Malla confederacy मल्ल वंश Malla saṅgha | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| c. 1201–25 November 1769 | |||||||||
 .png) Approximate location of the Malla confederacy in the 15th century as perA Historical Atlas of South Asia[1] | |||||||||
 Scan of map of Nepaul, present-day Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas in Nepal | |||||||||
| Capital | Basantapur | ||||||||
| Largest city | Kathmandu | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | Hinduism Buddhism[8] | ||||||||
| Government | Unitaryabsolute monarchy | ||||||||
| Mahārāja | |||||||||
• 1201–1216 | Arideva Malla | ||||||||
• 1216–1255 | Abhaya Malla | ||||||||
• 1255-1258 | Jayadeva Malla | ||||||||
• 1258–1271 | Jayabhimadeva | ||||||||
• 1258–1271 | Jayasimha Malla | ||||||||
• 1274–1308 | Ananta Malla | ||||||||
• 1313–1320 | Jayanandadeva | ||||||||
• 1320–1344 | Jayari Malla | ||||||||
• 1348–1361 | Jayarajadeva | ||||||||
• 1360–1381 | Jayarjunadeva | ||||||||
• 1382–1395 | Jayasthiti Malla | ||||||||
• 1395–1408 | Jayadharma Malla | ||||||||
• 1408–1428 | Jayajyotir Malla | ||||||||
• 1428–1482 | Jayayakshya Malla | ||||||||
| Legislature | None (rule by decree) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Medieval Nepal | ||||||||
• Established | c. 1201 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 25 November 1769 | ||||||||
| Currency | Mohar | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Nepal | ||||||||
TheMalla dynasty (Nepali:मल्ल वंश:; Malla vanśa) also known as theMalla confederacy, was the ruling dynasty of theKathmandu Valley inNepal from 1201 to 1779. This dynasty was founded byArideva Malla. Though the latter Mallas were regarded as belonging to theRaghuvamsha dynasty, they were also seen as continuations and descendants of theLicchavi dynasty. Later Malla kings also traced one section of their lineage fromNanyadeva, the founder of theKarnat dynasty ofMithila.[9] The term Malla means wrestler inSanskrit. The first use of the word Malla in the Kathmandu Valley began in 1201.
The Malla period stretched over 600 years, as they presided over and flourished theNewar civilization ofNepal Mandala which developed as one of the most sophisticated urban civilisations in the Himalayan foothills and a key destination on the India-Tibet trade route.[10] During the Malla Dynasty,Nepal Bhasa was the official language,[2][11][12] whileSanskrit andMaithili also held significant importance as literary languages during this period.[7][13][14]
The Malla kings claimed descent from theMalla Janapada and Licchavis of Mithila and often stylised themselves as,Raghuvamși orSuryavamși.
Being originally Maithil themselves originating from Vaishali in Bihar, the Mallas were noted for their patronisation of theMaithili language (the language of theMithila region which includes parts of Nepal andBihar inIndia) which was afforded equal status to that ofSanskrit in the Malla court.[15]Maithil Brahmin,Kanyakubja Brahmin andSaraswat Brahmin priests were invited and settled in Kathmandu during the Malla rule. Similarly, dozens ofKshatriya-status noble and ruling clans of Mithila also came along as the nobility or as part of the Malla entourage who fledMuslim invasions. Most notable of these frequent migrations was the migration that occurred after the attack of the Mithila kingdom byGhiyath al-Din Tughluq during the reign of KingHarisimhadeva in 1324 CE, which led to large-scale migration of Mithila to Nepal. The priestly classes that came during this time are the ancestors of present-dayRajopadhyaya andMaithil Brahmins of the Valley, whereas the immigrant warrior and noble classes are the ancestors of today'sChatharīya Srēṣṭha Newars. Other groups too immigrated and eventually assimilated into the Newar society, some of which are the present-day Khadgis (Nāya/Shahi),Dhobi,Kapalis/Jogis,Halwai/(Rajkarnikar) andTamrakar ofLalitpur, Podya (Chamahar), Kulu (Dusadh), among others.[16] These people eventually became endogamous caste units that started to be identified as Newar from the 16th century onward.[17]
The backbone of the Malla army, particularly underJaya Prakash Malla, was made up ofTirhutia soldiers from NorthernBihar and parts of theTerai.[18][19] The military leaders and chiefs were often recruited from the Kshatriya families of the time, marked by their clan titles likePradhan orPradhananga orPradhan Patravamshi (chief ministers),Amatya (ministers),Rawal, etc.[20]
