Bir Bhadra Thapa or Birabhadra Thapa () also spelled Virabhadra or Virbhadra, was a politician, courtier and military officer in the
Gorkha Kingdom during the 18th century. Born in the medieval Tanahun Kingdom, he left his ancestral property there and migrated to the uprising Gorkha Kingdom. He got entry into the minor ranks of the military of King
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...
due to being a nephew of Sura Prabha, the wife of military commander
Shivaram Singh Basnyat of the
Basnyat dynasty. Thereafter, he took part in the various battles of the
Unification of Nepal
The unification of Nepal () was the process of building the modern Nepalese state, by invading fractured Malla kingdoms including the Baise Rajya's 22 kingdoms and the Chaubisi Rajya's 24 kingdoms. It began in 1743 CE (1799 BS), by Prithvi N ...
throughout his life. Among his grandsons,
Bhimsen Thapa
Bhimsen Thapa ( (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 List of Prime Ministers of Nepal, l ...
went on to become the
Mukhtiyar of Nepal (equivalent to Prime Minister) for 31 years and the founder of the
Thapa dynasty.
Family
Birbhadra belonged to the prominent
Bagale Thapa clan of
Jumla that migrated eastwards as per Gorkha chronicles. The ''Thapa genealogy'' states that Birbhadra was a grandson of Bikram Thāpā and son of Bijay (Bijai) Thāpā. However, the
Sardar
Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar (, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royal family, royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other Aristocracy (class), aristocrats. It ha ...
i annual reinstatement letter of his youngest son
Amar Singh Thapa (sanu) on Chaitra 1855 B.S. mentioned Amar Singh Thapa (Sanu) as ''grandson of Bikram Thapa and son of Birbhadra Thapa''. Thus, historian
Baburam Acharya
Baburam Acharya ( Nepali: बाबुराम आचार्य) (1888–1971 AD) was a Nepalese historian and literary scholar. He is known as the historian laureate () of Nepal. The four part biography of King Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder ...
contends that Bijai Thāpā was an imaginary figure. Similarly, the Sundhara Inscription of his grandson
Bhimsen Thapa
Bhimsen Thapa ( (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 List of Prime Ministers of Nepal, l ...
, also further validates the point that Birbhadra was the son of Bikram Thapa.
He was the patron of the leading Thapa
Chhetri
Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali language, Nepali speaking people historically associated with the warrior class and administration, some of ...
group (i.e.
Thapa dynasty) in the Royal Court. He had three sons; Jeevan Thapa, Bangsha Raj Thapa and
Amar Singh Thapa (sanu). His eldest son died in the
Battle of Kantipur with powerful Kaji
Kalu Pande
Vamshidhar Pande () known by Alias Kalu Pande () was a Nepalese politician and general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. in a Gorkha family. He was the commander of the Gorkhali forces during the Un ...
. The seven sons of Amar Singh Thapa (sanu) -
Bhimsen Thapa
Bhimsen Thapa ( (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 List of Prime Ministers of Nepal, l ...
,
Nain Singh Thapa,
Bakhtawar Singh Thapa, Amrit Singh Thapa and
Ranabir Singh Thapa, all participated and contributed in the expansion and
unification of Nepal
The unification of Nepal () was the process of building the modern Nepalese state, by invading fractured Malla kingdoms including the Baise Rajya's 22 kingdoms and the Chaubisi Rajya's 24 kingdoms. It began in 1743 CE (1799 BS), by Prithvi N ...
.
Career
King
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...
's first military commander
Shivaram Singh Basnyat was married to Sura Prabha, a sister of Bikram Thapa and an aunt of Birbhadra. Therefore, he came from Tanahun Kingdom to
Gorkha Kingdom leaving all his ancestral property there due to his close family relations with Shivaram Singh. Another factor to attribute to this migration was the uprising fame and attraction of Gorkha Kingdom. Birbhadra, being a nephew of Shivaram Singh's wife Sura Prabha, was easily recruited into the minor ranks of
Jamadar in the army of the Gorkha Kingdom. But by the last period of King Prithvi Narayan's reign, his name was written at the foremost in one of the royal letters.
When King
Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah (; 7 January 1723 – 11 January 1775), was the last king of the Gorkha Kingdom and first king of the Kingdom of Nepal (also called the ''Kingdom of Gorkha''). Prithvi Narayan Shah started the unification of Nepal. He is a ...
annexed
Nuwakot in 1744, he was one of the influential Bharadars. After the conquest of Naldum area, he along with Commander
Shivaram Singh Basnyat conquered Sanga,
Panauti,
Sankhu and adjacent areas. The Gorkhali chronicle states that he was the commander of the Gorkhali forces. He commanded the Gorkhali troops during the capture of
Kavre and
Palanchowk with fellow commanders ''Chautariya''
Daljit Shah
Daljit Shah () was a Prince of the Gorkha Kingdom. He was active during the military campaign known as the Unification of Nepal led by his brother, King Prithvi Narayan Shah.
He held the rank of Chautaria, and Kaji (Nepal), Kaji. Shah commanded v ...
and ''Kaji'' Harka (Harsh) Pantha. He was deployed to Kaski allowing two
Brahmin
Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...
s from there to reside in Kathmandu as a part of friendly diplomacy with the Kaski Kingdom. He commanded troops near the hill in Sindhuli against the English advance of Major Kinloch.
Birbhadra was also among the guarantors to the ex-King
Rana Bahadur Shah who took a debt from Seth Dwarikadas on 1860
B.S. during ex-King Rana Bahadur's exiled life in
Banaras
Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or 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.*
*
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* The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
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References
Sources
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Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thapa, Bir Bhadra
Nepalese military personnel
Thapa Kaji
Bagale Thapa
People of the Nepalese unification
People from Gorkha District
Nepalese Hindus