Bhupatindra Malla
Bhupatindra Malla (Nepal Bhasa: , ) was a Malla Dynasty king of the Kingdom of Bhaktapur (present day Bhaktapur, Nepal) who reigned from 1696 until his death in 1722. He continued his father, Jitamitra Malla's ambitious construction works and is considered to be the most dynamic among the kings of Bhaktapur. Bhupatindra Malla is regarded as a great builder and a lover of arts who was responsible for the construction and renovation of numerous heritages of Bhaktapur. Bhupatindra Malla is one of the most popular Malla Kings of Nepal and is the most popular king from Bhaktapur. He is  mostly known in Nepal as the king who commissioned the tallest pagoda of Nepal, the Nyatapola Temple and the palace of fifty-five windows both of which are often considered an apogee of Nepalese architecture. Within Bhaktapur, Bhupatindra Malla is considered one of the most influential kings and is an important part of the local folklore. The silhouette of his gold-plated bronze statue at the royal palace complex is often used by various organizations and companies as a symbol to represent Bhaktapur. Early years. Despite being the successor to Jitamitra Malla, Bhupatindra Malla may not have been the eldest  son. Prior to Bhupatindra's birth, some chronicles mention the "Falaprashana" (fruit feeding ceremony) and the Annaprashana ceremony of a "Thākurāju" (prince). The chronicle mention the Annaprashana as: The "Jarakō" ceremony of the "Thākurāju" of Sri Sri Jitamitra Malla was done. The place was Shidharatās. The day was Akshaya Tritiya of Nepal Sambat 765. As per the chronicle, the "Jarakō" was conducted in early May 1674, a few months before Bhupatindra's birth. There are no more mentions of the above prince in any other chronicles. So, he might have died prematurely. Moreover, the Annaprashana ceremony of a child is  usually done after 5–6 months of birth, suggesting the prince may not have been birthed by the main queen, Lālamati. Bhupatindra Malla was born on 3 November 1674 to Jitamitra Malla and Lālamati. He was raised by his mother Lālamati who played a very important role to shape the psychology of the young prince. Lālamati was a powerful figure herself and is known to have helped her husband, Jitamitra Malla, in his construction works. Lālamati was a connoisseur of arts and to her is attributed numerous gold plated bronze sculpture of herself and her husband, most of them were consecrated  after her husband's death. According to a local folklore, Jitamitra Malla's youngest wife despised young Bhupatindra and wanted to make her own issue the future king of Bhaktapur. So, with the help of the minister, she tricked Bhupatindra and sent him to a nearby forest with some hired assassins. The assassins however couldn't kill the pleading young prince and ran their knives on a goat instead and left him in the forest. Bhupatindra was then found by a family of Tibetan craftsmen and it was under their raising that Bhupatindra developed his love for arts. As he  grew up, Bhupatindra gained a lot of popularity in Bhaktapur which enabled him to gather his own army. With their help, Bhupatindra took back the crown of Bhaktapur and exiled the usurping stepmother and executed her issue. The Chudakarana ceremony of Bhupatindra Malla was done in Fālguna of Nepal Sambat 805 (= late February 1685) in the Dumāju Chowk courtyard of the royal palace. For his Chudakarana, Goddess Dumāju was gifted various precious "vastras"(clothes) and Bhupatindra himself was gifted various jewelleries. Similarly, his Bratabandha ceremony was done in the month of Māgha of Nepal Sambat 806 (= early February 1686 ). For his Bratabandha, thirty five Brahmins from Kantipur were invited. The Māhārāni (queen consort) of Kantipur along with the widow of Pratap Malla were also present in the ceremony. Coronation. Jitamitra Malla formally abdicated the throne and crowned Bhupatindra Malla on 21 September 1696. In order to give his son the experience and training of reigning, Jitamitra Malla had temporarily given Bhupatindra the throne numerous times, five years prior to the formal coronation. Under the direction of his father, Bhupatindra Malla had renovated a stone spout ("hiti") and a resting place ("phalcā") in Thimi. When Bhupatindra Malla became skilled to  rule on his own, Jitamitra Malla abdicated the throne. He lived in the "Thanthu