An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of GorkhaHamilton, Francis
History
An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal: And of the Territories Annexed to this Dominion by the House of Gorkha
Hamilton, Francis
Nepal -- Description and travel; Nepal -- History
Hemcarna had a son, Digbandan, and a daughter, Maiya Saheb, of most
extraordinary beauty. About this time first rose to notice Prithwi
Narayan Saha, whose ancestors had held the petty territory of Gorkha, in
some measure dependent on the Palpa Rajas, the kinsman of Hemcarna. This
person had by various means acquired some little power, and had induced
the people of Lalita Patan to choose his brother Dalmar-dan Saha for
their king; for they had fallen into anarchy, and had displaced their
lawful sovereign of the Mal family, which had long been in possession of
the three principalities into which Nepal. Proper had been divided.
Prithwi Narayan, about this time, offered himself as a suitor for the
beautiful daughter of Hemcarna, but was rejected with scorn, as a match
far beneath her rank. Soon after, however, he was the fortunate suitor,
but I do not exactly know the period. Hemcarna having died, was
succeeded by his son Digbandan, a very weak prince, in whose affairs his
brother-in-law, Prithwi Narayan, soon began to interfere; and by his
courage, liberality, and strength of understanding, totally drew to
himself the minds of the soldiery. In the year 1761 he openly attacked
his brother-in-law, and took him and his family prisoners. The chief
persons that had resisted his attack he put to death, some by the sword,
some by the rope, and some by flaying them alive. Their children he
delivered to the most vile and abominable tribe, (Sarki,) to be educated
in their odious profession, as outcasts. The captives he conducted to
Nepal, the open attack on which he then commenced; for, until then, he
had contented himself with seizing on the passes, by which the valley is
surrounded, and with fomenting dissensions among the three divisions of
the principality. In 1769, having completed his conquest of Nepal
Proper, he attacked the petty Rajas west from Gorkha, usually called the
Chaubisiya, or Twenty-four. For some time he had rapid success, but in
an engagement with the Tanahung Raja, he was so roughly handled, that he
was compelled to relinquish these conquests. In the meanwhile, his
brother-in-law Digbandan, his wife, and seven sons, were kept in close
confinement, and were only prevented from starving, by a pittance sent to
them by their kinsman the Palpa Raja. What became of the remainder of
these unfortunate persons I cannot say; but in the year 1780 Bhubar, one
of the sons of Digbandan, effected his escape to Betiya, in the Company’s
territory, where he was kindly received, and two villages, free from the
obligation of paying any revenue, were granted to him. He died lately,
and has left two sons, one of whom in 1810 was eight, and the other five
years of age; and these are the undoubted legal heirs to the whole
principality founded by Lobangga Sen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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