Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Nepal and water resources

NEPAL AND WATER RESOURCES
Nepal is a landlocked country although it is rich in the water resources. It is the second largest country after Brazil in the water resources.Nepal has got more that 600 big rivers which has the total capacity of 83,000 megawatt electricity. The rivers like Sapta koshi, Indrawati, Seti, Mahakali, sunkoshi etc. are the main rivers of the Nepal.
Nepal due to some political and economic problems is not able to produce the enough amount of electricity for Nepal itself. It has not enough budget to buy the thermal power plant for the production of the electricity. The total capacity is enough for the half part of the Asia but due to the problem it is not enough for the nepali people and are compelled to stay in Loadshedding. This is due to the weak political situation that the government have no time to think about this matter.
In Nepal up to now there is average 250 mw electricity in use and half of it is provided by the Kulekhani power project. If planning is made properly then it will have a good future. Most of the river came from the Himalayan range so it has a goos speed of flow.
Nepal can be rich in the world if it can utilize and do proper use of the water resources I n terms of electricity. People must be give chance to make the research regarding the sources and help them to produce. Then only Nepal can be prosperous and rich from its own resources.

Bhimsen Thapa: The Hero

BHIMSEN THAPA
Bhimsen thapa is one of the hero of Nepal in the 19th century. He was the first Primeminister of Nepal in the Rana period. He was the person who had good thinking towards the Nepal and the Nepali people.Due to the good relation he had with the King in the childhood he was able to get the post very easily. He was born in Gorkha and he used to meet the king when they used to come in the Gorkha for some traditional works.
He had done a lot of Improvements in terms of the Nation. He had build Dhaharahara, the tower of Nepal where you can view all the Kathmandu Valley. It is 9 storyed tall. Besides he had made canals, helps in the establishments of schools, improvements of political situations and all. As he had good relations with the king he used to teach the king about the progressive way of development. He ia one of the great hero in the history of Nepal.
Bhimsen thapa was the ruler of the rana period, due to this he had to face a many personal problems. Rana don’t like his progressive behaviour because Ranas don’t want people be educated and developed. Although he tried a lot for the improvements for the nations and all.
He ws kept in the Jail by the Ranas and he was said that his wife is made nacked and in the town she is being exposed. He cant tolerate the thing and succide in the jail. British beople were very much impressed by his deeds and progressive nature. So after his death they take his bone of head in their country. Still in the mueseum of London there is the skill of Bhimsen Thapa.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Kathmandu Valley

History

The Kathmandu Valley may have been inhabited as early as 300 BCE, since the oldest known objects in the valley date to a few hundred years BCE. The earliest known inscription is dated 185 CE. The oldest firmly dated building in the earthquake-prone valley is almost 1,992 years old. Four stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, once thought to be places of Buddhist worship, typically the remains of a Buddha or saint...

s around the city of Patan, said to have been erected by a certain Charumati, a purported daughter of Ashoka the Great, a Mauryan king, in the 3rd century BCE
3rd century BC
The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period.-Overview:...

, attest to the ancient history present within the valley. As with the tales of the Buddha's visit, there is no evidence supporting Ashoka's visit, but the stupas probably do date to that century. The Kirat
s are the first documented rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; the remains of their palace are said to be in Patan near Hiranyavarna Mahavihara (called "Patukodon"). The Licchavi Dynasty
Licchavi
Licchavi was an ancient kingdom in Nepal, which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately 400 to 750....

whose earliest inscriptions date back to 464 CE were the next rulers of the valley and had close ties with the Gupta Dynasty of India
India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...

. The Malla Dynasty
Malla (Nepal)
The Malla Dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Nepal from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century. Malla kings of Nepal visited Lumbini in the 11th and 12th century...

ruled Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding area from the 12th century CE until the 18th century CE, when the Shah Dynasty
Nepalese monarchy
The Kingdom of Nepal was a monarchy in South Asia, established in 1768 under Prithvi Narayan Shah and abolished in 2008 when the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was proclaimed.-Unification:...

under Prithvi Narayan Shah
conquered the valley as he created present-day Nepal. Most of ancient Nepali architecture present in Nepal

today is from the Malla
Malla
Malla may refer to the following:*Malla was an ancient dynasty in India, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas.*Malla was a dynasty in Nepal.*Malla a caste or social group from Andhra Pradesh in India.*a Sanskrit term for a wrestler or boxer, see Malla-yuddha...

era.

Newars
The Newars, generally acknowledged to be the original inhabitants of the valley, are understood to be the descendants of the various ethnic and racial groups that have inhabited and ruled the valley in the 2-millennia history of the place. Although in today's state of Nepal, the Newars stand apart ethnically from the other groups on the basis of their composite Hindu-Buddhist religious culture and Nepal Bhasa
Nepal Bhasa
Nepal Bhasa is one of the major languages of Nepal. It is one of roughly five hundred Sino-Tibetan languages, and belongs to the Tibeto-Burman branch of this family. It is the only Tibeto-Burman language to be written in the Devanāgarī script...

, today spoken by all Newars as their mother tongue, the multifarious castes in the numerous caste systems within Newar society betray a surprising racial diversity. The similarities between the various cultural traits and complexes within Newar culture and those of many other ethnic groups in the Indian sub-continent lead us to hypothesize the occurrence of both vibrant circulations of peoples and cultures around the sub-continent during the last 2 millennia and a continuous and steady of diffusion of these ideas into the valley. Indologists/anthropologists and Newarologists describe Newar society as a "pre-dominantly Mongoloid people practicing an Indo-Aryan culture."

The valley is made up of the Kathmandu District
, Lalitpur District
Lalitpur District, Nepal
Lalitpur District, a part of Bagmati Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Patan as its district headquarters, covers an area of 385km² and has a population of 337,785...

and Bhaktapur District
Bhaktapur District
Bhaktapur district, a part of Bagmati zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia. The district, with Bhaktapur as its district headquarters, covers an area of 119 km² and has a population of 225,461....

. The valley consists of Kathmandu Metropolitan City
, Lalitpur Submetropolitan City

, Bhaktapur municipality
Bhaktapur
Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone...

, Kirtipur Municipality
Kirtipur
Kirtipur is an ancient city in Nepal. It is located in Kathmandu District of Bagmati Zone 5 km south-west of the Kathmandu. It is one of the five municipalities of Kathmandu Valley.-Demographics:...

, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality
and several villages which present a high style of Newar
Newar
The Newa are the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Newars are a linguistic community with Tibeto-Burman and Indo ethnictiy/race, bound together by a common language....

art and architecture. The valley is a cultural and political hub of Nepal. Mixed with all the other cultures, many of whom have recently arrived from different parts of Nepal, Newar
Newar
The Newa are the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Newars are a linguistic community with Tibeto-Burman and Indo ethnictiy/race, bound together by a common language....

culture still exists very vibrantly. The Kathmandu valley was accorded the status of a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...

by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945..in the year 1979.Through the Kathmandu Valley flows the Bagmati

river. Important monuments of Kathmandu valley include:
• Kathmandu Durbar Square

• Patan Durbar Square

• Bhaktapur Durbar Square
• Thimi Durbar Square
• Changu Narayan

• Swayambhunath
Stupa
Stupa
A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, once thought to be places of Buddhist worship, typically the remains of a Buddha or saint...


• Boudhanath Stupa
• Pashupatinath temple

• Balkumari Temple/Thimi
• Wakachhen Mahadev/Thimi
• Golden Window/Thimi
• Chabahil

• Manjushree Temple in Majipa, Manjushree Tole
• Aditnath Temple in Chobharhttp://www.chobhar.com hill village
• Palanchok Temple in kavre, east from middle of Kathmandu

Some Facts about Gautam Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama)
was a spiritual teacher from Nepal who founded Buddhism.He was born in Lumbini ,Nepal. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha (P. sammāsambuddha, S. samyaksaṃbuddha) of our age, "Buddha" meaning "awakened one" or "the enlightened one." The time of his birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians dated his lifetime as 563 BCE to 483 BCE; more recently, however, at a specialist symposium on this question, the majority of those scholars who presented definite opinions gave dates within 20 years either side of 400 BCE for the Buddha's death, with others supporting earlier or later dates
Gautama, also known as Śākyamuni or Shakyamuni ("sage of the Shakyas"), is the key figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his death and memorized by his followers. Various collections of teachings attributed to Gautama were passed down by oral tradition, and first committed to writing about 400 years later.
In Hinduism, Buddha is regarded as an avatar of the god Vishnu; whom Puranas say attempted to lead beings away from the Vedic religion.[4]. He is also regarded as a prophet in the Bahá'í faith.
Life
The primary sources of information regarding Siddhārtha Gautama's life are the Buddhist texts. According to these, the Buddha and his monks spent four months each year discussing and rehearsing his teachings, and after his death his monks set about preserving them. A council was held shortly after his death, and another was held a century later. At these councils the monks attempted to establish and authenticate the extant accounts of the life and teachings of the Buddha following systematic rules. They divided the teachings into distinct but overlapping bodies of material, and assigned specific monks to preserve each one. In some cases, essential aspects of teachings attributed to the Buddha were incorporated into stories and chants in an effort to preserve them accurately.
From then on, the teachings were transmitted orally. From internal evidence it seems clear that the oldest texts crystallized into their current form by the time of the second council or shortly after it. The scriptures were not written down until three or four hundred years after the Buddha's death. By this point, the monks had added or altered some material themselves, in particular magnifying the figure of the Buddha.
The ancient Indians were generally not concerned with chronologies, being more focused on philosophy. The Buddhist texts reflect this tendency, providing a clearer picture of what Shakyamuni may have taught than of the dates of the events in his life. These texts contain descriptions of the culture and daily life of ancient India which can be corroborated from the Jain scriptures, and make the Buddha's time the earliest period in Indian history for which significant accounts exist.According to Michael Carrithers, there are good reasons to doubt the traditional account, though, according to Carrithers, the outline of "birth, maturity, renunciation, search, awakening and liberation, teaching, death" must be true.
CONCEPTION AND BIRTH
Siddhartha was born in Lumbini.and raised in the small kingdom or principality of Kapilvastu, both of which are in modern day Nepal. At the time of the Buddha's birth, the area was at or beyond the boundary of Vedic civilization, the dominant culture of northern India at the time; it is even possible that his mother tongue was not an Indo-Aryan language.The early texts suggest that Gautama was not familiar with the dominant religious teachings of his time until he left on his religious search, which was motivated by an existential concern with the human condition.At the time, a multitude of small city-states existed in Ancient India, called Janapadas. Republics and chiefdoms with diffused political power and limited social stratification, were not uncommon amongst them, and were referred to as gana-sanghas. The Buddha's community does not seem to have had a caste system. It was not a monarchy, and seems to have been structured either as an oligarchy, or as a form of republic.The more egalitarian gana-sangha form of government, as a political alternative to the strongly hierarchical kingdoms, may have influenced the development of the Shramana type Jain and Buddhist sanghas, where monarchies tended toward Vedic Brahmanism.
According to the traditional biography, the Buddha's father was King Suddhodana, the leader of Shakya clan, whose capital was Kapilavastu, and who were later annexed by the growing Kingdom of Kosala during the Buddha's lifetime; Gautama was the family name. His mother, Queen Maha Maya (Māyādevī) and Suddhodana's wife, was a Koliyan princess. On the night Siddhartha was conceived, Queen Maya dreamt that a white elephant with six white tusks entered her right sideand ten months later Siddhartha was born. As was the Shakya tradition, when his mother Queen Maya became pregnant, she left Kapilvastu for her father's kingdom to give birth. However, she gave birth on the way, at Lumbini, in a garden beneath a sal tree.
The day of the Buddha's birth is widely celebrated in Theravada countries as Vesak.Various sources hold that the Buddha's mother died at his birth, a few days or seven days later. The infant was given the name Siddhartha (Pāli: Siddhatta), meaning "he who achieves his aim". During the birth celebrations, the hermit seer Asita journeyed from his mountain abode and announced that the child would either become a great king (chakravartin) or a great holy man.This occurred after Siddhartha placed his feet in Asita's hair and Asita examined the birthmarks. Suddhodana held a naming ceremony on the fifth day, and invited eight brahmin scholars to read the future. All gave a dual prediction that the baby would either become a great king or a great holy man.[19] Kaundinya (Pali: Kondanna), the youngest, and later to be the first arahant other than the Buddha, was the only one who unequivocally predicted that Siddhartha would become a Buddha.
While later tradition and legend characterized Śuddhodana as a hereditary monarch, the descendant of the Solar Dynasty of Ikṣvāku (Pāli: Okkāka), many scholars believe that Śuddhodana was the elected chief of a tribal confederacy.
Early life and marriage
Siddhartha, said to have been destined to a luxurious life as a prince, had three palaces (for seasonal occupation) especially built for him. His father, King Śuddhodana, wishing for Siddhartha to be a great king, shielded his son from religious teachings or knowledge of human suffering. Siddhartha was brought up by his mother's younger sister, Maha Pajapati.
As the boy reached the age of 16, his father arranged his marriage to Yaśodharā (Pāli: Yasodharā), a cousin of the same age. According to the traditional account, in time, she gave birth to a son, Rahula. Siddhartha spent 29 years as a Prince in Kapilavastu. Although his father ensured that Siddhartha was provided with everything he could want or need, Siddhartha felt that material wealth was not the ultimate goal of life.
Enlightenment
After asceticism and concentrating on meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of breathing in and out), Siddhartha is said to have discovered what Buddhists call the Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. He accepted a little milk and rice pudding from a village girl named Sujata, who wrongly believed him to be the spirit that had granted her a wish, such was his emaciated appearance. Then, sitting under a pipal tree, now known as the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, he vowed never to arise until he had found the Truth. Kaundinya and the other four companions, believing that he had abandoned his search and become undisciplined, left. After 49 days meditating, at the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment; according to some traditions, this occurred approximately in the fifth lunar month, and according to others in the twelfth. Gautama, from then on, was known as the Buddha or "Awakened One." Buddha is also sometimes translated as "The Enlightened One." Often, he is referred to in Buddhism as Shakyamuni Buddha or "The Awakened One of the Shakya Clan."
At this point, he is believed to have realized complete awakening and insight into the nature and cause of human suffering, which was ignorance, along with steps necessary to eliminate it. This was then categorized into 'Four Noble Truths'; the state of supreme liberation—possible for any being—was called Nirvana. He then allegedly came to possess the Ten Characteristics, which are said to belong to every Buddha.
According to one of the stories in the Āyācana Sutta (Samyutta Nikaya VI.1), a scripture found in the Pāli and other canons, immediately after his Enlightenment, the Buddha was wondering whether or not he should teach the Dharma to human beings. He was concerned that, as human beings were overpowered by greed, hatred and delusion, they would not be able to see the true dharma, which was subtle, deep and hard to understand. However, Brahmā Sahampati interceded and asked that he teach the dharma to the world, as "there will be those who will understand the Dharma". With his great compassion to all beings in the universe, the Buddha agreed to become a teacher.
We Nepali are proud to call him as a Nepali because he made our counry famous all over the world.

Great Himalays Of Nepal

Meaning of Himalayas:

Himalayas is a group of mountainous regions located in South Asia - Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Tibet, and Nepal. It dominates the list of highest mountains in the world! Himalayas includes the highest mountain Mt. Everest of Nepal (8850m / 29035ft). Himalaya of Nepal means, the Himalayan mountains located in this country. In sanskirt Himalayas means "abode of snow". Himalayas not only includes the snow-capped heavenly mountains but also the surrounding green and scenic valleys which lie in its path and on it's base, which people often forget. You will often hear the word Himal, which is a Nepali word, a short term popularly used for the snow-capped mountains or just for the word Himalaya. Himals are national assets of Nepal.
The Must Knows...

* Nepal has more than 200 mountains over 6000 meter height
* Himalayas of Nepal is known as the rooftop of the world. Because half of the highest mountains of the Himalayas are located in Nepal. Also the world's highest mountain (Mt. Everest) is also located in Nepal
* Nepal is known as a Himalayan Country
* Journey to Himalayas begins from Nepal, as Nepal is the central location of the Himalayas
* Himalayas are regarded as the most beautiful part of the earth which is often accurately named as the Clouds of The Earth or as The Location Where The Earth Meets The Sky, which is more evident as we see the earth and Himalayas from the space above.
* Himalayas is the King of Mountains. It has more tallest mountains than any other regions of the planet
* Over a 1000 mountain expeditions takes places every year in Nepal, each expeditions carrying an average of 30 people, more than 80% of those expeditions are towards the Himalayas


Fun Facts about Himalayas and Relevant

* Himalayas is about 1490 miles (2400 km) in length, averaging about 200 to 250 miles (320 to 400 km ) in width.
* How did the Himalayas form? About 50 million years ago, massive earth movements pushed the Indian plate against the Eurasian continental plate which gave rise to the land - The Himalayas
* Himalayas continue to grow. Earthquakes are frequent to this region
* The Himalayas cover about 0.4% of the Earth's Space. It covers an area of 612,021 square KM of the earth's 153,295,000 square km area which includes both land and sea.
* About 6% of the Earth's land is Alpine or Mountainous, about 19% is desert, and 13% is grassland (Source: Compiled from The Earth Organization and National Geographic )
* Height of a mountain is not the length of the mountain. Height is the altitude at the top of the mountain. The tallest mountain in the world has to prove that it is the highest surface of the earth. For example, Mauna Kea mountain of Hawaii is taller than Mt. Everest in length from its base to top, but Everest's top is the highest altitude of the earth and hence becomes the highest mountain on earth!
* Himalayas has glaciers up to 43 miles (70 kilometers) long
* Himalaya is the source of major rivers of Nepal
* It is easier to climb a place in lower altitude no mater how tall it might be in length. The higher you go from the earth's surface, the more oxygen your body will need. Not everyone can climb Mt. Everest, but those who wish to see it upclose can fly or trek to one of the world's highest airport, Lukla which lies at the base of the Everest in Nepal
* What could be the difference between any mountain and a mountain of Himalaya ? Well, for one thing, A Himalayan mountain always remains Himalayan - it always looks the same, the snow never melts, and it always remains glorious!
* Generally speaking, a land that is usually 2000ft or 600m tall can be called as a mountain.
* Himalayas continue to rise 1 cm every year - a growth rate of 10 km in a million years (source : U.S. Geological Survey)
* If Global Warming increases, Himalayan glaciers will start shrinking, rivers will evaporate, and Drinking and irrigation water will disappear, affecting Hundreds of millions of people (source : Environmentalists Against War)
* Asian Mountains and Lands cover almost one third of the entire earth. About 55% of the Asia is covered by Mountains. The Himalaya Mountain Range is the world's highest mountain range.
* About 1 out of 10 people on this planet live in a mountain.
* Nearly one third of the Earth's Space is Mountainous
* Mountains are the assets of a nation. They bring in tourists to see the place, trekkers to climb it, and farmers to use their hill-side to graze their animals.
* The Himalayas lies across west to east 1550 miles or 2500 kilometers in length. It is divided into three zones, Western Himalays, Central Himalayas Eastern Himalayas
* Any land that humans have landed has been polluted. Himalays has remained the less visited part of the earth, it makes it the most purest part of the earth after Antarctica.
* Many medicinal herbs found at the foot hills of Himalayas are considered to be the purest of all.

INTRODUCTION TO SOME SHAH KINGS OF NEPAL

PRITHIVI NARAYAN SHAH (1723-1775 A.D):
was a Nepali Ideal person and famous for it Breavery and Strenghness. He was a 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 Nārāyaṇ 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 Nārāyaṇ was succeeded by his son, Pratāp Singh Shah.

BIRENDRA BIR BIKRAM SHAH DEV (1945-2001A.D):
Birendra was born at the Narayanhity Royal Palace in Kathmandu as the eldest son of the then Crown Prince Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and his wife Crown Princess Indra Rajya Laxmi.
Birendra was the first Nepalese monarch to receive a formal education. He spent eight years studying at St Joseph's College, a Jesuit school in Darjeeling, India. On 13 March 1955 his grandfather King Tribhuvan died and his father succeeded to the Nepalese throne. With his father's ascension Birendra became the Crown Prince of Nepal.
In 1959 Birendra enrolled at Eton College in the United Kingdom. After studying at Eton until 1964 he returned to Nepal where he began to explore the country by travelling incognito to remote parts of the country where he lived on whatever was available in the villages and monasteries. He later completed his education by spending some time at the University of Tokyo before studying political theory at Harvard University from 1967 to 1968.Late King Birendra enjoyed to travel in his youth and went on trips to Canada, Latin America, Africa and a number of Asian countries. He was also an art collector and supporter of Nepalese crafts people and artists. He also learnt to fly helicopters.
Birendra was married to Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Rana from the Rana family on 27 February 1970.The wedding which was billed as one of the most lavish Hindu nuptial ceremonies in history cost $9.5 million to stage.Birendra and Aishwaraya had three children.
• Prince Dipendra (27 June 1971 – 4 June 2001)
• Princess Shruti (15 October 1976 – 1 June 2001)
• Prince Nirajan (6 November 1977–1 June 2001)

Birendra succeeded to the throne on 31 January 1972 on the death of his father. On his ascension he was effectively an absolute monarch as he inherited a country where political parties were banned and he ruled through a system of local and regional councils known as panchayats.[3] Birendra resented the absolute monarch tag maintaining that he presided over a democracy in which representatives to the assembly were indirectly elected and saying that his poor and backward country could not afford a democracy based on party politics and that it needed firm and decisive government. His first trips abroad as king were to India in October 1973 and China two months later as he believed that Nepal, sandwiched between the two Asian powers, should have good relations with both.
In an attempt to maintain the panchayat system of government prominent leaders of the Nepali Congress Party were arrested. Because of the growing pro democracy movement Birendra announced that a referendum to decide between a non-party and a multi-party system would be held. The referendum was held in May 1980 with the non-party system winning by a margin of 55% to 45%. During the 1980s the restraints that had been imposed on political organisations were starting to ease and liberal student-led groups were starting to appear demanding constitutional change in Nepal.He was made a British Field Marshal in 1980.
In 1990 a series of strikes and pro-democracy riots broke out in Nepal. Because of the rioting Birendra agreed to become a constitutional monarch. He appointed an independent Constitution Recommendation Commission to represent the main opposition factions and to prepare a new constitution to accommodate their demands for political reform. The commission presented him with the draft of the proposed constitution on 10 September 1990. The new constitution would make Birendra head of state of a constitutional monarchy with a system of multiparty democracy. The draft constitution was approved by the Prime Minister K.P. Bhattarai and his cabinet and so on 9 November 1990 Birendra promulgated the new constitution transforming Nepal into a constitutional monarchy.
However, the quarrels between various political parties and numerous social problems led to the Nepalese Civil War, a conflict between Maoist rebels and government forces, which lasted from 1996 until 2006.
Death:
Nepal's stability was threatened even more when Birendra and most of his family (including Queen Aiswarya) were massacred at a royal dinner on 1 June 2001.Published reports from eyewitnesses and the results of an investigation carried by a two-man committee made up of the Chief of the Supreme Court Keshav Prasad Upadhaya and the speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat,confirmed his eldest son and heir, Dipendra, was the gunman. There is some speculation that Gyanendra was behind a conspiracy.Some political faction of Nepal has blamed foreign elements as being involved in the massacre of the Royal family of Nepal. Dipendra was proclaimed king but died a few days later of self-inflicted gunshot wounds during the massacre. Birendra's brother, Gyanendra, then became King.

LASTING SHAH PERIOD OF NEPAL

Nepal was not a single state before. It was seperated into many scattered kingdom. Nepal was divided into baise(22) and choubishe(24) states in those period. There was a lot of competition of conquering and dividing the states by the particular states. The kings those period used to divide the states for their sons as a gift.
In that period Prithivi Narayan was the famous king and is up to now.Due to his breavery he was able to make the scattered kingdom into the single one. Up to his last death also he was planning for the unification. He died in 1831 B.S. He was the king of gorkha in 17th century A.D. He played a tricks and knowledge for wining all those states.After he became the king of whole country Nepal, shah dynasty came into rise. Then after his sons start ruling the Nations.
Except the Prithivi Narayan Shah the king after him were not so goon in the ruling. They used to spend much of the time enjoying ,relaxing,etc.They used to be much time in Harmony. But there were some primeminister who loves to have development in their nation. Like Bhimsen thapa, B.P koirala, and also some Rana primeminister who had done some improvements although they had humilate the people.
Only after the Period of King Tribhuvan the development works continued. He had played a great role in ending of 103 years long Rana Period, where people were made deprived of Education, and many other essentialities. We Nepalies are still backward in comparison to other countries due to the Rana Rule. King Tribhuvan, Mahendra and Birendra were the best king that people up to now loved then and remember them.
Nepal had just been Republic for past three years,otherwise there was a very harse rule by the kings. They used to take the power in their hands and rule the nations. This was not satisfying for any of the people so, it one day came to an end. Nepal is now republic nation and we had a president as the head of the Nation. The last Shah king of Nepal was Gyanendra shah. He get chance to rule the nation only for the 6 years. This was his second time king.We was first king in Rana period when he was only 2 or three years ago. He was nominated as an emergency king that time when King Tribhuvan and his Family had to go in India talking about the problems of Nepal,(ranas). He could not satisfy the people. He tries to but fails. He was the brother of Late king Birendra Shah.
Birendra shah and his whole family was killed by the strangers group in the royal palace when they were engaged in a small party at around 9p.m. in Jestha 2058. The news was so shocking for all because he was a good and peace loving king for all the people. In that party many people were involved but Gyanendra’s family were not there, so most people still think that there is a big hand of Gyanendra’s family for the death of Birendr’s Family. Otherwise there can’t be any ones hand. Komal, Gyanendra’s wife although present in the party she had not even the single injury. What do you think the ulprit then. There is a direct benefit for Gyanendra and the benefit is to enjoy the whole state. But some people still say that he cant kill his brother because the enemy of Gyanendra can also do this to put him in trap. And he don’t need the state and the money because he is already the member of Royal Family and had a lot of money. He cant never think this as brother is lovely for all the people. Birendra was a person with good personality itself.