Adopted 1967 | Relinquished 2006 | |
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Lyrics Chakra Pani Chalise, 1924 Music Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi, 1899 | ||
Rastriya Gaan (Nepali: राष्ट्रिय गान्) was the national anthem of the Kingdom of Nepal until May 19, 2006, after the overthrow of the monarchy. In English it may be glossed as "May Glory Crown You, Courageous Sovereign" or "May Glory Crown Our Illustrious Sovereign."
Contents
History
The music was composed by Bakhat Bahadur Budhapirthi in 1899 (grandfather of musician Louis Banks or Dambar Bahadur Budaprithi), and the lyrics were written by Chakra Pani Chalise in 1924. It was adopted in 1962, as a homage to the Nepalese Sovereign and the country's national anthem.
The song originally had two stanzas, but the Nepalese government dropped the second stanza upon adopting the song as the national anthem. The stanza that was retained honoured the king.
Replacement
After the April movement for democracy, the century-old national anthem was suspended by the Interim legislature of Nepal in August 2007, after it was seen as merely glorifying the monarchy instead of representing the Nation as a whole. It was replaced by the current anthem, Sayaun Thunga Phool Ka.
Second stanza
When officially adopted, the government of Nepal dropped the second stanza of the song.