Beginning in the early twelfth century, leading notables in Nepal began to appear with names ending in the termmalla, ("wrestler" inSanskrit),[21] indicating a person of great strength and power.Arimalla (reigned 1200–16) was the first king to be so-called,[22] and the practice of adopting such a name was followed regularly by rulers in Nepal until the eighteenth century. The names of the Malla kings were also written as, for example,Ari Malla. Another legend says thatArimalla was fond of wrestling and he addedmalla to his name. However, this is debated as the wordmalla appears frequently in the historical records before the Malla dynasty.[21]
Another possibility is that Aridev adopted the titleMalla because it was popular at the time in India. It seems more convincing because Aridev belonged to the dynasty started by Vamadeva, and none of his predecessors usedMalla in their names. If such is the case, it makes the Malla dynasty separate from theMalla community which originated in India.[23]
The long Malla period witnessed the continued importance of theKathmandu Valley as a political, cultural, and economic centre of Nepal. Other areas also began to emerge as significant centres in their own right, increasingly connected to the Kathmandu Valley.[24]
The time of the earlier Malla kings was not one of consolidation but was instead a period of upheaval in and around Nepal. In the twelfth century,MuslimTurks set up a powerful kingdom in India atDelhi, and in the thirteenth century, Turko Afghan khaljis[25][26] expanded their control over most of northern India. During this process, all of the regional kingdoms in India underwent a major reshuffling and considerable fighting before they eventually fell under Delhi's control. This process resulted in an increasing militarization of Nepal's neighbours and sections of Nepal as well. For example, in western Nepal, around Dullu in theJumla Valley, an alternative seat of political and military power grew up around a separate dynasty of Mallas (who were not related to the Mallas of the Kathmandu Valley), who reigned until the fourteenth century. These Khas kings expanded into parts of western Tibet and sent raiding expeditions into the Kathmandu Valley between 1275 and 1335. In 1312 the Khas king, Ripumalla, visitedLumbini and had his inscription carved onAshoka's pillar. He then entered the Kathmandu Valley to worship publicly atMatsyendranath,Pashupatinath, andSwayambhunath. These acts were all public announcements of his overlordship in Nepal and signified the temporary breakdown of royal power within the valley.[24]
The first Malla rulers had to cope with several disasters. In 1255, one-third of the population of Kathmandu (30,000 people, including KingAbhaya Malla) was killed when the valley suffered an earthquake with theepicentre right below the city.[27] A devastating Muslim invasion by theSultan of BengalShamsuddin Ilyas Shah in 1345–46,[24] during the reign of Jayaraja Deva (r. 1347–1361), left plundered Hindu and Buddhist shrines in its wake. The invasion, however, did not leave a lasting cultural effect. In India, the damage was more widespread and many Hindus were driven into the hills and mountains of Nepal, where they established smallRajbanshi principalities.[28] None of the existing buildings in the valley proper dates from before this raid. He is said to have destroyed the Lichchhavi palaces of Managriha and Kailashkuta.[citation needed] He also damaged all the temples in the Kathmandu valley except the Changu Narayan Temple, which he could not locate as it lies some hills away from Kathmandu. He returned after 3 days of looting and burning.
Apart from this, the earlier Malla years (1220–1482) were largely stable. During the reign of Jayabhimdev Malla in 1260, eighty artisans were sent toTibet. Among them wasAraniko (1245–1306) who later rose to become a high-ranking official in the court of Mongol leaderKublai Khan'sYuan dynasty.[29]Araniko is the only person from this early Malla era whose biography is known to us in some detail, thanks to the Chinese historical records.
