Jitamitra Malla

Jitamitra Malla
Sumati
Miniature of Jitamitra Malla on his throne, c. 1681
King of Bhaktapur
Reign28 November 1672 — 21 September 1696
Coronation28 November 1672
PredecessorJagat Prakasha Malla
SuccessorBhupatindra Malla
BornUnknown date
Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kingdom of Bhaktapur (Present day Bhaktapur, Nepal)
DiedJanuary 1705
Bhaktapur, Nepal
SpouseLālamati
Issue
Names
Jayajitamitra Malla
Regnal name
Sri Sri Sumati Jayajitamitra Malla Deva
DynastyMalla
FatherSri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla
MotherPadmāvati Devi
SignatureJitamitra Malla's signature

Jitamitra Malla (Newar: 𑐖𑐶𑐟𑐵𑐩𑐶𑐟𑑂𑐬 𑐩𑐮𑑂𑐮‎) was a Malla Dynasty King of Bhaktapur, Nepal from 1673 till his abdication in 1696.[1] He was also known by his nom de plume, Sumati, meaning "the wise one".[2]

He left his throne in 1696 to his eldest son Bhupatindra Malla to spend the rest of his life in religious activities.[3][1] He died 14 years after leaving the throne.[3][4]

Construction efforts

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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.[5] The palace was used by royalty until 1769 and today is a museum and part of the World Heritage Site on Durbar Square. To the east of this, he erected the temple and statue of Narayana, 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.[6] He also contributed a finely carved wooden tympanum above the main entrance to the Mul Chowk and also erected many memorials in Bhaktapur.[5]

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.[5]

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Maithili dramas

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Jitamitramalla is known to have composed ten dramas in the Maithili language although none of these have been published.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
  2. ^ Widdess, Professor Richard (2013-12-02). Dāphā: Sacred Singing in a South Asian City: Music, Performance and Meaning in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-4094-6601-7.
  3. ^ a b Upadhaya, Prof Dr Shreeram Prasasd (2009). Nepal ko Prachin tatha Madhyakalin Itihas (in Nepali). Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 196. ISBN 978-9993304555.
  4. ^ Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
  5. ^ a b c Singh, Munshi; Gunanand, Pandit Sri (1877). The History of Nepal. Low Price Publications, Delhi, India. p. 131.
  6. ^ "Bhaktapur Durbar Square". Government of Nepal Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Archaeology. Archived from the original on 11 September 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2009.
  7. ^ Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Nepal: where the Gods are Young. Asia Society. p. 132. ISBN 978-0878480456.
  8. ^ Vaidya, Tulasī Rāma (2002). Bhaktapur Rajdarbar. Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-99933-52-17-4.
  9. ^ Guy, John (1992). "New Evidence for the Jagannātha Cult in Seventeenth Century Nepal". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 213–230. doi:10.1017/S135618630000239X. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25182509. S2CID 162316166.
  10. ^ Yadav, Ramawatar (2011). "Medieval Maithili stagecraft in the Nepalamandala: the Bhaktapur school". Contributions to Nepalese Studies.