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 selected as

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 e ...

(prime minister) 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 ...

and a significant politician in the regent rule of

Queen Rajendra of Nepal Rajendra Rajya Lakshmi Devi) was the consort of Pratap Singh Shah, King of Kingdom of Nepal. She was the regent of Nepal during the minority of her son Rana Bahadur Shah between 1777 and 1785.Queens of the Shah Dynasty in Nepal. Prakash A. Raj. 19 ...

. He was one of the most influential court politician in the rule of King Pratap Singh and Queen Rajendralaxmi others being his rival

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

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 ...

. Vamsharaj was his perceived career rival. His life and career ended when Prince Bahadur Shah was appointed as regent in 1785.

Early life

He was born in 1808 B.S. He belonged to

Chaudandi Chaudandi is a village development committee in Udayapur District in the Sagarmatha Zone of south-eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census The 1991 Nepal census was a widespread national census conducted by the Nepal Central Bureau ...

state of Sen Kings in the Eastern Nepal. He was

Chhetri Chhetri (Kshetri, Kshettri, Kshetry or Chhettri), ( ne, क्षेत्री ; IAST: ''Kṣetrī'') historically called Kshettriya or Kshetriya or Khas are Nepali speakers of Khas community, some of whom trace their origin to migration from ...

(mudulla karki) by ethnicity and was employed under King Karna Sen of Chaudandi. He later took asylum under

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 ...

after the conquest of Kathmandu and Patan by Gorkha due to disagreement with the Kirati chief. He was appointed as

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 ...

by the King Prithvi Narayan Shah on the recommendation of Crown Prince

and was sent to the Battle of Bhaktapur in 1769 A.D. He was known as a good singer who often persuaded then Crown Prince

and sidelined with non-Gorkhali courtiers such as Pandit Vrajnath Poudyal of Syangja Rising and Crown Prince's Newar

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

Maiju Rani in the Tantric practices of the Crown Prince.

Tribhuwan University Tribhuvan University (TU; ne, त्रिभुवन विश्वविद्यालय) is a public university located in Kirtipur, Kathmandu. Established in 1959, TU is the oldest university in Nepal. In terms of enrollment, it is ...

History Association and Instruction Committee also asserts Kaji Parashuram Thapa in the group headed by Brajnath and Swarup. The non-Gorkhali group remained in Kathmandu for running administration and old hereditary courtiers from Tharghars remained at Nuwakot for military conquests with King Prithvi Narayan Shah. The traditional Tharghar (Gorkhali nobility) courtiers favored Prince Bahadur Shah over Pratap Singh Shah.

Court politics and military career

When Crown Prince

ascended the throne in January 1775, Swarup and his group became the most influential persons in the court. In order to prevent Prince Bahadur Shah from being a ''Chautariya''(royal chief minister), Swarup marched with army to Nuwakot to confine Prince Bahadur who was then mourning the death of his father former King Prithvi Narayan Shah. He confined Bahadur Shah and Prince Dal Mardan Shah with consent from newly reigning King Pratap Singh Shah who was considered to have no distinction of right and wrong. In the annual Pajani (renewal) of that year, Swarup Singh was promoted to the position of Kaji along with

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 ...

Amar Singh Thapa Amar Singh Thapa Chhetri distinguished as Badakaji Amar Singh Thapa( ne, बडाकाजी अमर सिंह थापा क्षेत्री), or Amar Singh Thapa The Elder, (also spelled Ambar Simha) also known by the honorific nam ...

and Parashuram Thapa. In

Falgun Falgun or Phalgun (; ne, फाल्गुण) or Phagun ( as, ফাগুন) is the eleventh month of the year in the Bengali calendar, the Assamese calendar, and the Nepali calendar. In the revision of the Bengali calendar used in Banglades ...

1832

B.S. A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...

, he succeeded in exiling Bahadur Shah, Dal Mardan Shah and Guru Gajraj Mishra on three heinous charges. The reign of King Pratap Singh was characterized by the constant rivalry between Swarup and

, a member of the leading

Pande family The Pande family or Pande dynasty (Also spelled as Pandey or Panday) ( ne, पाँडे वंश/पाँडे काजी खलक; or ) was a Rajput Chhetri political family that directly ruled Nepali administration affairs since ...

of Gorkha. 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

along with Vamsharaj Pande. He led the Nepali/Nepalese army to an attack on Bhubaneshwar and Kabilas area in the Saptari region and successfully conquered those places. The deposed When the senior courtier Abhiman Singh Basnyat conquered Someshwar in Chitwan, Swarup, in order to get credit, reached there after the success. This angered Abhiman Singh and

, son of former Kaji of Gorkha

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 ...

, who reported the plot to King Pratap Singh. He was exiled on that ground from the

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 ...

on 1834 B.S. It was also the last moments of reign of King Pratap in 1777 A.D. After he was expelled by King Pratap, he fled to Palpa and took side with the Sen Kings of Palpa, his native state Chaudandi, and King of Parbat. He was then considered a fugitive and rebel in the Kingdom of Nepal. Chaudandi King Karna Sen's widow had adopted the son of Palpa King Mukunda Sen, Prince Dhwajbir Sen through the consignment of Swaroop. Swaroop Singh was assigned to take Prince Dhwajbir to Calcutta to summon British military support against expanding

. 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, Swaroop Singh and his rival Vamsharaj was called back from their 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 ...

to launch an attack on the Lamjung Kingdom. His entrance in the royal court of Nepal was opposed by courtiers. Later, a reconciliation was done with him and Vamsharaj. Swarup appointed Daljit Shah as Chautariya in 1841 B.S. and took the support of Kaji Bhim Khawas.

Vamsharaj conspiracy and death

was beheaded on the conspiracy of Queen Rajendra Laxmi with his support. In the special tribunal meeting at Bhandarkhal garden, east of Kathmandu Durbar, Swaroop Singh held Vamsharaj liable for letting the King of Parbat, Kirtibam Malla to run away in the battle a year ago. He had a fiery conversation with Vamsharaj before Vamsharaj was declared guilty and was subsequently executed by beheading on the tribunal. 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, his stiff opponent Prince Regent

was arrested and on the eleventh day of imprisonment on 13 July, his only supporter Queen Rajendra Laxmi died. Then onwards, Bahadur Shah took over the regency of his nephew 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 ...

and on the first moments of his regency ordered Swaroop Singh who was in Pokhara to be beheaded there on the charges of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. He had gone to Kaski to join Daljit Shah's military campaign of Kaski fearing retaliation of the old courtiers due to his conspiracy against Vamsharaj. He was executed on 24th Shrawan 1842 B.S.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Karki, Swaroop Singh Nepalese military personnel Nepalese generals Prime ministers of Nepal Military leaders 1751 births 1785 deaths Executed Nepalese people People executed for treason People of the Nepalese unification People from Udayapur District