SEE 2081 (2025) COMPULSORY ENGLISH RE-1011 ‘BP’
2. Read the text and do the tasks. [10]
Pratap Malla was one of the most famous kings of the Malla Dynasty. He constructed some magnificent and beautiful architectural structures around Kathmandu. The way he came to the throne is very interesting and controversial at the same time. He had the experience of administration even when his father was alive. When his father Laxmi Nara Singh’s madness grew worse, he imprisoned his father and he himself ruled as a regent of his father in Kantipur.
He was an able administrator. Kantipur was highly developed during his reign. Trade with Lhasa (Tibet) was also going on well. By his tact he was making the kings of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur play against each other. Sometimes he sided with Bhaktapur and posed a threat to Lalitpur. On other occasions, he aligned with Lalitpur and fell upon Bhaktapur. Pratap Malla was a religious minded person. He built a beautiful temple at Guhyeshwari and fenced it. He renovated the temple of Pashupatinath and raised a pinnacle over it. At Swayambhu he built Pratappur, Kabeendrapur and many other temples and also set up a copper gilt ‘Bajra’. He also renovated the temples of Basuki Bhimsen, Taleju and Degutale. With a view to warding off evils, he erected an image of Hanuman, the monkey god, by the side of his palace gate and called the palace Hanumandhoka. He erected the golden gate of the palace, set up an image of Nri Simha, Kal Bhairab and Vishwaroop at Layaku Bahi. Inside the palace, he also set up Sundari Chowk and Mohan Chowk. A pond was dug at Bhandarkhal and filled with water brought from Budhanilakantha. He installed an image of Narayan lying in the pond, an exact replica from Budhanilakantha Temple.
A. Fill in the blanks with the correct information from the text. [5×1=5]
(i) After sending his father to prison, Pratap Malla ruled in Kantipur as a ____.
(ii) Pratap Malla made the kings of ____ fight with each other.
(iii) Pratap Malla set up a ____ over the Pashupatinath Temple.
(iv) An image of Hanuman was raised at Hanumandhoka to get rid of ____.
(v) Sundari chowk and Mohan chowk were set up inside ____.
Answers:
(i) After sending his father to prison, Pratap Malla ruled in Kantipur as a regent.
(ii) Pratap Malla made the kings of Lalitpur and Bhaktapur fight with each other.
(iii) Pratap Malla set up a pinnacle over the Pashupatinath Temple.
(iv) An image of Hanuman was raised at Hanumandhoka to get rid of evils.
(v) Sundari chowk and Mohan chowk were set up inside the palace.
B. Answer the following questions. [5×1=5]
(i) Why is Pratap Malla popular as a king? Give a reason.
(ii) Do you think Pratap Malla did a right job by imprisoning his father? Why/Why not?
(iii) Write the names of two temples that Pratap Malla built at Swayambhu.
(iv) Who is Hanuman?
(v) What is common between Bhandarkhal and Budhanilakantha?
Answers:
(i) Pratap Malla is popular as a king because he constructed many magnificent and beautiful architectural structures in Kathmandu.
(ii) It may not be morally right to imprison one’s father, but he might have done it because his father’s madness was growing worse, and the kingdom needed a stable ruler.
(iii) Pratappur and Kabeendrapur.
(iv) Hanuman is the monkey god in Hindu mythology.
(v) A pond at Bhandarkhal was filled with water brought from Budhanilakantha, and an image of Narayan lying in the pond was made as an exact replica of the one in Budhanilakantha.