Lyākū" palace which was built by himself and spent the rest of his life in pilgrimage and other religious activities. Jitamitra Malla died 14 years after leaving the throne. Marriage. Bhupatindra Malla was married to Vishva Lakshmi on 5 November 1687, when he was 13 years old. There was a solar eclipse during that day in the morning. In Bhaktapur, the eclipse started at 8:06 in the morning, reached its peak at 9:10 and ended at 10 in the morning. Since Diksha ceremony are usually done  on solar eclipses as well, Bhupatindra completed his Diksha in the morning of his wedding day under a solar eclipse. The preparation of this ceremony began three months prior. Similarly, the preparations for their royal wedding started from June 1686 where the royal family collected money from the people of Bhaktapur, Thimi, Banepa and other smaller towns under the Kingdom of Bhaktapur for the purposes of the wedding. A grand ceremony was organized in which all the citizens of Bhaktapur were feasted. Jitamitra Malla himself wrote a play titled ""Madālasā Harana"" which was performed during the wedding. A dance competition  was also organized where the performers were highly paid. A team of dancer from Kantipur was declared the winner and was awarded Rs 20 whereas the dancers from Thimi and Sāngā were paid six mohars each. Queen Vishva Lakshmi supported her husband in many of his ambitious construction works. According to some folklore, the tall Nyatapola Temple was commissioned by the Queen herself. The story says that once the Queen noticed her husband King Bhupatindra Malla gazing at a woman every morning. Since the woman lived near the palace, she and the king would talk with each other from their  rooftops. When the queen noticed them, she started to worry that the gazers might fall in love with each other. So, she requested her husband to construct a tall temple dedicated to Goddess Siddhi Lakshmi, that will calm the angry Bhairava while secretly hoping that it would block the view of the woman's house from the palace. Reign. Just a few months after his coronation, Bhupatindra Malla inaugurated a play named ""Kolāsuravadhopākhyāna"" in early March 1697. For this occasion, he offered a ritual oil lamp called "pānas" to Nrityasvar, the lord of dance. Treaty with Patan and the poisoning  of Yoga Naréndra Malla. Yog Narendra Malla was the king of the Kingdom of Lalitpur (present day Patan, Nepal) who was politically active since the reign of his grandfather Jagat Prakasha Malla. Bhupatindra Malla with the help of Gorkha, Makwanpur and Tanahun forced Yog Narendra Malla to sign a treaty in 1701 according to which the Kingdom of Patan had to pay a hefty amount to Bhaktapur and Gorkha, Makwanpur and Tanahun if an alliance was made with Kantipur without their consent. This treaty greatly angered Yog Narendra Malla and in 1705 he attacked a fort called ""Obhu"" that belonged  to Bhaktapur. However, due to the fort's strength Yog Narendra Malla's force were not able to capture it. His forces continued to attack the fort while Yog Narendra himself was operating from Changu. When Bhupatindra Malla found out about his whereabouts, he used his spies to poison Yog Narendra Malla. As a result of the poisoning, Yog Narendra Malla died on Wednesday, 28th October 1705. Crowning of Lokaprakāsha Malla. After the death of Yog Naréndra Malla, the throne of Patan became empty. Bhupatindra Malla helped in the crowning of Lokaprakāsha Malla, the son of Yogamati who herself was  the daughter of Yoga Naréndra Malla. However, the people of Kantipur did not like the new king of Patan and they kidnapped Lokaprakāsha. Bhupatindra Malla rescued Lokaprakāsha from Kantipur and made Patan a protectorate of Bhaktapur. However, Patan secretly made an alliance with Kantipur and in 1708 the combined forces of Kantipur and Patan attacked the ""Obhu"" fort of Bhaktapur again four times but they were not able to break the defence of the fort. Birth of Ranajit Malla. Ranajit Malla was born to Vishva Lakshmi on 26 January 1703. Section::::"Gaurivivāha" play. "Gaurivivāha" () was a Nepal Bhasa play detailing the  marriage of Parvati to Shiva. The play written by Bhupatindra Malla himself which was shown in the Kingdom of Patan in early January 1707. The money collected from the play was used by Bhupatindra Malla to offer a bell to the lord of