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Dibyopadesh

by Prawin | July 2005

"Last Counsels of Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Gorkha."
Translated by Prawin, from the Baburam Acharya transcription.

They say—as the old die their words fall unto the young. As I preach to you, such will you teach your children, and they will teach my children in turn, so they will keep and enjoy this estate.

Three mothers we had, and of three chambers we were five brothers like the Pandavas. I married into Makwanpur, but the palanquin hadn't been given to me. I thought—let's bring the palanquin, and see Nepal, too, and so I reached Makwanpur. There I quarreled with Digbandhan Sen over something or other and challenged unto him—"I will take the palanquin if you give a one-tusked elephant, and Naulakhi diamond necklace, too; or I will take the palanquin with the might of sword." Then, fearing recognition and arrest by the Nepali king, clad in a shawl I fled along the banks of Rapti, with Bhanu Jyotishi, Kulananda Jyotishi and other courtiers.

Arriving at Chandragiri I asked—"Which is Nepal?" and they pointed: "that is Bhadgaun, that is Patan, and that is Kathmandu." My mind thought—how would it feel to be king of these three cities, such were my thoughts.

That exact moment, both Jyotishi said: "Your majesty's desires and wishes will certainly come true," and I was surprised, and asked—"how do you know the thoughts inside me that you say such things?" They replied—"As you looked at the three cities your majesty gave flourish to your moustache thinking how would it feel to be king of the three cities, and therefore we said unto you." I asked—"Do you think this will fructify?" to which they replied—"You have shown much respect to cow, Brahmins, guests, fakirs and the gods; and our hands are blessed by Saraswati, and therefore the kingdom of Nepal will certainly fall unto you." We cut through the big pass of Thankot, and day and night walked to cross Trishuli at Kallerighat and climbed to Dhading and I said—"My three braves guard the Chepe River and Liglig, write summons for them, O Jyotishi," to which they asked the names of the three, and I named: Ranajit Basnyat, Manshingh Rokaya, and Birbhadra Pathak of Maidhi, and the three heeded my summons and night and day walked to reach me. With them I spoke privately and said—

"I have challenged Digbandhan Sen, and I have seen Nepal too, and made up mind to conquer. What do you say?" To which they counseled—"Attack them, Maharaja," and I said—"What if, when I march to capture one's flag, another attacks to capture mine?" They replied: "If the Baise and Chaubise kinglets come after your possessions, we will flood Chepe River red with their blood, Maharaja!" After the counsel we reached Gorkha, where I met my uncle Prince Udhyot Sen of Palpa, who had visited the shrines of Gosaikunda and Pashupatinath via Devghat, after which he had come to Gorkha to visit the shrine of Gorakhnath. Upon meeting him I said—"Uncle, I have returned from Makwanpur, and I have seen Nepal valley, and I have made up my mind for conquest. What need I do to achieve these ends? Please counsel me," to which he said—"I, too, had a vision on the fifth night of arrival. Five brothers you seem like the Pandavas, and without as fierce an affair as that of Kurukshetra, I see it difficult to break Nepal."

"Lamjung is an eagle, Gorkha is a serpent and Nepal is a frog. Deceive the eyes of the eagle, and then the serpent can feast upon the frog." I said—"I have soldiers of four castes. Whose back shall I ride that the task is speediest accomplished?" to which he asked—"What castes do you have?" I replied—"With me I have Brahmins, Khas, Magar and Thakuri. Which caste shall I employ to fastest finish my conquest?" to which he replied—"To ride the Brahmin is to ride on oxen; to do so will later result in sin. To ride the Thakuri is to ride a lion; to do so will later result in betrayal. To ride the Magar is to ride a slow horse, to do so will make the conquest lengthy and slow. To ride the Khas is to ride a Tajik-Turkish horse. If you ride the Khas, your conquest will be most expedient." And he counseled me further on many subjects.

I took these advices to heart and went to meet with Ripumardan Shah, king of Lamjung, and met him on the banks of Chepe River. What exact things I had thought of to speak about our kingdoms and what exact things I had thought to make a treaty on, Kalu Pande spoke the same to the Lamjunge king, and a strong agreement was made. I was surprised, and thought—he has pleased me, but the scriptures instruct to give premiership to he who also pleases the subjects. So I inquired among the subjects and found Kalu Pande had pleased them equally, and they said—"Make Kalu Pande the Kaji, and we the people will prosper in peace." Even the Baise and Chaubise kinglets desired Kalu Pande, and with Kalu Pande as Kaji treaties and agreements will remain strong—such counsels I was given. I wanted to make Biraj Bakheti the Kaji, but Kalu Pande emerged as the more thoughtful, and therefore Kalu Pande was made the Kaji.

