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{{short description|King of Gorkha Kingdom}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Monarch
|name = King Ram Shah <br /> राजा राम शाह
|image = File:King Ram Shah.jpg
|succession = King of [[Gorkha Kingdom]]
|predecessor = [[Chatra Shah]]
|successor = [[Dambar Shah]]
|house = [[Shah dynasty]]
|house-type = Dynasty
|father = [[Purna Shah]]
|mother =
|issue = [[Dambar Shah]]
|religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_date = 1550
|death_date = 1636
|reign = 1606–1636
|spouse =
|coronation = 1606
|birth_place = Nepal
|death_place = [[Prithbinarayan|Gorkha]], [[Gorkha Kingdom]], Nepal
}}
'''Ram Shah''' ({{lang-ne|राम शाह}}; reign before 1606{{spnd}}1636) was the king of the [[Gorkha Kingdom]] (present-day [[Gorkha District]], Nepal). He was the son of King of Gorkha [[Purna Shah]] and brother of [[Chatra Shah]]. He acceded in the throne in c. 1606 after his brother's death. He expanded his kingdom far as the [[Trishuli River]] (east), the [[Marshyangdi]] (west), the [[Rasuwa District|Rasuwa]], (north) and the [[Mahabharat Range]] (west).{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

Shah was known as the "great conqueror" and "[[Conscientiousness|conscientious]]". He brought many changes to the Kingdom of Gorkha, including fixed and uniform weights and measurements, [[criminal code]]s, created a fixed rate of interest and built the Newar architecture palace [[Gorkha Palace]]. His statue is displayed at his Chautari where he used to give justice to the people.

== Reign ==
When the first ruler of Gorkha [[Dravya Shah]]'s son [[Purna Shah]] acceded in the throne, he ruled for about thirty-five years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=|title=The History of Ancient and Medieval Nepal|url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/rarebooks/downloads/History_Ancient_Medieval_Nepal.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730050415/http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/rarebooks/downloads/History_Ancient_Medieval_Nepal.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Himalaya}}</ref> Upon his death, his son [[Chatra Shah]] became the King and ruled the kingdom for about seven months until his death, as he did not have any children his brother Ram Shah acceded in the throne in c. 1606.<ref name=":0" /> Shah was described as "great conqueror" and "conscientious".<ref name=":0" /> He wanted to expand his kingdom which only consisted of [[Liglig]], [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]], [[Siranchowk Rural Municipality|Siranchok]] and Ajirgarh.<ref name=":0" />

[[Gorkha Kingdom|Gorkha]] was neighbours with small kingdoms ruled by the [[Gurung people|Gurungs]], [[Bhotiya|Bhotias]] and the [[Rajput]]s.<ref name=":0" /> Shah started to expand his army and created a friendship between the kings of [[Palpa District|Palpa]], [[Jumla District|Jumla]], and [[Lalitpur, Nepal|Lalitpur]].<ref name=":0" /> King Narsingh Malla of Lalitpur, sent 24 merchants to live in Gorkha.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Singh|first=Mahendra Man|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wRdBDwAAQBAJ&q=Ram+Shah+gorkha&pg=PT28|title=Forever Incomplete: The Story of Nepal|date=30 June 2013|publisher=SAGE Publishing India|isbn=978-81-321-1805-3|language=en|access-date=30 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730064210/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wRdBDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT28&lpg=PT28&dq=Ram+Shah+gorkha&source=bl&ots=eokwQlpCdr&sig=ACfU3U1MAk_JIVhV-LgWlFWkG2wcSo1byg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwig29brrPTqAhWRaRUIHZQEB3M4ChDoATAGegQICxAB#v=onepage&q=Ram%20Shah%20gorkha&f=false|archive-date=30 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1620, [[Ngawang Namgyal]] signed a friendship treaty with Shah; which allowed 50 people from the kingdom to live in Bhutan.<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Human Rights Violations In Bhutan|url=https://humanrights.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/media/Human%20Rights%20Violation%20in%20%20Bhutan_final.docx.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730074323/https://humanrights.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/media/Human%20Rights%20Violation%20in%20%20Bhutan_final.docx.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Iowa Department of Human Rights}}</ref>

