When travelers explore the ancient cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur today, they often notice the magnificent temples, intricately carved wooden windows, stone sculptures and former royal palaces of the Kathmandu Valley. But behind many of these monuments lies a fascinating history of power, diplomacy, warfare and royal ambition.
One surprisingly important character in this story was the elephant.
During the medieval period of Nepal, particularly in the later Malla era, elephants were far more than powerful animals. They were associated with royalty, military strength, prestige, diplomacy, and religious ceremony. Kings competed to acquire them, rulers exchanged them as valuable gifts, and journeys into the forests of Makwanpur were undertaken specifically to capture them.
For the Malla kings of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, possessing elephants could be a symbol of wealth and power. At times, elephants even became part of political negotiations between rival kingdoms.
The story of elephants in medieval Nepal offers an unusual way to understand the history of the Kathmandu Valley and its relationship with the southern forests of Nepal.
The relationship between Nepal and elephants goes back much further than the Malla period.
Historical inscriptions from the Licchavi period contain references to elephants, including their use in warfare and royal ceremonies. An inscription associated with King Manadeva describes the use of elephants and horses during military campaigns. Other records refer to elephants in connection with royal ceremonies and routes used by elephants.
This evidence is important because it shows that elephants were not simply mythical creatures represented in religious art. They were part of the practical and political world of early Nepal.
The elephant also had an important place in South Asian religious traditions. In Hindu tradition, Indra, the king of the gods, is associated with Airavata, the divine elephant. The importance of elephants therefore extended beyond military and political life into religious symbolism.
The continuing tradition of elephant representations during festivals in the Kathmandu Valley reflects this long cultural connection.
The Kathmandu Valley was divided into three major Malla kingdoms: Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Following the division of the valley after Yaksha Malla, competition between these kingdoms became an important feature of its political history.
The three kingdoms were not isolated from the wider region. They maintained relationships with neighboring states, including the kingdom of Makwanpur, which became especially important because of its elephants.
For the Malla rulers, an elephant could represent several things at once:
Royal prestige
Military power
Wealth
Diplomatic influence
A valuable royal gift
A symbol of courage and authority
Capturing elephants was itself regarded as an activity requiring courage and skill. The forests of Makwanpur consequently became a destination for rulers and their entourages.
The history of elephants in the Kathmandu Valley cannot be separated from Makwanpur.
Located south of the Kathmandu Valley, Makwanpur had extensive forested areas where elephants could be found. The Malla kings developed strong political relationships with the rulers of Makwanpur, and elephants became part of those relationships.
The rulers of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur competed for influence in Makwanpur. At different times, elephants were given as diplomatic gifts, acquired through political alliances or obtained during military conflicts.
This made Makwanpur much more than a neighboring kingdom. For the Malla rulers, it was a source of something exceptionally valuable.
Among the Malla rulers of Kathmandu, King Pratap Malla appears particularly fascinated by elephants.
His political dealings with Bhaktapur and Makwanpur repeatedly involved elephants. At one point, after conflict between Kathmandu and Bhaktapur, the Bhaktapur ruler was compelled to provide wealth and elephants as part of an agreement.
Pratap Malla's interest in elephants was also reflected in royal art and monuments.
After the death of his son Chakravartendra Malla, Pratap Malla commissioned a statue commemorating him, depicting him riding an elephant. The monument became part of the landscape around Rani Pokhari.
The elephant was therefore not merely an animal associated with the royal court. It had become a visual expression of royal identity.
The story becomes even more fascinating when we look at the diplomatic exchanges between Makwanpur and the Kathmandu Valley.
Makwanpur's rulers presented elephants to rulers and influential figures in Kathmandu and Patan. In some cases, these gifts helped strengthen political relationships.
One account tells of an elephant calf presented to a powerful Kathmandu official during the reign of the young King Nripendra Malla. When the calf died shortly afterward, the young king was reportedly deeply upset. The ruler of Makwanpur subsequently sent another elephant.
