Who is Prithvi Narayan Shah? Is he a hero or a counter-hero or a protagonist in the process of becoming a hero? I have named the new book Prithvi Narayan Shah: Nayak, Pratinayak and Nayakdesiya in the vein of this debate.

When it comes to history, Prithvi Narayan Shah does not seem to have read much. But he seems to have done the work of state expansion or integration efficiently. The sermon given by him, which is also called divine sermon by some. If we leave out some aspects of this sermon, it is suitable for 21st century curriculum. Many of the things he said in his sermons seem relevant even now.

Do not allow foreign merchants to come up from Persia, because they impoverish their subjects. They have told me not to wear foreign clothes, if I have to dance and sing, I will do it from the Newars here. He has said that houses should not be built where there is a field, if a mine is found, even if the field is cleared, it should be used. He has said things like encouraging the trade and use of local herbs in the sermon. The political view of Prithvi Narayan Shah can be understood from these things. I have also included his hidden thoughts and plans in this book. I have also included the full text of the sermon in the book so that it is easy for the new generation to understand his speech or thoughts. 

Nepalese society came to know about Prithvi Narayan Shah only after 2007. Because Prithvi Narayan Shah was not given importance during Rana's reign. At that time he was neither criticized nor supported. Diss. In 1992 Suryavikram Gyawali's book 'Prithvinarayan Shah' was published. Later a review of this book was published in Gorkhapatra. At the time when Premraj Sharma was the editor, the book was critically reviewed. Because of this, the book felt like a kind of undeclared ban in Nepal.

Even then the book was printed from India. Because at that time it was very difficult to print books in Nepal. There was no incentive for publication. On top of that, it was impossible to print a book with political content, Shah Raja's speech. So Baburam Acharya sent the necessary documents from Nepal to Suryavikram Gyawali in Darjeeling. And from there the book 'Prithvinarayan Shah' was printed.

At that time there was a communal feeling in Darjeeling. At that time, the Bengali language used the opposite of the English word 'national' as 'Jati'. Today we call it 'national spirit'. Suryavikram Gyawali also printed the books of Dravya Shah, Ram Shah and Veer Balabhadra with the feeling of uplifting the Gorkhali caste. It is not difficult to understand that Baburam Acharya published 'Prithvinarayan Shah' with the help of Suryavikram Gyawali after he had difficulty in writing and printing.

Suryavikram Gyawali published his sermon as Prithvi Narayan Shah's speech. During the democratic era, Baburam Acharya and Naraharinath named that speech as Divyopadesh. Then the practice of giving a public holiday on Prithvi Narayan Shah's birthday also started. And Prithvi Narayan Shah was introduced as a hero. Although some people call Prithvi Narayan Shah's speech as a sermon, the revision-mandal has called it only a sermon. Because the divine word has a religious feeling embedded in it.

In my opinion, without Prithvi Narayan Shah, this nation would not have been built. We should consider him as a hero. Some people say that Prithvi Narayan Shah committed genocide while building the state. Even if the genocide is true to some extent, as the state expands, there will always be atrocities of some kind everywhere. But the tyranny from Prithvi Narayan Shah does not seem to be that much. According to the circumstances at that time, some steps of Prithvi Narayan seem forgivable. The funny thing is that during the expansion of their empire, the British also committed violence all over the world. However, they exaggerated and wrote the violence that was many times less than their own violence. Our little-educated scholars here accepted and believed after the English wrote.

It is true that Prithvi Narayan Shah cut his nose. But there is no truth in Dharni's Dharni. Again, such an act is not an unforgivable crime according to those times. Because there are cases of nose cutting in the Ramayana during the mythological period. Diss. Until 1933, there was an incident where the nose of a young soldier was cut off during the war between Russia and Turkey. Cutting off the nose is not good, but in war it is a light crime.

There are some misleading facts and ideas about Prithvi Narayan Shah in Nepali society. A part of it is a picture of Prithvi Narayan Shah with his fingers crossed to look like the Mughal Emperor. Prithvi Narayan Shah's son-in-law has also been made on the basis of this photo. But what should be understood is that Prithvi Narayan Shah was not a person with a strong or domineering body as shown in the picture. Even though he was born in 7 months, it seems that he was not physically terrible. 

Prithvi Narayan Shah seems to have a plan for the future. It seems that he went to Benares before the expansion of the state because of that plan. There he seems to have brought with him Muslim artisans who could make weapons on his way back from understanding the power of various kingdoms in India. Besides, he changed his gotra while there. Because when he returned to Nepal and started expanding the kingdom, he used to fight with the kings of various kingdoms here. 

It seems that he changed his Kashyap gotra in Banaras to Bharadwaja gotra, fearing that he would commit the sin of gotricide as he was his cousin. My book has not only dispelled many existing misconceptions about Prithvi Narayan Shah, but has also uncovered many new facts.