Udayapurgadhi Rural Municipality is situated at Udayapur district in Sagarmatha zone of Nepal. Total area covered by this municipality is 269.51 square kilometer. Total number of population in this municipality is 30731 (according to the 2011 census of Nepal). This rural municipality is named after the historic place of Udayapur district namely, Udayapurgadhi.
Udayapurgadhi is situated at the top of the hills. According to local people around the Gadhi (fort), this Gadhi was constructed in the period of the Sen Dynasty. From this Gadhi Udaya Chandra Sen (King from Sen Dynasty) used to rule his kingdom during the late 15 century. The name of the Udayapur district was also named after the king Udaya Chandra Sen.
Udayapur district lies in the Terai region of Nepal where all the land is flat. But the place where the Udayapurgadhi is located is at the top of a hill (Between Mahabharat Range and Chure Range) from where all the regions of Terai can be seen. Therefore, kings from the Sen Dynasty built the gadhi on the top of the hill, so that they could see the enemy and can attack them easily to protect the kingdom. Today also we can see 20 different holes in the gadhi from where the army commander used to fire the gun at the enemy.
There is also another famous Gadhi in Udayapur district namely Chaundandighadi which was also constructed by the Sen dynasty. Research about the Gadhi shows that, Chaudandighadi was the main palace and Udayapurgadhi used to be the administrative office, from where information about the kingdom used to be collected.
Research also shows that Chaudandighadi and Udayapurgadhi was buit after the Bijyapur Rajya was formed. The king of Bijyapur and Udayapur were brothers. When conflict arosed between the brothers, they separate and form a new kingdom which is named Chaudandigadhi. Chadandigadhi palace was allocated at the top of the hill with a shortage of various facilities including water. So, it becomes difficult to rule the kingdom from there. To rule the kingdom in an effective way, the administrative office was formed in Udaypurgadhi and Chaudandighadi is represented as the main palace.
In the 1830s during the unification period of Nepal by King Prithivi Narayan Shah, Pradhan Senapati of Prithivi Narayan Shah and minister Karna Sen (last king of Udayapur) agreed to collaborate without the knowledge of King Karna Sen. As a result, Karna Sen became the last King of Udayapur. After the Gadhi was captured by Prithivi Narayan Shah also, the Udaypurgadhi was considered Administrative office to govern the Udayapur. The evidence shows that, during the period of Janga Bahadur Rana also there were administrative offices in Gadhi.
The Gadhi is now surrounded by a small temple. People belonging to Hindu religion came to this place to worship panchwati, ganesh and other goddesses too. The statue of lion is also viewed in the Gadhi which was revealed by Kernel Ganga Bahadur Basnet in 1975 Baisakh 3.
The Udayapurgadhi is the place from where lots of governors have governed the Udayapur district. The gadhi has lots of historical evidence and is located at the top of hills full of natural, religious, and historical values. Though the palace has lots of potential to attract the number of visitors from outside and inside, it is unexplored. This gadhi can be the best destination for those who want to know about the Sen dynasty of Nepal.
-Article Written by: Anita Khatri for Land Nepal
, this Gadhi was constructed in the period of the Sen Dynasty. From this Gadhi Udaya Chandra Sen (King from Sen Dynasty) used to rule his kingdom during the late 15 century. The name of the Udayapur district was also named after the king Udaya Chandra Sen.){kind=link}