The Battle of Lalitpur in 1768 ended with the Gorkha conquest of Lalitpur, one of the three kingdoms in Nepal centered in the Kathmandu Valley,[1] and the loss of the rule of the native Newars.[2]
Exhausted by a prolonged siege and much bloody fighting, the Newars surrendered when the Gorkhalis threatened to cut off their noses, like during the Battle of Kirtipur, and also their right arms.[3]
The victors then entered the city and plundered it. They killed all the nobles and important men. They also dismantled the royal palace and looted the houses of the rich inhabitants and even the temples.[4]
The Six Pradhans
Patan was ruled by the six bhardar/kshatriya noble Pradhan brothers - Kaji Dhanwanta Singh, Kaji Bhinkhyal Singh, Kaji Sinkhyal Singh, Kaji Chaku Bahal Singh, Kaji Kalidas Singh, Kaji Dhanjkaji Singh - who ruled as the de facto Lords (termed Kajis) of Patan who were very powerful. They were rather intelligent and sharp in politics and were collectively called the “Six Pradhans”. They had accumulated so much wealth and power that they even changed kings on their whim. In 1802 (date needs verification) , after the death of Bishnu Malla, Rajya Prakash Malla was handed the throne of Patan by the Pradhans. The King of Gorkha, Prithivi Narayan Shan, defeated Nuwakot and started a blockade in the Valley. Seeing this, Rajya Prakash Malla wanted to develop good relationship with the King of Gorkha. But his efforts for this were not very successful. In the First Battle of Kirtipur in 1757, Prithivi Narayan Shah attacked Kritipur for the first time. In the war, Rajya Prakash Malla, with the help his brother Jaya Prakash Malla, the king of Kantipur, defeated the Gorkhalis. Rajya Praksah Malla had commanded his Army but the six Pradhans did not want the King to conduct his work smoothly and efficiently, and a disagreement arose between them. In the events that followed, the six Pradhans took out both eyes of the King. Following this, King Rajya Prakash Malla died in 1815 (date needs verification). On the very day of the king's death, the Pradhans crowned 18-year old Bishwojit Malla as the King of Patan. But even he could not rule as the King for more than 2 years. Genealogical records show that Kaji Kalidas Pradhans' son was married to Maiju Thakurni who was also taken up as his wife by king Bishwojit Malla. It is said the king was dragged out to the Taleju temple and decapitated by the Kaji's son. It was the rule at the time that a person could kill another if the latter took the former's wife as his own. As Bishwajit Malla was married to the wife of the Pradhan Kaji, and following that tradition, he was cut down by the Pradhan. There are also stories that the cunning Pradhans, who dominated and had power to change the King, may have had killed King Bishwojit under false pretenses.
Jaya Prakash Malla was very angry with the Pradhans for killing his brother. So in a bid to please him, the Pradhans wanted him to be crowned as the King of Patan. After Bishwojit's death, Jaya Prakash Malla was made the King of Patan in 1817 (date needs verification since he died in 1769). Due to his arrogance and merciless behaviour, the King and Pradhans were not in good terms. After ruling for one and half year, when Jaya Prakash Malla went to take a bath at Teku, the Pradhans made sure that the King would never return to Patan again banishing him away. The then King of Bhaktapur Ranajit Malla was handed the crown of Patan by the Pradhans. Ranajit Malla would also be thrown away from the throne by the Pradhans and Jaya Prakash Malla was reinstated as the King of Patan. Looking at the growing power of the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Pradhans wanted Shah to be the King of Patan. Seasoned in politics, Pritivi Narayan Shah was aware of the cunningness of the Pradhans and had his brother Dalmardan Shah crowned as Patan's king in 1763. In 1768, the Gorkhali invaded Kantipur. As a result, the Pradhans imprisoned Dalmardan Shah and they made Tej Narsingh Malla the king of Patan. Seeing Prithivi Narayan Shah conquer places one after another, the Pradhans were always on alert. One of the Pradhans, Kaji Dhanwanta, had already built a friendship with Prithivi Narayan Shah before defeating Kritipur.
In 1857 (date needs verification since he died in 1769), after the Gorkhalis won Kantipur, Jaya Prakash Malla sought asylum in Patan. The Pradhans wanted to surrender to Prithivi Narayan Shah. Seeing this, King Tej Narsingh Malla and Jaya Prakash Malla both then ran to Bhaktapur. After ruling for 25 years, showing their arbitrary governance, accumulating power, taking the norms, rules and laws in their hands: Patan's Pradhans had their existence ceased. Due to the way they ruled, historians often credit them for the collapse of the Malla dynasty.
