Vijayapur

Vijayapur, near Dharan at the foot of the eastern Nepalese hills, was the capital of Morang and an important centre of Limbuwan. Tradition credits its foundation in 1584 to Bijay Narayan Raya, who gave the town his name. The kingdom connected the Limbu hill country with the lowlands to the south.

In 1609 Lohang Sen captured Morang, and his dynasty ruled for several generations with Limbu chief ministers at Vijayapur. The office of chief minister became hereditary in the family of Murray Hang Khebang, also known as Bidya Chandra Raya. His descendant Buddhi Karna Raya succeeded the last Sen ruler in 1769. War with the expanding kingdom of Gorkha followed, and an agreement with Limbu leaders in 1774 brought Limbuwan into the Nepalese state.