Patan
Lalitpur
UNESCO World Heritage Site : 1979
Patan (Lalitpur) (Népal)
| | | | Lalitpur displays an unique tradition and culture in its day to day life and activities. Various religious and ethnic communities belonging either Hinduism or Buddhism live side by side in close harmony. | | Patan : Virtual tour |  | 13 sections and 1 item |
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Patan : Building(s) (13)
|  | Durbar Square (1)
Place Dâbar
Patan Durbar Square complex, situated in the center of Patan city, also known as Lalitpur, houses the residence of the former Patan royal family. Patan Square and its surroundings are good specimen of ancient Newari architecture.
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|  | Krishna Temple
Chyasim Deval
Krishna Mandir
1723
This only octagonal temple in Durbar Square was built by Yogamati, daughter of King Yoganarendra, in 1723. Made completely of stone with sculpting, it stands on a three-stage base and is considered the lesser of the square's two Krishna temples.
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|  | Krishna Mandir
1637
Krishna Mandir in the Patan Durbar Square was built to honor an incarnation of Vishnu. Krishna fought by the side of the Pandavs in the Mahabharat war to assure that truth would prevail.
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|  | Vishwanath Temple
Shiva Temple
1627
Vishwanath (also spelt Viswanath or Vishvanath) is another name of the Hindu god, Lord Shiva and literally means "Lord of the universe".
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|  | Temple of Bhimsen
1682
The Bhimsen temple which honors Bhim great wrestler, brother of the Pandavs, and a deity to Nepalese businessmen contains fine samples of metal craft.
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|  | Jagannarayan Mandir
Charnarayan Mandir
1565
Also dedicated to Vishnu (as Narayan), this is said to be the oldest temple in the square dating from about 1566, although some scholars date it from the late 17th century.
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|  | Hari Shankar Temple
Hari Shankar Mandir
between 1704 and 1705
The three-storeyed Hari Shankar Mandir is dedicated to the half Vishnu, half Shiva deity. He was built by Yogamati, King Mandir Yoganarendra Math's daughter, and was completed in 1705.
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|  | Manga Hiti
Manga Hiti is one of the water conduits with which Patan and Bhaktapur are so liberally endowed.
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|  | Taleju Bell
1736
The large bell hanging between two thick pillars was cast by King Vishnu Malla and his wife Rani Chandra Lakshmi in 1736. It was the first of the great bells to be installed in all three of the Valley's Durbar Squares.
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|  | Royal Palace
The Royal Palace of Patan forms the entire eastern side of the Durbar Square and is one of the architectural highlights of the Valley.
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|  | Mul Chowk
between 1665 and 1666
The Mul Chowk and the Taleju Temples stand in the central courtyard, which is the largest and oldest of the palace's three main chowks.
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|  | Patan Museum
Mani Keshar Chowk
The renovated Patan Museum is one of the finest museums on the subcontinent. Its main feature is an outstanding collection of cast bronze and gilt copper work, mostly of Hindu and Buddhist deities.
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| Patan : Description | |
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The city boasts with number of heritages both in tangibles and intangibles forms. Apart from the varieties of historic Hindu and Buddhist monuments like Bahas, Bahis, Pagoda and Stone Temples, Chaityas, Pati, Agamchhens, stone spouts ..., adorned with beautiful art and architecture, the buildings of ordinary people along the city's streets and alleys of the city form a part of its tangible heritage. The various religious and cultural activities that have survived the test of time and have continued to be indispensable part of people's day to day life too contribute to its intangible heritage.
Various Jatras or festivals, which would include various cultural and religious processions, dance, music and other various activities are even today enthusiastically observed and form an essential part of day-to-day life of its citizens.
Patan Durbar Square has been list in UNESCO world heritage sites, which is one of the seven such sites in Kathmandu Valley.
