hugmi Res�arch (?rivnte) Ltd, Kathrr�ndu: October 1, 1972. Ragrni Research Series Year 4, No. 10, Edited By, Hahesh C. Regrni. Contents Page · 1.· From Ratna Mnlla To Narasirnha Malla ••• 181 2. Guthi Land J.cquis ition For BalAju Gardens ••• 189 3. King P rithvi Narayan Shah's Military Campaigns, 1764-1767 ••• 190 !.- Botel Offerings To Goddess Trileju •• • 195 5. l'.n Order Of King Darnoor Shah Of Gorkha ••• 196 6. An Inscription lnstallud During Tha Reign Of Rajalla Devi • •• 198 7 •.Appointxoont Of Chi13f Of Gunpowder 1''actory In Thimi •• • 200 Regrni Research (Privaw) Ltd, Lazimpat, Kathmandu, NE-pal. Compiled by Ragrni Research (Private) Ltd. for private study and research. Not rrinont for public sale or display. 181. x ·From Ratna Malla To· Narasimha Malla By Surya Gnyawali. Bikram... (Continued From Previou� Issue)· J,ccording to tho v�mshavalis, Ratna Malla inw1ded Nuwakot and defeated its Thakuri King. He brought thP. fruits grown in Nuwakot and offered th,:i · same· to th"' temple of P�s_hupotinath. Ratna Malla had invaded Nuwakot afti�r c�tablishing his supremacy ·in Kathmandu. According to the Vamshavalis, fu1tnc1 Malla had built the huge temple of' Tul�ja in Kathmandu in 621 Nepal er3 (1501 A .D. }. Goddoss. Tulaja and a knowledge of her esoteric rites "r.::i regr-,rded as symbols of State. power. in Nepal. The Vmnshavalis toll us ttiA't ;2,vcry King pas.:;cd on tha·se rites of Godciess to his eldest son, thcit is, his heir, befoI"o breathing his last. Ratna Malla is said to have been instructed in theso rites by Yaksha Malla at the time of the latter's death. The priests and courtiers are said to have played a deceitful role in this r�gard. Thd Vamshavali� state that Ratna Malla carried the , sHord and shield of Goddess. Tulaj a to Patan after the death ot his fE!th•.:r. This explains why Hatnc1 Malla constructed the templ0 of TulajA in Kathn1nndu in 1501 A.D. This also [.)roves that he ruid becone the independent King of' Kathmandu by that time. Hnving s�abilizod his rule in Kathmandu, Ratnii Malla brought into circulation coppur ccins b-::aring the effigy of a lion. 'lliese coins circu­ letl.:d 311 over Nepal. Th2ro wr:s no shortage cf copper needed f0r minting cc,ins, becauso copper deposits were located in Chi tlang neart>y. The. embh:m of lion chosen by Ratnn Malla ap9ears to be. the traditional one adopted by Nepal. Reference has alrear:!y been made to thP, fact that. Shivadeva or p S.1dashiw1dev.<.1, who rulAd N':! al 300 years b<::fore Ratna· Malla· , had minte(l Suki bearing the effiey of a lion. • X . .. Surya Bikram Gny�wali, N3pal Upatyakako Madhyakalin Itihas (Medieval History of N�;pcil Valley). Kat�ndu: Royal Nepal Ac�demy, 2019 (1962). ChBpter XII: t•natna Malla Dekhi Nara simha Malla Sanima;" (From Ratna Mn 118; To Narasimha Malla), FP •. 121-135. Contd••• l.82 . J.ccording to thd Vc:mshavalis, Bhotes called 11KukuII s ntered into Nc-•prl durine the reign of Ra tna Mcilln , c:nd caused much hDrassment to the locc,l fJt:.: cple . These Bhotos probably move d into Nuwa ko t from the north and h<'rllss:d the loca l people in various ways . Ratna Ma lla was not in a pos ition to fight and subdue them throue; h his own str,,ngtt•• Moreover, -he could not nfford to la nve Kathma ndu ,1 t thEittilllG in view of interna l dis�ension[i . Hence , accor1ing to the Vamshavnlis , Ratna Ma lla sent five Ma ithi li Brc! hii''m�: t,_ , Palpa to ask th� S8n King, who wa s his discipL=.: , to he lp him in SU[Jprcs:; ­ inc the enemy . The idanti�y of the Sen King ha s not been establishE:d. 'l'b ·, bi.story of Pa lpa too is silt-mt on this point. lfowovf')r, mor1:, important than tho arriva l rif th,� Bh0 te Kukus anr.1 t hc­ flid extended by the King of Palpa in subduing them is the fa ct that Rata�: lialfa had ma do Birta land grnnts to four Khasa communities aft,3r this war'. 'Ihc Khasas r"fcrrc:d t'.) in the Vamshnva lis we re probably Chhotris livin•i: in the hill r0eian. 1 Khasns hr:id cpter-od into Nepal r:ift-:,r !, ditya Malla s attack,. Ra tna N<• ll,' brought thorn t0 his Kingdom under his patrona e;e . It is not surprisinc tlr; i. •·:·. 