P Kharel

Action is the final arbiter. Pronouncements might be meaningful for initiating attention but what part of it gets translated to what outcome provokes a conclusive verdict even in circumstances of disputes going amok. Under what conditions someone does or does not do something should be closely chronicled for scrutiny. The context of a construction — or destruction — can under no circumstance be lost sight of. Losing the track in this regard robs us of getting anywhere close to the fact. Contemporary critics might be influenced by a torrent of factors laden with biases and parochialism preventing fair deal from taking shape.

Many situations witness the deployment of mercenaries in action. Greed for power infects some of the ambitious ones. Force of circumstances and foresight to cash in on prevailing demands affect the eventual outcome. Eulogising a particular patron or protector of an interfering type is a predictable practice. Eighteenth century Nepal was a political landscape far different from what it progressed to become by well before the century concluded. A man with a lifelong mission of uniting Nepal, Prithvi Narayan Shah, prevented it from falling into the clutches of the colonial craving of the world’s largest ever empire.

He envisaged bringing the scattered scores of contemporary principalities under a unified Nepal. In addition, no ruler in this region gave such sound tips of practical wisdom, now known as Dibya Upadesh. Had the precepts, dictated on the king’s deathbed, been attributed to other rulers of the 18th century South Asia, they would have been lustily hailed for the depth and relevance they carry.

Man with mission
A towering candidate for the pride of place in the hall of statesmen, Prithvi Narayan is lauded by many scholars as a historical necessity. Had he not appeared on the scene with such unflagging energy for the mission he set out to accomplish soon after ascending the throne of a relatively poor equipped Gorkha, the course of Nepal would have been shrouded in a stupendously predictable uncertainty.
Gorkha’s neighbouring states like Kaski, Lamjung and Tanahu were endowed with far more fertile lands, other rich natural resources and enviable volumes of revenue. The resource-strapped but ambitious Prithvi Narayan’s strategy was to make optimum use of all available resources and extract the best from troops that were strongly loyal to him and committed to his leadership.

In fact, his counterparts in the neighbourhood had made a grave mistake of underrating him. One of the Gorkha king’s early moves was to forge matrimonial ties with the richer neighbours that were drunk with ample revenue inflow which enabled them to govern in relative comfort but not without misplaced sense of confidence. It was only after he launched his military mission that others started to take serious notice of him and directed their concentrated attention to his unification campaign. By then, he had already gained much strength and better position.

Had the undertaking failed, the rivals would have dismissed his campaign as an unrealistic project of an overly ambitious ruler from a poor, small state. By dint of sheer perseverance and dogged determination, Prithvi Narayan laid a solid foundation for the Nepal’s unification. No other ruler in recorded history can be credited to having fought for almost his entire life to the making of a modern, united Nepal. Aware of running feuds and frequent skirmishes among the constantly squabbling three rulers of the principal valley, Prithvi Narayan first undertook a close study of the situation and assessed the challenges to making a roadmap of what he planned to achieve. He triumphed over Nuwakot, the gateway to Kathmandu Valley after a six-day battle in the autumn of 1744, and achieved what his father Nara Bhupal had ventured and failed twice.

After Kirtipur, it was only a question of time that the rest of the valley would fall for the campaign and allow the crucial breakthrough. Before marching for the target, Prithvi Narayan studied the causes of earlier failures. It took him 25 more years before Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur were also brought under the national banner. The battle worried Kathmandu Valley dwellers were more than eager for stability, which Prithvi’s arrival at Hanuman Dhoka throne assured. The long economic blockade on the valley had inflicted hard times for the city dwellers. It is said that the Gorkha ruler had deputed more than 200 spies to the valley for sowing rumours and inspiring fear in the demoralised the local rulers.

Sense of vision
Prithvi Narayan had the vision to make Kathmandu unified Nepal’s capital. The valley represented architectural brilliance and rich culture handed down long before Gorkha’s recorded history can be properly traced. Prithvi Narayan Shah’s statesmanship in recognising and appreciating the local art and culture was tellingly demonstrated by the alacrity with which he embraced it with warmth and patronage.

A political patron seeks a pliant ruler who eventually is reduced to a mere pawn before finally turning the latter’s territory to a protectorate that meekly does the bigger power’s bidding. A vassal state loses its independent status. The clout of a client ruler is inherently confined to his specific area and is left at the mercy and caprices of the power to whom it owes regular tribute and complete loyalty. Slowly the native culture gives way to the overlord’s own. This is what happened to much of the African content. The civilising features of all cultures include how societies honour and learn from their great leaders. Disfiguring and dishonouring the meritorious do no good to any population; it only draws poor ratings in the ultimate assessment of history and all fair-minded generations.

Prithvi Narayan’s wise precepts in the Dibya Upadesh manifest a treasure trove of practical guidance for statecraft. The range of areas it covers in conformity with the ground reality remains as relevant today as they were two and a half centuries ago. Military strategy, diplomacy, art, music, culture and trade are among the issues incorporated in the royal counsel. Historians have to comb their knowledge and power of research to name another comparable ruler in the region and beyond to extract such succinct and meaningful counselling left for the benefit of future generations.

(Professor Kharel specialises in political communication.)