Durbar Square
Patan Durbar Square located at the city centre is the focal point of all the heritages in Lalitpur. This palace complex from where the ancient rulers of this city ruled consists of 19 monuments in and around it. The Durbar Square was designated as World heritage site in 1979. It is a pride and glory of not only Patan but also the nation as a whole. It is small but has been successful in preserving its original character than other palaces of the Kathmandu valley. It is most impressive architectural site with complex of temples. |
| Patan : History | |
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Three hundred years ago the Kathmandu Valley, no more than 200 square miles in area, contained three independent kingdoms - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. All of them were prosperous, well governed and enjoying a high level of culture. Each had fertile soil for agriculture, a good natural water supply, local clay to make bricks and rugged surrounding hills to discourage foreign invaders. It was an ideal environment for the growth of a civilization.
Malla Dynasty
The Malla Dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Nepal from the 12th to the 18th century. Malla kings of Nepal visited Lumbini in the 11th and 12th century. It was during their reign the people living in and around the Kathmandu Valley began to be called as "Newars" (or Nepa:mi in Newari language, meaning the citizens of Nepal). The Mallas were the ruling clan of the Malla Mahajanapada. They later shifted to Kathmandu valley. In Nepal, The first Malla king was Abhaya Malla, the son of Ari Deva.
Malla ruler Ananta Malla (r.1274 - 1310) was succeeded by his son Jayananda Deva (r.1310 - 1320). His son Jayaraja Deva (1317-1361) became king in 1347. During his reign Sultan of Bengal, Shams-ud-Din Ilyas Shah invaded Nepal. Jayaraja Deva was succeeded by his son Jayarjuna Malla (r. 1361 - 1382). Jayarjuna was overthrown by Jayasthiti Malla in 1382. Jayashtiti Malla (r.1382- 1395) was the most capable ruler of this dynasty who curbed the powers of the feudal chiefs. He is known for structuring of Newar society by implementing the caste system and fixing the status of the different castes. However, some historians and scholars consider this caste system to be the worse aspect of the Malla dynasty as the whole world sees this today as a social taboo. Lower castes like Chame, khadgi were treated as untouchable and totally outcasted from the society. Manandhar, Maharjan (middle caste) were considered lower than the those rulers but a slightly higher than the Chame and Khadgi.There always arose marriage conflicts among the working groups. The Malla rulers and the Shrestha (Administrators) have proven themselves hungry for power and creating a check and balance strategy among the working class. Even to this date, much changes are not seen in this social taboo issue and there has been reported issues of deriding the working class on the basis of their traditional profession and caste. It won't be untrue to say that the whole credit of forming and maintaining the world class Newar culture and tradition goes to the middle caste and lower caste of Newars than the greedy higher caste rulers who used to be considered as deities. He took the titles Dayitanarayana and Asuranarayana. He had three sons who ruled conjointly after their father's death but later his youngest son Jayajyotir Malla became the sole ruler (r.1395 - 1428).
Jayajyotir Malla was succeeded by his son Jayayakshya Malla or Yaksha Malla (r.1428 - 1482). He was the last Malla king of united Nepal, and he divided his kingdom amongst his sons. Most noted Malla kings were :
* Pratap Malla of Kantipur
* Siddhi Narasimha Malla of Lalitpur
* Bhupatindra Malla of Bhaktapur
The Malla dynasty rulers ruled the Kathmandu valley till Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley from them in 1768-69 CE. The last Malla kings were Jayaprakash Malla of Kantipur, Tejnarsingh Malla of Lalitpur and Ranajit Malla of Bhaktapur.
