King Prithivi Narayan Shah King Prithivi Narayan Shah was born to King Narbhupal Shah of Gorkha and his second queen Kaushalyawati on 27 Paush, 1779. Prithivi Narayan Shah received education from his caretaker mother Chandrapravawati. It was because of her lessons that he kept himself aloof from royal luxuries. He believed that a king indulged in luxury ruins his nation. Prithvi Narayan Shah married Makawanpur princess Indra Kumari and Kashi princess Narendra Laxmi. He ascended the throne at the age of 20 when his father died.
King Prithi Narayan Shah was a man of lofty aims. He grew a great ambition to annex the scattered kingdoms of Nepal into his Gorkha kingdom. He was more attracted to the three states of the then Nepal valley: Kantipur, Patan, and Bhadgaun. He was aware of the fact that the sovereignty of the tiny states was at stake because of the ever-expanding empires in the south and north.
But it was not an easy task for him to unify all the scattered kingdoms some of which were more powerful than his own. As soon as he became king, he started strengthening his military force. Prithivi Narayan Shah encouraged youths from various castes to join his army. He gave them good training and collected arms and weapons, some of which were received from his in-law-state Benares (Kashi). He also appealed to his subjects to contribute in cash and kind and more than 12000 households of his kingdom responded heartily.
The period between 1801 and 1831 BS is a period of Prithvi Narayan Shah's invasions and conquests. The first conquest was achieved at Nuwakot, one of the two main gateways to the valley. He put the valley into an economic blockade when he captured Makawanpur in 1819 BS and smaller states surrounding the valley later. By mid-1826 BS, he captured the Kathmandu valley completely. Before he died in 1831 BS. Prithivi Narayan Shah had expanded the territory of Nepal up to the Mechi River in the east.
All activities throughout Prithvi Narayan's life were directed towards his unification campaign. He was never disheartened at his defeats: instead, he learned lessons from them. He was a clever diplomat and tried to maintain diplomatic relations with other powerful states. He was far-sighted and could take the right decisions at the right times. He boosted the morale of his soldiers by commanding many of his unification operations by himself. This was a key to his success. Prithvi Narayan Shah gave good positions to the learned people and sought their advice when making important decisions. He wanted to rule according to public wishes.
Prithvi Narayan Shah gave us a unified stronger Nepal. The modern era of Nepalese history begins with the rise of this great king. Prithivi Narayan Shah can be portrayed as a successful warrior and an able administrator. He is compared with great conquerors of the world such as Alexander the Great. He also brought several reforms. His teachings known as divine counsels are valuable guidelines for our administrators. His contributions to the nations should not be undermined just because they also satisfied his personal wishes. We should show honor to this great man who has been recognized as a national figure (rastriya bibhuti) by our national government.
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