I said—"Now, I will make ties between the Pandes and the Basnyats, so give your daughter to Sivaram Basnyat's son Kehersingh Basnyat," and the two houses were tied by marriage. Thus, after the conjugal tie, with the shields of the Pandes and the swords of the Basnyats I attacked Nepal.

Then, I put Ranjit Basnyat, Mansingh Rokaya and Birbhadra Pathak by the new paddies of Gautan along Liglig and said—"They say the goddess of Salyankot is powerful, so I will find an auspicious hour to attend to her shrine." So, I left at an auspicious moment and at nightfall made camp at Bari, where I consulted Salyankoti war-lords and chieftains of various clans and casts.

"Can I see and worship the goddess?" I asked, but they replied, "The privilege of worshipping the goddess inside the temple is reserved for the priest and his attendant." Then I asked—"Can I at least worship her from the entrance?" And they replied—"Worshipping from the entrance is possible," so I went up to the entrance every morning and evening and worshipped her. One night I had a dream and in it a girl of seven or eight draped in a light red shawl approached me with a khadga sword in each hand, and I asked—"Who are you?" She replied—"I am the daughter of the priest Rana" and gave me the two swords and from the folds of her garment brought out a red gem large and shiny as a hand mirror and said—"Swallow this. I have fulfilled your wishes, and now I will ask you for something in return which you shall offer unto me." And just as she stepped towards me, I woke up. I called Bhanu Jyotishi, Kulananda Jyotishi, and the priest Rana and asked. Both Jyotishis and the priest said—"She is the goddess; you have seen her." Immediately, I offered incense and lamps and promised to the goddess seven goats and seven buffalos and the income from Brolang ghat along with the dry fields near the ghat. I left immediately on the same auspicious hour and directly reached Simalchaur where I made camp at the chautara there.

With Khinchet's canal to irrigate new paddies as the excuse, I had attacking Nuwakot as my intent. I would often take a boat across Betrawati to worship at the shrine of Beni Indrayani, and I would meditate upon the goddess of Salyankot and Indrayani Bhairabi. It appeared the fort of Mahamandal was the competitor of Nuwakot for my attention. Kaji Jayanta Rana of Gyami was stationed at Mahamandal. I said to him—"You are a Gyami of my country. Leave Mahamandal. Come to my side." He replied—"Although I am of yours, I have eaten Jayaprakash Malla's salt, and so I will defend Mahamandal, I cannot surrender it to you." Thusly he retorted.

One day I was keeping court. There I had a daydream, and in it I was sitting at the site of Indrayani. There I heard Indrayani Bhagvati say—"A week from today falls a very auspicious day, if you attack on that day Nuwakot will fall to you." So I said to the Jyotishi—"Consult the paatro," and he consulted the astrological charts and said—"A week from today as Saturday emerges it is a very auspicious moment," and on such an hour we climbed to Mahamandal and crossed swords, and with the help of Panta loyal to our salt, my twelve year old brother Dalmardan Shah beheaded Jayant rana's son Sankhamani Rana with the jethi-tarbar, sword of the coup de grace. After capturing Nuwakot we rejoiced at our victory and set siege upon Nepal valley with camps at Kakani and Shivapuri.

Parashuram Thapa of Sindhupalchowk had invited me to come and attack Nepal, but at the same time he had sent his younger brother west of Gorkha with the instructions to gather a hundred-thousand by inciting the Baisi-Chaubisi to attack Gorkha from behind, and I learned of it, and when I asked—"So, where is he now?" They replied—"He has set his quarters at Hatiya in Pokhara." Hearing this, I asked—"Who among you can go and kill him?" No one could find a person suitable, so I said—"Perhaps Jhangal Gurung can," and sent for him and gave him the short-sword on my waist, so he went disguised as a gaine singer with fishhooks in hand and a sarangi under his arm and a 2-4 dharni Mahseer sahar fish, and as the troops in Thapa's camp rested to eat their morning rice, Jhangal Gurung sought an opportune moment and killed Thapa. After thusly securing the rear and ridding of all obstacles by taking in hand the people of the east and the west, I conquered Nepal.

So, this Nepal kingdom appears to be a yam between two boulders. Keep good accord with the emperor of China. Although you should keep an accord with the emperor from across the Southern seas, he is very beguiling. He keeps the land of Hindus suppressed, and he is in the flatlands. Someday, when he fears that the land of Hindus will rise in rebellion and make it difficult, he will certainly come here seeking higher grounds to fortify his empire. Therefore, find peaks and passes to make forts and build gates at appropriate places. Someday, he will certainly come hither.

Many of them will be slaughtered in the Chure valleys; enough riches for five-seven generations will also be acquired. Our boarders will extend right to the banks of the Ganga. If not through warring, they will still try to reach here through many disguises and contrivances.

