Bir Chandra Manikya

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

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
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)
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Biography

Bir Chandra Manikya is regarded as the architect of modern Agartala city.^[1] 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.^[2] 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.^[3] He was a member of the Royal Photographic Society from 1896 until his death.^[4]

• 
  Maharaja Birchandra with the queen Maharani Manamohini in 1880

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.^[5] Bir Chandra Manikya was also one of the main characters of the novel Prathom Alo (প্রথম আলো) by Sunil Gangopadhyay.^[6]

See also

• Manikya dynasty
• Tripura (princely state)