dance, Nrityasvara. Death of Jitamitra Malla and Ugra Malla. Many historians and authors have wrongly written that Jitamitra Malla died around the same time Bhupatindra Malla was crowned. But there are many chronicles ("Thyāsāfu" in Newari) that say that Jitamitra Malla after leaving the throne once his son became capable of reigning, lived in Thanthu Lyākū, a  palace constructed by Jitamitra himself and spent the rest of the life in religious activities. One of the "Thyāsāfu" mention that Jitamitra Malla died sometime around 1708. The same chronicle also mention the death of Jitamitra's younger brother, Ugra Malla and the sight of a comet. Construction of the Nyatapola temple (1702–1703). The Nyatapola temple holds a great cultural significance to the locals of Bhaktapur despite being off limits. Its construction may have also caused along with other factors, the western part of the town to gain much wealth and importance as the square containing the Nyatapola temple, the  Tamārhi square is the cultural centre of the town. Likewise, the Nyatapola is the tallest in Nepal and is considered the greatest contribution by Bhupatindra Malla. The construction of the temple was completed in six months. Most information regarding the construction comes from the "Siddhāgni koṭyāhuti devala pratishṭhā" manuscript and local folk songs. The Ramayana authored by Dukhi Vāro, a resident of Bhaktapur whose house was seized in order to provide land for the large temple also provides some additional information regarding the construction of the Nyatapola temple. As per the sources, on 23 October 1701, Bhupatindra Malla invited his  ministers, chief courtiers and the rest of the administrative division of Bhaktapur in his palace where he proposed his plans build the Nyatapola Temple. It seems that the architectural drawings like floor plans and other maps of the temple were already made a few years prior by Bhupatindra Malla (who himself was skilled in woodcarving and Vastu shastra) with the help of other experts. As soon as the decision to build the temple was made by the meeting, preparations for construction started. Trees were cut in the forests surrounding Bhaktapur and the very next day on 24 October, Bhaktapur received  wood from Banepa and woodwork for the temple began. Similarly, on Sunday 27 October 1702, Bhupatindra Malla, in order to prepare the various types of bricks, gave his ministers about 244 "mots" 1 "suki" money as advance and the purchasing of bricks also began. Bhaktapur continuously received wood from the surrounding areas and by mid-November 1702, the work for 529 "fyé gān" (small bells hung in the roof that ring with the wind) began as well. It seems that there was already a temple called "Ngātāpulu" in the manuscripts, which once occupied the same space as the Nyatapola. By  late December, the "Ngātāpulu" temple was destroyed and some of the surrounding houses were demolished in order to make space for the big temple. The house owners were given land in the eastern part of the town and the locale is today called as "Pālikhéla" (). However, one of these owners was saddened by the loss of his ancestral home and to show his sadness authored the Ramayana titled Dukhi Vāro and the play was shown around the town. The digging work for the foundation of the temple was completed by late December, 1701. Bhupatindra Malla himself layed three bricks on  the foundation thereby commencing the construction work. The construction work got even more momentum as almost all the citizens of Bhaktapur came to volunteer. Likewise, citizens of Thimi, Banepa, Dhulikhel and other smaller settlements under the Kingdom of Bhaktapur, the citizens from the Kingdom of Patan also volunteered in the construction. By early February 1703, the construction of the plinth was completed. The construction was halted temporarily in April for the Bisket Jatra festival. The construction work accelerated after the end of the festival and by the end of April, the lowermost storey was finished. In early May, Bhupatindra Malla  started a Yagya called "Siddhāgni koṭyāhuti Māhāyagya". The fire for the Yagya was continuously lit for 48 days while the ashes from the fire were kept on the spot until January 1704. Even today, the spot where the Yagya was done is believed to have retained the warmth till date. The construction of the temple was