Jitamitra Malla

Jitamitra Malla
Sumati
Miniature of Jitamitra Malla on his throne, c. 1681
King of Bhaktapur
Reign	28 November 1672 — 21 September 1696
Coronation	28 November 1672
Predecessor	Jagat Prakasha Malla
Successor	Bhupatindra Malla
Born	Unknown date Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Kingdom of Bhaktapur (Present day Bhaktapur, Nepal)
Died	14 November 1708 Bhaktapur, Nepal
Spouse	Lalamati
Issue	Bhupatindra Malla Bhānumati Devi
Names Jayajitamitra Malla Regnal name Sri Sri Sumati Jayajitamitra Malla Deva
Dynasty	Malla
Father	Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla
Mother	Padmāvati Devi
Signature

Jitamitra Malla (Newar: 𑐖𑐶𑐟𑐵𑐩𑐶𑐟𑑂𑐬 𑐩𑐮𑑂𑐮‎) was a Malla Dynasty King of Bhaktapur, Nepal from 1673 till his abdication in 1696.[1] He was also known by his nom de plume, Sumati, meaning "the wise one".[2]

He left his throne in 1696 to his eldest son Bhupatindra Malla to spend the rest of his life in religious activities,[1] and died on 14 November 1708.[3]

Construction efforts

A son of Sri Jaya Jagatprakasa Malla Raja, Jitamitra 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 with a golden Mahadeva.[4] 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.[5] He also contributed a finely carved wooden tympanum above the main entrance to the Mul Chowk and also erected many memorials in Bhaktapur.[4]

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.[4]

Death

Although historians initially believed that Jitamitra Malla died around the time of the coronation of his son.[1] However, in 1967 Historian Gautama Vajracharya published a previously undiscovered manuscript, where his death date is given as the thirteen day of the waxing moon of Margasira in NS 829 which falls on 14 November 1708 on the Gregorian calendar.[3] The same document mentions that no women were burned as Sati during the funeral.[3]

Sometime after his death, his wife Lalamati consecrated two sets of gilded repoussé statuettes of her and Jitamitra Malla, among which one set is part of a gilded repoussé strut in the former royal palace and the other set is displayed at the palace during the festival of Mohani, on the day of Vijayadashami.[6]

Gallery

• 
  Miniature of Jitamitra Malla (left) from a Paubha dated 1670; sitting behind him are his brother Ugra Malla, his stepmother Annapurna and his half-sister Nandini.[7]
• 
  Miniature of Jitamitra alongside his brother Ugra Malla (right) and his son Bhupatindra Malla, dated 1686.
• 
  Jitamitra Malla with his brother Ugra Malla (right) and his son Bhupatindra Malla. minitaure from a Paubha dated 1681.[8]
• 
  Posthumous gilded sculpture of Jitamitra Malla consecrated by his wife, Lālamati.[6]
• 
  Sculpture of his wife Lālamati.
• 
  Wooden figurines depicting Jitamitra Malla's mother Padmavati and his step-mother Chandravati, c. 1670.[9]

Maithili dramas

Jitamitramalla is known to have composed ten dramas in the Maithili language although none of these have been published.[10]

References

1. Vajrācārya, Cundā (January 1996). "mallakālako aitihāsika sāmāgrī: dhara pau" ["Dhara Pau", historical materials of the Malla Dynasty] (PDF). Contribution to Nepalese Studies (in Nepali). 23.
2. Widdess, Professor Richard (2013-12-02). Dāphā: Sacred Singing in a South Asian City: Music, Performance and Meaning in Bhaktapur, Nepal. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 288. ISBN 978-1-4094-6601-7.
3. Vajracharya, Gautama (14 January 1967). "aprakāśita thyāsaphu" [Some unpublished thyāsaphu] (PDF). Purnima (in Nepali). 3 (4): 31.
4. Singh, Munshi; Gunanand, Pandit Sri (1877). The History of Nepal. Low Price Publications, Delhi, India. p. 131.
5. "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.
6. Vaidya, Tulasī Rāma; Shrestha, Purushottam Lochan (2002). Bhaktapur Rajdarbar. Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies, Tribhuvan University. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-99933-52-17-4.
7. Guy, John (1992). "New Evidence for the Jagannātha Cult in Seventeenth Century Nepal". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 213–230. ISSN 1356-1863.
8. Pal, Pratapaditya (1975). Nepal: where the Gods are Young. Asia Society. p. 132. ISBN 978-0878480456.
9. Guy, John (1992). "New Evidence for the Jagannātha Cult in Seventeenth Century Nepal". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 2 (2): 213–230. doi:10.1017/S135618630000239X. ISSN 1356-1863. JSTOR 25182509. S2CID 162316166.
10. Yadav, Ramawatar (2011). "Medieval Maithili stagecraft in the Nepalamandala: the Bhaktapur school". Contributions to Nepalese Studies.