मध्यकालीन नेपालको इतिहास

Kathmandu Valley

The Mallas ruled the Kathmandu Valley, which was divided into the three kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan (Lalitpur), and Bhaktapur.

The Sen states were small hill kingdoms of the medieval period (about the 16th to 18th centuries) ruled by Sen kings who claimed descent from the Sen dynasty of Bengal and Karnataka. They arose in the hills and Tarai lying east and west of the Gorkha region, at the time when Nepal was divided into many petty states.

Major Sen states:

• Makwanpur in the central Tarai-hills, which controlled the route between the Valley and India.
• Vijayapur (Morang) and Chaudandi in the east.
• Palpa in the west, the strongest western Sen state, where Mukunda Sen is the best known king.

Features: Each Sen state had its own king, army and administration. They were often rivals of each other and of the neighbouring Malla and Chaubisi states, and they were not united under any single ruler.

Decline: Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha conquered them during unification: Makwanpur in 1762, and Vijayapur and Chaudandi around 1773-74. Palpa remained independent until it was added to Nepal in the early 19th century. Their fall ended the political division of the east and central hills and helped create the unified Nepal.

The Malla period (c. 1200-1769 CE) is regarded as the golden age of art, culture and religion in the Kathmandu Valley. After the death of Yaksha Malla in 1482 the Valley split into the three kingdoms of Kantipur, Lalitpur (Patan) and Bhaktapur, which competed with one another in building and patronage. Their main contributions were as follows.

1. Political and administrative contribution

• Jayasthiti Malla (1382-1395) restored order in the Valley after a period of disorder and introduced a more regular system of administration.
• The Malla kings governed through ministers, councils and local assemblies (panchali), and gave land and revenue systems a clear shape.

2. Legal and social reform

• Jayasthiti Malla compiled the Manav Nyaya Shastra, the first major law code of Nepal. It organised society into occupational groups and fixed their duties, with rules on inheritance, marriage and punishment.
• Later kings such as Pratap Malla issued rules on festivals, trade and public order.

3. Religion and festivals

• Kings gave land grants (guthi) to temples and monasteries, and made Taleju Bhawani the royal deity.
• Pratap Malla was tolerant and supported both Hindu and Buddhist institutions. Siddhi Narasimha Malla of Patan was a pious king who built the Krishna Mandir (1637).
• Jatras such as Indra Jatra, Gai Jatra and Machhindranath Jatra, the Kumari tradition, and the Bisket Jatra of Bhaktapur developed or were firmly established in this period.

4. Art and architecture

• The Mallas built the three Durbar Squares with palaces, courtyards, pagoda temples and stone sculptures, now part of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site.
• Famous works include the Krishna Mandir of Patan, the Taleju temples, the Nyatapola Temple (1702) and the 55-Window Palace of Bhaktapur, built under Bhupatindra Malla. Newar artists reached high skill in wood carving, metalwork and painting.

5. Literature and language

• Sanskrit and Newari flourished. Pratap Malla was himself a poet and scholar who composed verses in several languages, which are inscribed on a pillar in Kathmandu Durbar Square.
• Plays, hymns and chronicles were written in Newari, and Nepal Bhasa became a language of court and literature.

6. Economy and urban life

• Trade between India and Tibet passed through the Valley, bringing wealth to Kantipur, Patan and Bhaktapur. Coins were minted and markets (bazaars) grew.
• Towns were planned around squares, with stone water spouts (hiti), rest houses (patis) and ponds.

7. Religious harmony Hinduism and Buddhism existed side by side, and the same kings supported both. This tolerance became a lasting feature of Nepali society.

Conclusion: Although the Malla kingdoms were politically divided and weakened, which allowed Prithvi Narayan Shah to conquer them in 1768-69, the Mallas left a rich legacy of law, art, architecture, festivals and literature that still defines the cultural identity of the Kathmandu Valley.