Briddhi Lakshmi
Briddhi Lakshmi was the queen consort of the Nepalese Kingdom of Bhaktapur from 1722 as the first wife of Ranajit Malla and also a Newar language poet. For a brief period, she and her two-year-old son were the de jure monarch of an independent Thimi. She is today mostly remembered for the songs and poems she composed, some of which are still sung today by traditional Dapha groups in Thimi.
She was born in a noble family in Bettiah, in modern-day India and had a brother named Murāri Rāya. In 1712, she was brought to Nepal and then married to Ranajit Malla. Later during the reign of Ranajita Malla, she was popular among the people of the kingdom, however had no supporters among the nobility. Likewise, she also found herself replaced by Jaya Lakshmi, a who became a favourite concubine of Ranajit Malla. By the time she gave birth to a son in 1738, Jaya Lakshmi's eldest son had already reached maturity. This caused a crisis of succession in Bhaktapur which ended with Briddhi Lakshmi taking refuge in the town of Thimi.
She was a prolific poet and songwriter in the Newar language. Only six of her works survive today, however, preserved by traditional singing groups in Thimi. Her poem, "", which she composed when she and her infant's safety was compromised in the palace, is considered one of the greatest works in the Newar language.
Early life
In November 1711, an envoy led by Bhairava Malla and Vira Joshi was dispatched by Bhupatindra Malla to Bettiah in order to fetch Briddhi Lakshmi to Bhaktapur. The expenditure book of their journey is so far the only source about Briddhi Lakshmi's early life. The expenditure book does not mention her name and refers to her as "kanyā", a term used for an unmarried girl. However, the book does mention her brother's name, Murāri Rāya. Bridhhi Laksmhi, as per the book was not of royal descent.By February 1712, the envoy had returned to Bhaktapur with Briddhi Lakshmi and her brother, Murāri Rāya, who had accompanied his sister but returned after they arrived safely in Bhaktapur. Briddhi Lakshmi was married to the crown prince Ranajit Malla eight months after her arrival, on the first day of kartika vadi 833 NS.
Succession crisis
Background
Ranajit Malla who ascended the throne after his father's death in May 1722 had many concubines and one particular concubine, Jaya Lakshmi became the favourite of the king. From Jaya Lakshmi, Ranajit Malla had a son, named Ajitasimha Malla, whose birth date is not known yet, but he must have been the king's eldest male child as he is addressed as the crown prince in a document from 1728. Throughout this time, Briddhi Lakshmi appears to have been childless.However, in 20 July 1738, Briddhi Lakshmi gave birth to a son in Thimi. Briddhi Lakshmi, being the king's only legitimate wife was favoured by the public and naturally Ranajit Malla was pressured by the public to change the crown prince to Briddhi Lakshmi's son. Briddhi Lakshmi meanwhile, set up a copper plate inscription she set up at the Brahmani temple of Bhaktapur in NS 859 to commemoratethe birth of her son; the inscription mention her son's name as Vira Narasimha Malla. Meanwhile, Jaya Lakshmi wanted to retain her son's position as the crown prince and pressured the king to not change his previous decision. Jaya Lakshmi having the support of the nobility as well as being a favourite of the monarch was able to sway his opinion towards her. In contrast, Bridhhi Lakshmi had no supporters among the nobility and courtiers of the palace, likely due to Jaya Lakshmi being from one of the noble families herself, except for a minister which Father Cassiano specified was from a "non-aristocratic family". In her poems, she describes being bullied and ridiculed in the palace by her rivals, for instance her poem "bhayirava taleju bihune varadāna" describe her situation as akin to "what a cow would feel being tied up before a tiger". Father Cassiano reported that she and her son were at a constant risk of being assassinated.
Flight to Thimi
Briddhi Lakshmi however, eventually escaped the palace for Thimi, which was the second largest city in the kingdom. Father Cassiano on his journal wrote: "But his mother could not live in peace in the palace where her rival held all the power, and she scented dangers ahead even for her child".Briddhi Lakshmi escaped the palace in May 1740, with the help of the "non aristocratic" minister and took refuge in the town of Thimi, west of the capital. In her poem ka kha yā mye, Briddhi Lakshmi wrote, "Because of a strife, I have been insulted in my own home; I feel like Damayanti without her beloved Nala, I feel like a lonely champak flower without any bumblebees; being incapable of any deceit, I have fallen".