This Nepal estate is a natural fortress. If they acquire this fortress, they will defeat all four emperors of the world. In truth, God himself has created this fortress. There is no question about it. Make a strong fortress each at these seven sites—Shivapuri, Fulchowki, Chandragiri, Mahadevpokhari, Palung, Dapcha and Kahule. Keep cannons at each fortress, and in every pass there is, build a strong iron gate for each pass, and with each gate keep a cannon attended by five soldiers. With such an arrangement, those that spy, criticize, flee, destroy, rob, riot, and murder will be helpless. Even if all four emperors band together to attack, they will be ineffective.

I have seen the system established by King Ram Shah, I have seen the system set by King Jayashthiti Malla, and I have seen the system set by King Mahindra Malla. With God's blessings, I had wished to prescribe a system of my own for the twelve thousand households of Gorkha. I wanted to close the paths through the east and the west and make Nepal the only thoroughfare, and I wished to set a system for the people to act according their castes and creeds.

It seems these three cities are like cold stones; there are merely lots of shows, and no substance. It seems those who drink out of a well are not only without intelligence, but also devoid of courage. There are only lots of shows and games. I intended to build a new palace at Dahachowk and in all directions make houses for my teachers and priests, relations and courtiers and chieftains and warlords, and make a new palace for myself. I intended to go to the three cities only for occasional entertainment.

Do not allow foreign businessmen to come any closer than Parsa-gadhi. If foreign merchants come to the country, they will leave the people destitute. We wore common rags while earning this kingdom of three Nepal cities, nine-hundred thousand Kirats and the land of Hindus. Forbid the use of foreign textile. Assist those in the country who are skilled in weaving by showing them samples of superior products; through such practices money will not go to the foreigners.

Take produces and herbs from here to foreign countries and bring back money. Through any means, retain money in the country. If the people remain capable, the palace remains strong. The people are a king's reserves.

Do not give out contracts for government work. Establish a government office to oversee annual accounts. Do not allow even the best soldiers or closest courtiers to horde wealth. Give each enough to upkeep the honor due to his position. You ask why? Because those that have wealth cannot wield sword to kill or die, and then the enemy will shine. If the soldiers and my other courtiers don't submit to wealth and decadence, my sword will conquer all four directions. It will be calamitous if soldiers and courtiers submit to pleasures of wealth.

This is not a kingdom earned though my small discomforts. It is a garden for all castes and creeds. Best if everyone remembers this. This garden must be equally cared for by all small and big, of all four castes and thirty-six creeds.

This land is the true land of Hindus. Do not let the people abandon their ancestral traditions. Let everybody be loyal to their master's salt. Do not discontinue Kalu Kapardar's lineage from overseeing the royal treasury. Do not discontinue Shivaramsingh Basnyat's lineage from maintaining truce with the south. Do not discontinue Kalu Pande's lineage from maintaining truce with Tibet.

While handing out privilege to war spoils, rotate it evenly among the Pande, Basnet, Panta, and the Magar courtiers, for these are my loyal servants. Even if one of them makes a mistake that warrants his life, do not kill him yourself. Instead, give him the assurance to pay death tribute to his family and send him to the front line. If he survives and returns, that is good. If he dies, it is better that he is killed by someone else. Thusly, a king should never kill his servants in his own kingdom.

The king should attend to justice and the laws of the land. Let there be no injustice in the country. It is those who offer bribe and those who take bribe that most spoil the course of justice. It is no sin to take the life and property of such individuals. They are the worst enemies of a king.

Most important—what a king needs most are soldiers, so arrange for homesteads for the soldiers. They will work the land and both the owners and workers of the land will earn plenty and be free of worries about their families. Thusly, whether the soldiers are stationed outside the king's doors, or they are stationed at passes and forts, they will have strong hearts free of worries. While giving appointments in the army, find a seasoned man who has fought in four, five battles and earned accolades and make him Subedar of a company of hundred muskets. Let the Subedar find Sat-pagaris who are equally experienced. Let the Sat-pagaris find sixteen Huddas that are willing to kill and die with them. Let the sixteen Huddas also find soldiers who are equally loyal and willing to die and kill together and recruit them into their Patti. In every Patti let there be soldiers only from the four castes of Khas, Magar, Gurung and Thakuris, and the swords will strike strongly in war.

Only these four castes are capable of wielding steel; with them fighting becomes easier. Make them strong, and not only any mortal enemy, but even the King of Gods Indra's throne becomes challengeable. With thousands of bows and arrows, thousands of muskets, thousands of Khunda swords and thousands of canons, one can even shake Indra's throne.

