King Jita and Prana Malla

Introduction to Jita and Prana Malla

Jita Malla and Prana Malla were joint malla kings of Bhaktapur from 1518 A.D. to 1545 A.D. Prana Malla ruled alone after 1534 A.D. The relationship between Jita Malla and him is still unclear. Some historians believe they were brothers, while others argue that Prana Malla was the son of Bhuvana Malla and that Jita Malla was his uncle.

Jita Malla has never been mentioned alone as king, while Prana Malla has been mentioned as king several times. Therefore, it is believed that Jita Malla was his younger brother. During their reign, Patan separated from Kathmandu under the feudal overlord Visnusimha, marking the beginning of the age of three kingdoms.

They did not carry out significant development or religious activities during their reign. Visva Malla succeeded them and ruled Bhaktapur from 1545 A.D. to 1559 A.D.

Reign of Jita Malla and Prana Malla

Jita Malla and Prana Malla were the successors of Bhuvana Malla. Bhuvana Malla was the son of King Raya Malla and the grandson of King Yaksha Malla as well. After Yaksha Malla divided Nepal, Raya Malla was given Bhaktapur as his Kingdom.

The death of Raya Malla was followed by the crowning of his Son Bhuvana Malla as the King of Nepal. The End of Bhuvana Malla’s reign was marked by the beginning of Jita Malla and Prana Malla.

The Relation between Jita Malla and Prana Malla is mysterious and in fact not proven to this date. Some Historians have firmly argued that they were brothers and ruled together until the death of one. Others have pointed out that the latter was the only son of Bhuvana Malla and is still a child. Therefore, His Uncle Jita Malla helped him rule the Kingdom and also claimed the Title of King for himself.

The Unique Feature of the reign of these two Kings is that Jita Malla has never been mentioned alone as the King of Bhaktapur but Prana Malla has been mentioned numerous times as the King of Bhaktapur alone. This Begs the Question of either Jita Malla was a legitimate Monarch or Not. Anyways, there is more to discuss in their documents.

Jita Malla has no single documents where only he is mentioned in his reign whereas the latter has more than 10 Single Documents where only he is mentioned as the Sovereign King. Therefore, it has led many historians to believe that Jita Malla was actually his younger brother.

However, Those Documents where both these kings are mentioned together have the name of Jita Malla before Prana Malla which means that Jita Malla was older than him. Also, Prana Malla died in 1545 A.D. much before Jita Malla. Therefore, it would be sensible to consider Jita Malla as the Uncle of the De-Jure King.

The Pashupati Copper Plate of 1547 A.D. visibly mentioned Jita Malla with Visva Malla, the son of Prana Malla. Therefore, it is likely that Jita Malla wasn’t from the direct Lineage but was a guardian of both father and son.

Keeping the matters of their relationship aside, they didn’t conduct development activities or important religious activities during their reign. It was also during their reign that Kathmandu which was ruled by Amara Malla was broken down into Kathmandu and Patan.

This meant the age of Three Kingdoms had begun and it continued till Sivasimha united the Two Kingdoms in 1599 A.D. Anyways, the reign of Jita Malla and Prana Malla was succeeded by Visva Malla who ruled Bhaktapur from 1545 A.D. to 1559 A.D.

Conclusion

Jita Malla and Prana Malla are the joint kings of Bhaktapur who ruled as Malla Kings from 1518 A.D. to 1545 A.D. After 1534 A.D., the latter ruled Bhaktapur alone without the necessity of Jita Malla. Some mention them as Brothers whereas some documents mention Jita Malla as the uncle of Prana Malla. During their reign, Patan separated from Kathmandu under Feudal Overlord Visnusimha.

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