Vamsharaj Pande (a.k.a. Bamsa Raj Pande, Vansha Raj Pande, or Bangsha Raj Pande) ( ne, वंशराज पाँडे; translit. ''vaṃśarāja pām̐ḍe'') was a Nepalese politician, military officer and minister of state. He was a significant army commander of

Kingdom of Nepal The Kingdom of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल अधिराज्य), also known as the Gorkha Empire ( ne, गोरखा अधिराज्य) or Asal Hindustan ( ne, असल हिन्दुस्तान)(), was a Hindu king ...

in the second half of 18th century. He was a follower of

Bahadur Shah of Nepal Prince Bahadur Shah ( ne, बहादुर शाह) was the youngest son of King Prithvi Narayan Shah of modern Nepal. He became the regent of Nepal for a brief period after the death of his predecessor Queen Rajendra Laxmi of Nepal and acce ...

and had a significant rivalry with Swaroop Singh Karki.

Early life and family

He was born as eldest son of Kaji of

Gorkha Kingdom Gorkha Kingdom ( ne, गोरखा राज्य) was a member of the Chaubisi rajya, a confederation of 24 states on the Indian subcontinent ruled by Khas people. In 1743 CE, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing se ...

Kalu Pande Vamshidhar Pande ( ne, वंशीधर पाँडे) known by Alias Kalu Pande ( ne, कालु पाँडे) was a Nepalese politician and military general who was appointed as Kaji of The Gorkha Kingdom. He was born in 1713 A.D. i ...

in 1739 A.D. He had two brothers - Ranashur Pande and

Damodar Pande Damodar Pande ( ne, दामोदर पाँडे) (1752 – March 13, 1804) was the Mulkaji of Nepal (equivalent to Prime Minister of Nepal) from 1803 to 1804 and most influential Kaji since 1794 to his death on March 13, 1804. He is al ...

. He had a sister Chitravati Pande who was married to Kaji

Kehar Singh Basnyat Kehar Singh Basnyat ( ne, केहरसिंह बस्न्यात) or Kehar Singh Basnet was a Nepalese military commander and warhero who led down his life in the Unification battles of Nepal. He was born in the illustrious clan of Shre ...

of the noble

Basnyat family Basnyat/Basnet family or Basnyat/Basnet dynasty ( ne, बस्न्यात वंश/बस्न्यात काजी खलक) was a Khas-Chhetri and a warlord clan family involved in the politics and administration of the Gorkha Ki ...

Career

Vamsharaj was made a Kaji on Marwat policy in V.S. 1819 (1762 A.D.). On 20 January 1763, Vamsha Raj Pande won a battle against

Mir Qasim Mir Qasim ( bn, মীর কাশিম; died 8 May 1777) was the Nawab of Bengal from 1760 to 1763. He was installed as Nawab with the support of the British East India Company, replacing Mir Jafar, his father-in-law, who had himself been su ...

, the

Nawab of Bengal The Nawab of Bengal ( bn, বাংলার নবাব) was the hereditary ruler of Bengal Subah in Mughal India. In the early 18th-century, the Nawab of Bengal was the ''de facto'' independent ruler of the three regions of Bengal, Bihar, ...

. On 14 April 1769 A.D., he was the army commander who led attack of Gorkhali side on the

Battle of Bhaktapur The Battle of Bhaktapur was the final campaign in the Gorkha conquest of Nepal. It took place in Bhaktapur in 1769, and resulted in the victory of the Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah, giving him control of the entire Kathmandu Valley and adjoi ...

. After consolidation of Kathmandu valley states, King

Prithvi Narayan Shah Maharajadhiraj Prithvi Narayan Shah (1723–1775) ( ne, श्री ५ बडामहाराजाधिराज पृथ्वीनारायण शाह देव) was the last ruler of the Gorkha Kingdom and first monarch of the ...

waged war against western Chaubise (24) Confederacy on 1770 under military leadership of Kaji Bamsharaj, Kaji

and

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

Prabhu Malla and achieved initial success. On 1771, the Gorkhali forces lost the war against Chaubise (24) principalities and Kaji

died in the battlefield. In the same war, Bamsharaj was captured by soldiers of Parbat Kingdom as war prisoner. His subordinate commanders Dhaukal Singh Basnyat and Sriharsha Pantha escaped with difficulty after the tough confrontation at Dhor. The document dated

Bikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...

