4 C. The Chaubise Rajya (the Twenty-four states) — the Gandaki basin

Between the Kali Gandaki and the Trishuli: Gorkha, Lamjung, Kaski, Tanahun, Syangja, Palpa, Parbat, Gulmi, Argha, Khachi, Ghiring, Dhurkot, Garhung, Dhor, Paiyun, Rising, Satahung, Bhirkot, Isma, Musikot, Gajur and neighbours — the classic enumerations vary between sources (worth saying in the exam itself). • Kaski — ancient seat with Malla-era prestige; Lamjung — seat of the Shah (Sisodia- descended) dynasty, from which Drabya Shah seized Gorkha in 1559 — founding the house that would unify Nepal; • Palpa — the most powerful Chaubise state, the Sen kingdom dominating the western tarai trade routes; its great king Mukunda Sena (16th c.) raided the Valley itself (c. 1525) — the last such invasion before the Gorkhali conquest.