Such stories reveal how valuable elephants were within the royal culture of the time.
An elephant was not an ordinary diplomatic present. It could represent friendship, respect, political alliance and recognition of royal status.
Elephants also appear in the history of Patan, another great Malla kingdom.
King Siddhi Narsingh Malla is associated with the donation of an elephant in connection with the Krishna Temple. In a mountainous kingdom where elephants were difficult to obtain, the ability to donate such an animal would have been a considerable display of wealth and prestige.
Later, King Srinivasa Malla received four elephants from the ruler of Makwanpur.
Political alliances and military campaigns could therefore result in the exchange of elephants, demonstrating how closely animals, diplomacy and royal politics were connected.
The story continued under King Yoganarendra Malla, who also had an association with elephants.
Perhaps nowhere is the fascination with elephants more visible than in Bhaktapur.
Bhaktapur was one of the most important political and cultural centers of medieval Nepal. Its surviving temples, palaces and sculptures provide an extraordinary window into Malla-era life.
King Jitamitra Malla is recorded as having an interest in elephants, including an account of elephant-related royal ceremonies and gifts.
But it was his successor, King Bhupatindra Malla, whose relationship with elephants became especially remarkable.
Bhupatindra Malla was a great patron of architecture and art. His reign contributed significantly to the monumental landscape for which Bhaktapur is famous today.
The five-storeyed Nyatapola Temple provides one of the most recognizable examples.
The staircase of Nyatapola contains a carefully arranged sequence of powerful figures.
The traditional arrangement moves upward through increasingly powerful guardians. Among them are two large elephant sculptures.
The symbolism is striking: the elephant was considered immensely powerful, and its position on the temple staircase transformed physical strength into architectural symbolism.
Visitors walking up the steps today may see the sculptures simply as beautiful examples of Newar art. But within their historical and symbolic context, they also reveal how medieval Nepal understood power and hierarchy.
The Nepal Tourism Board identifies Nyatapola as one of Bhaktapur's landmark monuments and notes the progression of powerful figures and mythical beings along its staircase.
Another fascinating connection appears at Bhaktapur's famous 55-Window Palace.
Historical material associated with the palace describes a mural showing an elephant-hunting expedition. King Bhupatindra Malla is represented riding an elephant, accompanied by the ruler of Makwanpur and an elephant handler.
This is particularly valuable because it does more than tell us that elephants were important. It provides a visual record of the relationship between the Kathmandu Valley and Makwanpur.
The image connects:
Bhaktapur → the Malla king → Makwanpur → elephant hunting → royal prestige
In other words, an elephant hunt could become a royal event worthy of being remembered in art.
Today, Bhaktapur Durbar Square remains one of Nepal's most important heritage areas, preserving the palaces and monuments associated with the Malla period. The Nepal Tourism Board describes the 55-Window Palace and the surrounding monuments as important reflections of the artistic achievements of the Malla era.
For the Malla rulers, traveling to Makwanpur to capture elephants was not simply a practical expedition.
It became a demonstration of royal courage.
Bhupatindra Malla is described as traveling to Makwanpur several times for elephant hunting. One expedition reportedly took place in the company of the ruler of Makwanpur, while another involved considerable hardship.
An elephant captured during one such expedition was eventually presented to Taleju, the royal deity.
This illustrates an important feature of medieval Nepalese culture: political authority, religion, nature and royal ceremony were closely intertwined.
The forests were sources of valuable animals. The kings entered those landscapes to demonstrate their authority. The animals were then brought into the royal world through ceremonies, gifts and religious offerings.
Elephants were also associated with warfare.
Earlier inscriptions from Nepal refer to elephants alongside horses and infantry. During the Malla period, elephants continued to carry military and political significance.
Their strength made them valuable in warfare, but their importance went beyond their battlefield function. A ruler who possessed elephants could demonstrate that he had access to wealth, manpower and distant forest territories.
This helps explain why relations between the Kathmandu Valley kingdoms and Makwanpur could become politically complicated.