In war, those that attack and those that support are of equal importance; treat them equally while granting new appointments and untaxed land. If a man dies in war, compensate his family suitably until his son becomes capable of wielding a sword, and then induce him into the ranks. If a king is generous and fair towards his soldiers, warriors from countries afar will seek employment with him, and much skilled fighter will be easier to find.

A king's essence is in his soldiers and his people. An intelligent king will keep both the soldiers and the people equally pleased. Thusly he can avoid skirmishes or rebellions in the country. Always keep the soldiers prepared for combat, for soldiers ready for combat will not enter into pleasing another master, and your task will be easier accomplished.

Select from the familiar and old households of Gurungs, Magars, courtiers and the royalty, castes and clans, and warlord-chieftains to guard the capital and its passes and gates. Do not allow Khas and Brahmins from the east or the west to enter the palace. You ask why? Because, outsiders will bring chaos to the court.

Enforce the king's commands, and keep the enforcers under control. I had kept the warlords of three hills of Salyan, Liglig and Dhading strong as Indra's bajra. I had given them individual insignia and nagara drums, and I had given them each an annual salary of 240 rupees. Whenever I needed something done in either region, they would promptly carry out the task for me. It is through such exercise that I now enjoy this splendor and prosperity.

Keep your kingdom strong by keeping by your side the closest, most loyal and longest-serving servants of the household. Only then can the palace remain strong. If a king is intelligent, he will keep both the soldiers and the people close to him. Let none go pleasing another master, let them not go after another master of better character or out of gratitude, but let them be loyal only to the salt.

Always keep a clean mintage. While recruiting for the ranks in a court of law, find a Dittha among the Thakuris, and a Bichari from the Magars. Let there be a Pandit in each such court to conduct judicial affairs in accordance with the scriptures. Do not let into the royal household the revenue from judicial courts; instead, use it as alms and food for beggars, guests, Fakirs, Yogis, Sanyasis and Brahmins. Spend the remainder on dhotis and kerchiefs for the same crowd. If you do this, there will be no blame for wrongdoing.

If there is a village where there could be a mine, move the village elsewhere and exploit the mines. If there is a house where there could be good crop fields, move the house elsewhere and dig irrigation canals to farm the land.

A while ago, King Ranajit Malla of Bhaktapur pretended to welcome me to his kingdom, but deceived me later. I took great pains to secure the rear before laying siege on the Nepal valley. King Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sent for the naked ascetic Naga warriors from the south to fight for him but I slaughtered them in the seven villages around Banepa before they could enter Nepal valley. Likewise, Mir Kasim of Bengal attacked Makwanpurgadhi; I dispatched a hundred and twenty swordsmen to cut his force and chased him out of the boundaries of my kingdom. A few years later, Harding Saheb of the East India Company attacked Sindhuligadhi with three-four platoons, and I killed his soldiers and wrested from them their firearms. Right about then, three Muslim men from Lakhnaw arrived at Nuwakot with the desire to serve in my army. It appeared that they knew the mechanism of the rifles and muskets wrested from Qasim Ali Khan and the British, so I granted office to Shekh Jorabar, Mohammad Taqui and Bhekarsingh, and thus aided the riflemen of my own kingdom's army.

I read the book on genealogies of Nepal, and it said that Nepal was to become the land of Turks, the land of Magars and the land of the Mughals. So, it has already been under the influence of the Turks once. And as for the Magars, I am the king of the Magarat. To efface the claim that it will also come under the Mughals, I have amassed companies of soldiers similar to theirs, even when that called for the effacement of just as many soldiers of this land as I have gathered on my side. I made half of my swordsmen into riflemen. Thusly I have divided my army into a half that wields muskets, and another half wielding swords.

A company of a hundred muskets will be swift—with such arrangement, a company of hundred men will easily defeat a thousand men. Keep one such company in each fortress, and allocate to them a cluster of villages for income. Keep a roster of soldiers who are not on active duty, but on call as reserves, and provide well for their livelihood.

A grave worry assails me—Nepal is close to the land of Mughals. It seems that land has great number of shameless and corrupt young men. I am very worried that our youth, too, may venture to those halls filled with artful murals and lose themselves to the beats of drums and the tunes of sitars. When people become afflicted with the love for music and festive gatherings, they easily open their purses at such gatherings. Not only are riches lost, but also the secrets of the nation become exposed, and the enemy will have the advantage of deception. For the three kinds—the morally corrupt, the shameless, and those indulging in gaudy music—do not allow access to the roads to the hills; even if they are allowed thoroughfare, let only a handful come for the few days of festivities around Fagu Purnima, and send them away promptly. Thus, they will not get any sense of national secrets.

For your own entertainment, it is better to watch the dances and arts of the Newars of the three cities of Nepal, which are in accordance with our own scripture of Natyashastra. If you give to these artistes, it will remain inside the country. And the country and its secrets will also remain inaccessible.

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