completed after a few months in the year 822 of the Nepalese era during the first day of the waxing moon in the month of Ashadha (late June–early July 1702). All in all, it took six months to build the temple. When the  construction of the temple was over, a grand feast was organized by a grateful Bhupatindra Malla and almost 20,000 people attended. Bhupatindra may have also authored the ""Siddhāgni Kotyāhuti Dévala Pratisthā"", manuscript detailing the construction work of the Nyatapola temple with the details of the cost of the construction, the timeline of the construction, names of the workers who worked on it including their work time and wages. Bhupatindra Malla and Vétāla. "Vira Vétāla" (Nepal Bhasa: ), also commonly called "Vétadyah" (Nepal Bhasa: ) is considered the vahana of Bhairava in Bhaktapur and is a popular deity in Bhaktapur. Although he is  depicted with a moustache, Vétāla is believed to be a mischievous child. Vétāla is worshipped as the protector of Bhaktapur and of Bhairava. A statue of Vétāla is installed in front of the chariot of Biska Jatra. He is also believed to appear frequently in locales around the Nyatapola temple as a child during the time of the Biska Jatra festival. A folklore prevalent in Bhaktapur tell the tale of a worker who used to come everyday during the construction of the Nyatapola temple who didn't do any work but ate the most lunch. When the other workers noticed  him, they quickly reported to King Bhupatindra Malla but the king told the workers that "he will of some use, some day". Eventually, when the time came to install the golden pinnacle on the top of the temple, the same worker who did no work before, quickly grabbed the heavy pinnacle and installed it on the top with ease. The man is then said to have disappeared and was never seen again. So, he was believed to be Vétāla himself. Similarly, a child is said to have warned Bhupatindra Malla of an approaching attack on Bhaktapur, which eventually turned out  to be true. Therefore, the forces of Bhaktapur easily repelled it. The child was then revealed to be Vétāla himself and for saving his kingdom from foreign attack, Bhupatindra Malla is said to have gifted Vira Vétāla a golden jewellery. Vétāla then happy with his gift, is said to have given the kingdom a golden statue of Bhairava which was kept in the Bhairava temple located near the Nyatapola. Unfortunately, the statue was stolen from the temple in 1947. Legacy. Bhupatindra Malla's reign is considered a golden one in Bhaktapur as it saw the construction of much of the  city's iconic and important heritage. He is considered Bhaktapur's greatest patron of arts. Bhupatindra Malla began his construction works even before he was crowned as evidenced by his renovation of a "hiti" in the royal palace and also a construction of one in Thimi along with a "phalcha" (resting place) as a prince. The palace of fifty-five windows. The palace of 55 windows (Nepal bhasa: , "ngé ngāpā jhya lyākū") was the remodeling of a palace first constructed by King Jayayakshya Malla which was damaged in the earthquake of 1681. Bhupatindra later remodeled the palace with fifty-five  windows and today is considered a great example of Nepalese woodcarving. There is one misconception that Bhupatindra Malla built the palace with fifty-five windows to provide one for each of his fifty-five wives. However, there isn't much evidence to support this as Bhupatindra likely only had a single queen. Moreover, the palace was likely made for musical purposes as supported by the recent discoveries of 147 carvings of musical rāgas and their names on the cornice separating the ground floor and the first floor of the palace. The construction of this palace was completed in 1708 after  which Bhupatindra Malla had a Chitrakar paint frescoes on the second floor. The walls on the second floor of the palace are painted with Paubha paintings depicting various religious scenes and the portraits of the royal figures. The important paintings include one of a young Ranajit Malla riding a horse along with Bhupatindra himself on an elephant back, painting of a princess, probably Bhupatindra's daughter, a portrait of Bhupatindra Malla and a king of Makwanpur hunting in the Terai forest and a large painting of a Vishvarupa embracing a female figure, with the faces of Bhupatindra and his queen  Vishva