A interesting slice of Nepal's history in the current issue of
Kathmandu's ECS magazine.

Read it in full at:

- http://www.ecs.com.np/article_1.htm

Where have all the Mallas Gone?
The Descendants of Malla Kings

By Sampada Malla & Dinesh Rai

It is the third day after Dashain and a gathering of Malla family members waits inside the Taleju Bhawani temple of Bhaktapur. This Goddess has been the patron deity of the ruling families since the time of the Malla kings. The Mallas gathered today are direct descendants of the Malla rulers and have come to receive �tika� from the Royal priest.

They come here during all the major festivals and rights of passage ceremonies. It was here within the walls of the Royal Palace that the three Malla kings of the valley made their last stand against the invading Gorkhali army. The bullet holes on the statues of Saraswati and Laxmi that flank the temple�s doorway are a reminder of the last battle that brought an end to the long reign of the benevolent Mallas. It was 1768.

Today, we are proud of our architectural heritage and are delighted to show visitors the grandeur of the three Durbar Squares, which are World Heritage Sites. They were all built during the Malla period. Besides these, there are many fabulous temples that owe their existence to the creative zeal of the Mallas. It was the Mallas who transformed a tiny village into a well organized and planned city which later became known as Bhaktapur.

Art, music, drama and poetry flourished under their patronage and some kings are even known for their hand in literary works besides a bit of carpentry. The conduits that these kings constructed in the cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur still supply many of the citizens with a constant supply of drinking water. The water spouts that we come across everywhere we go, stand testimony to the organized society that the Mallas had built in the valley.

You may stumble upon a water spout that has run dry; it is only because modern building practices have destroyed the underground conduits and cut off the supply of fresh water. The Raj Kulo (Royal or main Conduit) that supplies Patan�s stone water spouts with water, is presently being renovated.

The caste system was introduced, whereby people of each caste had a duty to perform in society. 238 years since the fall of the Mallas, the Newar society still retains the system. There are the priestly classes, the butchers, sweepers, etc. In Bhaktapur, many citizens still live in their consigned areas with the lower castes living in the outskirts and the upper classes in the central area.

Festivals accompanied by drama, was an integral part of the peoples� lives. The performances took place on the dabalis (brick platforms) that can be seen around the three cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Art and entertainment was a way of life during the Malla period. Music and dance groups were supported by royal decree and were given land as a means of fund raising. Many festivals such as the Gai Jatra (Cow Festival) and the cult of the Kumari were the creations of Malla kings. The Living Goddess Kumari is still a powerful figure in Nepali society.

�After the defeat of the Malla Kings, their descendents left the valley and settled in different districts of Nepal. As an endeavor to develop a mutual relationship between the Malla descendents and to keep alive the rich traditions of our forefathers, we formed the foundation and have been regularly organizing various kinds of activities.� remarks Devendra Kumar Malla, Vice President of the Malla (Pradhananga) Foundation and the writer of the book, �Bhaktapur�s King Bhuwan Malla�s descendents.�

History

The literal meaning of �Malla� in Sanskrit is �wrestler�. �The Mallas as a class of people find a place in several ancient treatises with identical heroic tradition.� states D.R.Regmi in his book, �Medieval Nepal�. It is believed that Arideva�s father was so impressed by his ability as a wrestler that he conferred on him the title of �Malla� and with his reign in the Nepal valley during the twelfth century began a new dynasty.

The rest at:

- http://www.ecs.com.np/article_1.htm

yeah you SOB still trying to bring another parasite's family. but nepalese people are educated now. all these freaking system belonged in the time hey existed(sorry to say it still exist till today because of some iditos). we want all people to be equal

idiots i mean

d.r . regmi is a joke. i know he had a big collection of books but hi still was a joke

HAHHAA. Hey many, when you made your highly intelectual commnet, did you bother reading the article???

ANd wisest of all, in your eyes Dr. Regmi is a joke. COuld explain this ignorant HF how did you derive such a great conclusion???

peace out

gone to clean gai got for cows. Holy cow!

Bummer! heck! *burk*

so that means newars are not the original people of kathmandu as i was told huh?

hey dude, don't ya know, the original people of kathmandu were aliens.

Just to add a lil to the story...

The division of region to people were made according to the water level.....
In Kathmandu, the palace was built on top of the hill where the water would be at its purest form....The region surrounding the palace were given to royalties/ministers....after that the business people.....and so on....on the foothills......close to the river..were farmers....where the water was comparatively less pure.

Not supporting the biasness, but still, amazing how organized Mallas were 300 years ago!!

highfy get yourself a book of his biography and read it. all the trouble we have been facing started because of malla those blood sucking parasites

Can you elaborate more about malla's misdeeds except the introduction of class-system?

I want to see some more points here.

What was the poverty level at that era, and how many people suffered, and where did all the money come to construct all these architectures that we're not even able to maintain in so-called golden era of Rana and Shahs now.

Hey 'many' ,
Elaborate on why 'Malla' are the root of all the trouble??? If you've read the biographies, why dont you enlighten us too!!!...According to what I know.....the poverty rate then was at the minimum....Jayasthiti Malla had such a prosperous kingdom that he made sure every person in his kingdom got to eat...he looked over the city through his palace...and searchedfor houses that dont have a smoke coming out....to see why they dont have anything cooking.....and sent food to those houses.

So, I think Mallas were the best rulers of the kingdom, needless to say their ingenuity in architecture and arts pulls thousands of tourists to the capital every year even today!!!

About where they got the money to build all these.....of course they got money through taxes..taxes from businessmen from Lhasa, which was a major business location...but they gave back the tax money to the people by creating more work oppertunities by building temples and statues all over the city. This helped fourish the economy then.

so if they were that great how were they thrown out? my point is was there a invasion by another kingdom?
and people please don't take the histories to be 100% fatual histories are written by whoever is in power and always seems to self glorify the ruler any doubt?

Anyway, I'm not trying to glorify malla era. For your kind information, who throw the mallas? Is it the people of kathmandu? Khoi birbhadrajee lai history ko saro gyan chhaina jasto lagyo.

It is very evident that during Mallas, arts and architecture flourished in Nepal. In this context, it probably was the golden era of Nepal.
I wonder what would have been the charm of Kathmandu valley, had Mallas not ruled over it as Shahs did very less to nothing.

However, we should not forget that one of the main or the biggest weaknesses of Mallas was the internal bickering among themselves, of which Prithivi Narayan took full advantage. They could not foresee the threat of invasion to get united.

i don't know much history that is why i asked gwajyoji, i only know history after the shah era began pretty much

LOL

dc virus you got it wrong it wasn't Jayasthiti Malla it was sabaile khaye pachi khane raja mahendra malla. teti bela ma mahendra malla le talejuko waripari matrai herthyo. pratap malla lai leu raja banna aafno baulai prisonma haleko thiyo katti kati harulai bigareko bhanne lekha jokha chaina. Jayasthiti Malla le tah jhan caste system layera barbad paryo.

Oh many!
kata harayeko?