Briddhi Lakshmi (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐰𑐺𑐡𑑂𑐢𑐶𑐮𑐎𑑂𑐲𑑂𑐩𑐷) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Bhaktapur (modern day Bhaktapur, Nepal), the first wife of Ranajit Malla and a Newar language poet.[1] For a brief period, she and her two-year-old son was also the monarch of an independent Thimi and Nala.[2] She is today mostly remembered for the songs and poems she composed, some of which are still sung today by traditional Dapha groups in Thimi.[3]
She was born in a noble family in Bettiah, in modern-day India and had a brother named Murāri Rāya.[4] In 1712, an envoy was sent from Bhaktapur to fetch her to the kingdom and marry her to the crown prince Ranajit Malla. Although she was extremely well-loved by the populace of the kingdom, she found herself more isolated in the palace. After failing to provide a male heir, she found herself replaced by Jaya Lakshmi, a favourite concubine of Ranajit Malla. By the time she gave birth to Devendra Malla, Jaya Lakshmi's eldest son had already reached maturity.[5] The people in the kingdom wanted her newborn to be the crown prince, since she was the queen consort, however, Jaya Lakshmi who held significant power in the palace was against this idea and so she found herself in a precarious situation. After her followers in the palace were assassinated one by one, she fled to Thimi with her infant son and the populace of Thimi soon after her arrival declared Thimi as an independent state from the Kingdom of Bhaktapur with her son as their sovereign.[6]
She was a prolific poet and songwriter in the Newar language. Only six of her works survive today, however, preserved by traditional singing groups in Thimi.[3] Her poem, "𑐎 𑐏 𑐫𑐵 𑐩𑑂𑐫𑐾" (ka kha yā mye), which she composed when she and her infant's safety was compromised in the palace, is considered one of the greatest works in the Newar language.[3]
Early life
In November 1711, an envoy led by Bhairava Malla and Vira Joshi was dispatched by Bhupatindra Malla to Bettiah in order to fetch Briddhi Lakshmi to Bhaktapur.[7] The expenditure book of their journey is so far the only source about Briddhi Lakshmi's early life. The expenditure book does not mention her name and refers to her as "kanyā", a term used for an unmarried girl.[8] However, the book does mention her brother's name, Murāri Rāya.[9] Bridhhi Laksmhi, as per the book was not of royal descent.[8]
By February 1712, the envoy had returned to Bhaktapur with Briddhi Lakshmi and her brother, Murāri Rāya, who had accompanied his sister but returned after they arrived safely in Bhaktapur.[10] Briddhi Lakshmi was married to the crown prince Ranajit Malla eight months after her arrival, on the first day of kartikavadi 833 NS (October–November 1712).[9]
Succession crisis
Sources
Much of what is known about the crisis is known from the journal of Father Cassino, a Capuchin missionary from Macerata who was staying in Bhaktapur during the crisis of succession.[11] There are also three copper plate inscriptions: two of them, at the temple of Brahmani in Bhaktapur and at the temple of Balkumari in Thimi, were commissioned by Briddhi Lakshmi herself while the third, at Chitrapur Village, south of the city of Bhaktapur was set up by Ranajit Malla; all three of them are also related to the crisis.[11][12] Additionally, there are six Newar Language poems written by Briddhi Lakshmi which describe her experience during the crisis of succession.[13]
Background
Ranajit Malla who ascended the throne after his father's death in May 1722 had many concubines and one particular concubine, Jaya Lakshmi was the favourite of the king.[14] From Jaya Lakshmi, Ranajit Malla had a son, named Ajitasimha Malla, whose birth date is not known yet, but he must have been the king's eldest male child as he is addressed as the crown prince in a document from 1728.[14]
The conflict arose ten years later, in June 1738, when Briddhi Lakshmi gave birth to a son in Thimi.[15] Briddhi Lakshmi, being the king's only legitimate wife was favoured by the public and naturally Ranajit Malla was pressured by the public to change the crown prince to Briddhi Lakshmi's son.[14] Meanwhile, Jaya Lakshmi wanted to retain her son's position as the crown prince and pressured the king to not change his previous decision.[15] However, it appears that Ranajit Malla eventually declared Briddhi Lakshmi's son as the crown prince as she set up a copper plate inscription at the Brahmani temple of Bhaktapur in NS 859 (1738 CE) to commemorate her son being declared the successor to the throne; the inscription mention her son's name as Vira Narasimha Malla.[14] Meanwhile, Jaya Lakshmi and her son Ajitasimha Malla started a munity in the palace against the declaration of Vira Narasimha as the crown prince. Despite being favoured by the public and her son being the crown prince, Bridhhi Lakshmi had no supporters among the nobility and courtiers of the palace except for a minister which Father Cassiano specified was from a "non-aristocratic family".[11][15]