Malla rulers of the whole Kathmandu valley
1. Ari Deva c.1201 - 1216
2. Abhaya Malla c.1216 - 1235
3. Ranasura c.1216
4. Jayadeva Malla c.1235 - 1258
5. Jayabhima Deva c.1258 - 1271
6. Jayasimha Malla c.1271 - 1274
7. Ananta Malla c.1274 - 1310
8. Jayananada Deva c.1310 - 1320
9. Jayari Malla c.1320 - 1344
10. Jayarudra Malla c.1320 - 1326
11. Jayaraja Deva c.1347 - 1361
12. Jayarjuna Malla c.1361 - 1382
13. Jayasthiti Malla c.1382 - 1395
14. Jayajyotir Malla c.1395 - 1428
15. Jayakiti Malla c.1395 - 1403
16. Jayadharma Malla c.1395 - 1408
17. Jayayakshya Malla c.1428 - 1482
Malla rulers of Kantipur
1. Ratna Malla 1482 - 1520
2. Surya Malla 1520 - 1530
3. Amara Malla 1530 - 1538
4. Narendra Malla 1538 - 1560
5. Mahendra Malla 1560-1574
6. Sadashiva Malla 1574-1583
7. Shivasimha Malla 1583-1620
8. Lakshminarasimha Malla 1620 - 1641
9. Pratapa Malla 1641-1674
10. Chakravartendra Malla 1669
11. Mahipatendra Malla 1670
12. Jayanripendra Malla 1674-1680
13. Parthivendra Malla 1680-1687
14. Bhupalendra Malla 1687-1700
15. Bhaskara Malla 1700-1714
16. Mahendrasimha Malla 1714-1722
17. Jagajjaya Malla 1722-1736
18. Jaya Prakash Malla 1736-1746, 1750-1768
19. Jyoti Prakash Malla 1746-1750
Malla rulers of Lalitpur
1. Purandara Simha c.1580 - 1600
2. Harihara Simha c.1600 - 1609
3. Shiva Simha (King of Kantipur) 1609 - 1620
4. Siddhi Narasimha 1620 - 1661
5. Srinivasa Malla 1661 - 1685
6. Yoga Narendra Malla 1685-1705
7. Loka Prakash Malla 1705-1706
8. Indra Malla (Purandara Malla) 1706-1709
9. Vira Narasimha Malla 1709
10. Vira Mahindra Malla 1709-1715
11. Riddhi Narasimha 1715-1717
12. Mahindra Simha (King of Kantipur) 1717-1722
13. Yoga Prakash Malla 1722-1729
14. Vishnu Malla 1729-1745
15. Rajya Prakash Malla 1745-1758
16. Vishvajit Malla 1758-1760
17. Jaya Prakash Malla (King of Kantipur) 1760-1761, 1763-1764
18. Ranajit Malla (King of Bhaktapur) 1762-1763
19. Dala Mardan Shah 1764-1765
20. Tej Narasimha Malla 1765-1768
Malla rulers of Bhaktapur
1. Raya Malla 1482 - 1519
2. Prana Malla 1519 - 1547
3. Vishva Malla 1547 - 1560
4. Trailokya Malla 1560-1613
5. Jagajjyoti Malla 1613-1637
6. Naresha Malla 1637-1644
7. Jagat Prakasha Malla 1644-1673
8. Jitamitra Malla 1673-1696
9. Bhupatindra Malla 1696-1722
10. Ranajit Malla 1722-1769
Shah Dynasty
The Rajput Lineage
The former royal family of Nepal are the descendants of the Parmar Rajput dynasty of the Narsinghgarh state in Malwa (Madhya Pradesh, India). The famous kings of the Malwa region were Raja Bhrathari, Samrat Vikramaditya and Raja Bhoj. Nepal was the only Hindu Kingdom very recently which is now reduced to a democracy and Monarchy has been abolished. Similarly the Rana dynasty who were hereditary prime ministers of Nepal traces their routes to the Sisodiya Rajput dynasty of Mewar (Former capital was Chittor and now Udaipur). Ajaya Simha claims himself as Prince of Nuwakot (Syangja), Lambjung, Kaski, and Tanhun in ca. 1495. His successor, Jagdeva, conquered the principality of Kaski and was awarded the title of Shah from the Emperor of India during the sixteenth century.
Drabya Shah, great-grandson of Jagdeva, conquered Gorkha, establishing himself as the founder of the fortunes of the dynasty. His descendant, Prithvi Narayan, entered the Kathmandu valley and defeated the Malla dynasty, becoming King in 1768. His successors conquered all the remaining petty principalities and unified the kingdom.
Beginning of Shah dynasty In the sixteenth century Prince Yashobramha Shah of Kaski, (son of King Kulamandan Shah) was enthroned in the principality of Lamjung. The rulers of neighboring principality of Ligligkot, now in Gorkha were Magar people. They had a tradition of choosing a ruler every fall by way of a running match open to everyone. Whoever won the race was to become the ruler for a year. However, when Dravya Shah tricked his way to the win and eventually gotten away with the tradition of choosing a ruler every fall. He ruled with an iron fist and executed anyone who suggested the reinstatement of the very tradition of choosing a ruler by which he himself became a ruler.
