Biography of Devkota

Biography of Laxmi Parsad Devkota

Laxmi Prasad Devkota (1909 – 1959), was a Nepali poet. He is arguably the best writer in the Nepali Language. He has written great works in the Nepalese Language. He is best known for the poem "Muna Madan.

Devkota was the third son of Pandit Tila Madhav and Amar Rajya Laxmi Devi. He was born in Thatunati (now Dhobidhara), Kathmandu on the day of the Festival of Lights, which is a celebration of the Goddess of Wisdom and Wealth.

He showed poetic genius from a very tender age. When he was ten years old, he wrote the following couplet:

“ Brother, this world's a great sea of tribulations.
We all have to die. Be not arrogant.”

Although this was in keeping with the Hindu way of thinking, the young poet surprised his family and relatives with this outburst. Later, he was to introduce Romanticism into Nepali literature and influence a whole generation of Nepali writers. He would continue developing as a modern poet with a powerful voice of his own and claim a literary stature in Nepal that many seek to emulate.

He preached charity and forgiveness, succor and compassion. One day, as he was walking back home from work, a beggar approached him for some money. Seeing him shiver in the cold, Devkota took off the coat he was wearing and gave it to the beggar.

When Devkota was born in 1909, the country was ruled by the Rana oligarchy. The Rana administration was against mass education, but after many trials, his family enrolled him at Durbar School, the only school in the Kathmandu Valley. Devkota wrote his first poem at this school, and it is said that he used to recite his poems before his friends and teachers. Many times his friends did not believe he had written such excellent poems, but all his teachers were greatly impressed with the young prodigy.

In 1925, Devkota enrolled in the science program at Tri-Chandra COLLEGE. After completing his Intermediate of Science degree, he switched to arts. He received his bachelor's degree in arts in 1929 and went to Patna, India, in 1931 on a scholarship hoping to study English for his Master's degree. Since there were no seats available in the English program, he studied law.

Family life
After he received his bachelor's of law, he returned home and endured a series of personal crises. His mother, father, and two-month old daughter died within two years. Those tragic events shattered him and, probably, led him to become a chain smoker. In later years, the premature death of two of his young sons, Prakash and Krishna, caused him more misery. A series of such tragedies seriously ruffled his mind. Although he was in full control of himself, his poetic sensibility was misunderstood by the less sensitive people around him who dispatched him to a mental institutionfor treatment. The psychiatrist at Ranchi labeled him a "geographical mistake."

To add further misery, by 1958, Devkota was diagnosed with cancer and three inches of cancerous duodenum was removed in Calcutta,India, but he knew death was approaching him, so he stayed up late into the night to continue his writing. One year later, he died.

He wrote to a friend while he was in Santa Bhawan Hospital, "Death stands before me. I search for constellations in the sky but can find none. I cannot give peace to myself. If I could rise, I would kill myself and my future prospects."

Laxmi Prasad Devkota was primarily a humanist who occasionally wrote from an atheistist point of view too. Some critics have mistaken his intellectual querries for atheism and have tried to line him up with Marxism or other similar politically leftist ideologies. This is why such critics were shocked when he dictated one of his last poems to a friend, "Aakhir Shree Krishna rahecha eka" (" in the end, Lord Krishna happens to be the only truth").

Career
Devkota has contributed to Nepali literature by bringing the Sanskrit tradition to its apex and by starting modern romantic movement in the country. He was a versatile and prolific writer, who left no branch of literature untouched in the course of his brief career. He has written numerous epics, long narrative poems, essays, stories, plays, novels, songs, and criticisms. His essays read like poetry and are much admired for both content and style. Devkota was the first to begin writing epics in Nepali literature and his magnum opus "Muna-Madan" remains a best seller even fifty years after his death. He is recognized as one of the greatest Nepali writers and his work is in the same level of standard as any of the greats of literature in any language. He also served as Nepal's Education Minister, and was a professor at Tri-Chandra COLLEGE.

Devkota had the ability to write poems very quickly -- he wrote the Shakuntal in three months, the Sulochana epic in 10 days and Kunjini in a single day. Nepali poetry soared to new heights with Devkota's groundbreaking poetry. "Muna-Madan," a long narrative poem in popular folk metre, begins the end of the Sanskrit tradition in Nepali literature. "Pagal" ["Mad"] is another of his ground-breaking works.

Devkota's 2 sons and 4 daughters still live in Kathmandu, Nepal. One of his 2 sons currently lives in Auckland New Zealand.

Once, Devkota was invited to a party to which he went dressed informally. The guard at the door did not let him in because he wasn't clothed according to the dress code. Devkota went back home and returned wearing a suit. This time, he was allowed in. After Devkota went inside, he began pouring his drink and food all over the coat he was wearing. The surprised guests asked him what the matter was. Devkota replied that if he was allowed inside only with the suit on, the suit must have been invited to the party and not him.  

Devkota’s contribution to Nepali literature is as follows-

Poetic works: Muna Madan, Raj Kumar Prabhakar, Kunjini, Shakuntal, Sulochana, Basanti, Putali, Bhikhari, Mhendu, Ravana-Jatayu Yuddha, Chhahara, Chilla Patharu, Luni, Mayabini Sashi, Maharana Pratap, Manoranjan, Nabras, Sitaharan, Dushyanta Shakuntala Bhet, Aakash Blochha, Balkusum, Chhayasanga Kura, Katak, Gaine Geet, Sunko Bihan, Bhavana Gangeya, Sundari Jarpini, Aashu, Prathimas, Prithiviraj Chauhan, Maina, Pahadi Pukar, Muthuka Thopa, Laxmi Kabita Sangraha and Laxmi Giti Sangraha.

Essay: Laxmi Nibandha Sangraha

Plays: Sabitri Satyaban, Rajpur Ramani, Basanti, Maina and Krishibala and Bharatmilap.

Laxmi Katha Sangraha (anthology of Devkota’s short stories)

Fiction: Champa

Devkota translated William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth into Nepali.