This period reached a high point under the third Malla dynasty ofJayasthiti Malla (r. 1382–1395), who united the valley and codified its laws, including the caste system.[28] The early Malla period, a time of continuing trade and the reintroduction of Nepalese coinage saw the steady growth of the small towns that becameKathmandu,Patan, andBhadgaon. Royal pretenders in Patan and Bhadgaon struggled with their main rivals, the lords ofBanepa in the East, relying on the populations of their towns as their power bases. The citizens of Bhadgaon viewed Devaladevi as the legitimate, independent queen. The betrothal in 1354 of her granddaughter toJayasthiti Malla, a man of obscure but high birth, eventually led to the reunification of the land and a lessening of strife among the towns.[24]
By 1370Jayasthiti Malla controlled Patan, and in 1374 his forces defeated those inBanepa and Pharping. He then took full control of the country from 1382 until 1395, reigning in Bhadgaon as the husband of the queen and in Patan with full regal titles. His authority was not absolute because the lords ofBanepa were able to pass themselves off as kings to ambassadors of the ChineseMing emperor who travelled to Nepal during this time. Nevertheless,Jayasthiti Malla united the entire valley and its environs under his sole rule, an accomplishment still remembered with pride by Nepalese, particularlyNewars. The first comprehensive codification of law in Nepal, based on the dharma of ancient religious textbooks, is ascribed toJayasthiti Malla. This legendary compilation of traditions was seen as the source of legal reforms during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.[24]
After the death ofJayasthiti Malla, his sons divided the kingdom and ruled collegially, untilAyasthiti Malla, the last surviving son, ruled on his own from 1408 to 1428. His son,Yaksha Malla (reigned ca. 1428–82), represented the high point of the Mallas as rulers of a united Nepal. Under his rule, a military raid was launched against the plains to the south, a very rare event in Nepalese history.Yaksha Malla built the Mul Chok in 1455, which remains the oldest palace section in Bhadgaon. The struggles among the landed aristocracy and leading town families (Pradhans), especially acute in Patan, were controlled during his reign. Outlying areas such asBanepa andPharping were semi-independent but acknowledged the leadership of the king.Newari appeared more often as the language of choice in official documents. The royal family began to accept Manesvari (also known asTaleju), a manifestation ofShiva's consort, as their deity.[24]
After the death of Jayasthiti Malla's grandsonYaksha Malla in 1482, the Kathmandu Valley was divided up among his sons into three kingdoms ofBhaktapur (Khowpa),Kathmandu (Yein) andLalitpur(Yela:). The rest of what we today call Nepal consisted of a fragmented patchwork of almost 50 independent states, stretching fromPalpa andJumla in the west to the semi-independent states ofBanepa and Pharping, most of them minting their own coins and maintaining standing armies. The most notable Malla kings of this later era were:Pratap Malla of Kantipur,Siddhi Narasimha Malla of Lalitpur, andBhupatindra Malla of Bhaktapur.
After 1482, a crucial date in Nepalese history, the kingdom was divided. At first, the six sons ofYaksha Malla attempted to reign collegially, in their grandfathers' pattern.Ratna Malla was the first to rebel against this system of joint rule, seizing Kathmandu in 1484 and ruling there alone until he died in 1520.Rayamalla, the eldest brother, ruled Bhadgaon with the other brothers until his death when the crown there passed into the hands of his descendants.Banepa broke away under Rama Malla until its reincorporation into the Bhadgaon kingdom in 1649. Patan remained aloof, dominated by factions of its local nobility, until Sivasimha Malla, a descendant of Ratna Malla, conquered it in 1597 and united it with Kathmandu. On his death, however, Kathmandu and Patan were given to different grandsons and again separated. The centre of Nepal thus remained split into three competing kingdoms, roughly based on Bhadgaon, Kathmandu, and Patan. The influence of these petty kingdoms outside the valley varied over time. Bhadgaon extended its feeble power as far as theDudh Kosi in the east, Kathmandu-controlled areas to the north and as far west asNuwakot, and Patan included territories to the south as far asMakwanpur. The relationships among the kingdoms within the valley became quite convoluted. Although all three ruling houses were related and periodically intermarried, their squabbles over minuscule territorial gains or ritual slights repeatedly led to warfare. The kings attended coronation rituals or marriages at each other's capitals and then plotted the downfalls of their relatives.