Lakshmi. Besides these there are still more unrecognisable paintings of royal figures and many more depicting religious scenes from the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Krishna Leelā. There is also a small inscription among the frescoes which details the artist who painted them. Unfortunately, the part where the artist's name is written has worn off and the only readable part of the inscription tells that the artist was a Chitrakar from "Yāché tole" (name of a locale), Bhaktapur. This palace was damaged by the earthquake of 1934; the top floor was entirely destroyed. Like most reconstruction at that time , the palace of fifty-five windows was reconstructed haphazardly. As a result, the windows on the top floor lost their traditional look and European style roof tiles were used instead. In the 20th century, the palace was used as for administrative purposes including a post office and as such the frescoes in the second floor were greatly damaged and became unrecognisable. In the late 20th century after the removal of administrative offices, the frescoes were cleaned, although some of the damage was irreversible. Similarly, in 2006 the palace was restored to its former appearance. Simhādhwākhā Lyākū and Mālati Chōka. This  palace was the main residence of the royals of Bhaktapur and is attributed to Bhupatindra Malla. The construction of the palace was completed in Nepal Sambat 818 and was named as 'Mālatichok Durbar'. However, the locals referred to the palace "Simhādhwākhā Lyākū" (Nepal Bhasa: , ) after the two large stone images of guardian lions which were installed by Bhupatindra Malla as well. In the principal latticed window of this palace called Bhupatindra Malla kept a glass pane which he received as a gift from a Mughal emperor and so the palace was also called as "Nhēkanjhya Lyākū" (Nepal Bhasa: , ). It is  very likely that this palace was a remodeled version of a previously existing palace which was probably damaged by a earthquake in 1681. The southern façade of Simhādhwākhā Lyākū palace was adorned with tympanumed latticed windows. The palace also featured a glassed lattice window right above the main portal on the second floor. Glass was extremely rare in Nepal up until the 20th century and the glass kept by Bhupatindra Malla became an object of wonder for the people. Hanuman and Narasimha. There are two large stone images of Narasimha and Hanuman beside the two large stone lions on the  either side of the main portal to the interior of the palace. An inscription in the pedestal of these statues date them to 9 February 1698 and attribute them to Bhupatindra Malla and his uncle Ugra Malla. Bhupatindra Malla and Ugra Malla set up Guthi and gave it the job of washing these statues with Ghee six times a year on the dates mentioned in the inscription. Mālati Chōka. This palace also serves as an entrance to the Mālati Chōka courtyard. The courtyard is located behind the palace and is also credited to Bhupatindra Malla and is one of the  few remaining of the 99 courtyards of the royal palace. The courtyard houses an important stone inscription, made by both Bhupatindra Malla and his father Jitamitra Malla which contains short descriptions of the festivals celebrated in Bhaktapur. The courtyard used to house a golden water spout ("hiti" in Newari) as well but it has been stolen. This hiti was also placed by Bhupatindra Malla along with gilt copper statues of Hindu deities. Unfortunately, the sculpture decorating the courtyard has been stolen as well. Bhupatindra Malla also built a one storey temple with a gold plated roof in the courtyard which  was destroyed during the earthquake of 1934 and was not reconstructed. Demolition of Simhādhwākhā Lyākū palace. Unfortunately, this palace no longer retains its original appearance. The palace was completely demolished by Dhir Shumsher Rana and inspired by his brother's trip to Britain remodeled it in British style and he named it ""Lāl Baithak"". The eastern half of the palace was completely remodeled while the western half retained some level of traditional look as some of the Newar latticed windows from the old palace were reused but the façade and the interiors were completely altered. The earthquake of 1934 destroyed  the western half of the palace and was haphazardly reconstructed in its present form. The "Nhékanjhya". Above