King Jayarjunadeva

Introduction to King Jayarjunadeva

Jayarjunadeva was the King of the Early Medieval Period from 1361 A.D. to 1382 A.D. for 21 years till the rise of Jayastithi Malla.

He was the son of Jayarajadeva, the King before him. He was a weak King who had limited De-Jure Power.

Rise of Jayarjunadeva

Jayarjunadeva was the son of Jayarajadeva, the Leader of House Bhonta of Banepa. He was born in 1338 A.D. After the death of Jayarajadeva, he was allowed to step up to the Throne of Nepal as a Puppet Ruler. House Bhonta, which once was the most Powerful House in Nepal faded away into History within a few decades as a puppet House.

The Kathmandu Valley was dominated by Two Other Houses. First, The Tripura Royal Family was led by Devaladevi and Rajalladevi. Second, the Vardhana Family was led by Jayasimharama.

Jayarjunadeva was crowned the King of Nepal after Jayasimharama, the leader of the Vardhana Family restored one of the Linga of Pashupatinath. Several Documents have successfully denoted his reign which amounts to nearly 15 of them.

Reign of Jayarjunadeva

The Reign of Jayarjunadeva was filled with conflicts and Internal Instability like his Predecessors. Within the Beginning of his reign, Devaladevi, the Leader of House Tripura had died.

Therefore, new leaders were governing Nepal during the time. One was House Tripura led by Rajalladevi and her husband Jayastithi Malla and the other was House Vardhana or House Rama led by Jayasimharama.

During the beginning of the reign of Jayarjunadeva, Both Families were interdependent and transparent with each other. As time passed the Ambitions of Jayastithi Malla and Jayasimharama increased which resulted in the conflict between these two individuals during the reign of Jayarjunadeva.

In 1370 A.D. Jayastithi Malla won the favor of the Seven Overlords of Patan known as the Mahapatras. He conducted a huge ceremony and awarded one of his close Courtiers known as Jayanta Mulami as the Prime Minister of Nepal.

Jayasimharama had expected that he would become the Prime Minister. Therefore, he was shocked. In Consequence, Jayasimharama launched a rebellion against Jayastithi Malla, who was just a Prince-Consort of Rajalladevi.

Unfortunately, Jayasimharama was defeated by Jayastithi Malla twice in 1372 A.D. and 1374 A.D. Jayasimharama was even imprisoned to prevent further rebellion and conflicts.

While the feud between Jayasimharama and Jayastithi continued, Jayarjunadeva was entrapped and completely helpless. In Fact, he was sent on a pilgrimage which was an Exile in disguise planned by Jayastithi Malla.

Although he accepted the exile, he tried his last to oppose and regain the Throne of Nepal which he failed. He was easily defeated and imprisoned in a room of Tripura Royal Palace where he died in 1382 A.D. His death ended the claim of House Bhonta in Nepal.

The Death of Jayarjunadeva meant that Rajalladevi became the Queen of Nepal. Rajalladevi also died three years later and Jayastithi Malla officially became the King of Nepal with the acceptance of Patan.

However, he wasn’t fully provided the Title of Rajadhiraja Parameswara Paramabhattaraka by The City of Bhaktapur.

The Reign of Jayarjunadeva is more apparent and known than Other Kings of the Early Malla Period. Despite being a Puppet Ruler, he was able to stand out a little from other Kings as he actually attempted to regain the Throne of Nepal.

Also, Jayajunadeva wasn’t accepted at all by many Feudatories who only accepted Jayastithi Malla as the King of Nepal which is certainly surprising.

Conclusion

The Reign of Jayarjunadeva was marked by the end of House Bhonta of Bhaktapur and the rise of the descendants of Jayastithi Malla and the Tripura Royal Family. His reign also saw no External invasions but higher Internal Quarrels which were settled by Jayastithi Malla.

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