ROYAL CULTURAL HERITAGE – Royal Family of Nepal

Royal Coat of Arms

The Royal coat of arms represents the Head of State and is borne only by the Sovereign. The history of the coat of arms of the King of Nepal is not very old, with the most recent royal coat of arms first coming into existence in 1962 A.D.

The design features a royal crown at the top.

The main crest has the royal insignia at the center, consisting of a khadga, the royal arms. The khadga is an ancient ritual sword often seen on Hindu and Buddhist deities, symbolizing the sword of wisdom that cuts through ignorance.

The khadga is placed on a hexagram, the emblem of armed authority. Together, the hexagram and khadga form an independent royal insignia used throughout the Narayanhiti Royal Palace.

The top of the khadga meets two khukuris in satire. The hexagram is circled by a sankha and a gada on its right, and a chakra and padma on the left. “Sri Panch Maharajadhiraj” is written in Devnagari script on a crescent moon over a lotus flower.

On either side of the main crest stands a trishul with a Royal standard flag.

The bottom depicts the three significant landscapes of Nepal: the Himalayas, the hills, and the terai. “Nepal” is written in Devnagari script along the mountains.

The final touch is the Royal motto in Devnagari, which reads, “Bidhya Mai Cha Maha Shakti, Karma Mai Cha Supujan,” meaning “Knowledge is Power. Work is Worship.”

Royal Standard

The earliest Royal Standard, first recorded in 1928.

Nepali Royal Standard in 2001.

The Royal Standard is a flag which represents the presence of the Sovereign. It is flown when the King is in residence in one of the Royal palaces, and in cars or flights when the King is on official visits at home and abroad.

Throughout history, the Nepali Royal Standard has evolved and taken various forms. The earliest Royal Standard was first recorded in 1928. The rectangular flag stands vertically and is crimson with white borders and charges. The charges included a lion bearing a plain white flag. In the upper left corner, a moon shows with facial features tilted to the left. In the upper right corner, a sun shows with facial features tilted to the right. The lion faces the sun.

Later the standard underwent a slight change. The sun and the moon no longer tilted, the lion faced the moon, and borders turned yellow.

The most recent Nepali Royal Standard in 2001 was an almost square white-bordered crimson flag. It featured the charges in white, a lion bearing a square flag displaying black diagonals and a star with a vertical sword at its center. Both are royal symbols, standing respectively for knowledge and strength. The moon and sun symbols were retained but without the faces.

Royal Crown

The King’s crown, the Shreepech, is a heavily jeweled ornament, flaunting over 3,000 precious stones, including 723 diamonds, 2,372 pearls, 47 emeralds and 16 rubies. The top of the crown features a plume of “bird-in-paradise”.

It is ornamented by enormous flattened diamonds about 5/8 of an inch square. It has a bunch of large emeralds, of which the lowest is a gigantic stone of 1¼ inches in length. Towards the back, the emeralds and stones are substituted by flattened diamonds, each hung as a pendant to the large square diamond above.

Although it isn’t clear how far the crown dates back, one of its jewels puts it on a timeline. Among the Crown jewels is a knot of large diamonds which belonged to the late Empress Eugénie of Spain and was sold in 1886.

The jewel, which is 5 inches in length by 4¼ inches in breadth, is composed of diamonds of large size. The crown was an indispensable part of royal coronation, marriage ceremony of the crown princesses and special functions. The King paired the crown with a sword and the scepter, both made of pure gold.

The Queen’s tiara is a glittering crown, embellished with 943 lotus diamonds. It was first seen on Her Majesty Queen Mother Ratna at His Late Majesty King Mahendra’s coronation in 1956. Since then, the tiara has been used for the crowning ceremony of Nepal’s queens.

It was worn by Her Late Majesty Queen Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah during the coronation of His Late Majesty King Birendra in 1975. Most recently, Her Majesty Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah was seen wearing it for her official portrait.

Royal Sword, Shield & Scepter

The three-fold twisted gold sword with a velvet scabbard is part of the King’s regalia during coronation. It is an important symbol of power and authority, and besides the day of coronation, the Head of State is often seen donning it for official portraits.

