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
When Rana Bahadur had returned from Banaras, had assumed the management
of affairs, as regent for his son, and had put to death Damodar Pangre,
and the other discontented nobles of his kingdom, his first care was to
secure Prithwi Pal. He accordingly sent an embassy to that chief,
requesting his sister in marriage, and making the most profuse offers of
increasing the territories of his future brother-in-law. The lady was
sent, accompanied by her brother Rana Bahadur, for Prithwi Pal was
suspicious; and, although invited, did not attend. The lady and her
brother were most kindly received by Rana Bahadur of Gorkha, who said to
the chief of the same name, I have been a king, and should therefore
think myself degraded by worshipping you, (according to the Hindu
custom,) when I received your sister from your hands; it will be
therefore highly agreeable to me, if your brother, who is a prince my
superior in birth, would attend to give away his sister. The Guru, or
spiritual guide of the Palpa Raja, was in the suite of the princess, and
was dispatched in order to persuade Prithwi Pal, in which he succeeded,
by declaring, that Rana Bahadur had before him taken the most solemn
oaths to do his guest no injury. Whether Rana Bahadur had actually done
so, or whether the Brahman was bribed, and told a falsehood to obtain his
end, I cannot take upon myself to say, either circumstance being
abundantly compatible with the characters of the persons; but Prithwi Pal
had no sooner reached Kathmandu, with about 400 attendants, than these
were disarmed, he and his principal officers were put in close
confinement, and no more mention was made of the marriage. No one can
pity the fate of Prithwi Pal; as, in order to ingratiate himself with his
intended brother-in-law, he took with him, and delivered to Rana Bahadur,
the widow and only surviving son of his friend Damodar Pangre; who, when
that gallant veteran and his elder sons had been murdered by the tyrant,
had fled to Palpa for refuge. The Raja of Gorkha was, however, afraid of
driving the Palpa family to extremities, and compelling it to seek refuge
in the territories of the Company, which had received from the Nawab
Vazir the sovereignty of the low countries belonging to Palpa, and might
be disposed to give its powerful support.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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