The Blockade
Lalitpur (alternative names: Patan, Yala Desa यल देस, Lalit Pattan) was one of the three capitals in the Kathmandu Valley, the other two being Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. Lalitpur contained 24,000 houses, and its southern boundary extended to a distance of four days' journey to the kingdom of Makwanpur.[5]
The Gorkhalis from the neighboring kingdom of Gorkha coveted the valley due to its rich culture, trade, industry and agriculture.[6] In 1736, the Gorkhali king Nara Bhupal Shah launched an attack on Nuwakot, a border town and fort in the northwest of the valley, and was roundly defeated.[7]
In 1742, his son Prithvi Narayan Shah became king and continued the quest.[8][9] Shah sought to subdue the valley by choking its commerce and supply lines. His forces occupied strategic passes in the surrounding hills, and strangled the vital trade links with Tibet and India.
In 1744, Shah took Nuwakot which gave him a foothold in Nepal and allowed him to stop its trade with Tibet as it lay on the trans-Himalayan trade route.[10] In 1762 and 1763, the Gorkhalis overran Makwanpur and Dhulikhel respectively, surrounding the Kathmandu Valley from the west, south and east.[11]
In a bid to cause a famine, Shah prevented any grain from passing into the valley, and blockade runners were hung from the trees on the roads.[12] The prolonged siege forced the king of Kathmandu to appeal to the British East India Company for help. In August 1767, Captain George Kinloch led a British force towards the valley to rescue its beleaguered inhabitants.[13] He reached within 75km of Kathmandu and captured the forts at Sindhuli and Hariharpur, but was forced to retreat after supplies ran out and his troops mutinied.[14]
Eyewitness Account
An ItalianCapuchin missionary, Father Giuseppe, Prefect of the Roman Mission, was an eyewitness to the Gorkhali invasion. He has written that after the defeat of Kirtipur, Shah sent his troops to attack Lalitpur. They surrounded half the city from the west, and began firing on it. Giuseppe's house was located near the city gate, and he moved to Kathmandu to get out of the line of fire.[15]
The Take-over
Not being able to take Lalitpur even after a long siege and a series of fierce clashes, Shah decided to change his tactics.[16] He sent his men to infiltrate the city's nobility and make a deal. He promised the nobles that they would be allowed to keep their property, in fact, they would get more if they accepted him as their king.
These secret negotiations convinced the Malla kings of Lalitpur and Kathmandu (who had sought refuge there after its capture by the Gorkhalis) that they were going to be betrayed, and they fled to Bhaktapur.[17]
After Shah took Lalitpur, he treated the Pradhan nobles appreciatively for a time. Then one day he called them to a meeting at the riverbank of Teku Dobhan on the outskirts of the city. There, the Pradhan nobles were captured and killed.[18]
The Gorkhalis then turned their attention towards Bhaktapur. The three Malla kings of Nepal were gathered at Bhaktapur Durbar Square to make a final stand against the aggressors.[19] Shah conquered Bhaktapur in 1769, thus completing his conquest of Nepal. The Malla dynasty was replaced by the Shah dynasty which lasted until 2008 when Nepal became a republic.[20]
The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu kingdom in South Asia, formed in 1768 by the expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lasted until 2008 when the kingdom became the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal. It was also known as the Gorkha Empire, or sometimes Asal Hindustan. Founded by King Prithvi Narayan Shah, a Gorkha monarch who claimed to be of Khas Thakuri origin, it existed for 240 years until the abolition of the Nepalese monarchy in 2008. During this period, Nepal was formally under the rule of the Shah dynasty, which exercised varying degrees of power during the kingdom's existence.
Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the Kingdom of Nepal. Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal.
The unification of Nepal was the process of building the modern Nepalese state, from fractured petty kingdoms including the Baise Rajya and the Chaubisi Rajya, which began in 1743 AD. The prominent figure in the unification campaign was Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha. On 25 September 1768, he officially announced the creation of the Kingdom of Nepal and moved his capital from Gorkha to the city of Kathmandu.