An elephant could be a gift.
It could also be part of a treaty.
And in some circumstances, control over elephants and the territories where they were found could become a reason for conflict.
The fascination with elephants even entered the names and titles of some Malla kings.
King Bhaskara Malla became particularly associated with elephants and was connected with elephant-catching expeditions. His fascination became so strong that he adopted the name Mahindra Malla and used the title Gajendrapati, reflecting his association with elephants.
Later rulers also used the title Gajendrapati.
This is significant because titles were not merely decorative. They could communicate the qualities a ruler wanted associated with his kingship: strength, authority, prestige and mastery.
The elephant had therefore moved from the forest into the very identity of the king.
The Malla fascination with elephants was not limited to hunting and royal display.
Traditional texts dealing with elephants were also produced and preserved.
Works associated with elephant medicine, types of elephants, their behavior and diseases formed part of a wider body of traditional knowledge. Among the texts mentioned in the historical source are works such as Gajaprasamsa and Gajayurveda.
This demonstrates that elephants were studied as animals with particular physical characteristics, behavior and medical needs.
Their importance therefore extended into literature, traditional knowledge and scholarship.
The political importance of elephants continued beyond the Malla period.
During the expansion of the Gorkha kingdom under Prithvi Narayan Shah, Makwanpur again became strategically important.
The historical account connects the conquest of Makwanpur with disputes involving valuable royal possessions and elephants. After Makwanpur came under Gorkha control, obligations involving the supply of elephants continued for some time.
This shows how the political value of elephants survived the transition from the Malla kingdoms to the emerging unified Nepal.
The Malla period eventually came to an end as the Gorkha kingdom conquered the Kathmandu Valley in the eighteenth century.
One of the most rewarding aspects of traveling through Nepal is that history is not confined to museums or textbooks.
It is visible in the streets.
In Bhaktapur, visitors can walk through the former royal square and observe the Palace of 55 Windows, Nyatapola Temple and numerous sculptures that preserve memories of the Malla era.
In Patan, temples, courtyards, inscriptions and palace architecture reveal another side of the same historical world.
In Kathmandu, Rani Pokhari and the city's historic monuments provide further connections to the rulers and traditions of the past.
The Kathmandu Valley today contains hundreds of monuments, temples, sculptures and works of art that reflect centuries of cultural development.
Understanding stories such as the history of elephants makes these monuments more meaningful.
A sculpture is no longer simply a sculpture.
A palace is no longer simply an old building.
A temple staircase becomes part of a story about power, symbolism, and royal ambition.
The history of medieval Nepal is usually told through kings, wars, temples, and dynasties. Yet animals also played an important role in shaping the political and cultural landscape.
The elephant is one of the most fascinating examples.
From the early inscriptions of Nepal to the royal courts of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur, from the forests of Makwanpur to the sculptures of Nyatapola, elephants were connected with warfare, diplomacy, religion, art and royal identity.
For centuries, Malla rulers traveled south in search of elephants. They exchanged them as gifts, displayed them in royal art and used them as symbols of strength and prestige.
Today, the elephants themselves may no longer walk through the royal squares of medieval Kathmandu. But their story survives in stone, wood, paintings, inscriptions, manuscripts, and historical traditions.
And that is one of the great pleasures of exploring Nepal.
The deeper you look, the more stories you discover.
If you explore Nepal with an interest in history, architecture and living culture, a journey through Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur can become much more than sightseeing. It can be a journey through the world of the Malla kings, where every courtyard, temple, sculpture and palace has another story waiting to be discovered.
At Gateway Adventure Treks and Expedition, we believe that experiencing Nepal means going beyond famous landmarks. Our heritage and cultural journeys can introduce travelers to the architecture, traditions, festivals, art, and stories that have shaped the Kathmandu Valley and the wider Himalayan region.
From the medieval cities of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur to the historic landscapes beyond the valley, Nepal offers countless stories for curious travelers.
Come to Nepal not only to see its heritage, but to understand the stories behind it.
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