He began to colonise [[Barpak]], Shyartan, Atharsaya Khola, Ferung, [[Khari]], Meghi Charage, Niwarchok, [[Dhading District|Dhading]]; his conquest led the size of the kingdom far as the [[Trishuli River]] (east), the [[Marshyangdi]] (west), the [[Rasuwa District|Rasuwa]], (north) and the [[Mahabharat Range]] (west).<ref name=":0" /> Fearing the rapid expansion of Gorkha, the [[Lamjung District|Lamjung]] kings invaded the kingdom; which was unsuccessful and led them to withdraw their troops beyond Marshyandi.<ref name=":0" /> During the expansion, Kaji [[Ganesh Pandey]] led the army against Ghale Raja of Sallayan, in which the Kaji died in the combat. Shah was furious and ordered the soldiers to go back "for running from the field of battle and ordered them to go back to redeem their hounour, which they finally did".<ref name=":1" /> Ghale Raja was defeated and killed by a sword.<ref name=":1" />

During his reign, there were not any "fixed and uniform weights and measures" which varied from location to location; in order to fix this, he brought standard weights and measures throughout the kingdom.<ref name=":0" /> Shah created a fixed rate of interest, money lenders were not able to charge more than 10% interest and if it was in the form of [[PIK loan]] not more than 25% interest.<ref name=":0" /> Though, if not paid within 10 years, the moneylenders were able to raise the amount double or triple if it was in PIK loan.<ref name=":0" />

He created an agreement "for grazing grounds for the cattle in each and every village" and those who claimed them would be "severely dealt with"; punishment also extended to the people who cut down trees near a road.<ref name=":0" /> Shah introduced many titles including [[Kaji (Nepal)|Kaji]], [[Sardar]], and Khardar.<ref name=":0" /> He introduced [[criminal code]]s; that created a saying around the kingdom "''Nyaya napaye Gorkha janu'' (translation: If you don't get justice, go to Gorkha)”.<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Supreme Court Self-Strangulates (Itself and Loktantra)|url=https://www.spotlightnepal.com/2017/01/20/supreme-court-self-strangulates-itself-and-loktantra/|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=30 July 2020|website=SpotlightNepal|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=14 June 2001|title=Nepal's living link with history|language=en-GB|publisher=BBC|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1388481.stm|url-status=live|access-date=30 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200123141713/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1388481.stm|archive-date=23 January 2020}}</ref> He would "dispense justice and display fairness".<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Shifting Conceptions Of Social (In)justice in Nepal|url=https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/47797/1/4_Satyal_Conceptions_of_social_in_justice_in_Nepal.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730060718/https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/47797/1/4_Satyal_Conceptions_of_social_in_justice_in_Nepal.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=UEA Digital Repository}}</ref> During his reign, the [[Gorkha Palace]], Newar architecture palace was built circa 1610;<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Gorkha: A major destination to consider for a rich travel experience|url=https://kathmandupost.com/travel/2020/01/10/gorkha-a-major-destination-to-consider-for-a-rich-travel-experience|access-date=30 July 2020|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English}}</ref> it was destroyed by the [[April 2015 Nepal earthquake]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Four years since the earthquake, Gorkha Durbar still in ruins|url=https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/04/21/four-years-since-the-earthquake-gorkha-durbar-still-in-ruins|access-date=30 July 2020|website=kathmandupost.com|language=English|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730045210/https://kathmandupost.com/national/2019/04/21/four-years-since-the-earthquake-gorkha-durbar-still-in-ruins|archive-date=30 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Sapkota|first=Narahari|title=Gorkha Durbar reconstruction slow|url=http://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/81513/|access-date=30 July 2020|website=My Republica|language=en}}</ref>