[30]The period of the three kingdoms—the time of the later Mallas—lasted until the mid-eighteenth century. The complete flowering of the unique culture of the Kathmandu Valley occurred during this period, and it was also during this time that the old palace complexes in the three main towns achieved much of their present-day forms. The Kings still based their legitimate rule on their role as protectors ofdharma, and often they were devout donors to religious shrines. Kings built many of the older temples in the valley, gems of late medieval art and architecture, during this late Malla period.Buddhism remained a vital force for much of the population, especially in its old seat of Patan. Religious endowments calledGuthi arranged for long-term support of traditional forms of worship or ritual by allowing temple or vihara lands to be passed down through generations of the same families; this support resulted in the preservation of conservative art, architecture, and religious literature that had disappeared in other areas ofSouth Asia.Newari was in regular use as a literary language by the fourteenth century and was the main language in urban areas and trading circles based in the Kathmandu Valley.Maithili, the language of theTirhut area to the south, became a popular court language during the seventeenth century and still was spoken by many people in theTerai in the late twentieth century. In the west, Khas bhasha, or the language of theKhasa, was slowly expanding, only later to evolve into present-dayNepali.[30]
The final centuries of Mallas' rule were a time of great political change outside the Kathmandu Valley. In India, overlordship in Delhi fell to the powerfulMughal dynasty (1526–1858). Although the Mughals never exercised direct lordship over Nepal, their empire had a major indirect impact on its institutional life. During the sixteenth century, when the Mughals were spreading their rule over almost all of South Asia, many dispossessed princes from the plains of northern India found shelter in the hills to the north.[30]
Legends indicated that many small principalities in western Nepal originated in migration and conquest by exiled warriors, who added to the slow spread of the Khasa language and culture in the West. Along with these exiles came Mughal military technology, includingfirearms andartillery, and administrative techniques based on land grants in return for military service. The influence of the Mughals is reflected in the weapons and dress of Malla rulers in contemporary paintings and in the adoption ofPersian terminology for administrative offices and procedures throughout Nepal.[30]
Meanwhile, inTibet, domestic struggles during the 1720s led to decisive intervention by the powerfulQing rulers of China (1644–1911). A Chinese force installed the6th Dalai Lama (the highest-ranking Tibetan religious leader) in Lhasa in 1728, and thereafter the Chinese stationed military governors (amban) in Lhasa to monitor local events. In 1729 representatives of the three Nepalese kingdoms sent greetings and presents to the Chinese emperor inBeijing, after which the Qing viewed Nepal as an outlying tributary kingdom (a perception not shared within Nepal). The expansion of big empires in both the north and south thus took place during a time when Nepal was experiencing considerable weakness in its traditional center. The three kingdoms lived a charmed life—isolated, independent, and quarrelling in their mountain valley—as the systems around them became larger and more centralized.[30]
By the seventeenth century, the mountain areas to the north of the valley and the Kiranti region to the east were the only areas that maintained traditional tribal communal systems, influenced to various degrees by Hindu ideas and practices. In the west and the south of the three kingdoms, there were many petty states ruled by dynasties of a warrior (Kshatriya) status, many claiming an origin among princely, orRajput, dynasties to the south. In the near west, around theNarayani River system (the Narayani was one of the seven Gandak rivers), there was a loose confederation of principalities called the Chaubisi (the Twenty-four), including Makwanpur and Palpa. In the far west, around theKarnali River system, there was a separate confederation called the Baisi (the Twenty-two), headed by the Raja ofJumla. The confederations were in constant conflict, and their member states were constantly quarrelling with each other. The kingdoms of Kathmandu, Patan, and Bhadgaon periodically allied themselves with princes among these confederations. All of these small, increasingly militarized states were operating individually at a higher level of centralized organization than ever before in the hills, but they were expending their resources in an almost anarchic struggle for survival. There was an awareness of the distinct culture of the Himalayan area but no real concept of Nepal as a nation.[30]
The first contact between the people of Nepal andEuropeans also occurred during the period of the later Mallas. In 1623 thePortuguese from Goa sentmissionaries António de Andrade,João Cabral andEstêvão Cacella to visitLhasa in 1628, after which Cabral travelled to Nepal.[31] The mission was to find Christian kingdoms allied with the Portuguese to propagate the faith and trade. In the early stages, they thought it was the mythical kingdom of Catai.[31] The offer of gifts also took place in other kingdoms such as the same happened in Bhutan, where military support was offered by the Portuguese against the enemy kingdoms.[32] This gesture aimed at creating an alliance that would allow converting and creating new convents as well as expanding the Portuguese influence in Asia.[33] In 1670 King Pratap Malla invited the Jesuits to settle in the country. The firstCapuchin mission was founded in Kathmandu in 1715.[34]
