Jitamitra Malla
Raja Jitamitra Malla (Nepal bhasa:๐๐ธ๐๐ธ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต๐ฉ๐ถ๐๐๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐๐ฎโ) (Nepali: เคเคฟเคคเคพเคฎเคฟเคคเฅเคฐ เคฎเคฒเฅเคฒ) was a Malla Dynasty King of Bhaktapur, Nepal from 1673 to 1696.
| Jitamitra Malla | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raja of Bhaktapur | |||||||||
 Miniature of Jitamitra Malla on his throne, c. 1681 | |||||||||
| King of Bhaktapur | |||||||||
| Reign | 24 November 1673 โ 21 September 1696 | ||||||||
| Coronation | 24 November 1673 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Jagat Prakasha Malla | ||||||||
| Successor | Bhupatindra Malla | ||||||||
| Born | Unknown date Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kingdom of Bhaktapur (Present day Bhaktapur, Nepal) | ||||||||
| Died | January 1705 Bhaktapur, Nepal | ||||||||
| Spouse | Lฤlamati | ||||||||
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| Dynasty | Malla | ||||||||
| Father | Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla | ||||||||
| Mother | Padmฤvati Devi | ||||||||
He left his throne in 1696 to his eldest son Bhupatindra Malla to spend the rest of his life in religious activities.[1][2] He died 14 years after leaving the throne to his son.[1][3]
Construction efforts
Son of Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla Raja, he was noted for his construction projects. In 1674 he built a Shikara-style Shiva temple with a gilded repousse mask of the God on each side in Bhaktapur. In 1682 he built near the Durbar the two-storied Dharmasala Palace in which there is a golden Mahadeva.[7] The palace was used by royalty until 1769 and today is a museum and part of the World Heritage Site on Durbar Square. To the east of this he erected the temple and statue of Narayana, along with the temples of Dattatrikasa and Pashupati. An inscription in 1678 states that he built the royal palace Thanathu Dubar and its gardens and courtyard. Jitamitra was also credited with restoring Kumari Chowk, the images of Astamatrikas and in 1690, donated two large cooper kettledrums (nagara) or bells to his favourite deity, the goddess Taleju for the gilded roof of Taleju.[8] He also contributed a finely carved wooden tympanum above the main entrance to the Mul Chowk and also erected many memorials in Bhaktapur.[7]
His son, Bhupatindra Malla who succeed him in 1696 was equally fascinated with architecture, and continued the development of the Dharmsala Palace, its 55 windows and gardens.[7]
References
- Upadhaya, Prof Dr Shreeram Prasasd (2009). Nepal ko Prachin tatha Madhyakalin Itihas (in Nepali). Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 196. ISBN 978-9993304555.
- Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
- Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
- Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Nepal: where the Gods are Young. Asia Society. p. 132. ISBN 978-0878480456.
- Vaidya, Tulasฤซ Rฤma (2002). Bhaktapur Rajdarbar. Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University. pp. 72โ73. ISBN 978-99933-52-17-4.
- Guy, John (1992). "New Evidence for the Jagannฤtha Cult in Seventeenth Century Nepal". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 213โ230. doi:10.1017/S135618630000239X. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25182509. S2CID 162316166.
- Singh, Munshi; Gunanand, Pandit Sri (1877). The History of Nepal. Low Price Publications, Delhi, India. p. 131.
- "Bhaktapur Durbar Square". Government of Nepal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Archaeology. Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.