Laxmi Prasad Devkota

Laxmi Prasad Devkota (लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटा) (1909-1959) was a Nepali poet, playwright, novelist, and politician.

Honored with the title of Mahakabi (महाकवि) in Nepali literature, he was known as a poet with a golden heart.

He is considered to be one of the greatest and most famous literary figures in Nepal.

Some of his popular works include the best-selling Muna Madan, along with Sulochana, Kunjini, Bhikhari, and Shakuntala.

Devkota was born on the night of Lakshmi Puja on 13 November 1909 (27 Kartik 1966 BS) to father Teel Madhav Devkota and mother Amar Rajya Lakshmi Devi in Dhobidhara, Kathmandu.

His father was a Sanskrit scholar, so he attained his basic education under the custodianship of his father.

He started his formal education at Durbar High School, where he studied both Sanskrit grammar and English.

After finishing his matriculation exams from Patna at the age of 17, he pursued a Bachelor of Arts along with a Bachelor of Laws at Tri-Chandra College and graduated from Patna University as a private examinee.

His desire to complete his master's degree was left incomplete due to his family's financial conditions.

Only after a decade from his graduation as a lawyer, he started working in the Nepal Bhasaanuwad Parishad (Publication Censor Board), where he met famous playwright Balkrishna Sama.

At the same time, he also worked as a lecturer at Tri-Chandra College and Padma Kanya College.

Devkota contributed to Nepali literature by starting a modern Nepali language romantic movement in the country.

He was the second writer born in Nepal to begin writing epic poems in Nepali literature.

Nepali poetry soared to new heights with Devkota's innovative use of the language.

Departing from the Sanskrit tradition that dominated the Nepali literary scene at the time, and being inspired by the Newar language ballad song Ji Waya La Lachhi Maduni, he wrote Muna Madan (मुनामदन) (1930), a long narrative poem in a popular Jhyaure bhaka (झ्याउरे भाका) folk tune.

Muna Madan is undoubtedly the best-selling book in the history of Nepali literature.

Considered his magnum opus, Muna Madan has remained widely popular among the lay readers of Nepali literature; it remains the most popular Nepali book since 1936; the book was also translated into Mandarin; it was well received by China and considered successful.

Devkota, inspired by his five-month stay in a mental asylum in 1939, wrote a free-verse poem, Pagal (पागल).

The poem deals with his usual mental ability and is considered one of the best Nepali language poems.

"जरुर साथी म पागल ! यस्तै छ मेरो हाल । म शब्दलाई देख्दछु ! दृश्यलाई सुन्दछु ! बासनालाई संबाद लिन्छु । आकाशभन्दा पातालका कुरालाई छुन्छु । ती कुरा, जसको अस्तित्व लोक मान्दैंन जसको आकार संसार जान्दैन !"

Surely, my friend, I am mad,

That’s exactly what I am!

I see a word,

Hear sights,

Taste smells,

The 2003 film Muna Madan, which was Nepal's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 76th Academy Awards, was based on this poem.

The work received immediate recognition from the Ranas—the country's ministers at the time.

Muna Madan tells the story of Madan, a traveling merchant, who departs for Tibet in a bid to earn some money leaving behind his wife, Muna.

The poem describes the thematic hardships of the journey: the grief of separation, the itching of longing, and the torment of death.

The ballad Ji Waya La Lachhi Maduni is a tragic song based on a Newa merchant, his mother, and his wife.

The merchant is about to leave Kathmandu for Tibet on a work.

The song starts with the wife pleading with her mother-in-law to stop him, saying that it's not even been a month since she came to their home and he wants to go away.

Being raised in Kathmandu, Devkota had heard this song from locals singing it at a local Pati (पाटी or फ़ल्चा).

He was highly fascinated by the song and decided to re-write it in Nepali.

Since the Rana rulers had put a ban on the Newa trade, language and literature, he changed the main character from a Newa merchant as in the original song to a Kshatriya (warrior class) character.

Although Kshatriya people did not practice trade for their living during those days, he had to depict it as such in order to lure the Rana rulers.

The following couplet, which is among the most famous and frequently quoted lines from the epic, celebrates the triumph of humanity and compassion over the hierarchies created by caste in Nepalese culture.

"क्षेत्रीको छोरो यो पाउ छुन्छ, घिनले छुँदैन मानिस ठूलो दिलले हुन्छ जातले हुँदैन !"

The son of a Kshatriya touches your feet not with hatred but with love.

A man's greatness is determined by his heart; not by his caste or lineage.