The seat of the valley kingship, on the eastern side of the valley, the Tibet side.
The name Khopring occurs in a Licchavi inscription of 594, Bhaktapur in an inscription of 928 and Khwopa in a manuscript of 1004 (Wikipedia). The Gopalarajavamsavali credits Anandadeva (1146-1167) with drawing the scattered settlements into one town and making it the new capital. Its wealth is the tax on everything that goes up the eastern road to Banepa, Dolakha and Kuti, and down.
The Changu Narayan temple on the ridge above, whose oldest dated record is Manadeva's pillar of 464, is the deepest documentary root of any shrine on the campaign board. The great palace of fifty-five windows is later work: the court of 1200 sits in an older palace. Who sits in it on 1 January is the problem of the Nepal records.
Who holds it
- Name
- The king of the Nepal valley (see the throne record); not pinned
- Title
- King and court
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia: Ananda Deva, who ruled Nepal Mandala from 1146 to 1167, is credited with establishing the city and making it the capital; Bhaktapur served as capital during the first half of the Malla dynasty, to 1482.
What the town holds
- the royal palace and court
- the eastern road toll
- Changu Narayan and its Licchavi land grants
How things stand that morning
The seat of a throne that is changing or about to change; no event is dated for the winter.
Wealth
Tolls on the Tibet road, rice, the royal domain.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Council
The king's court of thakkura nobles and ministers (titles mahapatra, mahasamanta); the guthi of the town.
Communities
Newar Hindu and Buddhist households, with the court's Brahmin priests.
Fairs and markets
Not checked.
Militia
The king's household guard; no number.
Walls and castle
The royal palace; no walls known.
Trade and crafts
The Tibet road trade; potters and weavers (later); carving.
Places of note
- Changu Narayan: Vishnu temple on the ridge; Manadeva's pillar of 464.
Where the sources disagree
- Working reading kept on this map: the king at Bhaktapur on 1 January 1200 is a Deva-line king whom no source names; Arideva (Arimalla) comes after, in 1200 or 1201 (see the Nepal realm record).
Evidence: The town's age is documented by inscriptions; the court of 1200 is not.
On the map: Approximate.
Primary sources for Nepal valley
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The Gopala Raja Chronicle, and the Nepalese colophons, Anonymous (chronicle); various scribes (colophons) (the chronicle about 1389; the colophons are contemporary notes of the 11th to 14th centuries). The Nepal valley in 1200 is known chiefly from dated manuscript colophons and short inscriptions, which name the reigning king with the Nepal era year, and from the Gopalarajavamsavali, a chronicle written about 1389 that lists the kings with regnal years.
- History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
- The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. Read online
- The Sakya genealogy, and the works of the Sakya hierarch of 1200, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam (the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629). Sakya in 1200 was ruled by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third of the five founders, with his nephew Kunga Gyaltsen (later Sakya Pandita, born 1182) under his teaching. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.