Pratap Manikya (d. c.1487) was a Maharaja of Tripura during the late 15th century.
Reign
Though Pratap Manikya is stated in the Rajmala to be a son of Dharma Manikya I,[3] later scholarship proved this to be chronologically improbable.[4] It is instead believed that he was Dharma's grandson, with his father being Ratna Manikya I.[5] There were also uncertainties regarding the years of Pratap's rule. A coin supposedly minted during his reign bears the year Saka 1412 (1490 CE), though the modern-style script has led to doubts regarding its authenticity.[6] It is notable that Pratap's immediate successors struck coins in 1488 and 1489 respectively.[5]
A younger son of his father, Pratap's rule had been propped up by the support of prominent army generals in opposition to his elder brother Dhanya, against whom he waged a civil war.[7] According to the Rajmala, because of his impiety, Pratap soon lost the support of these nobles, who launched a conspiracy against him. The chronicle continues that due to his formidable physical strength and stoutness, Pratap had to be killed at night while he slept.[8]
He was succeeded in quick succession by the minor Vijaya Manikya (who may have been his son)[1] and Pratap's younger brother Mukut, before the throne finally settled on Dhanya, whose long reign lasted until 1515.[9]
Notes
^The army chief Daityanarayan was stated to have been a maternal uncle of Vijaya Manikya I, Pratap's possible son.[1]
^Durlabhendra; Sukheshwar; Baneshwar (1999). Sri Rajmala. Translated by Kailāsa Candra Siṃha; N.C. Nath. Agartala: Tribal Research Institute, Govt. of Tripura. p. 60.
^Bose, S.K. (1989). "A Silver Coin of Dhanya Manikya". The Journal of the Numismatic Society of India. 51. Numismatic Society of India, P.O. Hindu University.: 35.
