Khatangmukteshwar Temple/Rani Mahal Palpa,Ranighat,Nepal

The Khatanga Mukteshwar Temple is a popular name for the Rani Mahal, a historical palace located in Ranighat, Palpa, Nepal. It’s a well-known landmark and a significant site for the local Hindu community, especially during the Maghe Sankranti festival in January when pilgrims bathe in the Ridi River. The palace, built in 1896, was constructed by Khadga Shamsher Rana in memory of his deceased wife.

Ranighat Palace or Rani Mahal is a historic Rana palace located on the banks of Kali Gandaki River in Palpa district of Nepal.

In 1885 Khadga Samsher Rana assassinated Ranauddip Shamsher Rana to make Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana as the prime minister and himself as the Commander in Chief of Nepal. He was in the line of succession for the next prime minister. In 1887 Khadga Samsher conspired to remove Bir Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana from prime-ministership in an unsuccessful coup attempt. For this, he was arrested and forced to drop his royal titles and the position of Commander in Chief. He was banished to Thada, a place in Gulmi district in western Nepal. In 1888, a limited power was reinstated by assigning as the Governor General and the commander in chief (Tainathi) of western Nepal and allowed to relocated in Palpa-Gauda.

At Palpa-Gauda, Khadga Shumsher’s youngest wife Tej Kumari Devi died in 1892. To commemorate his grief and the queen’s last wish to construct a place of pilgrim, Khadga decided to build a palace. The name Rani Mahal literally translates as Queen’s Palace.