According to Father Cassino, Briddhi Lakshmi was received well by the people of Thimi and not long after declared their allegiance to Briddhi Lakshmi by accepting her son as their ruler. Meanwhile, Briddhi Lakshmi set up a copper plate inscription in the Balkumari temple of Thimi dated to NS 860, where she mentions her taking refuge in Thimi along with the Sahebju. Soon other cities within the kingdom like Nala and Nagadesh followed Thimi and mutinies were being held against Ranajit Malla all over the kingdom. In order to resolve the crisis peacefully, Ranajit Malla called a general council for the people on 26 April 1742, whereby he would grant permission for anyone in the kingdom to enter his palace and were given permission to freely express their opinions directly to their king. Father Cassino, who was the witness of this event, wrote the following in his journal:
"Therefore, Ranajit Malla called a general council of the people on the 26th of April 1742. In the meeting, they were to 'freely express their feeling and give opinion'. They all came to one of the 12 courtyards of the king's mansion. It was evening and dark all around. All of them sat around a canopy; now two doors were opened which from the public square were allowed entrance to the inner apartment where the king was seated. In order to allow free passage to those coming inside, the guards had been removed. Anyone who wanted to voice his feelings could come without any hindrance. There were a great many of such people. All of them had their faces covered to hide their identity and spoke in an affected tone not to be recognized. Some scolded the king, even called him bad names; others threatened him with dire consequences and still a few more tendered what one would like to call a simple advice. This went on until one hour after midnight had passed and those assembled then dispersed. The king deferred his judgment for the next day. The night council which was then held rarely met. It was held only when a large number of people felt dissatisfied with the ruler".
According to a copper plate inscription dated to 1740 in village of Chitrapur, south of Thimi, Ranajit Malla had also granted a tax exempt to the pāñca of the village, for protecting Briddhi Lakshmi and the prince when they were taking refugee in Thimi.
Father Cassiano in his journal wrote that on 20 July 1740, Briddhi Lakshmi had escaped Thimi for Kathmandu, writing, "the Queen who was in Timi where the people had proclaimed her son king, on the pretext of bathing herself and her son in the river Bagmati to satisfy a vow she had made went there, but when she arrived at the river, instead of washing herself she ordered to those who were carrying her to speedily reach the borders of Kathmandu, and took refuge at the court where an apartment with guards was assigned to her by the king Jaya Prakasa. The action of the queen was much talked about in all the three kingdoms, even though she did that only in order to safeguard the life of the little king".
Cassiano also wrote that the people of the capital were affected by the leaving of their queen, writing in this journal "the festivals in Bhaktapur were shorter–the people were saddened by the leaving of the queen". Particularly, he reported that the festival of Sa Paru in 1740, which normally involves grand carnivals and celebration, was called off early and "took place in a very melancholy way for the evasion of the queen and the young king".
Aftermath
It appears after the council, Ranajit Malla himself went to Thimi to console his queen and resolve the conflict, however, it's unclear what happened afterwards as no clear sources have been found.The next source that mentions her is dated almost a decade after the event in 1750, from two stone inscriptions, she set up in Banepa, relating to her having built a communal shelter and a wooden bridge in the city. However, her son is mentioned in an edict from February 1747 as sri sri saheba juju as being invited to the inauguration of a Buddhist monastery in Bhaktapur. Similarly, in an inscription from a communal shelter in Thimi dated to June 1751 identifies the kingdom as under the joint rule of Ranajita Malla and the Sahebaju.
From 1750 she appears frequently as a donor of ceremonial and religious items in temples of Bhaktapur and Banepa with her last source being a donation at a temple in Bhaktapur from March 1754.
