- Muna-Madan (short epic, 1935)
Muna-Madan is the most popular and works of Laxmi Prasad Devkota. The book has remained a bestseller in Nepali literature to date. It is written in a simple folk meter called jhyaure. For this reason, it was a break in the tradition of writing epics only in classical meters. Poetic drama and film too have been made on the story of the epic. People consider many lines from the epic to be sources of inspiration, and they sing them by heart. The epic underscores the deplorable life of the lower-middle-class people of Nepal during the Rana regime. The story depicts a young man Madan, who enters Lhasa to work and earn, and finds his mother and wife already dead on returning home. The epic is a legend of tragedy, humanity, love and communal harmony. Description of the pristine nature of Lhasa and regions north of Nepal, the selfless humanitarian feelings of a Tibetan man, and the incident of betrayal from close friends make the main narrative of the epic
A special mention may be made of the fact that a statue of the poet Devkota has been erected in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. - Shakuntal ( epic, 1945)
Shakuntal is a famous epic by Devkota. He wrote this work to fulfill the absence of original epics in Nepali literary tradition. In the epic, the poet has adopted the story of Dushyanta and Shakuntala from the Mahabharata, and gives his original tint. Divided into 24 cantos, the epic makes use of 32 different classical meters. This epic that reinterprets and eulogizes ancient Indian civilization, rests on the themes of love and praise of nature. The epic is considered one of the most important ones in the history of Nepali poetry. Devkota wrote the epic in three months. - Sulochana (epic, 1946)
Sulochana is a famous epic by Devkota. The poet wrote the epic in mere ten days. It is considered the first social epic in Nepali literature. It is a reformist epic that supports love-marriage and widows’ remarriage, and denounces the exploitation of women. It underscores a detailed story of the difficulties faced by a high-class woman Sulochana and a middle-class man Ananganath because of their love affair, which is not endorsed by their families and society because of class difference. The epic makes use of around twelve different classical meters. It is considered one of the most important epics in Nepali literature.
- Prometheus (epic, 1972)
Though published posthumously, Devkota has started writing Prometheus in 1954. Based on an ancient Greek myth, the epic revolves around the story of Prometheus. Devkota wrote this work, being inspired by Achilles’ captive Prometheus, and PB Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound. The epic is based on the tussle between the cruel king Zeus, and philanthropist Prometheus. A remake of the myth of Prometheus who rebels against the Zeus and steals fire from heaven, this epic was aimed at inspiring Nepali people to revolt against the autocratic Rana rulers. The epic is based on liberal ideals of humanism, revolution and liberation. It is a work written in free verse. - Kunjini (epic, 1953)
The epic Kunjini that makes use of around two dozen Nepali folk meters, is based on a folktale popular in Nepali society. A quite famous work of the poet, Kunjini is the story of the ultimate separation of Goré, the protagonist from the lower class, and Kunjini, a maiden from a higher class, whose love affair is shattered by parental and social rejection. The epic also depicts the obligation of Nepali youths to go and fight for others during the world wars. The protagonist Goré joins the German army, where he is injured in the war, and ultimately dies. By taking a Gurung man as his protagonist for this epic, Dekvota has given a clear message that Nepal not only belongs to the so-called high class people like Brahman and Chhetris; it belongs equally to people of other communities. He has done the same by taking Sherpa in Luni and Tamang in Mhendu for his protagonists. This is a historic contribution Devkota made to Nepali epic tradition.
- Pahadi Pukar (1948, Raxaul)
Pahadi Pukar is a long poem written in 37 couplets in folk meter jhyaure. Those days, Devkota had quit his teaching job and plunged into anti-Rana movement, leading to his self-exile to Banaras of India, where he edited Yugvani, a periodical. He wrote Pahadi Pukar during this exile. In the epic, he has made a realistic description of the country’s situation during the Rana regime in a simple, easily understandable language, inspiring people to side with change and revolution for procuring their rights. As compared to other epics, Devkota is more articulate in Pahadi Pukar in depicting social and political problems of his time, and in appealing the people to go for revolution.
- Krishi Bala (poetic drama, 1956)
Krishi Bala is the first poetic drama in Nepali literature. It was published in 1965, four years after the death of poet Devkota. The drama, in the fashion of a love story, presents the struggle of Usha and Kiran, both from peasant communities, to free themselves from the clutches of feudal exploitation. The success of the peasants’ attack upon landlord Sri Prasad against all his oppressive moves and his attempts to kidnap the heroine Usha gives a glimpse of class struggle.
- Laxmi Nibandaha Sangraha (essay collection, 1945)
Devkota is the first modern essayist of Nepali literature. He started the tradition of writing personal essays, like in the West, taking a break from the tradition of writing didactic, educational and reformist essays. The collection Laxmi Nibandha Sangraha contains 27 essays, written as personal essays in an extremely lucid and poetic language. The first essay in the collection is “Ashar Pandra”, (the 15th days of the month of Ashad), which takes for its subject that day in the mid-summer, when Nepalese are busy cultivating rice, their stable food crop. It is Devkota’s special trait to take an ordinary subject and give it a formal, imaginative color. “Hai Hai Angrezi”, “Gadha Buddhimanko Guru”, “Ke Nepal Sano Chha?”, “Kala ra Jeevan”, “Nidra”, “Masalako Botle ke Herchha?” are some of his famous essays. Though some essays reproduce outdated ideas, Devkota is basically an original writer articulating his own, free convictions. - Champa (1968)
Champa is a social novelette. Written in opposition to the practice of child-marriage and forced marriage prevalent in the late forties, the novelette is reformist in spirit, and describes the volley of allegations and problems a daughter-in-law is doomed to face in a traditional Nepali society. Conforming to the prevalent belief that parents are blessed with divine blessing if they marry away their daughter before first menstruation, Champa is married away early, following which, she faces a lot of trouble. This is the plot of the novelette.
