Jitamitra 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 a Malla Dynasty King of

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 ...

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

from 1673 till his abdication in 1696. He was also known by his nom de plume, ''Sumati'', meaning "the wise one". He left his throne in 1696 to his eldest son Bhupatindra Malla to spend the rest of his life in religious activities, and died on 14 November 1708.

Construction efforts

A son of Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla Raja, Jitamitra was noted for his construction projects. In 1674 he built a Shikara-style Shiva temple with a gilded repousse mask of the God on each side in Bhaktapur. In 1682 he built near the Durbar the two-storied Dharmasala Palace with a golden Mahadeva. The palace was used by royalty until 1769 and today is a museum and part of the

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

on Durbar Square. To the east of this, he erected the temple and statue of

Narayana Narayana (, ) is one of the forms and epithets of Vishnu. In this form, the deity is depicted in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, symbolising the masculine principle and associated with his role of creation. He is also known as Pu ...

, along with the temples of Dattatrikasa and Pashupati. An inscription in 1678 states that he built the royal palace Thanathu Dubar and its gardens and courtyard. Jitamitra was also credited with restoring Kumari Chowk, the images of Astamatrikas and, in 1690, donated two large cooper kettledrums (nagara) or bells to his favourite deity, the goddess Taleju for the gilded roof of Taleju. He also contributed a finely carved wooden tympanum above the main entrance to the Mul Chowk and also erected many memorials in Bhaktapur. His son, Bhupatindra Malla who succeed him in 1696 was equally fascinated with architecture, and continued the development of the Dharmsala Palace, its 55 windows and gardens.

Death

Although historians initially believed that Jitamitra Malla died around the time of the coronation of his

son A son is a male offspring; a boy or a man in relation to his parents. The female counterpart is a daughter. From a biological perspective, a son constitutes a first degree relative. Social issues In pre-industrial societies and some current ...

. However, in 1967 Historian Gautama Vajracharya published a previously undiscovered manuscript, where his death date is given as the thirteen day of the waxing moon of Margasira in NS 829 which falls on 14 November 1708 on the

Gregorian calendar The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...

. The same document mentions that no women were burned as Sati during the funeral. Sometime after his death, his wife Lalamati consecrated two sets of

gilded Gilding is a decorative technique for applying a very thin coating of gold over solid surfaces such as metal (most common), wood, porcelain, or stone. A gilded object is also described as "gilt". Where metal is gilded, the metal below was tradi ...

repoussé statuettes of her and Jitamitra Malla, among which one set is part of a gilded repoussé

strut A strut is a structural component commonly found in engineering, aeronautics, architecture and anatomy. Struts generally work by resisting longitudinal compression, but they may also serve in tension. A stay is sometimes used as a synonym for ...

in the former royal palace and the other set is displayed at the palace during the festival of Mohani, on the day of

Vijayadashami Vijayadashami (), more commonly known as Dassahra in Hindi, and also known as Dashāhra or Dashain in Bhojpuri, Maithili and Nepali, is a major Hindu festival celebrated every year at the end of Durga Puja and Navaratri, Navarahtri. It is ob ...

Gallery

File:Detail of Nepalese painting 6942073737474.jpg, Miniature of Jitamitra Malla (left) from a Paubha dated 1670; sitting behind him are his brother Ugra Malla, his stepmother Annapurna and his half-sister Nandini. File:Detail of Nepalese painting 6942048474747.jpg, Miniature of Jitamitra alongside his brother Ugra Malla (right) and his son Bhupatindra Malla, dated 1686. File:Royal family of Bhaktapur circa 1681.jpg, Jitamitra Malla with his brother Ugra Malla (right) and his son Bhupatindra Malla. minitaure from a Paubha dated 1681. File:Bronze miniature of Bhupatindra Malla.jpg, Posthumous

sculpture of Jitamitra Malla consecrated by his wife, Lālamati. File:Lālamati Devi of Bhaktapur.jpg, Sculpture of his wife Lālamati. File:Wooden sculpture of the Queen consorts of Bhaktapur.jpg, Wooden figurines depicting Jitamitra Malla's mother Padmavati and his step-mother Chandravati, .

Maithili dramas

Jitamitramalla is known to have composed ten dramas in the

Maithili language Maithili ( , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in parts of India and Nepal. It is native to the Mithila region, which encompasses parts of the eastern Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand as well as Nepal's Koshi Province, Koshi and Madhesh P ...

although none of these have been published.

References

Malla kings of Bhaktapur Year of birth missing 1696 deaths People from Bhaktapur 17th-century Nepalese people Nepalese Hindus Maithili-language writers 17th-century monarchs in Asia {{Nepal-royal-stub