HISTORY OF NEPAL | Page 4

royal palace of Tanahun, while Bir Bhadra was away in Kathmandu. So, the baby son of Bir Bhadra Shah, named Narabhupal Shah, was brought to Gorkha and made the heir-apparent. After the death of Prithvipati Shah, his grandson Narabhupal Shah ascended the throne in 1716 A.D.

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NARABHUPAL SHAH

Narabhupal Shah was a man of high ambition. He was a brave and courageous king. He wanted to turn the small kingdom of Gorkha into a big powerful state. While Narabhupal Shah was ruling over Gorkha, Ripumardan Shah was the king of Lamjung. With the help of the king of Tanahun, Ripumardan attacked Gorkha. The combined forces of Lamjung and Tanahun were defeated by the Gorkha troops and Lamjung suffered a heavy loss in the confrontation.

Narabhupal Shah got encouragement from his victory over the combined forces of Lamjung and Tanahun to extend the territory of his kingdom by conquests. He was well aware of the political situation of the Kathmandu valley, so he thought to attack the valley kingdoms. Before entering the valley, it was necessary for him to conquer Nuwakot, the western gate of the valley. So, he sent an army under the command of Jayanta Rana and Maheswar Patan to conquer Nuwakot, in 1737 A.D. The Gorkha troop was defeated by the joint forces of Kathmandu and Patan at Nuwakot. Narbhupal Shah was deeply shocked by this defeat and dismissed the leaders of the ill-fated expedition. The Pande chiefs seized an opportunity to fill the ears of Narabhupal Shah against the Magar chief, Jayanta Rana. Jayanta Rana was blamed as the sole person responsible for this defeat. He was greatly shocked when he heard it. So he left Gorkha and went to Kathmandu. He Joined the service of Jaya Prakash Malla. Jaya Prakash Malla made him the chief of Nuwakot.

Because of the defeat at Nuvakot in 1737 A.D., Narabhupal Shah gave up all hope to extend his kingdom. He was deeply shocked at heart and he left all the affairs of the state and began to pass his days in religious observances. His wife Chandraprabha brought him tactfully into the palace and conducted the state affairs with the help of the Crown Prince Prithvi Narayan Shah. Narabhupla Shah's sorrow could not be pacified and he died with the shock of his defeat, in 1742 A.D. Then Prithvi Narayan Shah, the future hero and the conqueror of the Kathmandu valley ascended the throne of Gorkha.

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PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH, THE GREAT

Prithvi Narayan Shah was born to Queen Kaushalyavati, the second wife of king Narabhupal Shah, on 7th January 1723 A.D. (27 Paush, 1779 B.S.). One night when Kaushalyavati had a dream of swallowing the sun, she woke up and narrated the story of her dream to her husband. On hearing it, King Narabhupal Shah severely beat her. The queen wept and did not sleep for the rest of the night. In the morning, King Narabhupal Shah said to the queen, "I have between you simply not to let you sleep,for the dream you dreamt is a very good one, and to make it fruitful you should not have slept". The queen was very pleased to hear it. Seven months after this incident, Prithvi Narayan Shah was born to her. On the very day of his birth, the senior Queen Chandraprabha also gave girth to a son called Brindakeshar. There arose a question in the palace as to who should be made the Crown Prince, but Brindakeshar died soon and Prithvi Narayan Shah became the undisputed successor. Prithvi Narayan Shah had four brothers, viz, Mohaddam Kirti Shah, Dal Mardan Shah, Dalajit Shah and Surpratap Shah. The elder queen Chandra Prabhavati did not have her own son.

Prithvi Narayan Shah was brave, clever, and courageous from his childhood. He got good moral education and training from Chandra Prabhavati, Aryal and Joshi as well. He became brave, courageous, active, able administrator and good organiser. He always hated luxurious life. At the age of five, he began to study and, at the age of eleven his "Bratabandha" ceremony was held in Dhading. He was appointed as a co-regent along with Queen Chandra Prabhavati by Narabhupal Shah after his defeat at Nuwakot. Thus, Prithvi Narayan Shah gained experience of administration since his childhood.

Once he went to visit the temple of Gorakhnath, at the age of six. There he met an old man who asked him for some yogurt. The boy went to nearby houses andbrought some yogurt. The old man swallowed all the yogurt and when there was a little left in his mouth, he asked the boy to stretch out his hand. He spat a little yogurt into the boy's hand and told him to eat that yogurt. The boy did not like to eat it and threw it away immediately. The yogurt from his hand happened to