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{{Infobox royalty
| name = Briddhi Lakshmi
| image = Gold plated bronze statue of a Nepalese woman.jpg
| caption = Possible gold plated bronze image of Briddhi Lakshmi
| succession = [[Kingdom of Bhaktapur|Queen Consort of Bhaktapur]]
| reign =
| predecessor = [[Vishva Lakshmi]]
| successor = ''Position abolished''
| birth_date = Unknown
| birth_place = [[Bettiah]], Present day [[India]]
| death_date = Unknown
| death_place = [[Bhaktapur Durbar Square]], [[Kingdom of Bhaktapur]]
(Present day [[Bhaktapur]], [[Nepal]])
| consort = yes
| spouse = [[Ranajit Malla]] (m. 1712)
| issue = Devendra Malla
| house-type = Dynasty
| father =
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
| succession1 = Queen of [[Thimi]] and [[Banepa]]
| reign1 = c.1742 — c.1743
| predecessor1 = ''Postion establsihed''
| successor1 = ''Position abolished''
| succession2 =
| reign2 =
| royal house =
}}
'''Briddhi Lakshmi''' ([[Nepal bhasa|Nepal Bhasa]]: {{Script|Newa|𑐰𑐺𑐡𑑂𑐢𑐶𑐮𑐎𑑂𑐲𑑂𑐩𑐷}}) was the queen consort of the [[Kingdom of Bhaktapur]] (modern day [[Bhaktapur]]), the first wife of [[Ranajit Malla]] and a well renowned [[Newar language]] poet.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Dhaubhadel |first=Om Prasad |title=''Ranajita Malla ra satbahale rajkumara haru'' |language=Ne |volume=286 |pages=33–38 |work=Bhaktapur |publisher=Bhaktapur Municipality |url=https://www.bhaktapurmun.gov.np/sites/bhaktapurmun.gov.np/files/documents/BKT-286%20A.pdf}}</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">{{Cite book |last=Tuladhar |first=Prem Shanti |url=https://archive.org/details/NepalbhashaSahityayaItihasPremShantiTuladhar_201712 |title=''Nepal Bhasa Sahitya ya Itihasa'' |publisher=Nepal Bhasa Academy |year=2000 |isbn= |pages=54 |language=New}}</ref> For a brief period, she was also the monarch of an independent [[Thimi]] and [[Banepa]].<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Regmi |first=DR |title=Medieval Nepal Part II |publisher=Rupa and Co |year=2007 |isbn=978-8129110985 |location=[[New Delhi]], [[India]] |pages=246–248}}</ref> She is today mostly remembered for the songs and poems she composed, some of which are still sung today by traditional [[Dapha music|Dapha]] groups in [[Madhyapur Thimi|Thimi]].<ref name="autogenerated2">{{Cite book |last=Tuladhar |first=Prem Shanti |url=https://archive.org/details/NepalbhashaSahityayaItihasPremShantiTuladhar_201712 |title=''Nepal Bhasa Sahitya ya Itihasa'' |publisher=Nepal Bhasa Academy |year=2000 |isbn= |pages=54 |language=New}}</ref>

She was born in a noble family in [[Bettiah]], in modern-day [[India]] and had a brother named Murāri Rāya .<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Bajrācārya |first=Cundā |url=https://archive.org/details/ranajeet-mallaya-ihipayata-bhamcha-kahvanguya-dharahpau-chundra-vajracharya |title=Raṇajīta Mallayā ihipāyāta bhamca kāḥvaṅguyā-dharaḥpau |publisher=Rāmabhakta Bhommi |language=New}}</ref> In 1712, an envoy was sent from [[Bhaktapur]] to fetch her to the kingdom and marry her to then crown prince [[Ranajit Malla]].<ref name=":2" /> Although, she was extremely well loved by the populace of the kingdom, she found herself more isolated in the palace. After failing to provide a male heir, she found herself replaced by Jaya Lakshmi, a favorite concubine of [[Ranajit Malla]]. By the time she gave birth to Devendra Malla, Jaya Lakshmi's eldest son had already reached maturity.<ref name=":0" /> The people in the kingdom wanted her newborn to be the crown prince, since she was the queen consort, however Jaya Lakshmi who held significant power in the palace was against this idea and so she found herself in precarious situation.<ref name=":1" /> After her followers in the palace were assassinated one by one, she fled to [[Thimi]] with her infant son and the populace of [[Thimi]] soon after her arrival declared [[Thimi]] as an independent state from the [[Kingdom of Bhaktapur]] with Briddhi Lakshmi as their queen.<ref name=":1" />

She was a prolific poet and songwriter in the [[Newar language]].<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Only six of her works survive today, however, preserved by traditional singing groups in [[Thimi]].<ref name="autogenerated2" /> Her poem, "{{Script|Newa|𑐎 𑐏 𑐫𑐵 𑐩𑑂𑐫𑐾}}" (''ka kha yā mye''), which she composed when her and her infant's safety was compromised in the palace, is considered one of the greatest works in the [[Newar language]].<ref name="autogenerated2" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Newar-language poets from Nepal]]
[[Category:18th-century Nepalese nobility]]

Briddhi Lakshmi - Revision history

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