Ram Krishna Kunwar or Ramakrishna Kunwar ( ne, रामकृष्ण कुँवर; IAST: ''Rāmakr̥ṣṇa kum̐vara'') was military commander (

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 ...

) 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 ...

during the

Unification of Nepal The Unification of Nepal, also known as Expansion of Gorkha Kingdom, officially began in 1743 AD (1799 BS) after King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha launched an aggressive annexation campaign seeking to broaden his own kingdom's border. After ...

at the reign of 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 ...

. He was born circa 1728 AD to Ashiram Kunwar in the

Kunwar family The Kunwar family ( ne, कुँवर परिवार) was a noble Khas-Chhetri family in the Gorkha Kingdom and the Kingdom of Nepal. Kunwars were linked to the Thapa dynasty and family of Amar Singh Thapa by marital lineages and, thus, t ...

. His descendants went on to found the

Rana dynasty Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and othe ...

of Nepal. He was successful general in the Unification campaign of Nepal of King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He defeated British forces at Hariharpur Gadhi on 25 August 1767. He died in Mechi Campaign in 1771 A.D.

Family

He was born to Ahiram Kunwar. He had only a son named

Ranajit Kunwar Ranajit Kunwar ( ne, रणजीत कुँवर) was Nepalese governor and military personnel in the Kingdom of Nepal. He was a son of Ramakrishna Kunwar of Kunwar family. He served as governor of Jumla, Pyuthan and sub-ordinate administrator ...

and three grandsons;

Bal Narsingh Kunwar Bal Narsingh Kunwar or Balanarsingh Kanwar ( ne, बालनरसिंह कुँवर; 2 February 1783 - 24 December 1841) posthumously referred as Bal Narsingh Kunwar Rana was a Kaji, military officer and governor in the Kingdom of Ne ...

, Balram Kunwar and Rewant Kunwar.

Career

King Prithvi Narayan sent Kaji

Vamsharaj Pande 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 signifi ...

, Naahar Singh Basnyat, Jeeva Shah, Ram Krishna Kunwar and others to defeat the forces of Gurgin Khan at Makwanpur. Ram Krishna was ordered by the King to organize the army at Makwanpur under his control. In a letter to Ramkrishna, King Prithvi Narayan Shah was unhappy at the death of Kaji

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 ...

and thought it was impossible to conquer Kathmandu valley after the death of Kalu Pande. After the annexation of Kathmandu valley, King

praised in his letter about valour and wisdom shown by Ramkrishna in annexation of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur (i.e. Nepal valley at the time) on 1768-69 A.D. The letter sent by King

to Ramkrishna Kunwar on Ashwin Badi 5 of unknown Vikram Year has been mentioned by historian

Baburam Acharya Baburam Acharya (Nepali: बाबुराम आचार्य) (1888–1971 AD) was a Nepalese historian and literary scholar. He is known as the historian laureate () of Nepal. The four part biography of King Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder ...

The Gorkhali monarch also expresses condolence in that letter over the death of one of the brothers of Ram Krishna in the battle of Timal. Another index letter sent by 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 ...

to Jaya Krishna Kunwar in 1843 Vikram Samvat (i.e. 1786 A.D.) confirms that Jaya Krishna did not die in the battle of Timal which could point to the death of his youngest brother Amar Singh Kunwar in the battle of Timal. When Ram Krishna was conferred the confiscated properties (including residence) of former Kathmandu King

Jaya Prakash Malla Jaya Prakash Malla ( ne, जयप्रकाश मल्ल) (died 1768) was the last king of Yen (यें) or Kantipur (कान्तिपुर) which corresponds to present-day Kathmandu. He ruled from 1736 to 1746, and then from 1750 ...

, he donated the properties to "Guthi" for supplying foods to pilgrims in

Shivaratri Maha Shivaratri (IAST: Mahāśivarātri) is a Hindu festival celebrated annually in honour of the god Shiva. The name also refers to the night when Shiva performs the Tandava, heavenly dance called Tandava. In every month of the luni-solar ...

festival. King

had deployed ''

'' Ram Krishna to the invasion of

Kirant The Kirati people, also spelled as Kirant or Kiranti, are a Sino-Tibetan ethnic group. They are peoples of the Himalayas, mostly the Eastern Himalaya extending eastward from Nepal to North East India (predominantly in the Indian state of Sikkim ...

regional areas comprising; Pallo Kirant (

Limbuwan Limbuwan is an area of the Himalayan region historically made up of 10 Limbu kingdoms, now part of eastern Nepal. Limbuwan means "abode of the Limbus" or "Land of the Limbus". In modern times, a political movement in Nepal has developed which ...

), Wallo Kirant and Majh Kirant (Khambuwan). In 13th of Bhadra 1829

Vikram 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 ...

(i.e. 29 August 1772), Ram Krishna crossed Dudhkoshi river to invade King Karna Sen of. Majh Kirant (Khambuwan) and Saptari region with fellow commander

Abhiman Singh Basnyat Abhiman Singh Basnet/Basnyat ( ne, अभिमान सिंह बस्न्यात) was first Commander-in-Chief of Unified Nepal."Regmi Research Series" Author:Mahesh Chandra Regmi Abhiman Singh became the first Commander in Chief of a U ...

. He crossed

Arun River The River Arun () is a river in the English county of West Sussex. At long, it is the longest river entirely in Sussex and one of the longest starting in Sussex after the River Medway, River Wey and River Mole. From the series of small stream ...

to reach Chainpur(

). Later, he achieved victory over Kirant region. King Prithvi Narayan Shah bestowed 22 pairs of Shirpau (special headgear) in appreciation to Ram Krishna Kunwar after his victory over the Kirant region. Genealogist Daniel Wright contends that Ram Krishna died at Pyuthan at the age of 59.

Rana dynasty

His descendants later went on to become

of Nepal.

References

Footnotes

Notes

Books

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kunwar, Ram Krishna 1728 births 1771 deaths Nepalese generals People of the Nepalese unification Nepalese military personnel killed in action 18th-century Nepalese nobility Khas people