Minakshi (Manki)

Minakshi was a royal dancer who belonged to the Nat caste. According to legend, she was the court dancer of the king of Amravati and she was very loyal to her king and the kingdom. It is said that Mithila was attacked many times by outsider invaders to steal the manuscripts of the scholars in the kingdom. Once Mithila was attacked by Bengali and Navadwip invaders, so that they could steal the centre of knowledge from here and take it to their place. Minakshi came to know about this, then she took out everything from the box in which the manuscripts were being carried and locked herself in it and left. In this way she became the protector of the state and sacrificed her life for the protection of the manuscripts in Mithila.^[1]

There is a historical dih named after her name at Sarso village in the Madhubani district of the Mithila region in Bihar. The dih is known as Manki Dih. It was her residence place. Similarly her story of bravery is still played at different drama theatres in the country.^[2][3]