He wrote his first epic, Shakuntala, in three months. It is said that Puskar Shumshere Ranachallenged him to write another epic in thirty days and Devkota responded by handing hi the manuscript of his second epic, Sulochana, in ten days. Not only this, he could easily converse in poetry. He was a bit famous for his talents of creating the piece of poetry on the spot.
Such a spontaneous genius was Laxmi Prasad Devkota, one of the greatest Nepali poets, born to Tilmadav Devtoka and Amar Rajyalaxmi as a third son. He was born in 1909 (B.S. 1966 Kartik 27) at the night of laxmi Puja, a great festival, and his parents named him after the goddess regarding an omen. It was an omen indeed, but of different kind. Instead of the devotee of Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, Devlota after all turned to be a good devotee of Sarawsoti, the goddess of education and learning. So, the rivalry between the two goddesses was played out in Devkota's life. He was known as Mahakabi, the great poet, and lived and died a poor man.
When Devkota was born in Dillibazaar, Kathmandu, in 1909, the country was ruled by the Rana obligarchy. The Rana administration was not enthusiastic about educating the masses, so the permit to study was a privilege. Devkota's family went through a lot of ruble to enroll him at Durbar School, the only school in the Kathmandu Valley. Devkota wrote his first poems at school. He is said to be a quiet student who preferred reading and writing. He proved to be an excellent pupil and was married at the age of fifteen while at school.
After graduating from school with high marks, Devkota enrolled in the science program at Tri Chandra College in 1925 and began to read English Poetry. Writers of the romantic era were a particularly strong influence on Devkota and he incorporated same of their themes in his work. Devkota completed his Intermediate of Science degree and switched to arts. He received his bachelor's degree in arts in 1929 and went to Patna, India, and was impressed by the libraries he saw there. he and his friends then wrote a letter to the Rana prime minister requesting permission to open a library in Kathmandu. Since the administration took a dim view of providing uncensored information, Devkota and his friends were put in prison. They were released after paying heavy fines.
In 1931, Devkota went back to Patna on scholarship hoping to study English for his Master's degree. But seats were not available so he studied for the Bachelor of Law degree instead. After he received the degree, he returned home and felt the first shocks of poverty that would trouble him for the rest of his life. Despite tutoring to supplement his earning, sometimes for fourteen hours a day, financial problems never left him. Muna Madan waws among the creations of this time. the book challenged Sanskrit scholars determined good poetry as those following the Sanskrit form, Muna Madan was based on the Audrey folk tune. The book received recognition from the Ranas and a significant purse fo Rs. 100.
Financial troubles followed Devkota throughout his life. Part of the problem was his generous nature. He gave money to people who came to him with hard luck stories. One cold winter day he gave the coat he was wearing to a beggar shivering at the roadside. The mid-thirties were a terrible time for Devkota. His dearest and nearest died within two years. It struck him badly. Devkota was never a smoker at school or college, but when he learned to smoke, he became a chain smoker. He was exceedingly nervous and began to complain that everything hurt him. His brothers were worried enough to put him in mental hospital in Ranchi, India, for five months in 1939.
In 1943 Devkota was selected to represent writers in the Nepal Bhasanuwad Parished, a state organization that acted as a censorship board. He wrote a lot during this time and tutored for long hours. Most of his works were unconventional. He had a habit of inventing new words to suit his poetic requirements. Devkota became a professor at Tri-Chandra College in 1946. But surprisingly, he left Nepal without any obvious reason and wroked in exile in Benaras, India. He was editor of Yugbani, an opposition paper. He also wrote Pahadi Pukar, a book that addressed people's poverty in Nepal. The book was banned in Nepal. the Ranas invited him back to the country. After the democratic movement was successful, he helped publish Indreni, a bilingual, and was a part of the influential Royal Nepal Academy.
Even as he was having financial worries, he was getting high appreciation and by 1957, he had become minister of education though he was not an active politician. At this time he suffered from what doctors at first thought was gastric ulcer. By 1958, cancer was diagnosed and since Devkota did not have enough money, King Mahendra gave him Rs. 5,000 after complaints in the local papers and the India for treatment. Three inches of cancerous color was removed. There was much pain towards the end of his life and perhaps this explains his bitterness. As a cycle, Devkota died in 1959 (B.S 1016 Bhadra 29) in sorrow, thinking that he achieved nothing. he asked that Muna Madan be preserved even if all his other works faded away. Muna Madan is the must popular of Nepalese works today and though Devkota felt himself a beggar towards the end of his life, he is revered by his country people as a god of Nepalese literature.
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