the main entrance to the palace, there was a glassed lattice window which was locally known as "Nhékanjhya" (). Hence, the palace was also called ""Nhékanjhya Lyākū"". Bhupatindra Malla had received the pane of glass as a gift from a Mughal emperor. The glass was considered rare and valuable in Nepal at the time and was an object of wonder for the people and thus Bhupatindra Malla placed the glass pane on the principal latticed window of his palace for everyone to see. This  window has often been dubbed as the first use of glass pane on a window in Nepal. Both the glass piece and the window itself were lost after the earthquake of 1934 destroyed the palace. The temple of Bhairava. The Bhairava temple, also referred as the Akasha Bhairava temple or the temple of Kashi Vishwanath Bhairava, next to the Nyatapola Temple is one of the most important buildings in Bhaktapur in terms of religion and culture. Its history dates to the 11th century and it was founded by Nirvayadéva, a Licchavi king, in 1005. Later, this temple was renovated by  both Jagajjyoti Malla and Jagat Prakasha Malla, who also installed a statue of himself and his minister inside the temple. Today, it is a three-storey edifice with a gilt roof on the top and it's modern day look can be credited to Bhupatindra Malla who with the help of this eldest son, Ranajit Malla enlarged the temple by adding two storeys to the initially single-storey temple and gilted the top roof with gold between 1716 and 1717. He also added seven golden pinnacles on the roof. Nyatapola Temple. The Nyatapola temple is a pagoda-style temple commissioned  by King Bhupatindra Malla and was constructed under a period of six months of the year 822 of Nepalese era(late 1702 to early 1703). Often considered the finest example of Nepalese architecture and cratsmanship, the Nyatapola temple is the tallest in Nepal. Dedicated to the Tantric goddess Siddhi Lakshmi, the inner parts of the temple is forbidden to everyone but the Karmāchārya priests that once served the Malla kings. Works in the Taleju temple complex. The main courtyard of the palace square of Bhaktapur houses the shrine of Taleju, the tutelary goddess of the Malla kings. The courtyard is extremely  secretive and is forbidden to foreigners. Similarly, the locals also have very limited access as they are also forbidden to enter any buildings inside the courtyard and photography is prohibited. Almost all the Malla kings were great devotee of the "Devi" and all the kings had installed at least one thing in the courtyard. On 24 May 1705, Bhupatindra Malla offered Goddess Taleju a big metallic bell. In, 1706 Bhupatindra Malla commissioned the renovation of the Taleju temple and also had the roof of the temple plated with gold. Similarly, he also installed gilt copper statues of Hanuman, dragons and  other mythical creatures on the roof. He also installed 11 golden pinnacles on the roof of the temple. For the occasion of installing the golden pinnacles on the Taleju temple, a Nepal Bhasa play named ""Vikram Charita"", which he wrote himself was shown in the courtyard. Similarly, he offered Goddess Taleju a rare herb brought from Makwanpur that he referred to as "Māhādeva vāsha" (Nepal Bhasa: , ) in an inscription. Bhupatindra Malla also offered his gold plated statue to Goddesses Taleju which is taken out once a year during Vijayadashami along with the statutes of his queen and his parents. In  the walls of the northern building of the courtyard, he also commissioned a genealogical painting of his ancestors along with the painting of the sun and a hymn to the sun god. The Mallas and the Licchavis, who ruled before claimed to be the members of the solar dynasty and hence the painting features kings from both of these dynasties as devotees of the sun god. Unfortunately, many parts of the painting have been damaged irreversibly because of the smoke caused by cooking done by the soldiers who are housed inside the complex. Historian Tulasi Rāma Vaidya, who was the  among the few to have entered the buildings of the courtyard and is the one who reported about these paintings, wrote that: "the frescoes of the walls have been damaged due to the lapse of time, the negligence of ignorant people and smoke caused by foolish people."Apart from the genealogical painting, there are wall paintings in almost all the buildings