Vishva Lakshmi

Vishva Lakshmi Devi
Queen of Bhaktapur
Gilt copper statuette from the 17th century
Queen Consort of Bhaktapur
Tenure	21 September 1696 – 19 May 1722
Predecessor	Lālamati
Successor	Briddhi Lakshmi
Born	Unknown
Died	Unknown date Bhaktapur, Nepal
Spouse	Bhupatindra Malla
Issue	Ranajit Malla
Dynasty	Malla Dynasty (by marriage)

Vishva Lakshmi (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐧𑐶𑐱𑑂𑐰𑐮𑐎𑑂𑐲𑑂𑐩𑐷‎) was the queen consort of Bhaktapur and the spouse of Bhupatindra Malla, who ruled from 1696 to 1722.^[1][2] She was also the mother of Ranajit Malla, the last king of Bhaktapur.^[3] She was married to Bhupatindra Malla on 4 November 1687.^[4]

Vishva Lakshmi commissioned the temple of Brahmayani in Panauti and donated lands for funding the regular worship of the goddess.^[5][6] There is also a statuette of her at the temple of Brahmani in Panauti.^[6] Her last reference comes from a copper plate inscription dated to April 1723 which mentions her donation of some land for funding a ritual worship of Taleju, the tutelary goddess of the Mallas.^[7]

Gallery

• 
  Mural from 1708 at the royal palace of Bhaktapur depicting Vishva Lakshmi and her husband as a divine couple.^[8] Vishva Lakshmi also had a small mole on her chin, as can be seen in this mural.^[8]
• 
  Gilt copper statuette at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.^[9] Based on her jewellery, this statuette seems to have been made for her wedding.
• 
  The temple of Brahmayani in Panauti, completed in 1715 was commissioned by Vishva Lakshmi.
• 
  Vishva Lakshmi's Newar Language stone inscription at the temple of Brahmani, Panauti.
• 
  Highly damaged miniature of Vishva Lakshmi (far left) from a Paubha from the 18th century.

See also

• Bhupatindra Malla
• Ranajit Malla
• Nyatapola Temple
• Bhaktapur

References

1. Shrestha, Sahina. "An illustrated history of the Chitrakars | Nepali Times Buzz | Nepali Times". archive.nepalitimes.com. Retrieved 2022-02-10.
2. Regmi 1966, p. 237.
3. Upadhaya 2009, p. 202.
4. Bajracharya, Chunda (January 1996). "मल्लकालको एतिहासिक सामग्री– धर पौः" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies. 23.
5. Regmi 1966, p. 243.
6. Municipal Profile of Panauti (PDF) (in Nepali). Panauti Municipality. 2018. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2022.
7. Vaidya, Tulasī Rāma (2002). Bhaktapur Rajdarbar. Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University. p. 79. ISBN 978-99933-52-17-4.
8. Shrestha, Purushottam Lochan (22 November 2014). "Pachpanna jhyālē darbārkō vishvarupa". Lalitkala Magazine (in Nepali).
9. "Portrait of the Malla King Bhupatindra and Malla Queen". Global Nepali Museum. Archived from the original on 2020-09-28. Retrieved 2021-12-16.

Bibliography

• Upadhaya, Shreeram Prasasd (2009). Nepal ko Prachin tatha Madhyakalin Itihas (in Nepali). Ratna Pustak Bhandar. pp. 194–202. ISBN 978-9993304555.
• Raj, Yogesh (2018). Ranahar (in Nepali). Nepa~laya Publications. ISBN 9789937921244.
• Regmi, D. R. (1966). Medieval Nepal: A history of the three kingdoms, 1520 A.D. to 1768 A.D. Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay.