Triratna Man Tuladhar ( ne, त्रिरत्नमान तुलाधर) (1905-1986) was one of the largest Nepalese traders in traditional

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

and the president of the

Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa The Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa opened in 1943, the first ever organization of businesses formed by Nepalese traders based in the Tibetan capital. The Newar merchants conducted trade between Lhasa and Kolkata transporting goods over the H ...

in the 1940s.

Early life

Triratna Man (alternative name: Lhandur) was born at Nyata,

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

, the eldest of the three sons of trader and philanthropist Dharma Man Tuladhar and mother Hera Lani

Tuladhar Tulādhar (Devanagari: तुलाधर) is a Nepali/Nepalese caste from the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. The name Tuladhar is derived from the Sanskrit words "tula" (weighing scale) and "dhar" (possessor), thus meaning sca ...

. He was educated at home, and taught himself English and Chinese. He learned Tibetan and

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

during his stay in Tibet and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. In 1913, he was married to Punya Maya

Kansakar Kansakār () or Kasāh (कसाः) is a Nepalese caste group belonging to the Newar community of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. In Sanskrit, Kansakar means bronze worker, and their traditional occupation has been metal working and trading. Toda ...

. Triratna Man was also an activist in the movement to revive

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

in Nepal; and in 1924, became a member of the Buddhist Relief Association founded by Buddhist scholar and leader

Dharmaditya Dharmacharya Dharmaditya Dharmacharya ( ne, धर्मादित्य धर्माचार्य) (born Jagat Man Vaidya) (1902–1963) was a Nepalese author, Buddhist scholar and language activist. He worked to develop Nepal Bhasa and revive Therava ...

Business in Tibet

Triratna Man belonged to a long line of Lhasa Newar merchants. His family owned a business house in Lhasa known as Chhusingsyar which has a history dating from 1790 AD. The firm conducted trade between Nepal, India and Tibet. Its main business was musk, brocade, gems, textiles and general merchandise. Besides its main shop in Lhasa, the firm maintained shops in

Gyantse Gyantse, officially Gyangzê Town (also spelled Gyangtse; ; ), is a town located in Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It was historically considered the third largest and most prominent town in the Tibet region ( ...

and

Phari Phari or Pagri (; ) is a town in Yadong County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China near the border with Bhutan. The border can be accessed through a secret road/trail connecting Tsento Gewog in Bhutan () known as Tremo La. the town had a popula ...

, and in Kalimpong,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

in India. The firm in Kolkata was known as Dharma Man Purna Man - Tibetan Musk Depot. Triratna Man went to Lhasa for the first time in 1928 and managed the family business. He returned to Nepal in 1929. He made two more trips to Lhasa, and lived there from 1935-1941 and from 1947-1953, spending a total of 13 years in Tibet. In 1947, Triratna Man became president of the Nepalese Chamber of Commerce, Lhasa and held the post for a year. After he returned to Nepal leaving the business in the care of his sons, he was elected to the executive committee of the Kathmandu Chapter of the association in 1955. He sat on the committee until 1957. His eldest son Pratek Man Tuladhar wound up the business house of Chhusingsyar and returned to Nepal in 1960. The traditional Tibet trade came to an end following the

Sino-Indian War The Sino-Indian War took place between China and India from October to November 1962, as a major flare-up of the Sino-Indian border dispute. There had been a series of violent border skirmishes between the two countries after the 1959 Tibet ...

of 1962 when the trade route through

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

was shut down. Triratna Man then settled down to a quiet life in Kathmandu.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuladhar, Triratna Man 1905 births 1986 deaths People from Kathmandu Nepalese merchants Newar people