Kaji Sarbajit Rana Magar () or simply Sarbajit Rana was a Nepalese politician, minister and

courtier A courtier () is a person who attends the royal court of a monarch or other royalty. The earliest historical examples of courtiers were part of the retinues of rulers. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the officia ...

in the

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal was a Hindu monarchy in South Asia, founded in 1768 through the unification of Nepal, expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom. The kingdom was also known as the Gorkha Empire and was sometimes called History of Asal Hindustan, ...

. He became a prominent minister during the regency of Queen Rajendra Laxmi and was a significant personality in central politics in the

. He was assassinated by opponents of Rajendra Laxmi on the charges of having illicit relationship with the Queen.

Personal life

Sarbajit belonged to

Gulmi Gulmi District (), a part of Lumbini Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Tamghas as its headquarters, covers an area of , had a population of 296,654 in 2001, 280,160 in 2011 and 268,597 in 2016. Introd ...

in Western Nepal, which was a parental home of the Queen Rajendra Laxmi. He belonged to Magar ethnicity. He had a brother who was also a Kaji during the regency of Queen Rajendra Laxmi. Sarbajit was considered to be the Regent Queen's right-hand man.

Court Politics

King

Pratap Singh Shah Pratap Singh Shah, King of Nepal (), (16 April 1751– 17 November 1777), was King of Nepal. He was the eldest son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the king who started the unification of Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic ...

died on 22 November 1777 A.D. leaving his infant son Rana Bahadur Shah as the

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 ...

. Sarbajit was made a Kaji along with Balbhadra Shah and Vamsharaj Pande while

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 ...

was chosen as Chief Chautariya. Historian

Dilli Raman Regmi Dilli Raman Regmi () (17 December 1913 – 30 August 2001) was a scholar, political figure and academician of Nepal. He dedicated his life to research, study, writing and politics. He was one of the driving forces behind creating Nepali Rastriya ...

asserts that Sarbajit was chosen as Chief Kazi (equivalent to

Prime Minister of Nepal The prime minister of Nepal (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of Nepal. The prime minister leads the Council of Ministers of Nepal, Council of Ministers and holds the chief executive authority in the country. They must maintain ...

). Historian

Rishikesh Shah Rishikesh Shah (May 16, 1925 – November 13, 2002) was a Nepalese writer, politician and human rights activist.Bahadur Shah of Nepal Prince Bahadur Shah () was the youngest son of King Prithvi Narayan Shah of modern Nepal. He became the regent of Nepal for a brief period after the death of his predecessor Queen Rajendra Laxmi and accelerated his father's campaign for the conq ...

and Queen Rajendra Laxmi. In the rivalry, Sarbajit led the followers of the Queen opposed to Sriharsh Pant who led the followers of Bahadur Shah. The group of Bharadars (officers) led by Sarbajit poisoned the ears of Rajendra Laxmi against Bahadur Shah. Rajendra Laxmi succeeded in the confinement of Prince Bahadur Shah with the help of her new minister Sarbajit. Guru Gajraj Mishra came to rescue Bahadur Shah on the condition that Bahadur Shah should leave the country. Also, his rival Sriharsh Pant was branded outcast and expelled instead of execution which was prohibited for

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. Prince Bahadur confined his sister-in-law Queen Rajendra Laxmi on the charge of having illicit relation with Sarbajit on 31 August 1778. Subsequently, Sarbajit was executed inside the palace by Prince Bahadur Shah with the help of male servants of the royal palace. Historian Bhadra Ratna Bajracharya asserts that it was actually Chautariya Daljit Shah who led the opposing group against Sarbajit Rana and Rajendra Laxmi. The letter dated B.S. 1835

Bhadra ''Bhadra'' is a Sanskrit word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'. It is also the name of many men, women and objects in Hinduism. Male Figures King of Chedi Bhadra was a king of Chedi Kingdom who participated in the Kurukshetra War from t ...

Sudi 11 Roj 4 (1778 A.D.) to Narayan Malla and Vrajabasi Pande asserts the death of Sarbajit under misconduct and the appointment of Bahadur Shah as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. The death of Sarbajit Rana Magar is considered to have marked the initiation of court conspiracies and massacres in the newly unified

. 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 ...

points that the sanctions against Queen Rajendra Laxmi under moral misconduct was a mistake of Bahadur Shah. Similarly, the murder of Sarbajit was condemned by many historians as an act of injustice.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Magar, Sarbajit Rana Government ministers of Nepal 1778 deaths 1750s births People from Gulmi District