Basnet

Basnet / Basnyat
बस्नेत
Regions with significant populations
   Nepal
Languages
Nepali
Religion
Hinduism

Basnet/Basnyat (Nepali: वस्नेत) is the surname of a particular Hindu family of Nepal. The Basnet or Basnyat family is considered one of the original noble Courtier Bhardar families of the country. The Basnets are from the Kshatriya varna. Kshatriya varna are also called Chhetri caste in Nepal. They are Aryan and of Indo-European origins like Iranid or Indo-Aryan sub-races. Basnets being Hill People derive more Iranid feature than Indo-Aryan.

It is said that they migrated from western Nepal to East. Currently many of the Basnets are found in Nepal and Indian States i.e. Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal, West Bengal, Assam, and Manipur as well as in Bhutan and Myanmar. Majority of Basnets speak Nepali language as mother tongue. Although these days, Basnets of specially Dehradun area of Uttarakhand and Himachal state of India speak Garhwali and Kumauni as mother tongue.

There are five different branches of Basnets in Nepal:

Nowadays, the surname Basnyat is replaced by Basnet.

The 'Shreepali' Basnyats

The Shreepali Basnyats migrated to the Gorkha district of Nepal from current Uttarakhand state and Himachal State of India before King Prithivi Narayan Shah United the country Nepal. They worship "Sishakoti Mahadev", "Veerabhadra", "Mahakali" as their Kul Devta and Aradhye Devi "Dakshinkali" as Ishta devta. During the unification of Nepal, the Basnyats had grown in power and remained in such a position until the emergence of Jung Bahadur Kunwar, later known as Jang Bahadur Rana.

It is known that during the reign of King Prithivi Narayan Shah the Shreepali Basnyats of Gorkha were the leading military force. They were either high-ranking officers in the army or key figures in the King's court. King Prithvi Narayan Shah formed an alliance between the Basnyat and Pandey families of Gorkha in his quest for the unification of Nepal. He is known to have arranged the marriage between Kazi Kehar Singh Basnyat, son of Senapati Badabir(Brave Military Chief) Shivaram Singh Basnyat and Chitra Devi, the daughter of Kaji Kalu Pande in 1810 B.S. Later, Chitra Devi constructed the Narayana temple in Timal Danda, Ason and Kathmandu in honor of her Father-in-law: Senapati Shivram Singh. Kehar Singh went to Tibet to negotiate with its leaders to have Nepalese coins circulated there. He was the major military leader who united the western districts and Kathmandu valley to Nepal. He died in the battle of Satahun.

Abhiman Singh Basnet, the third son of Senapati Shivaram Singh Basnyat became the first Commander in Chief of a united Nepal after the death of (Kaji) Kalu Pande during the second attempt to capture Kirtipur. His father Shivram Singh was the first military leader of Gorkha who laid down his life in the campaign to unify Nepal in 1746 in Sanga Chowk (Naldum), near Bhaktapur. Abhiman's two elder brothers were Kaji Naahar Singh Basnyat and Kaji Kehar Singh. His youngest brother Kazi Dhokal Singh Basnyat, who also became the governor of Kumaun, was the first owner of what is presently the Narayanhity Palace. Abhiman Singh died at the age of fifty-six in Ashad 1857 B.S. when he was sent to settle the area of Morang and Sunsari, then called Kaala Banzaar. It was a great injustice for Abhiman Singh to be sent to this area at this age when he was already a Mulkazi. He was reported to have suffered from fever possibly due to malaria, and died of it.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah stressed the importance of the Basnyats in his poetic piece known as "Dibya Upadesh" or "Divine Counsel". 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 Shivaram 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 Basnyats 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 in 1833 B. S., which still exists as Tilanga Ghar. This alliance continued until the reign of King Rana Bahadur Shah.

The Khaptadi Basnyats

Khaptadi Basnyats are Kaushik gotra Kshatriyas. Khaptadi Basnyats are the kshatriyas that came North-western parts of Nepal from current Uttarakhand and Himachal State of India and migrated to every part of current Nepal. They are believed to have entered the areas of 'Himvata Khanda' or present western part of Nepal before the greater Malla Khas empire was in place. According to the available sources Khaptadi Basnyats have power till now, The clan of Khaptadi Basnyat had already started before the Mallas came into power. They were already ruling over the greater Khas region which was, later, lost to Challas or Malla. At the time, the kingdom of 'Khaptad', within the bigger region of the 'Khas' Pradesh, established by Suryavanshi Kshatriyas 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. 'Rudra', the ferocious form of Lord Shiva is worshipped among them. Since Khaptadi Basnyat originated from the lands of Khaptad in the western part of Nepal they are called as Khaptadi Basnyat. They are also the Khaptadi Rajas of early khas history of Nepal. 'Khappar Maha Asta' (also referred to as 'Masta' in the local dialect) is also the 'Kuldevi' of Khaptadi Basnyats. MahaKali as Shakti/ista devi is also worshiped by Khaptadi Basnyats, nowadays Khaptadi Basnyats worships with the name Shree Satyadevi Bhagawati. In the modern era, Commanding Colonel Pahalman Singh Basnyat was titled as 'Khaptadi Raja'(King of Khaptad), a recognition given to him for his ancestral rule over 'greater Khaptad region' in addition to his successful role as a military commander during the second campaign against Tibet. Later he also played a vital role as the commander of the Nepalese army action in India, which led to the "naya muluk" to be given back to Nepal by the East-India Company. He was given the prefix of "Shree Eek (1) Maharaj" (where are Shree Panch were for royal family, Shree Teen for Rana Prime Minister). The Khaptadi Basnyats in the then Gorkha kingdom of King Prithivi Narayan Shah had taken active participation during the unification of Nepal. Late General (C-in-C) Singha Bahadur Basnyat, Singha Bahadur Basnyat, married to Shahjadi, previous ambassador to Great Britain,and Yagya B. Basnyat (former home minister) are other prominent persons of this family.

The Lamichhane Basnyats

The Lamichhane Basnyats are Garga gotriya Kshatriya.

The Khulal Basnyats

The Khulal Basnyats are Dhananjay gotriya Kshatriya.

Notable Basnets

References

  1. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20150113193225/http://samudaya.org/articles/archives/2005/07/dibyopadesh.php. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved July 11, 2012. Missing or empty |title= (help)

External links

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