Bir Chandra Manikya

H.R.H. Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya Debbarman Bahadur
King of Tripura
Reign 1862-1896
Predecessor Ishan Chandra Manikya
Successor Radha Kishore Manikya
Consort Iswari Rajeshwari Mahadevi (Kaboklei) Ningthem Chanu Bhanumati
Maharani Manamohini
House Manikya Dynasty
Religion Hinduism
Kingdom of Tripura
Part of History 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 c. 1739–1744
Indra Manikya II c. 1744–1746
Udai Manikya II c. 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)
Neermahal (Royal residence)
Rajmala (Royal chronicle)
Tripura Buranji (Chronicle)
Chaturdasa Devata (Family deities)

Maharaja Bir Chandra Manikya Bahadur of the Manikya Dynasty was the king of Tripura from 1862 to 1896.

Biography

Bir Chandra Manikya is regarded as the architect of modern Agartala city. In 1862, he started the urbanisation of the Agartala. In 1871 he established the Agartala Municipality. He established Umakanta Academy, the first western school in Tripura, in 1890.

An enthusiastic photographer, he was the first king in India to organize an annual photographic exhibition in his palace. More than 100 years after his death, the Maharaja's Foto ka Karkhana, a fully equipped studio, came to light in Madho Niwas, inside the palace.

Legacy

The Tagore family had links with the princes of Tripura since the time Dwarkanath Tagore but the relationship between the two families was closest during the time of Bir Chandra's reign. Rabindranath Tagore had a friendly relationship with the king. Three important works of Rabindranath Tagore — Mukuta (1885), Rajarshi (c. 1885), and Visarjana (1890) were directly influenced by his association with the royal family of Tripura. Bir Chandra Manikya was also one of the main characters of the novel Prathom Alo (প্রথম আলো) by Sunil Gangopadhyay.

See also