Rajendra Rajya Lakshmi Devi) was the consort of

Pratap Singh Shah Pratap Singh Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज प्रतापसिंह शाह देव) (1751–1777) was the second King of modern Nepal. He was the eldest son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ...

, King of

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 kin ...

. She was the regent of Nepal during the minority of her son Rana Bahadur Shah between 1777 and 1785.Queens of the Shah Dynasty in Nepal. Prakash A. Raj. 1997 During her eight years of regency, she contributed to the unification of modern Nepal begun by Prithvi Narayan Shah.

Life

Rajendra Rajya Lakshmi Devi was born as a princess in

Palpa Palpa may refer to: In Peru * Palpa, Aucallama, a town in Aucallama District, Huaral Province *Palpa, Peru Palpa is a town in southern Peru, capital of the province of Palpa in the Ica region. Archeological sites As the capital of the Palpa P ...

. Rajendra Rajya Laxmi was the daughter of Mukunda sen. She was the mother of Nagendra Shah (died aged six months) and

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 ...

. Her husband Pratap Singh Shah became king at the age of 23, and died when he was 26. Rajendra Rajya Lakshmi Devi then became queen regent for her son Rana Bahadur Shah.

Regency

She became regent on 17 November 1777 A.D. In 1778 A.D, she was taken prisoner in

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

handcuffs Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that ...

. She was restored on 20 June 1779 A.D and continued to be queen regent until her death. During the time, the principalities of

Lamjung Lamjung District ( ne, लमजुङ जिल्ला ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the 77 districts of Nepal. The district, with Besisahar as its district headquarters, covers an area of and had a population of 167,724. Lamjung ...

, Kaski and

Tanahun Tanahun District ( ne, तनहुँ जिल्ला , or ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Damauli as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2011 ...

were annexed to the kingdom of Nepal, under her military leadership.

Death

Rajendra Lakshmi died on 1842 BS due to tuberculosis in Hanuman Dhoka Palace of

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Provinces of Nepal, Province , subdivision_name1 ...

Historic Evaluation

Queen Regent Rajendra Rajya Lakshmi repelled the combined attacks of the Chaubise kings, and expanded Nepal's borders up to Kali Gandaki. She is viewed as an able administrator who extended 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 ...

's unification campaign. However, her reign was not free of problems, due to her strife with her brother-in-law Bahadur Shah, her court had become a space for courtly intrigues and conspiracies.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rajendra Nepalese queens consort 1785 deaths 18th-century deaths from tuberculosis 18th-century women rulers Tuberculosis deaths in Nepal People of the Nepalese unification People from Palpa District 18th-century Nepalese nobility Nepalese Hindus Queen mothers