Jaya Prakash Malla (

Newar Newar (; , endonym: Newa; , Pracalit script: ), or Nepami, are primarily inhabitants in Kathmandu Valley of Nepal and its surrounding areas, and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Page 15. Newars are a distinct linguisti ...

: ) was the last

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Kantipur Kantipur (; ) was a medieval kingdom in the Malla confederacy of Nepal, centered in the Kathmandu Valley. The name of the kingdom was derived from a Sanskrit name of its capital city, now known as Kathmandu. List of kings * Ratna Malla (148 ...

() which corresponds to present-day

Kathmandu Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...

. He ruled from 1736 to 1746 after succeeding his father Jagajjaya Malla, and then from 1750 until his death in 1769.

Early life

Jayaprakash Malla's elder brother and the

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

Rajendra Malla died when he was young. Some courtiers and nobles requested the

to declare Jayaprakash's younger brother Rajyaprakash the heir instead of Jayaprakash. Jayaprakash's rivalry with the nobles began after the king decided that Jayaprakash would succeed him after his death.

Reign

Conflict with brothers

He ascended the throne after his father died in 1736. Suspecting a ''coup'' from his brother and the nobles, he expelled his brother Rajyaprakash during the time of mourning for his father. Rajyaprakash was adopted as the heir by Vishnu Malla, the then King of Patan. After a short while, some palace officials conspired and proclaimed his younger brother Narendraprakash as the ruler of the north-eastern part of the kingdom. Jayaprakash defeated Narendraprakash after four months and Narendraparakash fled to Bhadgaon where he died.

Invasion from Gorkha

In 1737, Narabhupal Shah of Gorkha attacked Nuwakot but was quickly defeated by Jayaprakash Malla. In 1744,

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 ...

attacked Nuwakot again and annexed it from

. When

attacked Nuwakot, a protectorate of Kantipur, Jayaprakash sent troops under Kashiram Thapa. The battle occurred in 1746 where Kashiram Thapa lost the war and Jayaprakash Malla thought of deceit. Jaya Prakash Malla was angered and killed him. In the day of Indrajatra, when there was festival going on,

attacked Yen (Kantipur). Jaya Prakash Malla was helpless and he went to Lalitpur to seek asylum. Tej Narasimha Malla ruled that kingdom. After some time Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked Lalitpur and Jaya Prakash Malla along with Tej Narasimha Malla ran to

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

to seek asylum. When Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked Bhaktapur, Ranajit Malla surrendered. Later, Ranajit Malla was sent to Kashi to spend rest of his life; Jaya Prakash Malla died and Tej Narasimha Malla was kept in lifetime detention.

Literary works

He contributed to the literature of

Nepal Bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

with works such as "Padma Samuchaya" and three dramas that were concerned with Hindu mythology being ''Ratneshwar Pradurbhav'', ''Birdhwojopakhyan Natakam'' and ''Bhairavpradurbhav''.

Early life

Reign

Conflict with brothers

Invasion from Gorkha

Literary works

References

Further reading