Ranajit Malla

Ranajita Malla (Nepal Bhasa: 𑐬𑐞𑐖𑐷𑐟 𑐩𑐮𑑂𑐮‎) was the last king of the Malla dynasty who ruled Bhaktapur from 1722 to 1769. After his defeat by the Gorkhali forces of Prithivi Narayan Shah in 1769, he left for Varanasi. He is widely known for his contributions to Nepal Bhasa literature, in particular his plays are generally praised by modern scholars. He has been generally described as a peace loving, simple and religiously devoted monarch who allowed his citizens to advice and criticize him. However, his reign was characterized by constant disputes with Kantipur and Gorkha. He is also known for the crisis of succession during his reign when he favored his concubine's issue over his queen consort's, who more generally liked which caused a lot of mutiny in the kingdom especially in cities in like Thimi and Banepa.

During the later parts of his reign, he ruled Lalitpur briefly, after being invited by the city's nobles. He was also, during his later years, generally respected by people in the valley due to him being of old age and the only direct descendant of Yaksha Malla. After he was defeated in the Battle of Bhaktapur, he was per his choice sent into exile in Varanasi, and on its way composed a Newar language song from the hills of Chandragiri, which still remains on of the most popular Classical Newar song.