Briddhi Lakshmi however, did not stay in the Bhaktapur palace for long as she had almost no supporters there. Father Cassiano on his journal wrote: "But his mother (Briddhi Lakshmi) could not live in peace in the palace where her rival (Jayalakshmi) held all the power, and she scented dangers ahead even for her child".[16] In her poems, Briddhi Lakshmi frequently describe being ridiculed and bullied by her rivals.[17]
Fearing for her and her son's life Briddhi Lakshmi escaped the palace in 1740, with the help of the "non aristocratic" minister and took refuge in the town of Thimi, west of the capital.[6] In her poem ka kha yā mye, Briddhi Lakshmi wrote, "Because of a strife, I have been insulted in my own home; I feel like Damayanti without her beloved Nala, I feel like a lonely champak flower without any bumblebees; being incapable of any deceit, I have fallen".[18]
According to Father Cassino, Briddhi Lakshmi was received well by the people of Thimi and not long after declared their allegiance to Briddhi Lakshmi by accepting her son as their ruler.[2] Meanwhile, Briddhi Lakshmi set up a copper plate inscription in the Balkumari temple of Thimi dated to NS 860 (1740 CE), where she mentions her taking refuge in Thimi along with the Sahebju.[6][a] Soon other cities within the kingdom like Nala followed Thimi and mutinies were being held against Ranajit Malla all over the kingdom. In order to resolve the crisis peacefully, Ranajit Malla called a general council for the people on 26 April 1742, whereby he would grant permission for anyone in the kingdom to enter his palace and were given permission to freely express their opinions directly to their king.[2] Father Cassino, who was the witness of this event, wrote the following in his journal:
"Therefore, Ranajit Malla called a general council of the people on the 26th of April 1742. In the meeting, they were to 'freely express their feeling and give opinion'. They all came to one of the 12 courtyards of the king's mansion. It was evening and dark all around. All of them sat around a canopy; now two doors were opened which from the public square were allowed entrance to the inner apartment where the king was seated. In order to allow free passage to those coming inside, the guards had been removed. Anyone who wanted to voice his feelings could come without any hindrance. There were a great many of such people. All of them had their faces covered to hide their identity and spoke in an affected tone not to be recognized. Some scolded the king, even called him bad names; others threatened him with dire consequences and still a few more tendered what one would like to call a simple advice. This went on until one hour after midnight had passed and those assembled then dispersed. The king deferred his judgment for the next day. The night council which was then held rarely met. It was held only when a large number of people felt dissatisfied with the ruler".[2]
According to a copper plate inscription dated to 1740 in village of Chitrapur, south of Thimi, Ranajit Malla had also granted a tax exempt to the people of the village, for protecting Briddhi Lakshmi and the Sahebju when they were taking refugee in Thimi.[20]
It appears after the council, Ranajit Malla himself went to Thimi to console his queen and resolve the conflict, however, it's unclear what happened afterwards as no clear sources have been found.[11] Father Cassiano in his journal wrote that Briddhi Lakshmi left Thimi with her son on a festival day and went to Jaya Prakash Malla to take shelter.[6] Historians aren't sure what happened to Briddhi Lakshmi afterwards; her next source is dated almost two decades after the event in NS 871 (1750 CE), from two stone inscriptions, she set up in Banepa, relating to her having built a communal shelter (Nepal Bhasa: phalcā) and a wooden bridge in the city.[21]
Children
Before the birth of a prince in June 1738 in Thimi, there are no other mentions of any children from Briddhi Lakshmi. The copper plate inscription she set up at the temple of Bramhani in Bhaktapur two years later after the birth of her son in 1738, mentions his name as "Vira Narasimha Malla".[14] Vira Narasimha Malla is also the name that appears in a stone inscription from 1752 (NS 873), where it states that he was co-ruling the kingdom with his father.[21] However, Briddhi Lakshmi's poems from 1740–42, mention her son's name as Dhana sāheba ("Prince Dhana")[18] while her Banepainscription mention her son's name as Devendra Malla.[21] Similarly, Devendra Malla's name also appears as a donor of a drum to Taleju, the tutelary goddess of the Mallas, in 1754.[22]: 79 Historian Dhaubhadel, citing her Brahmani copper plate inscription, presumes that all three names, Vira Narasimha, Devendra and Dhana refer to the same person.[14]
