduism, Buddhism
Government	Hereditary monarchy
History
• Established by Maha Manikya	c. 1400
• Reorganisation under Ratna Manikya I	c. 1460
• Joined India	15 October 1949
Succeeded by Tripura (princely state)
Today part of	India Bangladesh Myanmar

Kingdom of Tripura
Part of History of Tripura
Kings of Tripura Maha Manikya c. 1400–1431 Dharma Manikya I 1431–1462 Ratna Manikya I 1462–1487 Pratap Manikya 1487 Vijaya Manikya I 1488 Mukut Manikya 1489 Dhanya Manikya 1490–1515 Dhwaja Manikya 1515–1520 Deva Manikya 1520–1530 Indra Manikya I 1530–1532 Vijaya Manikya II 1532–1563 Ananta Manikya 1563–1567 Udai Manikya I 1567–1573 Joy Manikya I 1573–1577 Amar Manikya 1577–1585 Rajdhar Manikya I 1586–1600 Ishwar Manikya 1600 Yashodhar Manikya 1600–1623 Interregnum 1623–1626 Kalyan Manikya 1626–1660 Govinda Manikya 1660–1661 Chhatra Manikya 1661–1667 Govinda Manikya 1661–1673 Rama Manikya 1673–1685 Ratna Manikya II 1685–1693 Narendra Manikya 1693–1695 Ratna Manikya II 1695–1712 Mahendra Manikya 1712–1714 Dharma Manikya II 1714–1725 Jagat Manikya 1725–1729 Dharma Manikya II 1729 Mukunda Manikya 1729–1739 Joy Manikya II 1739–1744 Indra Manikya II 1744–1746 Udai Manikya II 1744 Joy Manikya II 1746 Vijaya Manikya III 1746–1748 Lakshman Manikya 1740s/1750s Interregnum 1750s–1760 Krishna Manikya 1760–1783 Rajdhar Manikya II 1785–1806 Rama Ganga Manikya 1806–1809 Durga Manikya 1809–1813 Rama Ganga Manikya 1813–1826 Kashi Chandra Manikya 1826–1829 Krishna Kishore Manikya 1829–1849 Ishan Chandra Manikya 1849–1862 Bir Chandra Manikya 1862–1896 Birendra Kishore Manikya 1909–1923 Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya 1923–1947 Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya 1947–1949 1949–1978 (titular) Kirit Pradyot Manikya 1978–present (titular)
Tripura monarchy data
Manikya dynasty (Royal family)
Agartala (Capital of the kingdom)
Ujjayanta Palace (Royal residence)
Pushbanta Palace (Royal residence)
Neermahal (Royal residence)
Rajmala (Royal chronicle)
Tripura Buranji (Chronicle)
Chaturdasa Devata (Family deities)

Geography

The present political areas which were part of the Twipra Kingdom are:

• Barak Valley (Cachar Plains), Hailakandi and Karimganj in present-day Assam
• Comilla, Sylhet and the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh
• The present-day states of Tripura

The Twipra Kingdom in all its various ages comprised the areas with the borders:

1. The Khasi Hills in the North
2. The Manipur Hills in the North-East
3. The Arakan Hills of Burma in the East
4. The Bay of Bengal to the South
5. The Brahmaputra River to the West

Legend

A list of legendary Tripuri kings is given in the Rajmala chronicle, a 15th-century chronicle in Bengali written by the court pandits of Dharma Manikya I (r. 1431). The chronicle traces the king's ancestry to the mythological Lunar Dynasty. Druhyu, the son of Yayati, became king of the land of Kirata and constructed a city named Trivega on the bank of Kapila river. His kingdom was bounded by the river Tairang on the north, Acaranga on the south, Mekhali on the east, Koch and Vanga on the west. The daughter of the King of Hedamba was married to King Trilochona of Trivega. The King of Hedamba, having no heir, made the eldest son of Trilochona the king of his land. After the death of Trilochona, his second son Daksina became King of Tripura. Daksina shared the wealth of the kingdom among his eleven brothers. Being the eldest son of Trilochona, the King of Hedamba demanded his kingdom from his brothers. In denial, the enraged King of Hedamba attacked Tripura and destroyed the capital. The eleven brothers left Trivega and moved to Khalangma on the bank of river Varavakra and found the capital Khalangma. In the 8th century, the kingdom shifted its capital eastwards along the Surma river in Sylhet, near the present-day town of Kailasahar in northern Tripura.

The religion of the Tipra had 14 deities known as Chaturdasa Devata and is still preserved in the Chaturdasha Temple in Agartala, which is maintained by the Tipra priests known as Chantais, who oversee the festivals of the Kharchi and Ker according to traditions.

History

Chinese chronicles

Twipra is mentioned in Ming Shilu as Di-wu-la. By the early 15th century, its territory was occupied by Da Gu-la, an unidentified state.

Cheitharol Kumbaba

In Cheitharol Kumbaba chronicles of Manipur, Tripura is referred to as Takhen.

