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 various relations to maintain his grip on it, in particular with his cousin Indra Manikya II.

Joy Manikya II
Maharaja of Tripura
1st reignc. 1739–1744
PredecessorMukunda Manikya
SuccessorIndra Manikya II
2nd reign1746
PredecessorIndra Manikya II
SuccessorVijaya Manikya III
BornRudramani Thakur
Died1746
Wives[1]
  • Jayavati
  • Yosavati
Issue[2]Jayamangal
HouseManikya dynasty
FatherHaradhan Thakur
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 Manikya I1567–1573
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 IIc. 1739–1744
Indra Manikya IIc. 1744–1746
Udai Manikya IIc. 1744
Joy Manikya II1746
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
Birendra Kishore Manikya1909–1923
Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya1923–1947
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)
Pushbanta Palace (Royal residence)
Neermahal (Royal residence)
Rajmala (Royal chronicle)
Tripura Buranji (Chronicle)
Chaturdasa Devata (Family deities)

Background

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Originally named Rudramani Thakur, he belonged to a cadet branch of the royal family; his father Haradhan Thakur had been a grandson of Jagannath Thakur, the younger brother of Maharaja Govinda Manikya.[3][4]

As a young man, Rudramani had been a prominent general and had opposed the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire over Tripura. To this end, he aimed to form a national militia against the occupying force. From his base in the Matia Hills (where he had been sent to capture elephants), Rudramani organised a strong force with the aid of tribal chiefs. He wrote to the then-monarch, Mukunda Manikya, stating that the people of Tripura were opposed to the Mughals and that if the latter gave his approval, Rudramani could arrange to have the Faujdar at Udaipur, Haji Munsam, and his men killed. Mukunda disavowed the proposal, instead opting to inform Munsam of the conspiracy.[5]

Reign

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In 1739, Mukunda Manikya committed suicide, having been arrested by the Mughals on the grounds of neglecting to pay his tribute of elephants. In response, Rudramani launched a surprise assault on Udaipur and occupied it, with the Mughals, having been caught off guard, coming to terms and surrendering the city. His actions were popular among the Tripuri people, who selected him to be the new monarch as opposed to Mukunda's sons. Rudramani subsequently ascended the throne with the regnal name Joy Manikya.[4]

In 1744, Panch Cowrie Thakur, a son of Mukunda living in the Mughal viceregal capital Murshidabad, approached the Nawab of Bengal, Alivardi Khan, for aid in wresting Tripura from Joy.[6][7] The Mughals, still sore from their previous defeat, provided military support to Panch Cowrie,[8] who was able to take the throne and assumed the name Indra Manikya.[6] Joy withdrew from the capital and ran a parallel government from the Matia Hills. With the support of influential Zamindars, he made repeated attempts to reclaim full power, though was always held back by Mughal forces.[4][8] The country remained divided between the partisans of the rival monarchs for a time before Joy was able to gain the support of the Mughals and retake the throne.[9]

It was during this time that another relative, a son of Dharma Manikya II, taking advantage of the internal divisions, made his own claim for power.[6] He bribed the Naib Nazim of Dhaka and arrived in Comilla with a strong Muslim army, assuming the name Udai Manikya. Joy was able to resist this enemy, forcing Udai into submission and driving him out. However, he now fell into arrears with his tribute to the Mughals. A military expedition was dispatched against Joy, which defeated him in an ensuing battle. He was taken to the Court of Murshidabad and arrested alongside his dignitaries, with Indra Manikya once more taking his place as ruler of Tripura.[10]

By 1746, Joy had received control of the kingdom for a third time after Indra had fallen into disfavour with the Nawab. However, his remaining time on the throne was very brief, with much of it being troubled by Indra's younger brother Krishnamani. Following Joy's death that same year, he was succeeded by his younger brother Vijaya Manikya III.[11][12]

References

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  1. ^ Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1987). Political History of Tripura. Calcutta: Puthipatra. p. 128.
  2. ^ Sarma (1987), p. 131.
  3. ^ Choudhury, Achyut Charan (2000) [1910], Srihatter Itibritta: Purbangsho (in Bengali), Kolkata: Kotha, p. 502
  4. ^ a b c Gan-Chaudhuri, Jagadis (1980). Tripura, the land and its people. Leeladevi. p. 31. ISBN 9788121004480.
  5. ^ Sarma (1987), p. 127.
  6. ^ a b c Roychoudhury, Nalini Ranjan (1983). Tripura through the ages: a short history of Tripura from the earliest times to 1947 A.D. Sterling. p. 34.
  7. ^ Sarma (1987, pp. 128–29)
  8. ^ a b Chib, Sukhdev Singh (1988). Tripura. Ess Ess Publications. p. 14. ISBN 978-81-7000-039-6.
  9. ^ Playne, Somerset; J.W, Bond (1917). Arnold Wright (ed.). Bengal and Assam, Behar and Orissa: Their History, People, Commerce, and Industrial Resources. London: Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Company. p. 469.
  10. ^ Sarma (1987, p. 130)
  11. ^ Sarma, Ramani Mohan (1980). Coinage of Tripura. Numismatic Society of India. p. 8.
  12. ^ Sarma (1987, pp. 131, 233)