The state Manipur always has been styled as a kingdom without much of remnants of palaces, rich monuments and temples. Historical temples and monuments are very few. The earliest temple which is believed to be of the 15th/16th century AD is the Vishnu temple at Bishnupur now called as Bishenpur. Non availability of monuments prior to it is perhaps due to the fact that as the art of making bricks was unknown in Manipur at that time , constructions were made of wood and other perishable materials which are easily weathered when exposed to tropical and sub tropical climate . Anyway the stupa type of roof of the Vishnu Temple, the hut type temple of Krishna and other monuments at Imphal indicate the influence of both Buddhist and Vaishnavite Hindu architecture.

The epics, Puranas, contain traditions; and these traditional stories are the important sources of informations of the early history of Manipur. According to the legend contained in the Adi and Asvamedha parvas of the Mahabharata, the Bishnupriya Manipuris claim descent from Prince Vabruvahana , son of Arjuna the third Pandava hero. It is believed that the Mahabharata of the Kurukskhetra war took place about 500/600 years before Christ. Therefore, Bishnupriya Manipuri was an ancient clan existed since that time. The Sankhayana Griha Sagraha describes Manipur as a sacred land. The Bishnupriya Manipuris might have produced their books concerning their territory, belief and society. Also those books might have contained the history of the clan from the time of their founders till their absorption in the powerful Ningthouja clan. But whatever might be the reason almost all are unavailable now except a book of the Khumals which clearly mentions about the history of the Bishnupriya Manipuris. Written by Pt. Navakhendra Singha. Another book of recent times which is the re written copy of the lost royal chronicle , “ Cheitharol kumbaba” , its translated copies in Bengali and English are available. From the translated copies of the book we can form a rough idea about the territory, belief, and society of the Khumal or Bishnupriya Manipuri people, and the genealogy of their Kings. The genealogy of the Khumal ( Bishnupriya Manipuri ) Kings as provided in the Puran describes the order of the Bishnupriya Manipuri Kings from the Arjun in Chitrangada –to Babruvahana to the last king of Khumals , King Khumal Atal.

From Babrubahana there were twenty seven generations of Khumal rulers who ruled in succession . This genealogy of the Khumal rulers is endorsed in an essay in an issue of a monthly magazine of Manipur, “Lalit Manjuri”.