Malla dynasty is one of the longest ruling dynasty in Nepal. Malla dynasty ruled over Kathmandu Valley in around 1438 BS. Many powerful kings ruled over country in that period and made themselves immortal in history. This article is dedicated to all those influential kings and their noteworthy activities. Here is list of five most famous and influential  Malla Kings.

Bhupatindra Malla.jpg

Jayasthiti Malla               

Jayasthiti Malla is the first name in this list. He ruled over Nepal  from 1438 to 1452 BS. For me, he is the bravest king of all. Jayasthiti Malla is the only king whose origin is not clear in history. It is said that he came from karnali region. And he got the throne despite being born in the same royal family. As history says he came to Bhaktapur and married princess Rajalla Devi and that marital bonding made him King later on. But the question here is why would King marry his daughter to someone whose origin is unknown.  But this is how history is. He got the throne as husband of the then princess . It is said that he brought many reformation during his reign. In the time when he took over the throne, valley was in very weak position. There was no system and peace in the valley.

He introduced four caste system in order to divide work.  He also divide land in four types based on their quality as Abbal, Doyam, Sim and Chahar. Measuring units like Mana, Pathi, Dharni was also introduced in his reign. There are many works of Jayasthiti Malla that are worth mentioning. He even  built many temples in valley at that time.  Sanskrit and Newari language flourished in his rule.

Pratap Malla

 Pratap Malla has quite negative image in history but in fact he did some great jobs for the society and country.  The image is probably because of how he got the throne. Pratap Mall was born to father Laxminarasingh Malla. He imprisoned his own father in order to get the throne. Despite getting the throne in the most savage manner he did good job for his kingdom. He extended the territory to Bhot in North, Dolakha in east and Mkawanpur in south. He made multiple attempts to unify the valley ie Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur but all went in vain. However he maintained good trade relation with Tibet in his rule.

 He was very intellectual King and it is said that he could read and write fifteen different languages. He was very passionate about Poetry  and he even had the title of Kabindra in front of his name. He built Rani Pokhari , Hanumandhoka  and many other monuments. He built Rani Pokhari in memory of his dead son Chakrabartindra. Despite doing many developmental woks he had questionable character. He had a harem with  three hundred girls to fulfill his filthy desire. He once raped a 14 year old girl and killed her. He even stayed in Pashupatinath  for three months in order to get rid of that sin . But what he did was a terrible thing. It is said that the young girls spirit trouble the king for long. Pratap Malla died in 1731 BS while watching a drama.

Bhupatindra Malla

Bhupatindra Malla, the son of king Jitamitra Malla ruled the Bhaktapur in 1753 BS. In that time when Patan and Kathmandu had made alliance, Bhaktapur stood alone but still was very much ahead. Bhupatindra Malla was art loving, intelligent and brave king who did amazing work for his kingdom. He was peace loving king and maintained very sound relation with Gorkha, Tanahu and Makwanpur. The fifty five window place was built in his reign. The place is still very popular and at that time also it stood as example of excellent piece of art. People from all over Nepal praised the beautiful palace.

 Another famous temple Nyatapole was also built by him in his reign. Other than that he built many monuments like temple of Siddhilaxmi, Ugrachandi of Kathmandu ,Kumari, Baishnavi temple and so on. Malla period was period of art and sculptures and Bhupatindra Malla had major role in that. Other than that he was very passionate about writing and reading. He could read and write maithali language. He wrote hymn in Maithali language. He would often compose many poems and dramas.

Yaksha Malla                                       

 Yaksha Malla is another very clever and intelligent king from the Malla dynasty. He took over the throne when son of Jaysthiti Malla, Jyotir Malla died after ruling the kingdom. After his death, Yaksha Malla took over the throne at a very young age of 20.He ruled in valley from 1465 BS to 1538 BS. His noteworthy work in history is extending territory of Nepal. The boundary of Nepal extended to Sikkim in east, Gorkha in west , Tibet in north and Bihar in south. This was very big achievement of Yaksha Mall however Nepal couldn’t retain it for long. Yaksha Malla also brought economic reformation and brought peace and harmony in kingdom. He maintained religious tolerance in valley . During his rue, Buddhists and hindus lived together in harmony. He built the image of Min Narayan in Patan, temple of dattatraya and Yakshaswar in Bhadgaun.

 After his death, his children six sons and a daughter couldn’t remain in harmony so they divided Nepal into small states. That how valley was divide in three states . Today those states are called three Malla states of valley.

Siddhinarasingh Malla

Siddhinarasingh Malla was another very wise King in Malla dynasty. He took over the throne in 1775 BS after death of his father King Hariharhimha . The queen Lalmati made her son the king of Patan. At that time kantipur had already taken over Patan. So his grandfather was ruling over Kantipur at that time.

During his rule he built good relationship with Gorkha. He was art lover and a very kind hearted king. He built shikhar style  Krishna Mandir with 21 golden spires. Krishna Mandir still stands proud in Patan showing the golden period of Mall dynasty. He built temple of Tulaja Bhawani, pond in Jawalakhel , different Buddhist Bihars and so on. He wrote hymns in maithali language. He was a peaceful king, he kindly handed his throne to son Shriniwas mall and died peacefully in Kashi at the age of 104 years.