Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari: Nepal's first author of note

[Guest guest]

Dead Queen Makes Comeback as Nepal's Chanakya

Thursday 17th of January 2008

News Post India

 

Even as Nepal's King Gyanendra awaits the abolition of his

crown with parliament declaring his kingdom a republic,

one of his ancestors has made a comeback with much

fanfare, establishing her place firmly in history.

 

An 18th century queen whose life was a mix of tragedy and

accomplishments has been resurrected to lay claim to being

the first woman writer of Nepal, if not the first author.

 

Lalit Tripura Sundari, who was born in 1793 and lived for

only 38 years, is the first Nepali author of note, overtaking

Nepal's most acclaimed epic poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya,

according to a modern writer and researcher.

 

'In 1824, seven years before she died, the queen wrote a

treatise on the duties and responsibilities of kings,'

Narendra Prasain, who spent 20 years researching the

anonymous manuscript that is still preserved in a

Kathmandu library, told IANS.

 

'It was at least 70 years before Bhanu Bhakta wrote his first

poem,' he said.

 

The queen's manuscript, called 'Raj Dharma' - the duties of

monarchs - is the Nepali translation of a segment of the

Mahabharat in which, after their victory over the Kauravas,

the eldest Pandava brother Yudhishthir begins ruling the

conquered kingdom and guidelines about his duties are laid

down.

 

The manuscript is, in a way, similar to Artha Shastra, the

celebrated treatise on statecraft penned by Chanakya, the

guru of Chandragupta Maurya, founder of India's powerful

Maurya dynasty.

 

Though a Nepali publishing house published the

manuscript almost 45 years ago, it did not carry the

name of the author.

 

Prasain says he went through a series of references by

Nepali scholars and historians to conclude that the dead

queen was the author.

 

Now, he has brought out a new edition of 'Raj Dharma' that

not only acknowledges the queen as the author but also

carries her portrait.

 

'The queen's personal life was tragic,' he says. 'She was

married to King Ranabahadur Shah, a womaniser who was

smitten by a widow and coerced her to marry him after

promising to make her son his successor.

 

'He married Lalit Tripura Sundari when she was a child and

died before she attained puberty. The queen built the

Dharahara, one of the tallest monuments in Kathmandu and

a landmark, as well as the bridge that connects Lalitpur

with Kathmandu.'

 

An inscription on the bridge calls her as majestic as a

goddess and more beautiful than Parvati, the consort of

Hindu god Shiva.

 

An old statue of her also exists in a museum.

 

Prasain, who last year brought out a book on Nepal's

women writers called 'Nari Chuli', commissioned the

illustrator to do a portrait based on the statue and the

tributes. [....]

 

http://newspostindia.com/report-31859

[Guest guest]

I was wondering something about this article...in terms of literalness.

 

 

Is the Lalit here somehow related to the Goddess Lalita, whether it be by

incarnation or something else?

 

Thank you for your time and attention.

 

 

Jai Ma!

 

Sincerely,

Christina

---- msbauju <msbauju wrote:

> Dead Queen Makes Comeback as Nepal's Chanakya

> Thursday 17th of January 2008

> News Post India

>

> [....]

> An 18th century queen whose life was a mix of tragedy and

> accomplishments has been resurrected to lay claim to being

> the first woman writer of Nepal, if not the first author.

>

> Lalit Tripura Sundari, who was born in 1793 and lived for

> only 38 years, is the first Nepali author of note, overtaking

> Nepal's most acclaimed epic poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya,

> according to a modern writer and researcher.

> [....]

[Guest guest]

I've read and heard that king of Nepal was popularly

seen as a living god -- an incarnation of Vishnu.

Whether this implies anything about the queen, I don't

know, although it stands to reason that it might.

 

I don't know any details about this particular queen.

 

, <IlluminatedCelestial

wrote:

>

> I was wondering something about this article...in terms of

literalness.

>

> Is the Lalit here somehow related to the Goddess Lalita, whether it

be by incarnation or something else?

>

> Thank you for your time and attention.

>

>

> Jai Ma!

>

> Sincerely,

> Christina

> ---- msbauju <msbauju wrote:

> > Dead Queen Makes Comeback as Nepal's Chanakya

> > Thursday 17th of January 2008

> > News Post India

> >

> > [....]

> > An 18th century queen whose life was a mix of tragedy and

> > accomplishments has been resurrected to lay claim to being

> > the first woman writer of Nepal, if not the first author.

> >

> > Lalit Tripura Sundari, who was born in 1793 and lived for

> > only 38 years, is the first Nepali author of note, overtaking

> > Nepal's most acclaimed epic poet Bhanu Bhakta Acharya,

> > according to a modern writer and researcher.

> > [....]

>