The premature death of Pratap Singh Shah (reigned 1775-77), the eldest son of Prithvi Narayan Shah, leaves a huge power vacuum that remains unfilled for decades, seriously debilitating the emerging Nepalese state.

Pratap Singh Shah's successor is his son, Rana Bahadur Shah (reigned 1777-99), aged two and one-half years at his accession.

The acting regent until 1785 is Queen Rajendralakshmi, followed by Bahadur Shah (reigned 1785-94), the second son of Prithvi Narayan Shah.

Court life is consumed by rivalry centered on alignments with these two regents rather than on issues of national administration.

In 1794 the king comes of age, and in 1797 he begins to exercise power on his own.

Rana Bahadur's youth has been spent in pampered luxury amid deadly intrigue and has made him incapable of running either his own life or the country.

He becomes infatuated with a Maithili Brahman widow, Kantavati, and clears the way to the throne for their illegitimate son, Girvan Yuddha Shah.

Disconsolate after the death of his mistress in 1799, Rana Bahadur begins to engage in such irrational behavior that leading citizens demand his abdication.

He is forced to turn his throne over to Girvan Yuddha Shah, aged one and one-half years, and retires to Banaras.