1 rai6ed a ccntingr:n t of' troops from amoni; th(' Khasas'. Hl-} trusted tho Kh:.;;: :..; b.:: cc1use thl�Y h.c:.J n,JthinG to do with intl';rnal conflicts and w1:,rc-, loynl t;', thu ir mastf;rs by nature'. i�ccordine to thd VGmshr•va lis, it wa s during this period that Muslim traders enter.jJ int,.;, N,,pal. They s-::t up coIT1llt1rciol houses in N,,pal, tbr,_,u ;:b wh ich .they tradtld wi th Tibet . Ra:tna Mallo possessed brand outlo�>k . He minted copµS::r· coins with th­ aim of improving the financial condition of Kathnia ndu . ThE· fa ct thr.at ht: tl<l d minted sucb c0ins indicates that th•-:. gennral ccClnomic condition of K� thm.:indu ,'l t th�t time wa s improving. Ratna Mci lla 1 s permission trJ Muslin; tr..idi:-)rs tu opcrvt.3 in Knthmancu wtis m<.iti\l� ted by the desire to d-= ve lop trc1de . His arficrent aim wn s to develop fhpal into a am jor centr-,r 0f tr-.J-.l ·. �1ith both:: , Ti bot an<:i India'. i�ccording ta. Prat3p Malla I s stone inscriptions , Ratna Mc1 lla was Sl!cc�; '(' by his s:m, Surya Halla' . But ElCcordinr, to Bhasha Vamshcwa li s, Awara ti.:1 111 wa s tre actua l successor of Hatna Ma il� , and that Sur-ya Ma lla wa s the �ucccssor 0f /ima r;:i Ma lla . The VDmshavcili.s stat0 that Surya Malla soized tw, villages, Changu anr3 Shankhapur, · from Rhadgaun nnci annexed them to Ka tt.tJTian<iu'. 'l'his clnim may be oorrect, for Ratm1 Mt1lln , his predecessor, ha d declared himself inoopcnd�nt of Bhadgaun and established his own Kinr­ dom in Kathmmdu. In thoso circumstances, it was na tural thnt ther,3 �h0uld bu hostility between Kathmandu and Dhadgaun at that ti-re'. SuryD Ma lla settled down at Shankhapur or Sankhu and introduced the fGstival of Vo jrayogini there'. He ztoycd o t Sankhu for 6 years and then re turn;:,n to Kathmandu, where � died. (Wright , p . 206). C!nnt.rl Why is there no reference to Surya Ma llA in the Vamshavalis or in Pcrthivendra Malla' s stone inscript ions ? Surya Nnll a was n religious-r,iinJ ed. n• That was why he livedo· at s�nkhu after hnnding over th,� •i rllll,,_, - � ·1 . is. tratiori to his son, Amara Malla .. fs such, /,mara Ma lla W,\5 the rr:,1 1 .- Ktng of Nepal at that time .. 'Ibis is the probPble reaoson why Surya Mnllno1 ::� narre was .not included in the list of the Kings of Kathmnndu� Only Pratap Maiin has r\;ferrod to uS rya Malla, probably to c\arify his linc:agc. Surya Malla was succe(:,ded by · ,�rn;:ir.:i Ma 11.no. /, rr£:nuscript (.mti tlcd G,, · t,:c--­ Bbnshynrn, writti·n during his reign, has been discov•: red . Extracts fr� thE. manuscript , preso�ted hy Harih.::ir Prasad Shastri, indicate thAt it 1m :. written in Kathmandu on the order of Mukund Pathak Shanna , i:i minister of Amara Malla .. It was �-r itton io h22 (Laxman Sen era), which, according to some scholars, wa s Starkd in 1119-1120 A.D. or 622 Nepa l era . 'l' hus the m:r n}lS cript npp<:3n rs to have been written around 1.542 P.D. A def ini tc date rt:111� ing to Ratna Mn lla is 6 32 Nepal era ( 1513 l\.D .) • He is presumed to hnv( reigned until muc h later. It is possible .that the King of the third eE,n.:;­ rntion aft-.Jr Ratna Halla muet hav;: ruled NepAl around 662 N,:,pal ern . Thi:.� drt" i� re linblG , :;inco th..:.: V.:-·hr, ms valis con1'inr1 thut Ma ithili Brnhmllm; hnd bc:gun to.oc cupy a pre:dom!.nant po::i ition from thu time of Ratna Mall<1o. I.nether definite datt:: relatedo. to Ratna l-'inlln 's rule has b,.ien rnuntionnl 11 .:1 Benda11 . It is Shrawan 671 Nupal era (l�Sl 1 ••D. ). It is thcrt.:fore sai't: t,.-.:, ass1:1ffie tha t Ratna Malla wa s alivo at least until 1551 A.D. Amara Ma lla was a ro ligious -mindod King . He w£i s specially devoted to too cult of tb,., Shakti. He revivod the Harisiddhi danceo. Tho;: Mchi..1olaxmi dancu at Khoknna wns started during his ··re·ign. H,j· also stnrted a nurnb<"'r of other r0ligious drinces , ·which included th1:1 Man� Mniju dance, the Pachali Bhairnvodaooe-, th� _Navo -Durga drince, the Bhadraka li dance, and the Kankeshwari dance.. He introdu cod thfl festiv;:11s of differont de;it ir:�; . In this manner , he provided dif feront means of satisfying· r;_•ligious s, nti- lll(;nts and entertc, inn:-}nt needs of the people . Th(:j Vamshc1v�lis contain a list of the villages under the control of l�mara Mall.:io.