Doti was a medieval kingdom of Kumaon founded in the early 13th century by Niranjan Malla Dev, the last son of the Katyuri dynasty, and ruled thereafter by the Raika kings. It was one of eight princely states formed after the Katyuri Kingdom's disintegration in the 13th century, a dissolution the sources attribute to invasions by the Khas kings Ashoka Challa (1191) and Krachalla (1223) from the Karnali zone. Kumaon lost Doti during the expansion of the Gorkha Kingdom in 1790; the historic war site was Nari-Dang on the Seti River, with Dumrakot as the Doti kingdom's base against the Gorkhalis, and the last Raika, Prithvi Pati Shahi, later fought the Nepali army and also served with the British in 1814. Doti's 20th-century national heroes include martyrs Dashrath Chand and Bhim Dutta Pant and revolutionary-turned-prime-minister K.I. Singh. Today the district (2,025 sq km, 204,831 people per the 2021 census) comprises nine local units — two urban and seven rural municipalities — within Sudurpashchim Province.
Researched by the ChillNepal team from published sources. Spot something out of date? Tell us from the place's page.
