King Manadeva Second

Introduction to King Manadeva Second

King Manadeva Second and the beginning of a new era in his reign is one of the most controversial and unsolved mysteries of Lichhavi History in Nepal. Many references such as the Sumati Tantra, The Archives of Kewalpur have hinted at a King who started a new Era (similar to Bikram Sambat and Nepal Sambat) in Nepal.

According to an ancient Handwritten Text named Sumati Tantra, he ruled over Nepal in 576 A.D. and began a new era in 576 A.D. replacing the Saka Sambat that was used previously.

Reign of King Manadeva II

In the genealogy found by William Kirkpatrick, it is written that during Manadeva II’s reign, there was a drought for three years, and after the king offered all his wealth to Pashupatinath, the drought ended.

It is also believed that he ruled during the Vikram Samvat, as stated in Rajbhogmala Bansawali. The genealogy explains that before the Amshuverma, when Vikram Sambat was running in Nepal, King Manadeva Second went to the Shila Bhairav forest of Magaya to see all the letters of the people and established a New Era to commemorate it.

Beginning of a New Era in 579 A.D.

Soms Historians have attributed that it was The Great King Manadeva First that actually began The New Era but it hasn’t been proven by other evidence. It was during the reign of Amshuverma that the new Sambat was practiced.

The Inscription of Bungmati by Amshuverma (605 A.D.) mentions Samvat 26, indicating that this Samvat had been in practice for 26 years. Amshuverma had just begun his sole reign in Nepal at the time.

Hence, It is clear from this that Amshuverma was not the originator of this Samvat, and someone else may have introduced it before him.

So, The New Sambat was introduced in 579 A.D. Hence, it is highly likely that Kings Other than Shivadeva and Amshuverma should have started the Sambat. So, here is where King Manadeva Second fills the gap.

He has been mentioned in Gopal Raja Bansawali and other ancient texts as “Sambatprabarthak” or the one who initiated the Sambat meaning he was connected to the New Sambat.

It is worth noting that the new era could not have been initiated by the first Manadeva since he died in Shaksamvat 427. It is presumed that the “Samvatpravartaka” was the second Manadeva, but no records of him have been found.

This makes it difficult to assume that the name of this Samvat is ‘Manadeva Samvat.’ Additionally, it is not clear who ‘Shrimanadeva’ mentioned in the archives of Kewalpur is. For the sake of History, it is considered King Manadeva Second.

It has been well established by Limited Historians that he introduced a new Samvat, which has been used in the inscriptions since Amshuverma in 605 A.D. and continued after that.

Conclusion

The Evidence of the Existence of King Manadeva II is scarce. Some Historians have omitted his name whereas others have mentioned him as amongst the Lichhavi Kings of Nepal.

References