Islamic-invasions era

Bir Chandra Manikya of Manikya dynasty

The earliest historical records concerning the Twipra kingdom appears in the 15th century, when it first came under pressure from the Islamic invaders. This is also the time of origin of the Manikya Dynasty, when Chhengthung Fa adopted the title Manikya, becoming Maha Manikya, with the cognomen being held by all Kings of Tripura until the death of Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya in 1947. Under Ratna Manikya I, the capital shifted to Rangamati on the banks of the river Gumti, now in South Tripura.

Tripura was one of the states that pushed back successive waves of invasions from Turks, Afghans, and Mughals. On many occasions, Tripuris (Tiprasa) also pushed back Burmese and Arakanese invasions from the East. At its height it comprised what is now Tripura, Sylhet division of Bangladesh, Cachar region of Assam state and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of what is now Bangladesh, and even managed to remain free and independent before the British takeover.

Ujjayanta Palace served as the royal seat of Twipra Kingdom from 1901.

The plains of Tripura, however, fell to the attacks from Mughals. The plains territories comprise today's South-East Dhaka and Comilla areas. While the plains areas were thus Islamized, the Hills of Tripura served as a continuous bulwark against penetration to the East. The Tripura Hill Kings were major sponsors of Hindu traditions and customs. In the modern age, they are remembered as one of the longest and most stable dynasties from the Indian East.

Dhanya Manikya (reigned 1463 to 1515) expanded Twipra's territorial domain well into Eastern Bengal. Rangamati was renamed Udaipur after Udai Manikya. The kingdom flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries with kings such as Govinda Manikya putting up a strong defence against the pressure of the Muslim kingdoms to the west. However, the plains areas fell away from Tripura state due to the actions of a renegade Tripuri prince who was backed by Mughal governors of Eastern Bengal plains. After this, plains Twipra became a separate Mughal client kingdom, with the Mughal rulers exerting influence on the appointment of its kings. However, the Mughals could never penetrate the Hills territories to the east.

British India

Main article: Tripura (princely state)

Coinage of Rajadhara Manikya (1586-1599 CE), king of Tripura.

The princely state of Tripura existed outside British India, in a subsidiary alliance with it, and was a self-governing area known as Hill Tippera, the present-day state of Tripura. However, the kings retained an estate known as Tippera district of the British Bengal Presidency or Chakla Roshanbad, which after the partition of India became part of the greater Comilla region of Bangladesh.

Bir Chandra Manikya (1862–1896) modelled his administration on the pattern of British India, and enacted reforms including the formation of Agartala Municipal Corporation. The last king was Kirit Bikram Kishore, son of Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarma, who ruled for two years, 1947–1949. In 1949, Tripura became part of the Republic of India. The Tripuri "heir apparent" is Kirat Pradyot Kishore Manikya Debbarma (born 1978), the son of the last king, who is sometimes given the courtesy title of "Maharaja".

Historical Significance and Legacy

The cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Tripura includes the worship of the Chaturdasa Devata (Fourteen Gods) which is spiritual heritage blending Hinduism and Indigenous practices and The Tripura Sundari Temple which is dedicated to the goddess Tripura Sundari which holds immense religious significance. Festivals like Kharchi Puja and unique dances like Hojagiri reflect the region's vibrant traditions.

Tripura has a significant Buddhist heritage, especially as a center for Tantric Buddhism from the 8th century onwards. Tantric Buddhism, or Vajrayana, focused on esoteric practices and rituals aimed at enlightenment. The region was influenced by figures like Virupa, a key figure in tantric teachings. Archaeological sites like Pilak have uncovered Buddhist artifacts, highlighting Tripura’s role in the spread of Buddhist art and culture.

See also

• History of Tripura
• Tripura (princely state)
• Tripuri people

References

• Wade, Geoffrey (1994), The Ming Shi-lu (Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty) as a Source for Southeast Asian History -- 14th to 17th Centuries, Hong Kong{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Nath, NC (February 2020). Sri Rajmala (PDF). Tribal Research & Cultural Institute Government of Tripura.
• Bhattacharjee, J B (1994), "Pre-colonial Political Structure of Barak Valley", in Sangma, Milton S (ed.), Essays on North-east India: Presented in Memory of Professor V. Venkata Rao, New Delhi: Indus Publishing Company, pp. 61–85
• Boland-Crewe, Tara; Lea, David (2005) [2002]. The Territories and States of India. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-35625-5.
• Tripura Buranji 17th Century Ahom Chronicle.
• Progressive Tripura, 1930
• Rajmala, royal chronicle of Tripura Kings.
• Hill Tippera – History The Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909, v. 13, p. 118.

Further reading

Online Books and material

• Tripura Rajmala (1850) by Rev. James Long

External links

• Information on the kingdom of Tripura at the University of Queensland
• About Tippera District Present day Comilla District of Bangladesh