By 1764 the BritishEast India Company, officially a private trading corporation with its army had obtained from a decaying Mughal Empire the right to govern all of Bengal, at that time one of the most prosperous areas in Asia. The company explored possibilities for expanding its trade or authority into Nepal,Bhutan, and Tibet, where the Nepalese had their trading agencies in important settlements. The increasingly powerful company was emerging as a wild card that could, in theory, be played by one or more of the kingdoms in Nepal during local struggles, potentially opening the entire Himalayan region to British penetration.[30]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved.(December 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
The Malla dynasty ruled the Kathmandu Valley untilPrithvi Narayan Shah of theGorkha Kingdom invaded it in 1768-69 CE with theBattle of Kirtipur. The last Malla kings wereJaya Prakash Malla of Kantipur (i.e. Kathmandu), Tej Narsingh Malla of Lalitpur andRanajit Malla of Bhaktapur. Prithvi Narayan Shah and his Gokhali troops surrounded the Kathmandu Valley. Jaya Prakash Malla was all alone. So, to render help, he called the East India Company, which was commanded by the British. There was a massive battle and in the end, the Gorkhali did win. With this, Jay Prakash Malla went to Patan. Then Tej Narasingh Malla and Jaya Prakash Malla fled to Bhaktapur. Similarly, the Gorkhali troops captured Patan and when it came to Bhaktapur, a fight ensued. This resulted in the victory of Prithvi Narayan Shah over Kathmandu Valley and marked the end of the Malla period.
Jaya Prakash Malla was killed by Prithvi Narayan Shah during the celebration ofIndra Jatra. It was a time when all of the people were celebrating, and many of them were unconscious as they were drunk, which gave Prithvi Narayan Shah the advantage to assassinate his fellow rival.
The rivalry between the three kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley found its expression not only in warfare but also in the arts and culture, which flourished in the competitive climate, quite similar to that of Renaissance Italy. The outstanding collections of exquisite temples and buildings in each city's Durbar Square are a testament to the huge amounts of money spent by rulers striving to outdo each other.[28]
The building boom was financed by trade, in everything from musk and wool to salt, Chinese silk and even yak tails. The Kathmandu Valley stood at the departure point for two separate routes into Tibet, viaBanepa to the northeast and via Rasuwa and theKyirong Valley near Langtang to the northwest. Traders would cross the jungle-infested Terai during winter to avoid virulent malaria and then wait in Kathmandu for the mountain passes to open later that summer. Kathmandu grew rich and its rulers converted their wealth into gildedpagodas and ornately carved royal palaces. In the mid-17th century, Nepal gained the right to mint Tibet's coins using Tibetan silver, further enriching the kingdom's coffers.[28]
In Kathmandu, KingPratap Malla (r. 1641–74) oversaw that city's cultural high point with the construction of theHanuman Dhoka palace, theRani Pokhari pond and the first of several subsequent pillars that featured a statue of the king facing the protective temples of Taleju, who the Mallas had by that time adopted as their protective deity. The mid-17th century also saw a high point of building in Patan.[35]
The Malla era shaped the religious as well as artistic landscape, introducing the dramatic chariot festivals ofIndra Jatra andMatsyendranath. The Malla kings shored up their position by claiming to be reincarnations of the Hindu god Vishnu. They also worshipped Kumari, a living goddess believed to be the reincarnation of goddess Taleju.[36]
The cosmopolitan Mallas also absorbed foreign influences. The Indian Mughal court influenced Malla dress and painting, presented the Nepalese with firearms and introduced a system of land grants for military services, a system which would have a profound effect in later years. In the early 18th century, during the reign ofPratap Malla,Capuchin missionaries passed through Nepal to Tibet, and when they returned home gave the West its first description of exotic Kathmandu.[36]
After the defeat of the Malla Kings, their surviving descendants left the valley and settled in different parts of Nepal.[37] Their descendants have been using surnames like Malla,Raghubansi, Rajbanshi, Pradhananga andPradhan, among others.
| Music | |
|---|---|
| Cuisine | |
| Festival | |
| Rituals | |
| Architecture | |
| Language | |
| Deities | |
| Castes | |
| Misc | |
| Religion | |
| Sino-Tibetan (Trans-Himalayan) |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indo-Aryan |
| ||||||||
| Indo-Aryan of adistinct origin | |||||||||
| Other peoples (M,D,i) ofIndus-Ganga |
| ||||||||
| Other basis |
| ||||||||
| Immigrants | |||||||||
