Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Nepal (1723 - 1775 A.D) was a Nepali nobleman. He was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah(1559 - 1570 A.D.), the founder of the ruling house of Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father King Nara Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 A.D.
He was born from immature pregnancy by Kaushalyawati Shah however was raised by his senior mother Chandra Prabhavati. He started taking general concern with the affair of the state because his father spent most of his time in prayer room. He had a great desire to get victory over Nuwakot. He had the desire to get victory once even by fighting vigorously, though he was defeated. His senior mother was his perfection against his loyalty towards the unification of modern Nepal. Walking around Gorkha and talking to people about the general concern of the palace was his likeness and this helped him to understand the needs of the citizens of Gorkha.
King Prithvi Narayan Shah's successful entry began with the union of Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha District, in 1744 A.D. After Nuwakot, he took possession of strategic points in the hills surrounding the Kathmandu Valley. The Valley's communications with the outside world were thus cut off. The occupation of the Kuti Pass in about 1756 A.D. stopped the valley's trade with Tibet. To stop the trade between the Newar people living in the Kathmandu Valley and the Muslim Mogul empire in India was a requirement King Prithvi Narayan Shah had to fulfill in order to receive advice and weapons from the British.
Finally, King Prithvi Narayan Shah entered the Valley, after conquering Kirtipur. Consequently Jaya Prakash Malla of Kathmandu managed to escape with his wife and took asylum in Patan. When the conquest was extended to Patan a few weeks later both Jaya Prakash Malla and the King of Patan, Tej Narsingh Malla, took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was also conquered after some time. Thus King Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the Kathmandu Valley and made Kathmandu the capital of the Nepal in 1769 A.D. Once the foundation of the Kingdom of Nepal was thus laid, King Prithvi Narayan Shah turned his attention towards the east. The Sena Kingdom of Choudandi was conquered by 1773 A.D. and Vijaypur, another Sena Kingdom was annexed shortly after.
Nepal at that time extended from the Punjab to Sikkim and was almost twice as large in land area as it is today.
King Prithvi Narayan Shah had sealed his border and maintained peaceful but distant relations with the British, refusing to trade with them although he had accepted arms and advice from them during his conquering wars. He died before he could effectively organize the administration of his new country. He died in January, 1775 A.D. at the age of 52. Upon his death, Prithvi Narayan was succeeded by his son, Pratap Singh Shah.
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