== Personal life and legacy ==
{{multiple image
| perrow = 2
| total_width = 300
| align = left
| image_style = border:none;
| title =
| direction =
| image1 = Statue of Ram Shah, Gorkha.jpg
| caption1 = Statue of Ram Shah in [[Gorkha Durbar]].
| image2 = Ram Shah.jpg
| caption2 = Nepali stamp featuring Shah {{c.}} 1969.
}}
The birth date of Ram Shah is unknown; he was the brother of [[Chatra Shah]].<ref name=":0" /> He was born to [[Purna Shah]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|date=|title=The Royal Edicts of King Rama Shah of Gorkha|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/227360/kailash_05_01_03.pdf?sequence=2|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730044310/https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1810/227360/kailash_05_01_03.pdf?sequence=2|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Apollo – University of Cambridge Repository}}</ref> Ram Shah asked King of Bhutan to send Lamas "to perform [the] rite for the peace in his family and for the birth of a son".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|date=|title=Historical Overview Of Gorkhas in Assam|url=https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/250598/13/13_chapter3.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730070008/https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/250598/13/13_chapter3.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Shodhganga}}</ref> They were successful; he had three sons including [[Dambar Shah]].<ref name=":4" /> He followed the religion Hinduism.<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=From Peace Settlement to Political Settlement|url=https://www.berghof-foundation.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Publications/Other_Resources/IPS/IPSPaper-10-From-Peace-Settlement-to-Political-Settlement.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730075028/https://www.berghof-foundation.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Publications/Other_Resources/IPS/IPSPaper-10-From-Peace-Settlement-to-Political-Settlement.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|publisher=Berghof Foundation}}; {{Cite journal|last=Sen|first=Pawan|date=1 July 2015|title=Should Nepal be a Hindu State or a Secular State?|url=https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol35/iss1/11|journal=HIMALAYA, the Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies|volume=35|issue=1|issn=2471-3716|access-date=30 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730075657/https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/himalaya/vol35/iss1/11/|archive-date=30 July 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> It was believed that he ruled the kingdom for about 27 years until his death in 1633; however, newly discovered information indicated he was ruling in 1636.<ref name=":3" /> So it was concluded that ruled until 1636.<ref name=":3" /> Upon his death, his wife committed [[Sati (practice)|sati]] or "burn[ed] on the funeral pyre with her husband".<ref>{{Cite web|date=|title=Shifting States: Mobile Subjects, Markets, and Sovereignty in the India-Nepal Borderland, 1780–1930|url=https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/27504/Warner_washington_0250E_14083.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=n|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730080916/https://digital.lib.washington.edu/researchworks/bitstream/handle/1773/27504/Warner_washington_0250E_14083.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=n|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|publisher=University of Washington}}</ref>

In Gorkha, there is a statue of Ram Shah in Ram Shah's Chautari, where he used to provide justice to the people.<ref name=":2" /> His criminal code was used by his successors, including the last king of Gorkha and the first king of Nepal [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shah|first=Bimal Pratap|title=Paradise lost|url=http://myrepublica.nagariknetwork.com/news/paradise-lost/|access-date=30 July 2020|website=My Republica|language=en}}</ref> It is said that wife of Shah possessed the power of the [[Devi]], following the death of her, and revolutionary [[Lakhan Thapa]], someone built a [[Manakamana Temple]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|date=|title=An introduction of Nepal|url=http://doinepal.gov.np/uploads/20191128133221.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730075953/http://doinepal.gov.np/uploads/20191128133221.pdf|archive-date=30 July 2020|access-date=30 July 2020|website=Department of Information & Broadcasting}}</ref> He was noted for his justice system.<ref name=":5" />

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Chatra Shah]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=King of [[Gurkha|Gorkha]]|years=1606–1636}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Dambar Shah]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ram Shah}}

[[Category:1636 deaths]]
[[Category:Gurkhas]]
[[Category:Shah dynasty]]
[[Category:People from Gorkha District]]
[[Category:17th-century Nepalese people]]
[[Category:Nepalese Hindus]]
[[Category:National heroes of Nepal]]
{{authority control}}

Ram Shah - Revision history

Pankaj Kumar (Actor): added references

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