not be expected to be faithful to others, he caused the noses of some of them to be cut off, and confiscated the whole of their property.

Prithwinārāyana Sah then asked Jaya Prakasa Malla what he intended to do. He replied that, by the favour of God, he had ruled the country for a long time, enjoyed royalty, and built many monuments; that now he had nothing to desire but that he might be conveyed to Arya Ghāt at Pashupati, where he would obtain salvation (i.e., die).

Prithwinārāyana was touched by this speech, and consented to his being taken to Pashupati. He moreover gave orders to supply Jaya Prakāsa with anything which he might desire to give away in charity; and for this purpose a sawar was sent to ask what he wanted to give away. Jaya Prakasa said that he wanted nothing but an umbrella and a pair of shoes. The sawar returned and gave the message to the Gōrkhālī Rājā, who was at once plunged into grief, and remained silent a long time. The request was repeated by the sawār, and the courtiers expressed surprise at the hesitation shown. by the Mahārāj in granting such trifles, when he had promised him anything he wanted to give away in charity. Prithwīnārāyana said that they did not understand the meaning of the request, which was that Jaya Prakāsa wanted to be born again as his son, and thus to enjoy the kingdom again, which he was very loath to grant1. However, as he had already promised to give him anything he wanted, the Rājā mounted his horse, went to the place where Jaya Prakasa was, and, presenting to him an umbrella and a pair of shoes, said: "I give you what you want, to be enjoyed by you, not, however, during

1 The shoe denotes the earth, and the umbrella the crown. W. N.

17

my lifetime, but in that of my grandson." Jaya Prakāsa consented, and took the gift. He then said that the person who should offer a silver jalharī to Pashupati-nātha would be himself returned to the earth. After saying this he died, and was absorbed into the southern or Aghōr face of Pashupati-natha.

Tēj-Narsinha, the Raja of Lalitpur, thought that all this evil was brought about by Ranjit Malla, and that there was no use in speaking to any one. He therefore sat engaged in the worship of God, and would not speak. For this reason he was sent to Lakshmipur, to be kept in confinement; and there he died.

CHAPTER IX.

The Gorkha dynasty in Nepal. Death of Prithwinārāyana. War with Tibet and China. General Bhimasēna Thāpā made prime minister. War with the British. Great earthquakes.

1. AFTER this Rājā Prithwīnārāyana returned from Bhatgaon to Kantipur, and began to rule over the three towns. He built a He built a large dharmasālā, and named it Basantpur. He granted the right of near approach to the royal person to Putwārs, in N. S. 890 (A.D. 1770), in consideration of the services they had rendered in the attack upon Kirtipur. To the Kasais also he assigned lands, and appointed them to perform menial services in the temple of Gubjeswari. Because Surpratap Sah (his brother) had lost one of his eyes in the war with the people of Kirtipur, Prithwīnārāyana ordered the nose of every male in that town, above twelve years of age, to be cut off. These noses weighed seventeen dhārnis (about 80 lbs.), and the people thus mutilated were 865 of those who had fought valiantly and kept the Gōrkhalis out of the town.

In this reign one Ramkrishna Kavar, with the permission of the Rājā, made a road from Guhjeswari to Pashupati, and paved it with stone. The Rājā built a bridge across the Rudramati, where the main road crossed it.

The Rājā sent Kāji Kahar Sinha to subdue the whole country lying between Bijayapur on the east, the SaptaGandaki on the west, Kirōn and Kuti on the north, and Makwanpur and the Taryāni (Terai) on the south.

Prithwīnārāyana reigned seven years, and died on the Sankranti day, N. S. 895 (A.D. 1775), at Mohan Tirtha on the Gandaki.

2. His son Sinha Pratap Sah reigned three years.

This Rājā, regarding Guhjeswari as the mistress of Nepal, vowed to sacrifice to her a lakh and 25,000 animals. He caused the Linga of Noakōt to be brought to the Durbar, and assigned a guthi to maintain the Linga-dhāli-jātrā (known now as the Indra-jātrā). He performed all the ceremonies in the worship of Turjā Dēvī, assisted by Achārs, and died in N. S. 898 (A. D. 1778).

3. His son Ran Bahadur Sah reigned 19 years.

He was a powerful monarch. Suspecting the Achārs of having caused the premature death of his father by prayōg (i.e., repeating mantras), he caused many of them to be put to death near the Indrānī Pitha. He also, for some reason, caused the Mantri-nayak (prime minister) Bansrāj Pāndē to be cut down in the Durbar. He made a silver jalharī and offered it to Pashupati-nātha1.

In the west he conquered Lamjung and Tanhau, and the country of the Chaubīsī Rājās. His rule extended as far as the Ganga. The British trembled in the south. He sent Sarup Kāji, who conquered the whole of the Kirāti country, and extended his conquests as far as Sumbēswara in the east. Having learned the particulars of the northern country from Syāmarpā Lāmā, whom he had sent for, he despatched troops to Sikhārjun,

1 Thus showing that Jaya Prakasa had returned to the world, as predicted by himself.

who plundered Digarcha, and did not respect the Chinese authority. The Chinese Emperor, being unable to brook this insult, sent a large army, under the command of Kāji Dhurīn and minister Thumtham. This army reached Dhebun1, when the Raja employed one Lakhyā Bāndā of Bhinkshē Bahal to perform purascharan, while Mantrināyak Dāmōdar Pandē cut the Chinese army to pieces and obtained great glory2. Afterwards the Chinese Emperor, thinking it better to live in friendship with the Gōrkhālis, made peace with them.

Bahadur Sah (the uncle of the king), being ill-advised, measured the whole land, and on account of this sin of ascertaining the limits of the earth, he was put into prison, and died there.

This Rājā used to give 1000 cows in charity on great days. He caused meritorious acts (dharma) to be repeatedly performed, and fed Brahmans and Fakīrs in Pachli-khēl3; and every Saturday he caused curds and chiūrā to be distributed at Pashupati-nātha.

He impressed all the people in the country, and built the temple of Jagan-natha on the Tudi-khel, which had no equal; but it was not completed. He repaired the kavacha (coat) of Pashupati-natha. He appointed Gujarātī music to be performed at the temples of Gubjēswari, Bajra Jogini, Changu Nārāyana, Dakshin Kālī, Talēju, Dēgutalē, and Lomḍī, and assigned guthis for the maintenance of mahāpūjā and sadābart (daily almsgiving of food, &c., to the poor). He gave many other

1 A hill north of Noakōt.

2 The Nepalese were utterly defeated, and had to conclude an ignominious treaty of peace at Noakōt. This was the time when Colonel Kirkpatrick was sent by the British to intercede with the Chinese, but arrived after the treaty had been concluded.

3 Near Panchlinga Bhairava, close to the junction of the Bagmati and Vishnumati.