Unification Campaign by Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah was born on Poush 27^th, 1779 in Gorkha. He was the son of King Narabhupal Shah and Queen Kaushalyawati. He had two queens, Indrawati and Narendralaxmi. Prithvi Narayan Shah ascended the throne in 1799 BS after his father's death.

• As soon as he ascended the throne, the same year he tried to conquer Nuwakot. He sent troops under the command of Kazi Biraj Thapa but lost.
• As Kalu Pandey, Prithvi Narayan Shah's Kazi suggested, he recruited soldiers from Terai, made his army and trained them in warfare. He was far-sighted and clever. So, he made friendly relations with the neighboring kingdoms so that they would not attack Gorkha in his absence.
• In 1801, Prithvi Narayan Shah attacked Nuwakot from 3 sides and conquered it. He also invaded Belkot, but he had to pay a high price of losing many soldiers.
• Jayaprakash Malla tried to chase the troops from Nuwakot, but he failed.
• Prithvi Narayan Shah wanted to conquer the Kathmandu valley. So, he occupied Naldum and Mahadevpokhari but Jayaprakash Malla regained Naldum. Then, Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered Lamindada and Dolakha.
• During his unification process, Lamjung and Tanahun together attacked Gorkha but both were defeated. King Trivikram Sen of Tanahun was arrested.
• Prithvi Narayan Shah captured Pharping, Bodegaun and Khokana. He tried to conquer Kirtipur but he was badly defeated and Kazi Kalu Pandey lost his life in the battle. Though he was not discouraged and he conquered Shivapuri, Palanchok, Kabhrebot and Kabilaspur in the meantime.
• Due to the expansion of Gorkha kingdom in a rapid pace, King Digbandhan Sen of Makwanpur became afraid and he joined Jaya Prakash Malla. Prithvi Narayan Shah sent troops to Makwanpur. The king of Makwanpur, along with his minister, fled away. Makwanpur was also captured in 1819 BS.
• In 1819, Mir Kasim, nawab of Bengal attacked Gorkha. The Gorkha troops defeated them and captured their arms and ammunitions.
• In Bhadra 1823, he tried to invade Kirtipur. He lost this time as well making a narrow escape. His commander, Surpratap Shah lost his left eye and Daljit Shah was wounded. After some months, he again attacked Kirtipur and, this time, he was successful.
• When Gorkhas surrounded Kathmandu valley, Jayprakash Malla feared of losing his kingdom. He asked East India Company to send troops. In 1824, Gorkha soldiers defeated the enemy.
• In 1825, during the festival of Indrajatra, Gorkha made an attack from 3 sides. Jayprakash Malla fled to Patan. After 11 days of conquering Kathmandu, Patan was also captured. The king of Patan, Tej Narsingh and Jayprakash Malla fled to Bhaktapur.
• In 1826, Bhaktapur was also conquered. King Ranjit Malla surrendered. In this way, Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the whole valley.
• After the successful conquest of Kathmandu valley, he conquered Kaski, Dhor, Paiyun, Rising and Bhirkot. Then he captured the eastern regions like Morang, Chaudandi and Kirant region. In 1831, he occupied Vijaypur.

Prithvi Narayan Shah wanted more extension. His conquest of Sikkim failed as he died on Magh 1, 1831. By this time, he had extended his territory up to the Mechi river in the east, Gandaki in the west, Tibet to the north and Bihar of India to the south. Prithvi Narayan Shah contributed a lot to unite the scattered kingdoms into a greater Nepal.