The black shield is adorned with 4 golden flowers and a golden crescent moon on top. The shield is no longer part of the King’s regalia and was last seen on His Late Majesty King Rajendra Bikram Shah’s official portrait.

The golden scepter, decorated with navaratna (nine gemstones), is another important element of the royal regalia. It is carried by the King on ceremonial occasions such as the coronation, as a symbol of sovereignty.

Royal Throne

The royal throne of the Shah dynasty dates back to circa 1974 (2030 B.S). At 8 ft in height and 4 ft in breadth, it is made of 600 kg of silver and plated with 233 grams of gold. Ornately decorated, it features a snake with its seven-headed hood raised over the seat. This artistically represents the King on the throne as Lord Vishnu himself.

The throne is used for ceremonial purposes such as the Decoration ceremony to the members of the Royal family and announcement of the Crown Prince. The same throne was used for the coronation ceremony of His Late Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

The royal throne is part of a collection of three different thrones. Each one of them artistic yet different from one another, they all feature the seven-headed snake. The thrones are used for different ceremonies and functions, however most have been seen used interchangeably for coronation ceremonies throughout the years.

Royal Decorations and Honors

As with every nation, Nepal too has a tradition of her own of showing appreciation of exceptional abilities displayed or meritorious services rendered. There are special decorations and honors that are sanctioned by the royal family of Nepal to honor distinctive individuals at home and abroad, within the royal family and foreign royalties for their contribution and achievements.

In Nepal, the process of modernizing the honors was started during the reign of His Majesty King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Dev and was further improved during the reign of His Majesty King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev. The honors were invested by His Majesty in the midst of an investiture. His Majesty The King is sovereign of all orders of the Kingdom of Nepal.

Below are some of the key Orders during the Kingdom of Nepal. There are also 20 Decorations and 29 Medals.

Order of Mahendra-Mala

Instituted by His Late Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 26 February 1961, the Order is a gold chain worn around the neck with a centerpiece with King Mahendra’s portrait on it. Although initially created to be conferred on foreign reigning monarchs only, the Order has been bestowed on Late King Birendra, King Gyanendra, Late Queen Aishwarya and Queen Komal as well. The only foreign monarch to receive it is the Late Queen Elizabeth II of England.

Nepal Pratapa Bhaskara

Instituted by His Late Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 25 December 1966, the Order consists of a star, a badge, a broad ribbon, a collar and a mantle. The Order has three titles:

The Sovereign
The GrandMaster, and
The regular Nepal Pratapa Bhaskara. It is conferred on the Royal family and foreign Kings and Queens.

Ojaswi Rajanya

With the motto of “Good breeds good and evil breeds evil”, the Order was instituted by His Late Majesty King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 14 May 1934. The insignia includes a star, a badge, a broad ribbon, a collar and a mantle. The Order has three titles:

The Sovereign
The GrandMaster, and
The regular Ojaswi Rajanya. It is bestowed on Nepali and Foreign royalties, and heads of states.

Nepal Shreepada

Instituted by His Late Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 16 December 1962, the Order has 5 classes excluding the Sovereign and the GrandMaster. The insignia includes a star, a badge, and a broad ribbon of which the ribbon is only used for the Sovereign, the GrandMaster and the First Class. The Order is conferred on the Royal family and awarded to Nepali citizens for significant contributions to the cause of national prestige.

Nepal Tara

His Late Majesty King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev was instituted on 29 November 1918. Divided into 5 classes after the Sovereign and the GrandMaster, the Order’s insignia includes a star, a badge, a broad ribbon, a collar and a mantle. Depending on the class of Order, the insignia varies. The Order is conferred on the Royal family, and awarded to the Commissioned and Junior Commissioned Officers of the Royal army for meritorious service. It is also given to foreign army officers attached with the Royal army personnel.

Tri Shakti Patta

The Tri Shakti Patta is an order of knighthood instituted by His Late Majesty King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 27 November 1937. After the Sovereign and the GrandMaster, the order is divided into 5 classes. The insignia consists of a star, a badge and a broad ribbon. It is conferred on members of the Royal Family or Nepali citizens and foreigners who make outstanding contributions to the cause of the nation.

