King Visnu Malla

Introduction to Visnu Malla

Visnu Malla was the King of Patan from 1729 A.D. to 1745 A.D. He married the daughter of Jagajjaya Malla, the powerful King of Kathmandu. It increased his respect and position amongst the Kings of Patan.

During his reign, Gorkha became involved in the politics of Kathmandu Valley under Prithvi Narayan Shah. Visnu Malla formed an alliance with Gorkha and attacked Bhaktapur, which was ruled by Ranajita Malla, but later lost the territory to him because of the Double Nature of Gorkha.

Visnu Malla was known for his religious activities and devotion to Taleju Bhawani Temple.

He built temples, inns, and water channels throughout Patan, performed several Yagyas or Fire Ceremonies, and made several gifts of land to temples and respective Brahmins. He minted several coins, reconstructed Patan Durbar Square, and renamed it Chaukvatha.

He constructed the Big Bronze Bell in front of the Taleju Temple and renovated the temples of Vajravarahi. He adopted Rajyaprakasa Malla as the heir of Patan and died in 1745 A.D.

Reign of Visnu Malla

Visnu Malla was crowned the King of Nepal in 1729 A.D. after the death of yogaprakasa Malla, the King of Mysterious Identity. He was the son of King Indra Malla’s Sister named Punyamati. They were the long-distance relatives of Srinivas Malla. Punyamati was the granddaughter of Srinivas Malla.

Visnu Malla was quite the clever King. He married the daughter of Jagajjaya Malla named Candralaxmi which increased his respect and position as one of the Kings of Kathmandu Valley.

Soon after Visnu Malla was crowned the King of Kathmandu, He formed an alliance with Gorkha and decided to attack Bhaktapur which was ruled by Ranjit Malla.

Patan attacked Bhaktapur in 1730 A.D. and actually managed to win Nala and Sanga from Ranajita Malla for a temporary time. After some years, Ranajita Malla managed to defeat Patan with the help of Gorkha and gained back his territory.

While Gorkha was intervening in the Politics of Kathmandu, Lamjung and Tanahu also desired to be part of the Politics. This continuously decreased the influence of Kathmandu Valley and the Three Kings of Kathmandu Valley over Nepal.

Ultimately, he adopted Rajyaprakasa Malla as the heir of Patan. Rajyaprakasa was the Brother-In-Law of his. Visnu Malla finally died in 1745 A.D.

Contributions of Visnu Malla

During the 16 years of the Reign of Visnu Malla, he was seen as a religious Man with piety and a huge devotion to Religious Activities in Taleju Bhawani Temple. He is also known for building temples, inns, and water channels throughout Patan.

He also performed several Yagyas or Fire Ceremonies and made several gifts of Lands to Temples and respective Brahmins. He performed various rites to please the gods as well. Chinnamasta Temple is attributed to have been built by him.

An Inscription of Visnu Malla’s reign states that he had minted several coins during his reign. Not only that, he managed to reconstruct the Palace of Patan, the famous Patan Durbar Square with the active assistance of the common population of Patan in 1734 A.D. He reconstructed Patan Durbar Square in three months and actually renamed it Chaukvatha.

It was Visnu Malla who constructed the Big Bronze Bell in front of the Taleju Temple on the Outer Courtyard of the Palace of Patan. He also renovated the temples of Vajravarahi and offered a Golden Bull to them.

Chronology of Visnu Malla

Visnu Malla was the Last King of Patan who actually contributed to its development and reforms before being conquered by Prithvi Narayan Shah.

He was the descendant of Srinivas Malla and Siddhi Narsingh Malla and actually lived up to the Legacy of his ancestors. However, the excessive intervention by Gorkha and Kathmandu in their politics caused Instability and problems during his 15 yrs reign.

Conclusion

Visnu Malla, among the List of Irrelevant and Insignificant Kings of Patan, is a rare King. He contributed to the radical development of Patan and tried to act in the best interests of Patan.

He was a religious and independent man who built and renovated several Temples. Not only that, but he also donated several lands and made sure that Patan saw some prosperity in his reign.

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