Dravya Shah himself was not a physically robust man. He, however, had the backing of the Bhattarai, Aryal, Adhikari and Acharya clans of Bahun to propel him to the throne by defeating Magar aspirants to the throne by trickery and cheating instead of pure physical perfection as was the norm. Once he became the king, however, he discontinued the race that was essential among the Magar to anoint the ruler for the next year. By the time of his death in 1570, Dravya Shah had managed to erase the memory of the tradition of choosing the ruler by way of running a match open to everyone. He was a shrewd politician, and with the backing of the above mentioned clan of Bahun, he additionally sought the help of the Pant clan of Bahun. He was a totalitarian king who ruled with an iron fist to silence any dissent. He used the power and might of the magar army to increase the size of the kingdom to include some of the neighbouring states. His successors continued to increase the kingdom's territory.
Absolute monarchy (1768-1990)
In 1743, Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded to the throne of Gorkha and set out for the unification of Nepal. By September 1768, he became the King of Nepal.
In 1815 the Gurkha War broke out between Nepal and the British East India Company. By the end of the war in 1816 Nepal had lost one third of its territory.
During the mid-19th century the Shah dynasty lost control of Nepal to the Rana dynasty, who reduced the King of Nepal to a figurehead while they ruled the country through hereditary government positions.
It wasn't until 1951 that the Shah dynasty regained control with the resignation of Mohan Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, the last Rana prime minister.
Constitutional monarchy (1990-2008)
In 1990 King Birendra turned Nepal into a constitutional monarchy. Birendra believed in the consensus between the absolute power of the monarchy and open democratic governance. However, it is believed that his brother Gyanendra and his wife Queen Aishwarya staunchly opposed this view.
On June 1, 2001, a number of members of the Shah dynasty were murdered in the royal palace. The report produced by the then high Commission formed, concluded that the royal family was slaughtered by Crown Prince Dipendra, which still remains controversial. Among the dead were the Crown Prince's father King Birendra and his brother Prince Nirajan. Following the death of Birendra, the comatose Dipendra was declared king but only reigned for a few days until his eventual death, at which point his uncle Prince Gyanendra succeeded him. In February 2005 King Gyanendra dismissed Parliament and took over control of the government.
The Nepalese Constituent Assembly came to fruition on December 24, 2007 when it was announced that the monarchy would be abolished in 2008 after the Constituent Assembly elections;[3] and on May 28, 2008, Nepal was declared a Federal Democratic Republic and the dynasty was removed from power.
Abolishment of the Shah Monarchy
A constitutional assembly in Nepal voted overwhelmingly in favour of abolishing the Himalayan nation's 240-year-old Hindu monarchy and declaring a republic. In an historic vote that caps a peace deal between Maoist rebels and mainstream parties, passed an order for King Gyanendra to step down and for his palace to be turned into a museum. The constituent Assembly ordered King Gyanendra to vacate his Kathmandu palace within 15 days, who ascended to the throne after most of the royal family was massacred in 2001. A senior member of the 601-member Constituent Assembly, Kul Bahadur Gurung, said 560 members voted in favour and just four opposed. The remaining lawmakers were absent. Supporters of the Monarch were found crying while the former royal couple drove away from the Kathmandu palace respecting the verdict of people. This led to an end of the 240 years old institution and Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah remaining as a final Shah ruler in the himalayan nation, Nepal.
The former royal couple shifted to Nagarjuna Palace — a nationalised palace for their residence. This happened possible when the government decided that the former king would be allowed to stay as a commoner in the summer residence of the former royal family, the Nagarjuna palace, located amid forested hills about eight kilometres northwest of the capital, till he finds suitable accommodation.This was followed by Gyanendra's request to the then Home Minister of Nepal. The decision was based on the mutual agreement between the three largest party in the nation namely Nepali Congress, Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).
From Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shah_dynasty
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malla_%28Nepal%29
Text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
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