Om Rama Patta

The Order of Om Rama Patta was founded by His Majesty King Tribhuvan Bir Bikram Shah Dev on 31st October 1946. The decoration is conferred on both Nepalis and foreign nationals of Hindu faith. The order consists of the Sovereign (Parama-Pravitra-Om-Rama-Patta), Grand Master (Pravitra-Om-Rama-Patta), and ordinary members (Om-Rama-Patta).

Gorkha Dakshin Bahu

One of the highest honors of the Kingdom of Nepal, the Gorkha Dakshin Bahu was instituted by His Late Majesty King Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Dev in 1896. Consisting of a star, a badge, a neck badge, a broad ribbon and a ribbon, the elements of the insignia for each class varies. The medal is conferred on the Royal family and is awarded to Nepali citizens who contribute valuable service in any field.

National Flag

In a sea of waving flags, the national flag of Nepal would be the easiest to spot, given its uniqueness in size, shape and color. The red-white-and-crimson flag designed in a united double-pennon is a source of great pride to all Nepalis, a tether that binds Nepalis everywhere.

The only non-quadrangular national flag in the world, the Olympics has made an exception for Nepal specifically when it comes to the standard size requirement.

Many historians have dated the Nepali flag to the unification of Nepal. The Kingdom of Gorkha like many Hindu states in the ancient time used triangular flags that unfurled easily in the lightest of breeze. When His Majesty the Great King Prithvi Narayan Shah had unified the smaller states and principalities, the double-pennon red flag came to existence, flaunting the moon on the top triangle and the sun on the bottom.

However, it wasn’t until 1927 that the first record of the national flag of Nepal can be found. Discovered in a French book, the flag is a double-pennon in red, the sun and crescent moon with a face and the borders in green instead of the blue we know.

Believed to have existed between 1856 – 1930.

The blue in the modern day flag of Nepal was seen in 1930. The moon and the sun had a human face in this version of the flag.

The blue in the modern day flag of Nepal was seen in 1930.

The current version of the national flag was adopted on 16th December 1962 along with the formation of a new constitutional government. His Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev commissioned Er. Shankar Nath Rimal to standardize the flag. He provided the mathematical specifications required to draw the flag which was included in the-then constitution.The constitution dedicated an entire section to the precise size and shape of the flag, since people were drawing it incorrectly. This section continues to hold a place in the current constitution of the country.

Adopted on 16th December 1962

What it all means

Many assume the two triangles in the flag to be representations of the Himalayas. However, a more logical explanation for the shape of the flag is more historical. Nepal maintained its ancient tradition of triangular flags, which was historically standard in all states in South Asia, rather than adopting rectangular or square flags of the West.

The crimson red is representative of valor and bravery that Nepalis are known for. It is also a symbol of victory.

The blue in the border means peace and wisdom, associated with Gautam Buddha. The upper triangle has a white crescent moon and the lower has a sun. In the upper segment is a white moon emitting eight rays, with a crescent attached below; in the bottom segment appears a white, stylized sun with 12 rays. These two celestials in white are a hope that the country may have the same longevity as the sun and moon.

National Anthem

In Nepali

श्रीमान् गम्भीर नेपाली प्रचण्ड प्रतापी भूपति
श्री ५ सरकार महाराजाधिराजको सदा रहोस् उन्नति
राखुन् चिरायु ईशले
प्रजा फैलियोस्, पुकारौँ जय प्रेमले
हामी नेपाली साराले

English translation

May glory crown you, courageous Sovereign,
You, the gallant Nepalese,
Shri Pānch Māhārājādhirāja, our glorious ruler,
May he live for many years to come,
And may the number of his subjects increase,
Let every Nepalese sing this with love.

Nepal’s first national anthem, “Shriman Gambhir” was recognized by the Constitution in 1962 during the reign of His Majesty King Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev. A homage to the sovereign of the country, the song was sung as the national anthem of Nepal until 19 May 2006.

The lyrics of the anthem were written by Chakrapani Chalise in 1924 and the music used was one of the compositions from 1899 by Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi. The song originally had two stanzas. The second stanza was dropped. The first stanza that was retained honored the king.

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