of the Taleju temple complex which mostly show royal and religious figures. Vaidya was also unable to recognise most of the royal figures and the few he was able to recognise belonged to Bhupatindra Malla and Ranajit Malla. Most  of the paintings as Vaidya reported, has been heavily damaged. Renovation of the Basantapur Lyākū. The nine-storey "Basantapur Lyākū" palace was once located on the western end of the Durbar Square of Bhaktapur. According to the chronicles gathered by historian Daniel Wright, "Basantapur Lyākū" was first constructed by King Jagat Prakasha Malla, the grandfather of Bhupatindra Malla, and was named ""nakhachhe tavagola kwatha"", meaning "a large fort meant for festivals". This palace is sometimes cited as the inspiration for the Basantapur palace of Kathmandu that was built by King Prithivi Narayan Shah following the conquest of the Kathmandu Valley . This palace seems to have been damaged due to an earthquake in 1681 but the renovation work is not credited to the then king, Jitamitra Malla. Instead, the damaged palace was renovated and repaired by Bhupatindra Malla. Although, Jitamitra Malla had started the renovation of other damaged buildings like the Chaukot Lyākū palace and the courtyard of the Kumari Chwōka, the later of which took 14 years to renovate. Bhupatindra Malla also added two large stone statues of Ugrachandi (a fierce manifestation of Dévi) and Ugrabhairava (a fierce form of Bhairava) on the either sides of the entrance to the  palace in a similar manner to Simhadhwakha Lyākū. There is a common belief among the locals that Bhupatindra Malla found the statues of Ugrachandi and Ugrabhairava so artistic that he had the arms of the artisan, who made them cut off so that he wouldn't replicate the statues anywhere. Although, there was a fierce competition between the three kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley in the field of arts, there is no real evidence to support that the artisan's hands were cut off. The inscriptions carved on the pedestal of these statues credit them to Bhupatindra Malla and date  them to around May 1706, suggesting the renovation of Basantapur Lyākū was completed around the same time as well. Today, only these statues and two large stone images of guardian lions remain as the palace couldn't survive the lack of maintenance following the end of the Malla dynasty and the repeated earthquakes of 1833 and 1934. One of the only few visual depictions of this palace is a watercolour done by Oldfield which shows this palace in an extremely damaged condition. Basantapur Lyākū was reported to be 51.3 "hats" tall (2 "hats"=1 yard and 1 yard=0.914 m) or roughly  23.3 m tall (76.4 ft). Renovation of Nritya Vatsalā temple. Nritya Vatsālā is one of five Vatsālā temples located in Bhaktapur. All five of these Vatsalā temple are dedicated to "Vatsalā Devi", a mother goddess. Two of the Vatsalā temples are made with stone and of "Granthakuta" style of architecture, similar to that of the Krishna Mandir in Lalitpur. The two temples, Nritya Vatsalā and Siddhi Vatsalā are locally referred as "Lohan Déga", meaning "stone temple" in Newari and have plinths with sculpture of various animals as guardians. The other three were terracotta temples in the "Granthakuta" style of architecture  as well but now all except one of these temples have lost their original style due to the earthquake of 1934. Unlike the other four Vatsālā temples which were commissioned by Jitamitra Malla, the original builder of Nritya Vatsalā is uncertain, but most historians attribute it to Bhupatindra's grandfather, Jagat Prakasha Malla. The date at which the temple was built is also not known. What is known is that Bhupatindra Malla gifted goddess Vatsālā a bell on the second day of Mārga suklapaskha in Nepal Sambat 820 (darly December 1700). The writings on the bell mention that Bhupatindra Malla  had this bell repaired on the sixth day of Fālguna Vudi of Nepal Sambat 841 (= March 1722). The bell is locally known as "Khicākhogāṅ" (= barking dog bell in English), since it is believed that the bell's noise makes the surrounding dogs bark. The bell was damaged in the great earthquake of 1934 and does not produce its original sound anymore. Similarly, a rock inscription found in the eastern outskirts of Bhaktapur mentions that Bhupatindra Malla, in order to build a stone