- Laxmi Katha Sangraha (collection of stories, 19……)
This anthology collects around two dozen of stories. These stories are directed against old creeds, superstitions and behaviors. The stories openly denounce social injustice. Pristine description of the children’s world, the voice of women’s revolt, mental trauma engendered by poverty etc. are the subjects of these stories. - Maharana Pratap (epic, 1959)
This epic depicts the story of a proud and patriotic Indian historical personage Maharana Pratap. Though it was written in 1946, its preface was written in the last few days of the poet’s life, and the work was published posthumously in 1967. The epic chronicles the story of brave and proud king Maharana Pratap of India, who fought the two-hundred and fifty thousand soldiers of Mughal Emperor Akbar (1956-1605) with an army of merely twenty-two thousand soldiers, and without letting his self-esteem and commitment fall. The epic, by making such depictions, aims at inspiring people to struggle against the autocratic Rana rulers of the then Nepal. The poet has made use of 14 classical meters in the epic. - Ban Kusum (epic, 1945)
Based on a folktale, epic Ban Kusum chronicles the story of a prince, who grows tired of the constant intrigues and tussles for power inside the palace, and finally leaves the palace and goes to take refuge in the lap of nature in a forest. There, he meets Ban Kusum, a beautiful maiden and falls in love. At the palace, the intrigues take such untoward turn that the status of the regime itself comes under question, and he is called back to rescue the regime. Though written earlier, the epic was published only in 1968, after the death of the poet. The poet has made use of ten classical meters in the epic. - Manoranjan (anthology of poems, 1967)
Written in 1959 when the poet was suffering from cancer, Manoranjan is an anthology of humorous poems. The anthology contains 21 humorous poems, written in folk meter. Through them, the poet has exposed new and old follies and vices prevalent in society and individuals. - Luni (short epic, 1966)
This short epic that features a maiden from Sherpa community is written in Bhote-selo, a typical Nepali folk meter. The epic makes a beautiful depiction of the nature of Helambu, a place in the north Himalayan region, neighboring China. The poet had planned the epic in 1938, the year he visited the famous pilgrim site Gosaikunda in the northern Himalayan region bordering China, but he accomplished it only in 1946. Divided into 16 cantos, the epic chronicles the tale of Luni, who was forcefully separated from her lover Changna, and married away to Lhano, the prince of Lhasa, and finally brought back home. The epic also has references of Buddhist philosophy and Buddhist monasteries. - Mhendu (short epic, 1958)
Mhendu is a short lyrical epic featuring the ideal love story of Mhendu, a maiden from Tamang community residing in the northern Himalayan region along the border of Nepal and China, and Gumbu, a young man from the urban area of Nepal. Accomplished in 1946 and divided into 5 cantos, the epic has adopted Tamang-selo, a folk meter typically practiced by the Tamangs. The epic foregrounds the cultural scenario of the Tamangs, one of the ethnic communities of Nepal. - Sabitri-Satyavan (short epic, 1940)
Sabitri-Satyavan is a poetic drama Devkota reportedly wrote in English around 1927-28, and rendered into Nepali around 1933. The drama was staged in Kathmandu around 1940. Divided into five acts, the drama deals with a mythological subject, namely the love story of Sabitri and Satyavan, in which Sabitri defeats death by dint of her true love to get back her dead husband Satyavan. This way, the epic eulogizes the power of true love. - Putali (collection of poems, 1952)
Putali is a collection of fifteen poems for children, written in musical style and language easy enough for children to understand. Written since 1943, these poems take patriotism, moral lessons, love for humanity, and education as their subject matter. - Sunko Bihan (collection of poems, 1953)
Sunko Bihan is a collection of poems for children, written in a language and style dear and understandable to children. Written since 1943, these poems take patriotism, moral lessons, love for humanity, and education as their subject matter. In one of the poems in the collection, Devkota has expressed his hope that one day, golden daybreak will occur in the world. - Bhavana Gangeya (collection of poems, 1967)
Bhavana Gangeya is a collection of poems Devkota wrote while he was in exile in Banaras of India around the year 1947. The collection contains 44 poems in different titles and sub-titles. Since they were written while the poet was out of the country to partake in the movement for democracy, some of his poems in this collection deal with subjects like freedom, humanity, self-esteem, and denouncement of casteism. - Maina (short epic, 1982)
Written between 1947 and 1949, the short epic Maina features the story of a licentious woman, who keeps adulterous relation with the brother of her husband, being unsatisfied with her spouse. Through that woman character who first poisons her own husband to death, and thereafter kills her daughter to eliminate all chances of the leakage of information, Devkota draws the readers’ attention towards the dire consequences sexual perversions can invite in society.