William Newrose: June 2014

16 Jun, 2014

The Battle of Kirtipur

The Battle of Kirtipur occurred in 1767 during the Gorkha conquest of Nepal, and was fought at Kirtipur, one of the principal towns in the Kathmandu Valley. Kirtipur was then a walled town of 8,000 houses and part of the kingdom of Lalitpur. It is spread along the top of a ridge. The battle between the Newars of the valley and the invading Gorkhalis marked a turning point in the war of expansion launched by Gorkhali king Prithvi Narayan Shah. It led to his subjugation of the rest of the coveted valleyand the end of Newar rule. The Battle of Kirtipur is also known for its vicious fighting and intense cruelty. Shah's victorious army cut off the noses and lips of the defeated townspeople for putting up such fierce resistance. An Italian Capuchin missionary, Father Giuseppe, Prefect of the Roman Mission, was in Kirtipur during the battle, and he has written about the mutilated defenders that "it was most shocking to see so many living people with their teeth and noses resembling the skulls of the deceased." In 1793, when Colonel Kirkpatrick, envoy of Charles Cornwallis, governor-general of British India, visited Kathmandu 26 years after the battle, he saw these noseless men and has written about his experience in his memoirs. According to historians, the defenders of Kirtipur whose noses were cut off numbered 865. Kirti Laxmi, a Newar woman of Kirtipur, fought the invaders disguised as a man named Bhairav Singh. Armed with a bow and arrows, she kept fighting even after the Gorkhalis had taken the town. She inspired the townspeople with her bravery not to give up. She was finally captured and kept in captivity where she took her own life. She is honored as the heroine of Kirtipur. -William.Newrose

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