The Malla dynasty was the ruling dynasty of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal from 1201 to 1779. This dynasty was founded by Arideva Malla. Though latter Mallas were regarded as belonging to Raghuvanshi dynasty, they were also seen as continuation and descendants of the Licchavi dynasty. Later Malla kings also traced one section of their lineage from Nanyadeva, the founder of the Karnat dynasty of Mithila. The term malla means wrestler in Sanskrit. The first use of the word malla in the Kathmandu Valley begins from 1201.
Jaya Prakash Malla was the last king of Kantipur which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746 after succeeding his father Jagajjaya Malla, and then from 1750 until his death in 1769.
Basnyat/Basnet family or Basnyat/Basnet dynasty was a Khas-Chhetri and a warlord clan family involved in the politics and administration of the Gorkha Kingdom and Kingdom of Nepal. This family got entry into Thar Ghar aristocracy group of Gorkha at the time of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. It was one of the four noble families to be involved in active politics of Nepal together with Shah dynasty, Pande family and Thapa dynasty before the rise of Rana dynasty. This family is descended from Shivaram Singh Basnyat, the commander of Gorkhali forces and a member of Shreepali Basnyat clan of Gorkha. This family was maritally linked to Kala (Black) Pande section of Pande dynasty through Chitravati Pande who married Kaji Kehar Singh Basnyat. This family was the last Kshatriya (Chhetri) political family to be wiped out from the central power by Jung Bahadur Rana of Kunwar family during the Bhandarkhal Massacre in 1846 for the conspiracy to take the power leading to people suffering from the Rana rule for 104 long years.
Kaji was a title and position used by nobility of Gorkha Kingdom (1559–1768) and Kingdom of Nepal between 1768 and 1846. Many other contemporary kingdoms used the same title for their ministers.
Ranajita Malla was the last king of the Malla dynasty who ruled Bhaktapur from 1722 to 1769. After his defeat by the Gorkhali forces of Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1769, he left for Varanasi. He is widely known for his contributions to Nepal Bhasa literature, in particular his plays are generally praised by modern scholars. He has been generally described as a peace loving, simple and religiously devoted monarch who allowed his citizens to advice and criticize him. However, his reign was characterized by constant disputes with Kantipur and Gorkha. He is also known for the crisis of succession during his reign when he favored his concubine's issue over his queen consort's, who more generally liked which caused a lot of mutiny in the kingdom especially in cities in like Thimi and Banepa.
The Shreepali Basnet are a clan of the Chhetris originally from the Saipal, Far West Region who got their prominence in Gorkha district of Nepal. They mainly worship 'Masto' as their 'Kulayan' but saipali from Gorkha has changed their worship to "Sishakoti Mahadev", "Veerabhadra", "Mahakali" as their Kul Deuta and Aradhe Devi "Dakshinkali" as Istha deuta in style of Kunwar Rana. They became very powerful during the unification of Nepal and remained so until the emergence of Jung Bahadur Kunwar or later known as Jang Bahadur Rana.
The Battle of Kirtipur occurred in 1767 during the Gorkha conquest of Nepal, and was fought at Kirtipur, one of the principal towns in the Kathmandu Valley. Kirtipur was then a walled town of 800 houses and part of the kingdom of Lalitpur. It is spread along the top of a ridge.
The Battle of Kathmandu or siege of Kathmandu or siege of Kantipur was a battle that occurred during the Unification of Nepal. It was fought in Kathmandu in 1768, and resulted in the defeat of its king Jaya Prakash Malla by conquerors Prithvi Narayan Shah, king of the adjoining Gorkha Kingdom.
The Battle of Bhaktapur was the final campaign in the Gorkha conquest of Nepal. It took place in Bhaktapur in 1769, and resulted in the victory of the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah, giving him control of the entire Kathmandu Valley and adjoining areas.
Vamshidhar Pande known by Alias Kalu Pande was a Nepalese politician and military general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. in Gorkha. He was the commander of the Gorkhali forces during the Unification Campaign of Nepal who died in the first Battle of Kirtipur in 1757 A.D. Pande's real name was Banshidhar Pande. He was a son of Kaji Bhimraj Pande who was minister during reign of King Prithivipati Shah of Gorkha. He was descendant of Minister of Gorkha and Dravya Shah's accomplice Ganesh Pande. He had three sons: Dewan Kajisaheb Vamsharaj Pande, Sardar Ranasur Pande and Mulkaji Sahib Damodar Pande.
Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar was military commander (Sardar) of Gorkha Kingdom during the Unification of Nepal at the reign of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He was born circa 1728 AD to Ashiram Kunwar in the Kunwar family. His descendants went on to found the Rana dynasty of Nepal. He was a successful general in the unification campaign of Nepal of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He defeated British forces at Hariharpur Gadhi on 25 August 1767. He died in Mechi Campaign in 1771 A.D.
Tularam Pande was Nepalese military personnel, diplomat and politician in the Gorkha Kingdom. He was a diplomat who served King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha. Two of his diplomatic missions were with Dolakha and Kathmandu while the latter remained unsuccessful. He also served as the national military commanders in the forces of Prithvi Narayan Shah. He was the patron of the Gora Pande clan, a minor faction of the Gorkha-based aristocratic Pande family. Some of his patrilineal descendants became influential politicians such as Ranajit Pande and Dalabhanjan Pande in the Nepalese history through their marital ties with the Thapa dynasty. His matrilineal descendants became significantly influential; Queen Tripurasundari of Nepal went on to become Queen Mother of Nepal and Mathawar Singh Thapa – the Prime Minister of Nepal and Jang Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji – the latter period ruler of Kaski and Lamjung and Prime Minister of Nepal.
The Battle of Nuwakot also called Siege of Nuwakot or Invasion of Nuwakot was fought in Nuwakot in 1744. Nuwakot was controlled by the Kingdom of Kantipur and it was an important location as it had a trade route to Tibet. The Gorkha Kingdom previously attacked twice by Nara Bhupal Shah and his son Prithvi Narayan Shah respectively. To prepare for the war Prithvi Narayan Shah visited Varanasi to get war materials, ammunition, acquire weapons, train the soldiers, and Pilgrims. He improved his army personnel and included people from any caste including the blacksmiths, cobblers, sweepers, Damai, and anyone who was bodied and physically fit was able to join the crew.
The Battle of Sindhuli was fought on 6 November 1767 near Sindhuli Gadhi. The battle was part of the unification of Nepal led by Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha.
The Kingdom of Lalitpur, also known as Patan, was a kingdom ruled by the Malla dynasty of Nepal. It was established in 1482 after King Yaksha Malla's death. His sons divided the kingdom into four parts: Bhaktapur, Kantipur, Lalitpur, and Banepa.
In the 11th century, a powerful empire of Khas people emerged in western Nepal whose territory at its highest peak included much of western Nepal as well as parts of western Tibet and Uttarakhand of India. By the 14th century, the empire had splintered into loosely associated Baise rajyas, literally 22 states as they were counted. The rich culture and language of the Khas people spread throughout Nepal and as far as Indo-China in the intervening centuries; their language, later renamed the Nepali language, became the lingua franca of Nepal as well as much of North-east India. In south-eastern Nepal, Simraungarh annexed Mithila around 1100 AD, and the unified Tirhut stood as a powerful kingdom for more than 200 years, even ruling over Kathmandu for a time. After another 300 years of Muslim rule, Tirhut came under the control of the Sens of Makawanpur. In the eastern hills, a confederation of Kirat principalities ruled the area between Kathmandu and Bengal.
References
↑ Northey, William Brook and Morris, Charles John (1928). The Gurkhas: Nepal-Their Manners, Customs and Country. Asian Educational Services. ISBN9788120615779. Page 31.
↑ Waller, Derek J. (2004). The Pundits: British Exploration Of Tibet And Central Asia. University Press of Kentucky. p.171. ISBN9780813191003.
↑ Northey, William Brook and Morris, Charles John (1928). The Gurkhas: Nepal-Their Manners, Customs and Country. Asian Educational Services. ISBN9788120615779. Page 151.
↑ Raj, Yogesh (2012). "Introduction". Expedition to Nepal Valley: The Journal of Captain Kinloch (August 26-October 17, 1767). Kathmandu: Jagadamba Prakashan. p.7. ISBN9789937851800.
↑ Northey, William Brook and Morris, Charles John (1928). The Gurkhas: Nepal-Their Manners, Customs and Country. Asian Educational Services. ISBN9788120615779. Pages 30--31.
↑ Stiller, Ludwig F. (1968). Prithwinarayan Shah in the light of Dibya Upadesh. Catholic Press. p.39.
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