Jitamitra Malla
Raja of Bhaktapur
Miniature of Jitamitra Malla on his throne, c. 1681
King of Bhaktapur
Reign24 November 1673 โ€” 21 September 1696
Coronation24 November 1673
PredecessorJagat Prakasha Malla
SuccessorBhupatindra Malla
BornUnknown date
Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kingdom of Bhaktapur (Present day Bhaktapur, Nepal)
DiedJanuary 1705
Bhaktapur, Nepal
SpouseLฤlamati
Issue
Names
Jayajitamitra Malla
Regnal name
Sri Sri Sumati Jayajitamitra Malla Deva
DynastyMalla
FatherSri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla
MotherPadmฤvati Devi

Raja Jitamitra Malla (Nepal bhasa:๐‘–๐‘ธ๐‘–๐‘ธ ๐‘–๐‘ถ๐‘Ÿ๐‘ต๐‘ฉ๐‘ถ๐‘Ÿ๐‘‘‚๐‘ฌ ๐‘ฉ๐‘ฎ๐‘‘‚๐‘ฎโ€Ž) (Nepali: เคœเคฟเคคเคพเคฎเคฟเคคเฅเคฐ เคฎเคฒเฅเคฒ) was a Malla Dynasty King of Bhaktapur, Nepal from 1673 to 1696.

He left his throne in 1696 to his eldest son Bhupatindra Malla to spend the rest of his life in religious activities.[1][2] He died 14 years after leaving the throne to his son.[1][3]

King Jitamitra Malla depicted on his throne flanked by his brother Jayaugra Malla on the right and his son Prince Bhupatindra Malla on the left, c. 1681 CE. The inscription above him reads "Sri Sri Sumati Jayajitamitra Malla".[4]
Posthumous bronze sculpture of Jitamitra Malla consecrated by his wife, Lฤlamati.[5]
Gilt copper figure of King Jitamitra Malla holding an oil lamp c.17th century

Construction efforts

Wooden figurines depicting Jitamitra Malla's mother Padmavati and his step-mother Chandravati, c.โ€‰1670.[6]

Son of Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla Raja, he 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 in which there is a golden Mahadeva.[7] 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.[8] He also contributed a finely carved wooden tympanum above the main entrance to the Mul Chowk and also erected many memorials in Bhaktapur.[7]

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.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 Upadhaya, Prof Dr Shreeram Prasasd (2009). Nepal ko Prachin tatha Madhyakalin Itihas (in Nepali). Nepal: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 196. ISBN 978-9993304555.
  2. โ†‘ Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
  3. โ†‘ Bajracharya, Dhanbajra (January 1996). "Mallakal ko Itihasik Samagri: Dhar Pau" (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
  4. โ†‘ Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Nepal: where the Gods are Young. Asia Society. p. 132. ISBN 978-0878480456.
  5. โ†‘ Vaidya, Tulasฤซ Rฤma (2002). Bhaktapur Rajdarbar. Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University. pp. 72โ€“73. ISBN 978-99933-52-17-4.
  6. โ†‘ Guy, John (1992). "New Evidence for the Jagannฤtha Cult in Seventeenth Century Nepal". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 213โ€“230. doi:10.1017/S135618630000239X. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25182509. S2CID 162316166.
  7. 1 2 3 Singh, Munshi; Gunanand, Pandit Sri (1877). The History of Nepal. Low Price Publications, Delhi, India. p. 131.
  8. โ†‘ "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.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.