Prithvi Narayan Shah's Secret Map: Nepal's Hidden Survey

In this episode, Lucas and Luna peel back the layers of Nepal's unification story to uncover a little-known chapter: the clandestine cartographic survey commissioned by Prithvi Narayan Shah in the 1750s. While the Gorkha king is famous for his military campaigns and the Divya Upadesh, his use of espionage and mapmaking was just as crucial. Lucas explains how Brahmin surveyors, disguised as pilgrims, trekked through the Kathmandu Valley and beyond, charting routes, fortifications, and resources. He discusses the earliest maps of Nepal, influenced by Tibetan and Mughal cartography, and how this intelligence shaped the sieges of Kirtipur and the eventual fall of the Malla kingdoms. The episode explores the tension between oral tradition and written records, the role of the Newar 'mulmi' as skilled cartographers, and how Shah's maps were later superseded by British surveys after the Sugauli Treaty. A fresh angle on a familiar story, full of specific names, dates, and the human drama of spies and surveyors in the Himalayas.

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