Published 29th August 2014

A list legendary Tripuri kings is given in the Rajmala chronicle,a 15th-century chronicle in Bengali verse written by the court pandits of Dharma Manikya (r. 1431). The chronicle traces the king's ancestry to the mythological Lunar Dynasty. In the 8th century, the Kingdom shifted its capital eastwards along the Surma river in Sylhet near present Kailasahar town of North Tripura. The religion of the Tipra had 14 deities known as choddha devta (in Bengali) and is still preserved in the Choddha Devta Mandir in Old Agartala, which is maintained by the Tipra priests known as Chontai's, who oversee the festivals of the Kharchiand Ker according to traditions. It was similar to the Chinese folk religions.

Rajmala mentions that Tripuri used to be known as Kirata in older times. The root word of Kirata is not clear, it may be Kwrak, meaning strong, or Kirithaya>Kiritya>Kirata what is fearless. Kirata is mentioned in the Yajur and Atharva Veda. Similarly the Kirata is mentioned along with Huna, Andhra, Pulinda, Pulkasa, Abhira, Sumbha, Yavana, members of the Khasa races in Srimad Bhagavatam. The Kirata is mentioned in the Ramayan in Ayodhya kanda's sarga 15 section, with their hair tied up in knots, shining like gold and pleasant to look upon, bold enough to move under water, terrible, veritable tiger-men, so are they famed. Similarly Kirata tribe was mentioned in Mahabharata on the Vanaparva section 39. The Kirata had been described as golden yellow people which are the skin color of modern Tripuri, though over the thousand of year of living in present Tripura the colour had changed more yellow to Dark golden. One of the most skill full archer of that time Eklabya was none than a Kirata, Bhima's wife Hadimba was a Kirata women and Ghototkoch of Mahabharata was a Kirata king, apart from the facts mentioned in the Rajmala that Tripuri king Trilochana had participated in the mythological Kurukshetra war.

According to Tripuri legends passed through generations the first Father and mother of Borok people vis-à-vis the human race were Donghorfa and Donghorma, or also pronounced as Dangaima Dangaifa. The Aryan people could not pronounce it properly so the Donghorfa was split in to two words dong+horfa, the dong word was omitted and Horfa was misspelled and mispronounced in to Harappa, that is Horfa>Harappa. If we look at the history of Tripura, the kings of Tripura were titled as Fa till the Ratnafa who took title of Manikya. For example Muchungfa, Khichungfa, Rajafa, Achongfa etc. So it was this Donghorfa from which the Harappa had originated. In India none other than kings of Tripura took the title of Fa. It is one of the proofs of Borok race's king ruling the Harappa civilization and naming the city after the king's name. similar example exist in the name of most of cities/ towns of Tripura, Amarpur, Udaipur, Kalyanpur Dharma nagar, Agartala (Agarfa) etc.

History reveals that Kailashahar and Unakoti date back to the 7th century AD as there are rock cut images which are proof for this. King Jujhar Fa had a 15th generation descendant who began the Tripurabda or the Tripuri calendar. He prayed to Lord Shiva in a place Chhambulnagar. This lay on the banks of the Mau River. It is believed that this Chhambulnagar lay near present day Unakoti Hill and that this descendant prayed in Unakoti. So it is also held that Kailashahar was earlier known as Chhambulnagar. It comes from the link that Shiv or Har lives in Kailash and since they believed Shiva lived here this place came to be known as Kailash Har which got changed to Kailashahar. In the 7th century history says that a king Adi Dharmapha ruled here and performed a big yagna with a lot of pomp and grandeur. Kailashahar is believed to be the capital of the Tripuri kingdom. 

Today Kailashahar or Chhambulnagar is the headquarters of the district of North Tripura and is also a nagar panchayat. Located on the border of India and Bangladesh, it is connected to Indian cities mainly by road. It had an airport but today it is closed and the nearest railhead is Kumarghat. Not many people live here and those who are almost in poverty but we can find some rich people too in this place. People of varied culture, religion and ethics are found here. Kailashahar, the cultural town of Tripura has a population of around 20,000 and more and has a literacy rate of 82% which is more than the national average. Bengalis are found in majority here and there are many tribals and other indigenous population which harp the growth of economy here. 

If one comes to this city, one would find that the Hindu religion is dominant here and the temples in this area are testimony to this. Islam is also a religion which is followed by people here and there is a mosque in the main bazaar. Many people also follow Buddhism here. Besides this, Christianity is slowly growing here. This town has many settlements here and is a famous tourist spot. Kailashahar, the earlier capital of Tripuri kingdom, is a place which has picturesque backgrounds and a lovely scenic beauty. This erstwhile capital is bereft of its past glory but tourism would surely bring it back to its original form. 

