Battle of Kirtipur
| The Battle of Kirtipur | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Gorkhali conquest of Nepal | |||||||
 Swords from Battle of Kirtipur on Bagh Bhairava Temple |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| Newars | Gorkha Kingdom | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Danuvanta | Kalu Pande Suruparatna |
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| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
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 800 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 valley and 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, 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: "We came to the knowledge of this fact in consequence of observing among the porters who transported our baggage over the hills a remarkable number of noseless men, the singularity of the circumstance leading us to inquire into the cause of it." Cutting off the nose or ear was also a punishment for theft, forgery, or moral misconduct in those times and is still associated with Honour in Nepali society.
According to historians, the defenders of Kirtipur whose noses were cut off numbered 865. Also an interesting fact is that the valley Kings had Khas, Magars, Tamangs, Tirahutiyas (eastern Bihar) and local Newars in their army. Jayanta Rana, Parshuram Thapa and his brother Dayaram Thapa were the main commanders of the valley forces.
The Gorkhalis desired the Kathmandu Valley due to its rich culture, trade, industry and agriculture. In 1736, the Gorkhali king Nara Bhupal Shah launched an attack on Nuwakot, a border town and fort in the northwest of the valley, to probe its defences. His troops were badly defeated.
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Wikipedia