Briddhi Lakshmi (Nepal Bhasa: š°šŗš”šš¢š¶š®ššš²šš©š·ā) was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Bhaktapur (modern day Bhaktapur), the first wife of Ranajit Malla and a well renowned Newar language poet.[1] For a brief period, she and her two-year-old son was also the monarch of an independent Thimi and Nala.[2] 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.[3]
She was born in a noble family in Bettiah, in modern-day India and had a brother named MurÄri RÄya.[4] In 1712, an envoy was sent from Bhaktapur to fetch her to the kingdom and marry her to the crown prince Ranajit Malla. Although she was extremely well-loved by the populace of the kingdom, she found herself more isolated in the palace. After failing to provide a male heir, she found herself replaced by Jaya Lakshmi, a favourite concubine of Ranajit Malla. By the time she gave birth to Devendra Malla, Jaya Lakshmi's eldest son had already reached maturity.[5] The people in the kingdom wanted her newborn to be the crown prince, since she was the queen consort, however, Jaya Lakshmi who held significant power in the palace was against this idea and so she found herself in a precarious situation. After her followers in the palace were assassinated one by one, she fled to Thimi with her infant son and the populace of Thimi soon after her arrival declared Thimi as an independent state from the Kingdom of Bhaktapur with her son as their sovereign.[6]
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.[3] Her poem, "š š š«šµ š©šš«š¾ā" (ka kha yÄ mye), 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.[3]
On 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.[7] 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 "kanyÄ", a term used for an unmarried girl.[8] However, the book does mention her brother's name, MurÄri RÄya.[9] Bridhhi Laksmhi, as per the book was not of royal descent.[8]
By February 1712, the envoy had returned to Bhaktapur with Briddhi Lakshmi and her brother, MurÄri RÄya, who had accompanied his sister but returned after they arrived safely in Bhaktapur.[10] Briddhi Lakshmi was married to the crown prince Ranajit Malla eight months after her arrival, on the first day of kartika vadi 833 NS (OctoberāNovember 1712).[9]
Ranajit Malla who ascended the throne after his father's death in May of 1722 had many concubines and one particular concubine, Jaya Lakshmi soon became a favourite of the king.[11] Jayalaskhmi gave birth to a prince, Ajitasimha Malla, who as per a religious document from 1728 had been declared as the crown prince.[11] Ten years later, on June 1738, Briddhi Lakshmi gave birth to a prince in Thimi.[12] Because Briddhi Lakshmi was Ranajit Malla's queen consort, the people of his kingdom and his chief minister supported her son and upon their advice Ranajit Malla declared Briddhi Laskhmi's son as the crown prince which prompted Ajitasimha Malla and his mother Jayalakshmi to start a mutiny in the palace.[11] Meanwhile, Briddhi Lakshmi set up a copper plate inscription at a temple in Bhaktapur to commemorate this event which is the oldest document that contains Briddhi Lakshmi's name and which mentions her son's name as Vira Narasimha Malla.[11]
Jayalakshmi and her son continued their mutiny in the palace, demanding the reappoint Ajitasimha Malla as the crown prince. As a result of her being the king's favourite, she was supported by almost everyone in the palace and using her power one by one assassinated the few supporters Briddhi Lakshmi had in the palace.[11] Father Cassino, a Capuchin missionary who had been staying in Bhaktapur during this crisis wrote on his journal, "The queen (Briddhi Lakshmi) could not stay in peace in a place where her enemy (Jayalakshmi) held all the power". Fearing for her and her son's life Briddhi Lakshmi escaped the palace in 1740, with the help of a minister and took refuge in the town of Thimi.[6] In her poem ka kha yÄ 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.".[13]
According to Father Cassino, Briddhi Lakshmi was received well by the people of Thimi and not long after declared Briddhi Lakshmi's son as their ruler.[2] Briddhi Lakshmi set up a copper plate inscription in the Balkumari temple of Thimi dated to NS 860 (1740 CE), where she mentions her taking refuge in Thimi along with the Sahebju.[6][a] Soon other cities within the kingdom like Nala 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.[2] 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".[2]
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.[15] Father Cassiano in his journal wrote that Briddhi Lakshmi left Thimi with her son on a festival day and went to Jaya Prakash Malla to take shelter.[6] Historians aren't sure what happened to Briddhi Lakshmi afterwards; her next source is dated almost two decades after the event in NS 871 (1750 CE), from two stone inscriptions, she set up in Banepa, relating to her having built a communal shelter (Nepal Bhasa: phalcÄ) and a wooden bridge in the city.[16] This is her last source and its unclear what happened to her and her son afterwards.
Briddhi Lakshmi gave birth to a boy on June 1738 in Thimi. The copper plate inscription she set up at the temple of Bramhani in Bhaktapur two years later, mentions her son's name as Vira Narasimha Malla.[11] Vira Narasimha Malla is also the name that appears in a stone inscription from 1752 (NS 873), where it states that he was co-ruling the kingdom with his father.[16] However, Briddhi Lakshmi's poems from 1740ā42, mention her son's name as Dhana sÄheba ("Prince Dhana")[13] while her Banepa inscription mention her son's name as Devendra Malla.[16] Similarly, Devendra Malla's name also appears as a donor of a drum to Taleju, the tutelary goddess of the Mallas, in 1754.[17]:ā79ā Historian Dhaubhadel, citing her Brahmani copper plate inscription, presumes that all three names, Vira Narasimha, Devendra and Dhana refer to the same person.[11]
Between, 1750 and 1754, Briddhi Lakshmi and her son Vira Narasimha, appear as donors of various ceremonial items in the temples of Bhaktapur. In 1751 (NS 872), they donated statuettes of various deities at a Buddhist temple in Bhaktapur, where the inscription mentions Briddhi Lakshmi's son as dhana juju ("King Dhana").[18] Similarly, the duo also donated golden and silver utensils to the temple of Barahi and Bhairava at Bhaktapur, and the inscription on the utensils mention Briddhi Lakshmi and her son Devendra Malla as the donors.[18]
It is unclear how or when Briddhi Lakshmi and her son died. An inscription from Banepa dating to 1750 records that Briddhi Lakshmi and her son constructed a wooden bridge in the city.[16] Her son, Vira Narasimha Malla is mentioned in an inscription from 1752 as a co-ruler of the kingdom with his father. Both of their last sources however is from March 1754 (NS 874 Chaitra), when they appear as donors of silver and gold utensils to the Bhairava temple in Bhaktapur.[18] It's unclear what happened to them afterwards.
Similarly in early 1754, 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.[17]:āappendix 15ā
According to the local folklore, Vira Narasimha Malla was assassinated.[19]
The poems that Briddhi Lakshmi wrote when she took refuge in Thimi is still sung by traditional Dapha singing groups of the city.[1]
On 27 November 2023, a Nepal Bhasa song written by Durga Lal Shrestha was released, the subject of which was the romantic relationship between Ranajit Malla and Bridhhi Lakshmi before they were married but after her arrival in Bhaktapur from Bettiah.[20] For the music video, Ranajit Malla was played by Karma Shakya and Briddhi Lakshmi was played by Rojina Suwal.[21]
Following are the manuscript folios containing her poem, ka kha yÄ mye and taleju bhairava bihune bardana:
