Basnyat family
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The Basnyat family or Basnet family is considered to be one of the four noble courtier (Bhardar) families of Nepal which also includes the Thapa, Pandey and Kunwar families.
The Basnyats or Basnets are of pure Kshatriya (Chhetri) origin. It is said that they migrated into western Nepal during the Khas(indo-aryan) invasion of Nepal. There are three types of Basnyats/Basnets in Nepal. The Shreepali (Sripali) Basnyats/Basnets of Gorkha, the Khaptari (Khaptadi) Basnyat/Basnet of Khaptad, and the Khulal Basnyats/Basnets. These days, the surname Basnyat or Basnet is used interchangeably by all three clans.
[edit] The 'Shreepali' Basnyats
The Shreepali Basnyats are originally from Gorkha. They were very powerful during the unification of Nepal. They remained powerful till the emergence of Jung Bahadur Kunwar or later known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR).
It is known that during the reign of King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Shreepali Basnyats of Gorkha were the leading military force. They were either highly ranked officers in the army or key figures in the kings court. King Prithvi Narayan Shah formed an alliance with Basnyat and Pandey families of Gorkha in his quest for the unification of Nepal. He is known to have arranged the marriage between General Kehar Simha Basnyat, son of General (Kazi) Shivaram Singh Basnyat and Chitra Devi, the daughter of General(Kazi) Kalu Pandey.
Abhiman Singh Basnyat, the third son of General (Kazi) Shivaram Singh Basnyat became the first Commander in Chief of a United Nepal after the death of General (Kazi) Kalu Pandey on the second attempt to capture Kritipur. His father Shivram Singh was the first military leader of Gorkha who laid down his life in the campaign of unification of Nepal in 1746 in Chhaling near Bhaktapur. His two elder brothers were Kazi Naahar Singh and Kazi Kehar Singh. His youngest brother Kazi Dhaukal Singh, who also became the governor of Kumaun, was the first owner of present Narayanhity Palace.
King Prithvi Narayan Shah has stressed the Importance of the Basnyats in his poetic piece known as "Dibya Upadesh" or "Divine Counsel" in English. Here is a link to the translation of the "Dibya Upadesh" into English. This translation was done by Prawin Adhikari, from a transcription originally published by historian Baburam Acharya. Samudaya.org owns the copyrights to the article.
A quote from the Dibya Upadesh:
I said—"Now, I will make ties between the Pandes and the Basnyats, so give your daughter to Sivaram Basnyat’s son Kehersingh Basnyat," and the two houses were tied by marriage. Thus, after the conjugal tie, with the shields of the Pandes and the swords of the Basnyats I attacked Nepal.[1]
After the royal palace moved to Basantapur in Kathmandu, the Shreepali Basnyat's of Gorkha moved along with the royal family, living close by to the palace in Indra Chowk and Ason.Kazi Abhiman Singh constructed a house for himself in Ason which is known as Maan Mandir, which still exists as Tilanga Ghar. They shared a great amount of power in the court alongside the Pandey's and Thapa's. This continued until the reign of King Rana Bahadur Shah, when Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa came into power and there was a power struggle between the Pandeys and the Thapa's. The Basnyat's sided with the Pandey's as they had earlier marital links with them back in Gorkhka and ultimately removed the Thapa's from power.
It is said that Prithvi Narayan Shah had once warned, never to introduce courtiers from outside of Gorkha into the Nepali Court, but later we see the emergence of the Thapa's and Kunwar's who were not originally Gorkha courtiers. Once the Thapa's and Kunwar's(Later known as Rana) entered the Nepalese royal court, there were huge rivalries and intrigues in the courtier circles.
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[edit] The Khaptadi Basnyats
Khaptadi Basnyats are 'Kaushik' gotriya 'Kshatriya', lineage of King Bishwamitra who later became 'Rajarishi' Maharaj, according to prehistorical belief.They are believed to have entered the areas of 'Himvata Khanda' or present western part of Nepal not later than 13 to 14 century.According to the available sources, The clan of Khaptadi Basnyat (Basnet)started at around the era between 13 to 14 century. At the time, the kingdom of 'Khaptad' within the bigger region of the 'Khas' Pradesh established by Chandra Vanshi Rajputs from Kashi, the Great Grandson of King Baldev Singh, the grandson of King Sangram Singh, the last son of Ajaya Singh who was popularly known as 'Rahol', Bir Bhotu Singh was honored as "Basnyat" by his father. Therefore Bir Bhotu Singh is considered to be the first Basnyat from Khaptadi Basnyat lineage. 'Khaapar Maha Asta' (or 'Masta' in local dialect), which is a Kshatriya form of Lord Shiva carrying 'Trishul' and 'bow & arrow', is worshipped as 'Kul Devata'among 'Khaptadi' Basnyat/Basnet families. This particular phrase 'Khaapar Maha Asta' is being used traditionally in 'Kul Devata' worship (pooja) of these Basnyat/Basnet families. It is believed that the Lord Shiva originated from the head of a holy cow and thus came to be known as 'Khaapar Maha Asta' or Shiva in the form of Rudra evolving from the head of holy cow to protect all the 'gau' or holy cow and brahmans.
Since Khaptadi Basnyat originated from the lands of Khaptad in the western part of Nepal they are called as Khaptadi Basnyat. Khaptadi Basnyat also worships Shakti Devi (goddesses)Kailashini, Brindhabasini, Jalbarahini, Jalpadevi and Rumalini.
In the modern era, Pahalman Singh Basnyat was called as 'Khaptadi Raja'(King of Khaptad). The Khaptadi Basnyats in the then Gorkha kingdom of King Prithivi Narayan Shah had taken active participation during the unification of Nepal.