Located around 14kms from the city of Agartala, Chodoo Devotar  temple is famous as it has been named after 14 Goddesses. Kharchi festival is a festival that is celebrated here where thousands of devotees attend and pay homage to the Deity. Ama is the mother of the Tripuri or the people of Tripura named with many names and forms. She is called the Hachwkma or Parvati, Sangrongma or Mother Earth, Khuluma meaning Goddess of Knowledge. Mailuma or Goddess of Wealth Skal or Goddess of evil. Regarded as the Goddess of birth and embodiment of origin of mankind it is believed that the Maharaja Manikya got a dream that an idol of Tripura Sundari should be installed by shifting the idol from where he found it before dawn. As it was shifted, dawn broke and wherever it was the temple was built at today’s Matabari. The temple is on a small convex hill which is shaped like a tortoise. Lake Kalyansagar lies on the eastern side. Entrances to the temple are from the west and the north.

The roof has four slanting Chhaar Chaalas which hold a circular structure in the middle which has the shape of a lotus in Looking like a modified Buddhist stupa it is on a raised terrace, with innumerable ancient paintings inside. Stone inscriptions, and shlokas inscribed are a common feature in the temple. The main idol is made of touch stone and is more than a meter high and is installed on an altar made of stone. The Goddess has two forelimbs in a gesture of a Devi with a crown on her matted hair, and a wreath of severed heads. With an oval face and she stands on Lord Shiva in Shavasana. The idol was made during the 10th or 12th century. Another idol inside the temple is known as Chotto Ma or Chandi. There is a Lord Vishnu image here which is worshipped like a black geode. Vishnu and Devi Shakti worshipped is found only here thus conjoining the Vaishnav and the Shakta culture. Considered as one of the pithas, in earlier days, it was accessible by foot, boat, palanquin or an elephant.

Unakoti  is a historic Shaiba pilgrimage spot and dates back to 7th – 9th centuries if not earlier. While the marvellous rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty form the chief attraction, natural beauty including mountain scenery and waterfalls are an added bonus. As per Hindu mythology, when Lord Shiva was going to Kashi along with one crore gods and goddesses he made a night halt at this location. He asked all the gods and goddesses to wake up before sun rise and proceed for Kashi. It is said that in the morning, except Shiva himself, no one else could get up so set out for Kashi himself cursing the others to become stone images as a result we have one less than a crore stone images and carvings at Unakoti.These carvings are located at a beautifully landscaped forest area with green vegetation all around which add to the beauty of the carvings.

Unakoti hill, literally meaning,one less a crore in Bengali, hosts an ancientShaivite place of worship with huge rock-cut images and stone idols of Lord Shiva. It is the prime tourist spot of Unakoti Tripura District in the KailashaharSubdivision in the North-eastern Indian state of Tripura. It is Shaiba pilgrimage and dates back to 7th – 9th centuries if not earlier. The marvelous rock carvings, murals with their primitive beauty, waterfalls are not to be missed.

Maharajah Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman Manikya Bahadur, who ruled Tripura from 1923 to 1947 was widely criticized for his religious intolerance. In 1942, the Rai of the Riang area, Debi Singh Riang was dismissed by the Maharajah and Khagendra Riang Chowdhury of Bangafa was appointed as the new Rai. He increased the tax on Ganga Puja by 100%. This caused widespread discontent among the Riangs and lead to the outbreak of a small scale rebellion under the leadership of Ratanmani Noatia, aVaishnava sadhu. The rebels formed a parallel government, looted the granaries and houses of wealthy Chowdhuries. However, towards the end of 1943, the Maharajah of Tripura with the help of his loyal soldiers drawn from the Tripuri andJamatia was able to rout the rebels and arrest the instigators. The Mahajarah's forces arrested more than 300 civilians, including around 200 women and children. Ratanmani Sadhu was taken to the Maharajah's palace, where he was brutally tortured before the execution. In 1946, the Maharajah decided to evict close to 500 Muslim families from the outskirts of Agartala. Despite huge outcry from other parts of India and intervention by the leaders of the Indian National Congress, the eviction was carried out.

Maharajah Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya suddely died on 17 May 1947. After his death, Regent Queen Kanchan Prava Debi took up the administration and decided to merge the Kingdom with India, despite the advice from most of her ministers like Durjoy Kishore Debbarma for a merger with Pakistan. Maharajah Kirit Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur assumed power in 1947 and ruled until 1949, when the kingdom merged with India.