Magarat in the context of "Palpa District"

The Gorkha Kingdom, also known as the Gorkha Confederation or the Gorkha Empire, was one of the Chaubisi states, situated at the junction of the Himalayas and the Indian subcontinent. In 1743, the kingdom began a campaign of military expansion, annexing several neighbors and laying the foundations of present-day Nepal.

Following the disintegration of the Magarat confederation—formerly ruled by the Magar—the region fragmented into the Baise Rajya (22 principalities) in the far west and the Chaubisi Rajya (24 principalities) in central Nepal.

The Magars, also spelled Mangar and Mongar, are the largest indigenous group in Nepal and are a Tibeto-Burman linguistic group native to Nepal and Northeast India, representing 6.9% of Nepal's total population according to the 2021 Nepal census. They are one of the main Gurkha tribes.

The first home of the Magars was to the west of the Gandaki River and, roughly speaking, consisted of that portion of Nepal which lies between and around about Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, and Palpa.This part of the country was divided into twelve districts known as Bahra Magarat (Confederation of Twelve Magar villages), which included the following regions of that period: Argha, Khanchi, Bhirkot, Dhor, Garhung, Ghiring, Gulmi, Isma, Musikot, Rising, Satung, and Pyung.During the medieval period, the whole area from Palpa to Rukum Rolpa was called the Magarat, a place settled and inhabited by Magars.Another confederation of eighteen Magar kingdoms, known as Athara Magarat, also existed and was originally inhabited by Kham Magars.

Thapa (नेपाली: थापा) is a historic martial title and family name borne by members of multiple Nepali communities—most prominently the Chhetri and the Magar —and denotes a tradition of military leadership and regional governance from the late medieval period through the 19th century. Its earliest attestations lie in the Magarat confederations of western Nepal, where Thapa-titled chieftains governed hill principalities before and during the unification campaigns of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Over time, distinct lineages of Thapas—both Magar and Chhetri—rose to prominence in the royal court of Kathmandu, served as commanders in the growing Gurkha forces, and played key roles in Nepal’s administration and on global battlefields.