temple in his father's name, gathered rock on the seventh day of Fālguna sudi of  Nepal Sambat 835 (= March 1718). Moreover, Bhupatindra Malla also installed a "Thā pujā" (a type of ritual done on the Taleju temple in Bhaktapur after the completion of a special event) for the completion of a stone temple. So, the Nritya Vatsālā temple probably existed before the reign of Bhupatindra Malla and was renovated to its present form sometime between Nepal Sambat 835 and 841 (= 1718 and 1722). Temples of Shiva. Bhupatindra Malla was a great devotee of Shiva. All of his paintings and statues depict him with Tripundra, the Tilaka of Shiva. Biska Jatra. Bisket Jatra, known  locally as "Biskā Jātrā" (Nepal bhasa:) is the main festival of the people of Bhaktapur which involves the erection of a long pole and tug of war of two chariots carrying Bhairava and his consort. This annual festival which is also celebrated in smaller towns near Bhaktapur was celebrated since the time of the Licchavis and was improvised during the reign of Queen Gangā Dévi (colloquially Gangā Māhārāni) and her grandson Jagajyoti Malla. For the construction of the Nyatapola Temple, many people's homes were demolished and lands were seized to provide space for the large temple. As a result , the Tamārhi square which houses the Nyatapola became a large area. So, in order to compensate for it, the chariot of Bhairava was enlarged significantly. Along with that, Bhupatindra Malla is also credited for making this festival more systematic and it was from his reign that this festival began to be celebrated for eight nights and nine days. Hence is festival is also referred as "Chyāchā Gunhuyā Jātrā", meaning a festival with eight nights and nine days. Literary works. Like most Malla Kings, Bhupatindra Malla was keen in literature as well. The Mallas mostly wrote in Nepal Bhasa and Maithili  mixed with Sanksrit. Bhupatindrara Malla was a great contributor of Maithili lyrics and Nepal Bhasa plays. Physical appearance. Bhupatindra Malla is among the most painted of the Malla kings along with Pratap Malla and Siddhi Narasimha Malla. His most detailed portrait is a Paubha presently at the Rijksmuseum. The walls on the second floor of the palace of fifty-five windows also have numerous depictions of Bhupatindra Malla including a hunting scene and a portrait of himself and his queen as Vishvarupa. Vaidya has also reported numerous wall paintings of Bhupatindra Malla inside the restricted buildings of the Taleju temple  complex. Similarly, Madanjeet Singh has also published paintings of Bhupatindra Malla from the "Bhairava Chowka" courtyard inside Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Starting from Jayasthiti Malla in the 14th century, the kings from the Malla dynasty considered themselves to be an incarnation of Vishnu. Hence, the throne of the Malla kings including the one Bhupatindra Malla is depicted in, had a snake canopy representing the Shesha of Vishnu and a Garuda on the bottom part of the throne representing his Vahana. The legs of the throne were modified into a lion riding an elephant. Since, Bhupatindra Malla was a great devotee of  Shiva, he is depicted with a Tripundra, the Tilaka of Shiva on his forehead. Vaidya described Bhupatindra Malla from one of his paintings in the building of the courtyard of Taleju as "a smart looking man with a pretty nose and moustache". Likewise, like most Malla kings, Bhupatindra in his paintings mostly wore a "jāmā" (garment) and a "pagari" (turban) and is adorned with various Newari jewelleries. Cultural significance. Bhupatindra Malla is an important part of the local folklore. Bhupatindra Malla's life, particularly his childhood, has been an integral part of the local folklore. Bhupatindra's stepmother takes the  role of antagonist in these stories as she is believed to have repeatedly plotted to assassinate the young prince. In particular, two stories come up, the first in which the stepmother convinces Bhupatindra to swim in a remote part of the Hanumanté river with her son with the intention to kill Bhupatindra with a blade she planted on the river bottom. However, it is Bhupatindra's stepbrother who is killed by the blade, due to divine interference, it is locally believed. A Shiva Lingam was established at the site where it occurred and the area itself is today called "Chupingālé