The government orders a public holiday today as a National Unity Day, today is also Prithvi Jayanti. This is the day when Prithvi Narayan Shah, the unifier of present Nepal was born. Nepal was declared as republic day, Prithvi Narayan Shaha’s contributions and his words are more relevant now.

As in the past, people will pay tribute to late King Shah at the western gate of Singh Durbar offering garlands.

According to Nepali calendar, Prithvi Narayan Shah was born on 27th Poush, 1779 BS (11 January 1723 AD) in Gorkha district and was declared a king 20 years later.

As Nepal was divided into several small states, King Prithvi Narayan Shah launched unification of the states and makes it a single sovereign country- Nepal. That makes him the first king under the Shah dynasty, who had the dream of greater and modern Nepal.

Although he died two centuries ago, his Divya Upadesh, a compilation of to statements of principle governance, nationalism, and foreign policy, is a binding book to understand Nepal’s position.