King Ananta Malla

Introduction to Ananta Malla

Ananta Malla was a Puppet Ruler of the Early Medieval Period that ruled Nepal for 34 years from 1274 A.D. to 1308 A.D. King Ananta Malla is well-known because he was the King who sent Araniko and Other Artisans to Tibet in favor of Emperor Kublai Khan.

Although Ananta Malla was a Puppet ruler, he was well respected to an extent. However, his reign faced the attack of Both the Khas Malla Kingdom led by Jitari Malla and the Tirhut Kingdom led by Shaktisimhadeva.

Reign of Ananta Malla

Ananta Malla became the King of Nepal after being backed by House Bhonta, One of the Most Powerful Families of Early Medieval Nepal. He succeeded Jayabhimadeva of House Bhonta and Jayasimha Malla of House Tripura as the King of Nepal.

Jayasimha Malla, the King before him was forcefully deposed or kidnapped by the son of Jayabhimadeva, Jayadityadeva.

Gopal Raja Bansawali has stated that the Drama caused by Ananta Malla and the struggle for Power in the Houses of Tripura and Bhonta caused huge troubles for the people. It could mean that Ananta Malla deceived the people into becoming the King of Nepal as his origin is unknown.

Araniko

The Reign of Ananta Malla is important as his reign saw increased Foreign Contact with Tibet and China. The Sakya Monastery in Tibet was prioritized by the Emperor of China Kublai Khan.

Therefore, Sakya Monastery contacted the Malla Kings of Nepal. Kublai Khan wanted to erect a golden stupa in the name of his Master and Teacher. In response to this request, Nepali Artisans under the leadership of Aniko or Araniko were sent to Lhasa.

Araniko was born in 1245 A.D. and died in 1306 A.D. Although the name of Araniko is rarely mentioned in Nepali Documents, he has been talked of profoundly as a Member of the Royal Family of Nepal.

Araniko received unprecedented fame in China and certainly distributed the architectural knowledge built in Nepal to the Chinese as well.

Invasion by Khas Malla Kingdom

In the Winter of 1288 A.D. Jitari Malla, the Great King of Khas Malla Kingdom invaded the Kathmandu Valley with his armies. Jitari Malla forced the residents of Kathmandu Valley to hide in forests or Durgas during the invasion.

A fierce battle occurred between Khas Malla Troops and The Troops of Kathmandu Valley of which 800 Khas Malla Troops were killed in Syambhu Hill. Despite the loss, King Jitari Malla managed to get the upper hand against Kathmandu.

This Invasion wasn’t the Last Invasion of Jitari Malla. He attacked Kathmandu Valley again in 1289 A.D. during the reign of Ananta Malla. In his Second Invasion, He terrorized people by setting communities on fire.

He also succeeded in lowering the morale of King Ananta Malla’s warriors in the Kathmandu Valley. He entered Patan but was unable to collect anything. We can presume he had total control over Kathmandu.

In 1290 AD, King Jitari Malla entered the Kathmandu Valley a third time and paid visits to Nuwakot, Pashupatinath, and Syambhunath.

He also ignited a massive fire in the Kathmandu Valley and partook in the Politics of Kathmandu Valley. Also, he rejoiced over the triumph and left Jumla with honor in his name.

Consequently, the stability and peace of the Kathmandu Valley were wrecked to its core. However, it wasn’t the last of the Khas Malla Invasions. Later, Ripu Malla would also invade Kathmandu.

Invasion by the Tirhut Kingdom

The Reign of Ananta Malla was followed by the Invasion of Both the Khas Malla Kingdom and Tirhut Kingdom.

Although Tirhut had attempted to invade and defeat Nepal, they weren’t really successful in doing so until the rise of King Shaktisimhadeva, the Second Last King of Tirhut Kingdom. He managed to encircle the Southern Part of Kathmandu Valley and then attacked it.

King Ananta Malla was helpless because of this Invasion. As consequence, Tirhut Kingdom is said to have defeated him and consequently, the Malla Kings of Kathmandu Valley had to pay yearly Taxes to King Shaktisimhadeva and Harisimhadeva of Tirhut Kingdom.

Conflict of Two Houses

Ananta Malla‘s reign wasn’t peaceful at all, both externally and internally. House Bhonta and House Tripura were at odds with each other and even resorted to Kidnapping to get what they wanted to achieve. It is said that Ananta Malla was tired of the Internal Conflict between these families.

In Consequence, he took all the treasures of the Royal Family and the treasures of the Temples of Bhaktapur and simply donated it all to Pashupatinath. This could have caused Financial Troubles for the nation.

After donating the wealth to Pashupatinath, he retired to the Bhonta Region of Banepa, close to House Bhonta. Although he was already retired, Ananta Malla was recognized as the Official King of Nepal until his death in 1308 A.D. in the Region of Banepa.

Conclusion

The Reign of the Puppet King, Ananta Malla was quite conflicted and troublesome. Although he managed to remain in contact with Tibet and China. He was attacked from the South as well as the west by The Tirhut and The Khas Malla Kingdom.

This resulted in a steady and troublesome reign of Ananta Malla. Therefore, it is best that his reign is forgotten in the History of Nepal.

References