Maharani is a wonderful novel about the hidden and very old history of Nepal. This book is written by Chandraprakash Baniya and is the winner of the Madan Prize 2020. It tells the story of a Maharani (queen) related to the social, financial, and political situation of the Baise Chaubise Rajya (kingdoms) of Nepal. Actually, the writer presents a powerful character, a princess named Bishwaprava, who gave her entire life, her wants, and her dreams as a contribution to save the kingdom of Parbat.
There are many characters in this novel; however, I am going to write about just the core story. A long time ago, there was a kingdom named Parbat in Nepal. Ghanashyam Malla was the king of Parbat, who had two wives and two sons who could claim the throne. According to the system of nepotism, the eldest son automatically became king at that time. But the condition of Parbat was complicated because there were two sons: Malebam and Bhadribam. Malebam was born first, but Bhadribam was the first child of the king according to pregnancy. However, Bhadribam was staying with his maternal family in Jumla.
As Prince Malebam grew into youth, two princesses—Bishwaprava and Mahalbasanta—came to the palace as potential future wives or queens. Both princesses were beautiful, smart, intelligent, well-cultured, and well-mannered. However, Princess Bishwaprava was the most beautiful and smart, so all the royal members, including Prince Malebam, fell in love with her.
Everything was going well until Bhadribam came to Parbat and claimed the throne. Then, many political problems arose in Parbat, even the possibility of dividing the kingdom. At last, Bhadribam demanded Princess Bishwaprava, who was the heart of the royal family; otherwise, he insisted on receiving half the kingdom, which could have ended Parbat. On the other hand, Princess Bishwaprava wanted to become the queen of Parbat, and she was in love with Prince Malebam. However, she sacrificed all her dreams, desires, luxuries, and even her love to save the Parbat kingdom.
King Malebam (who became king after King Ghanashyam) married Princess Mahalbasanta, and Bhadribam married Princess Bishwaprava. After some time, Princess Bishwaprava found out that her husband was conspiring with people from other kingdoms to take over the throne of Parbat. She informed King Malebam about the plan. Then, King Malebam killed all those involved in the conspiracy, including his own brother Bhadribam, Bishwaprava’s husband. If Princess Bishwaprava had not revealed this conspiracy, the Parbat kingdom would have been destroyed. Thus, once again, she saved the kingdom.
In this way, Princess Bishwaprava sacrificed everything for the Parbat kingdom—everything she had and could do. Therefore, the Parbat kingdom gave her the status of Maharani or Rajamata (one more powerful than the king). Nowadays, we worship Maharani as a goddess in Nepal.
So, this is a short summary of the book Maharani. If you are really a book lover and history enthusiast, then don’t forget to read this book. 🙂