Children
Before the birth of a prince in 20 July 1738 in Thimi, there are no other mentions of any children from Briddhi Lakshmi. The copper plate inscription she set up at the temple of Bramhani in Bhaktapur in 1738, mentions his name as "Vira Narasimha Malla". Vira Narasimha Malla is also the name that appears in a stone inscription from 1752, where it states that he was co-ruling the kingdom with his father. However, one of Briddhi Lakshmi's poems from 1740–42, mention her son's name as Dhana sāheba. while her Banepa inscription mention her son's name as Devendra Malla. Similarly, Devendra Malla's name also appears as a donor of a drum to Taleju, the tutelary goddess of the Mallas, in 1754. Early historians like Dilli Raman Regmi were unsure whether Devendra Malla and Vira Narasimha Malla referred to the same person or were the names of two brothers. However, modern historians like Dhaubhadel suppose that Vira Narasimha and Devendra refer to the same person.Death
It is unclear how or when Briddhi Lakshmi and her son died. After their Banepa inscription, Briddhi Lakshmi and her son, Vira Narasimha's name appears as the donors of various ceremonial items in the temples of Bhaktapur 1750 and 1754. For instance, in 1751, they donated statuettes of various deities at a Buddhist temple in Bhaktapur. Finally, their last reference is from a ceremonial item they donated to the temple of Bhairava at Bhaktapur, and the inscription in it contains the date 11 March 1754 and mention Briddhi Lakshmi and Devendra Malla as the donors.In late December 1753, Ranajit Malla set up two gold plate inscriptions on the Golden Gate which he commissioned. Both of the inscription does not mention Vira Narasimha's and his mother Briddhi Lakshmi; however, it mentions Jaya Lakshmi as Ranajit Malla's wife.
As regards her son, in the local folklore, Vira Narasimha Malla was assassinated. Literature from the late 19th century, like Daniel Wright's and Sylvain Lévi's publication mention that Vira Narasimha was assassinated by his stepbrothers using "dark magic".
When the Gorkhali forces invaded Bhaktapur in November 1769, it appears neither Briddhi Lakshmi nor her son were alive. The memoir of a servant of Ranajit Malla during the battle, mention that his three concubines were his only wives left alive. Similarly, the memoir also does not mention Bira Narasimha or Devendra Malla, which suggests that her son had died by then too. Therefore, her death must have happened after March 1754 but before 1769.
Literary works
Six of Briddhi Lakshmi's Nepal Bhasa poems are preserved in a manuscript titled "gīta saṃgraha" which is stored at the National Archives of Nepal under catalogue number B 285/12. Some traditional Dapha singing groups of Thimi and Bhaktapur also possess copies of her poems. All six of her poems from the "gīta saṃgraha" are lyric poetry describing her lament during the crisis of succession and her subsequent flight to Thimi. However, out of the six poems, only two of them, ka kha yā mye and bhayirava taleju bihune varadāna have been published so far; by Janak Lal Vaidya in 2000. In 2020, Dhaubhadel translated the two from Classical Newar into the Nepali language.Out of the two that have been published, Premshanti Tuladhar, a professor of Newar, particularly has praised her ka kha yā mye. Similarly, Historian Om Prasad Dhaubhadel describes it as "touching, sensitive and important". Following are the starting verses of the poem in the original Classical Newar and its transliteration:
Following is the translation of the verses:
Similarly, her other poem that has been published, named bhayirava taleju bihune varadāna after the starting verse, has been equally praised by Dhaubhadel. Following are the starting verses of the poem in the original Classical Newar and its transliteration:
Following is the translation of the verses:
Historian Janak Lal Vaidya describes Briddhi Lakshmi as an important poet of the 18th century and praises her poem for its sweetness and musicality.
In culture
The poems that Briddhi Lakshmi wrote when she took refuge in Thimi is still sung by traditional Dapha singing groups of the city.On 27 November 2023, a Nepal Bhasa song written by Durga Lal Shrestha was released, the subject of which was the relationship between Ranajit Malla and Bridhhi Lakshmi before they were married but after her arrival in Bhaktapur from Bettiah. For the music video, Ranajit Malla was played by Karma Shakya and Briddhi Lakshmi was played by Rojina Suwal.