Kaji Jayant Rana Magar was a Gorkhali

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

of the Gorkha Kingdom, and the

Kingdom of 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 ...

who commanded one battle for Gorkha, and two battles for Kantipur against the invasion of Nuwakot. He died in 1744 after ordering to be skinned alive by

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 ...

, first

King of Nepal The King of Nepal (traditionally known as the Mahārājdhirāja i.e. Great King of Kings; ) was Nepal's head of state and monarch from 1768 to 2008. He served as the head of the Nepalese monarchy—Shah Dynasty. The monarchy was abolished on 2 ...

Biography

King of Gorkha,

Nara Bhupal Shah Nara Bhupal Shah (; 1697–1743) was a king of the Gorkha Kingdom, which lies in modern day Nepal; and the father of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Nara Bhupal Shah was the son of Birbhadra Shah, the grandson of Prithvipati Shah. He was the king of the ...

, made Jayant Rana commander of his army with

Maheshwar Panta Maheshwar Panta or Manohar Pant (Nepali: महेश्वर पन्त) was the teacher and later Army Chief of King Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775 AD). With Bhanu Aryal, he trained King Prithvi Narayan. When Biraj Thapa Magar failed to ...

. In 1736, the king sent both commanders to attack Nuwakot, territory controlled by the

but the attack was unsuccessful. They made a retreat back to Gorkha, however, both commanders blamed each other for the defeat. Fearing for his life, Rana quitted the army of Gorkha, subsequently joined the Kantipur army. King of Kantipur,

Jaya Prakash Malla Jaya Prakash Malla (Newar: ) was the last king of Kantipur () which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746 after succeeding his father Jagajjaya Malla, and then from 1750 until his death in 1769. Early life Jayapraka ...

, appointed Rana to defend attacks from Gorkha as he had inside information on their strengths and weaknesses.

ascended the throne of the Gorkha Kingdom in 1743 after the death of his father Nara Bhupal Shah. Like his father, he attacked Nuwakot, but he failed to win, thus he began to improve military technology and manpower. When preparing for a war against Nuwakot,

, wrote a letter to Jayant Rana to join Gorkha, mentioning his ex-relations, however, he declined to join his side, adding "I am yours, but I have already eaten the salt of

. Now I would die for him". Later, Jayant Rana Magar became aware of an oncoming attack from Gorkha and he assigned his son Sankhamani Rana to defend Nuwakot, then Jayant Rana went to Kantipur to get more soldiers. However, Kantipur was celebrating a major festival of

Indra Jatra Indra Jātrā, also known as Yenyā Punhi is the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. "Ye" means the old Newar people, Newari name for "Kathmandu", "Ya" means “Celebration”, and "Puhni" means full moon so together means the ...

, thus he failed to get any additional soldiers to defend Nuwakot. Meanwhile, Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked Nuwakot, as soldiers were unprepared so they started to run away to Belkot. Rana's son, Sankhamani was killed in action. On 1 October 1744, Gorkha Kingdom won the war, subsequently, Jayant Rana was going back to Nuwakot but decided to stay at his second

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

in Belkot for a counterattack, and started to prepare for another battle with Gorkha. Later Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked Belkot and won a nearly

Pyrrhic victory A Pyrrhic victory ( ) is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. Such a victory negates any true sense of achievement or damages long-term progress. The phrase originates from a quote from ...

, upon victory, Rana was captured. In 1744, Shah brought Rana to Nuwakot and ordered him to be skinned alive with the presence of people from Gorkha, and Nuwakot. Jayant Rana is remembered for being one of the "recorded act of violence" of

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* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Jayant 1744 deaths 18th-century Nepalese people Gurkhas People executed by flaying People from Gorkha District Unification of Nepal People of the Nepalese unification Nepalese prisoners of war