Death
It is unclear how or when Briddhi Lakshmi and her son died. After their Banepa inscription, Briddhi Lakshmi and her son, Vira Narasimha's name appears as the donors of various ceremonial items in the temples of Bhaktapur 1750 and 1754. In 1751 (NS 872), they donated statuettes of various deities at a Buddhist temple in Bhaktapur, where the inscription mentions her son as dhana juju ("King Dhana").[23] Finally, their last reference is from a ceremonial item they donated to the temple of Bhairava at Bhaktapur, and the inscription in it contains the date 11 March 1754 (NS 874 Chaitra 2) and mention Briddhi Lakshmi and Devendra Malla as the donors.[24][23]
In late December 1753, Ranajit Malla set up two gold plate inscriptions on the Golden Gate which he commissioned. Both of the inscription does not mention Vira Narasimha's and his mother Briddhi Lakshmi; however, it mentions Jaya Lakshmi as Ranajit Malla's wife.[22]: appendix 15
As regards to her son, in the local folklore, Vira Narasimha Malla was assassinated.[25]
Literary works
Six of Briddhi Lakshmi's Nepal Bhasa poems are preserved in a manuscript titled "gīta saṃgraha" which is stored at the National Archives of Nepal under catalogue number B 285/12.[26] Some traditional Dapha singing groups of Thimi and Bhaktapur also possess copies of her poems.[1] All six of her poems from the "gīta saṃgraha" are lyric poetry describing her lament during the crisis of succession and her subsequent flight to Thimi.[13] However, out of the six poems, only two of them, ka kha yā mye and bhayirava taleju bihune varadāna have been published so far; by Janak Lal Vaidya in 2000.[27] In 2020, Dhaubhadel translated the two from Classical Newar into the Nepali language.[28]
Out of the two that have been published, Premshanti Tuladhar, a professor of Newar, particularly has praised her ka kha yā mye (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐎 𑐏 𑐫𑐵 𑐩𑑂𑐫𑐾, lit.'a song of ka and kha').[1] Similarly, Historian Om Prasad Dhaubhadel describes it as "touching, sensitive and important".[29] Following are the starting verses of the poem in the original Classical Newar and its transliteration:
𑐎𑐮𑐶𑐳 𑐖𑐣𑐩 𑐡𑐫𑐶𑐰𑐣 𑐧𑐶𑐮 𑐕𑐵𑐫 (kalisa janama dayivana bila chāya) 𑐏𑐕𑐶𑐫𑐵 𑐧𑐕𑐶𑐫𑐵 𑐬𑐳 𑐩𑐡𑐸 𑐳𑐸𑐏 𑐫𑐵𑐫 (khachiyā bachiyā rasa madu sukha yāya) 𑐐𑐬𑐸𑐜 𑐐𑐌𑐩𑑂𑐴𑐳𑐾𑐣 𑐩𑐫𑐵𑐟 𑐰𑐶𑐰𑐾𑐎 (garuḍa gomhasena mayāta viveka)
Why was I given birth during the Kali Yuga by the gods, There is not even a moment of joy and rasa The one who rides the Garuda[b] has shown me no sympathy,
Similarly, her other poem that has been published, named bhayirava taleju bihune varadāna (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐨𑐫𑐶𑐬𑐧 𑐟𑐮𑐾𑐖𑐸 𑐧𑐶𑐴𑐸𑐣𑐾 𑐧𑐬𑐡𑐵𑐣, "bhairavataleju, give me a boon") after the starting verse, has been equally praised by Dhaubhadel.[29] Following are the starting verses of the poem in the original Classical Newar and its transliteration:
Oh Bhairava, Oh Taleju, grant me a blessing Please take care of the tree that you planted, that you gave the support of water Oh Bhagavati, please know that this child has no other refuge, (I think you should) have compassion on him
Historian Janak Lal Vaidya describes Briddhi Lakshmi as an important poet of the 18th century and praises her poem for its sweetness and musicality.[30]
In culture
The poems that Briddhi Lakshmi wrote when she took refuge in Thimi is still sung by traditional Dapha singing groups of the city.[1]
On 27 November 2023, a Nepal Bhasa song written by Durga Lal Shrestha was released, the subject of which was the relationship between Ranajit Malla and Bridhhi Lakshmi before they were married but after her arrival in Bhaktapur from Bettiah.[31] For the music video, Ranajit Malla was played by Karma Shakya and Briddhi Lakshmi was played by Rojina Suwal.[32]
Gallery
Following are the manuscript folios containing her poem, ka kha yā mye and bhayirava taleju bihune varadān:
First page of ka kha yā mye
Second page of ka kha yā mye
Third page of ka kha yā mye
Fourth page of ka kha yā mye
Fifth page of ka kha yā mye
Final page of ka kha yā mye, taleju bhairava begins from Line 3.
Second page of taleju bhairava
Final page of taleju bhairava
Notes
^Sahebju, derived from the Arabic word for "master", is the title given to the heir apparent during the Malla Dynasty.[19]
^Shrestha, Purushottam Lochan (12 March 2024). "bhairavamandirako vṛddhilakṣmīdevī ra devendra malladevako abhilekha" [Briddhi Lakshmi and Devendra Malla's inscription at the temple of Bhairava]. Atrangaka Tarangaharu (in Nepali). Bhaktapur: 847.
Dhaubhadel, Om Prasad (September 2020). "Ranajita Malla ra satbahale rajkumara haru" [Ranajit Malla and his seven princes] (PDF). Bhaktapur (in Nepali). Vol. 286. Bhaktapur Municipality. pp. 33–38. Archived from the original(PDF) on 25 July 2024.
