Bal Narsingh Kunwar or Balanarsingh Kanwar ( ne, बालनरसिंह कुँवर; 2 February 1783 - 24 December 1841) posthumously referred as Bal Narsingh Kunwar Rana was a
Kaji, military officer and governor in the
Kingdom of Nepal
The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu king ...
.
He was born to Kaji
Ranajit Kunwar
Ranajit Kunwar ( ne, रणजीत कुँवर) was Nepalese governor and military personnel in the Kingdom of Nepal. He was a son of Ramakrishna Kunwar of Kunwar family. He served as governor of Jumla, Pyuthan and sub-ordinate administrator ...
of the
Chhetri
Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration from ...
Kunwar family
The Kunwar family ( ne, कुँवर परिवार) was a noble Khas-Chhetri family in the Gorkha Kingdom and the Kingdom of Nepal. Kunwars were linked to the Thapa dynasty and family of Amar Singh Thapa by marital lineages and, thus, ...
of
Gorkha. He was the father of
Jung Bahadur Rana
Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...
, founder of the
Rana dynasty
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and othe ...
.
[The Ancestors of Jung Bahadur Rana, History, Propaganda and Legend Vol.14, August 1987 - http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/contributions/pdf/CNAS_14_03_01.pdf] Bal Narsingh married Ganesh Kumari, daughter of ''Thapa Kaji''
Nain Singh Thapa
Nain Singh Thapa or Nayan Singh Thapa ( ne, नैनसिंह थापा/नयनसिंह थापा) (died late 1806 or early 1807) was a Nepalese Kaji (minister) and a military general. He died in the offensive campaign of Kangra f ...
and was related to Pandes through his mother-in-law Rana Kumari Pande, daughter of
Mulkaji
''Mulkaji'' ( ne, मूलकाजी) was the position of head of executive of Kingdom of Nepal in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It was equivalent to Prime Minister of Nepal. There were 5 Mulkajis appointed between 1785 and 1804.
M ...
Ranajit Pande.
He became a Kaji (minister of state) after he killed
Sher Bahadur Shah
Sher Bahadur Shah ( ne, शेरबहादुर शाह; January 1778 – 25 April 1806) was a Nepalese noble who served as Chautaria from 1794 until his assassination in 1806. He was the son of King Pratapsingh Shah and the 3rd dynasty r ...
, the assassin of
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...
Rana Bahadur Shah
Rana Bahadur Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज रण बहादुर शाह देव) (1775–1806) was the King of Nepal from 1777 to 1799. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the deat ...
. He served as governor of Dhankuta, Dadeldhura and Jumla.
Early life
He was born on 2 February 1783 to Governor of Jumla, ''
Kaji''
Ranajit Kunwar
Ranajit Kunwar ( ne, रणजीत कुँवर) was Nepalese governor and military personnel in the Kingdom of Nepal. He was a son of Ramakrishna Kunwar of Kunwar family. He served as governor of Jumla, Pyuthan and sub-ordinate administrator ...
, the only son of ''
Sardar
Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also be ...
''
Ram Krishna Kunwar
Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar ( ne, रामकृष्ण कुँवर; IAST: ''Rāmakr̥ṣṇa kum̐vara'') was military commander (Sardar) of Gorkha Kingdom during the Unification of Nepal at the reign of King Prithvi Narayan ...
, a prominent General of King
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...
. He was second cousin to Captain
Balbhadra Kunwar. He travelled to
Banaras
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic tr ...
with his ally
Bhimsen Thapa
Bhimsen Thapa ( ne, भीमसेन थापा (August 1775 – 29 July 1839)) was a Nepalese statesman who served as the ''Mukhtiyar'' (equivalent to prime minister) and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the ...
,
Dalbhanjan Pande
Dalbhanjan Pande or Dalabhanjan Pande ( ne, दलभञ्जन पाँडे) was a Nepalese minister, politician and military officer of the aristocratic Pande family. He had held ministerial positions and military offices. He jointly headed ...
,
Ranganath Poudyal
Ranga Nath Poudyal Atri ( ne, रङ्गनाथ पौड्याल) popularly known as Ranganath Pandit was the Mukhtiyar of Nepal from 1837 December to 1838 August and in 1840 November for about 2–3 weeks. He was the first Brahmin Prim ...
, Chautariya
Balbhadra Shah, when King
Rana Bahadur Shah
Rana Bahadur Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज रण बहादुर शाह देव) (1775–1806) was the King of Nepal from 1777 to 1799. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the deat ...
as Swami Maharaja set out to leave the country.
Bhandarkhal Night
On the night of 25 April 1806, King
Rana Bahadur Shah
Rana Bahadur Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज रण बहादुर शाह देव) (1775–1806) was the King of Nepal from 1777 to 1799. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the deat ...
held a courtier meeting at Kazi Tribhuvan Khawas's house during which he taunted and threatened to execute his half brother Chautariya Sher Bahadur. Bal Narsingh cut down the murderer Sher Bahadur when latter drew a sword in desperation at around 10 pm and killed the King. For this, he was awarded the hereditary post of Kaji by
Bhimsen Thapa
Bhimsen Thapa ( ne, भीमसेन थापा (August 1775 – 29 July 1839)) was a Nepalese statesman who served as the ''Mukhtiyar'' (equivalent to prime minister) and de facto ruler of Nepal from 1806 to 1837. He is widely known as the ...
.
Life as Governor
He worked as Governor of Dhankuta (1828-1832), Governor of Dadeldhura (1833-1835) and Governor of Jumla (1835-1837).
Fall of Thapa clans
References
Books
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bal Narsingh Kunwar
Unification of Nepal
History of Nepal
1783 births
1841 deaths
19th century in Nepal
Gurkhas
People from Gorkha District
People of the Nepalese unification
19th-century Nepalese nobility
18th-century Nepalese nobility
Khas people