Hiranya Garbha Devi

Hiranya Garbha Devi
Sri Sri Sri Bada Maharani
Hiranya Garbha Devi in c. 1860–75
BornHiranya Garbha Chautari Bikram Shah
(1826-04-16)16 April 1826
Nepal
Died25 February 1877(1877-02-25) (aged 50)
Kingdom of Nepal
SpouseJung Bahadur Rana (m. 1854)
IssueLalit Rajeshwori Rajya Lakshmi Devi
DynastyRana dynasty
FatherPrana Shah
MotherMoha Kumari Devi
ReligionHinduism

Hiranya Garbha Kumari Devi (Nepali: हिरण्यगर्भ कुमारी देवी, born as Hiranya Garbha Chautari Bikram Shah,[1] also known as Maiya Maharani (Nepali: मैया महारानी);[2] 16 April 1826 – 25 February 1877) was a Nepalese maharani and principal wife of Jung Bahadur Rana.

According to her Janam kundali, Hiranya Garbha Devi was born on 16 April 1826.[3] Her father Prana Shah was a Chautariya (equivalent to prime minister) and she was the only one daughter of Shah.[4] Her brother Fateh Jung Shah was also a prime minister of Nepal and he was killed in 1846 by Jung Bahadur Rana during the Kot massacre.[5][6]

Devi married Jung Bahadur Rana, the first Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty, on 8 May 1854.[7][8] Upon her marriage, she was made Bada Maharani (lit. Senior Maharani).[9] Her daughter Lalit Rajeshwori Rajya Lakshmi Devi was married to Trailokya, Crown Prince of Nepal who gave birth to King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah.[5] On 25 February 1877, Devi committed sati.[10]

Devi was described to be a "strong willed girl" as she married Rana who had killed her brother.[11] She played an important role in Jung Bahadur's life.[12]

  1. ^ Śreshṭha, Vishṇuprasāda (2006). Nepālako Śāha tathā Rāṇā vaṃśāvalī (in Nepali). Deba Badana Śreshṭha. p. 33.
  2. ^ Kumar Bhattarai, Madan (12 December 2020). "Unravelling the life of a forgotten Rana General". The Kathmandu Post. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  3. ^ "कुण्डलीसङग्रह" (PDF). Poornima. p. 14. Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  4. ^ Duḥkhī, Sundaraprasāda Śāha (1983). Prativāda: itihāsa sambaddha upanyāsa (in Nepali). Sukasaṅka Prakāśana. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b Raj, Prakash A. (1994). Portraits and Photographs from Nepal. Nabeen Publications. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-7855-2760-2.
  6. ^ Whelpton, John (1991). Kings, Soldiers, and Priests: Nepalese Politics and the Rise of Jang Bahadur Rana, 1830-1857. Manohar Publications. p. 190. ISBN 978-81-85425-64-1.
  7. ^ Regmi, Mahesh Chandra (1963). Land Tenure and Taxation in Nepal: Religious and charitable land endowments: Guthi tenure. Institute of International Studies, University of California. p. 192.
  8. ^ Shaha, Rishikesh (2001). An Introduction to Nepal. Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 87.
  9. ^ Shaha, Rishikesh (1990). Modern Nepal: 1769–1885. Riverdale Company. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-913215-64-7.
  10. ^ Raj, Prakash A. (1997). Queens of the Shah Dynasty in Nepal. Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-7855-7483-5.
  11. ^ Rana, Pramode Shamshere J. B. (1999). A Chronicle of Rana Rule. R. Rana. p. 32.
  12. ^ Rana, Sagar S. J. B. (2017). Singha Durbar: Rise and Fall of the Rana Regime of Nepal. Rupa Publications India. ISBN 978-81-291-4561-1.