LAMJUNG: Chief of Army Staff, General Purna Chandra Thapa, unveiled a statue of 16th-century king Yasho Brahma Shah amid a special ceremony held at Lamjung Palace in Gaunshahar of Lamjung district on Sunday. Gaunshahar in Lamjung is cited in history as the birthplace of Shah Dynasty. Ruler of Lamjung principality, Yasho Brahma Shah, the son of Kulamandan Khan (later conferred title of Shah) was the father of Narahari Shah and Dravya Shah. During Yasho Brahma Shah’s rule Nepal was divided into 24 principalities and 22 small kingdoms. His youngest, Dravya Shah founded and ruled the Kingdom of Gorkha in 1559, nine generations before Prithvi Narayan Shah envisioned a unified Nepal. It has been learnt that CoAS Thapa, a native of Lamjung, initiated the construction of Shah’s statue in coordination with stakeholders.