Maha Bandula's first major military action as a senior commander came soon after in Manipur. The small kingdom in the west was a rebellion-prone protectorate between 1758 and 1782, and had been retaken by Bodawpaya since 1814. When the raja of Manipur, Marjit Singh, who was placed on the throne by the Burmese only five years earlier, did not attend the new king's coronation ceremony or send an embassy bearing tribute, as all vassal kings had an obligation to do, Bagyidaw sent an expeditionary force to reclaim Manipur.