1833

Bhadra ''Bhadra''Feminine: sa, भद्रा, Bhadrā is a Sanskrit word meaning 'good', 'fortune' or 'auspicious'. It is also the name of many men, women and objects in Hindu mythology. Male Figures King of Chedi Bhadra was a king of Chedi Kingdom ...

Vadi 3 Roj 6 (i.e. Friday 2 August 1776), shows that he had carried the title of

Dewan ''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the el ...

along with Swaroop Singh Karki. It was the time when he had just returned from the Parbat prison. Chaubisi confederacy attacked Gorkha Kingdom on Sirhanchowk Gadhi (fort) at north and established their own position on 2 January 1782 A.D. Commander Garud Dhoj Pant of Tanahun Kingdom launched attack on Gorkhali side with combined army of Lamjung and Parbat and also included soldiers from Kaski, Palpa and Pyuthan. Queen Rajendra Lakshmi Devi wanted ultimate destruction of trade route of Lamjung. Thus, Bamsharaj was called back from his exile in

Bettiah Bettiah is a city and administrative headquarters of West Champaran district ( Tirhut Division) - (Tirhut), near Indo-Nepal border, north-west of Patna, in Bihar state of India. History In 1244 A.D., Gangeshwar Dev, a Bhumihar Brahmin of ...

to launch attack on Lamjung Kingdom. Queen regent Rajendra Laxmi Devi also called up exiled courtier and his rival Swaroop Singh Karki to attack on Lamjung Kingdom. A reconciliation was done with both courtiers. Subsequently, Vamsharaj imposed economic blockade over Lamjung. Bamsharaj's youngest brother

also took part in the attack. Vamsharaj had fought battles against Makwanpur, Timal and Sindhuli in 1762, Kirtipur in 1764, Chihan Danda in 1766, Tanahun in 1770, Pauwa Gadh in 1776, and Lamjung in 1783 A.D.

Death at Bhandarkhal

Bamsha Raj was beheaded on the conspiracy of Queen Rajendra Laxmi with the help of supporters including senior minister Kaji

Swarup Singh Karki Swarup Singh Karki ( ne, स्वरूप सिंह कार्की) or Swaroop Singh Karki, was a Nepali politician, courtier, military commander and minister. He was popular for his singing prowess and court conspiracies. He was selecte ...

. In the special tribunal meeting at Bhandarkhal garden, east of Kathmandu Durbar, Swaroop Singh held Bamsa Raj liable for letting the King of Parbat, Kirtibam Malla, to run away in the battle a year before. He was declared guilty and was executed by beheading on the tribunal. Daniel Wright points out that King

Rana Bahadur Shah Rana Bahadur Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज रण बहादुर शाह देव) (1775–1806) was the King of Nepal from 1777 to 1799. In 1777, he succeeded to the throne after the deat ...

was responsible for giving Bamsha Raj the death penalty. Historian

Rishikesh Shah Rishikesh Shah (May 16, 1925 – November 13, 2002) was a Nepalese writer, politician and human rights activist.http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_121-122_01.pdf On 2 July 1785, Prince Regent

who was aligned to him was arrested.

Title of premiership

Daniel Wright mentions him as the Mantri-Nayak (Prime Minister) under the King

. The document dated

1833

Vadi 3 Roj 6 (i.e. Friday 2 August 1776), shows that he had carried the title of

(equivalent to Prime Minister) along with Swaroop Singh Karki. He had a great constant rivalry with Swaroop Singh Karki in the reign of King

Pratap Singh Shah Pratap Singh Shah, King of Nepal ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज प्रतापसिंह शाह देव) (1751–1777) was the second King of modern Nepal. He was the eldest son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, the ...

References

Footnotes

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pande, Vamsharaj Prime ministers of Nepal Nepalese military personnel Nepalese generals Military leaders 1739 births 1785 deaths People executed by Nepal Executed Nepalese people People of the Nepalese unification People from Gorkha District Nepalese prisoners of war 18th-century Nepalese nobility