[5] In 1736, the Gorkhali king Nara Bhupal Shah launched an attack on Nuwakot, a border town and fort in the northwest of the valley, and was roundly defeated.

[7][8] Convinced he would not be able to take Kathmandu with strength, Shah sought to subdue the valley by choking its commerce and supply lines.

His forces occupied strategic passes in the surrounding hills, and strangled the vital trade routes linking Tibet and India.

[10] The prolonged siege forced the Malla king to appeal to the British East India Company for help against the invading Gorkhalis.

[11][12] In August 1767, Captain George Kinloch led a British force towards Kathmandu to rescue its beleaguered inhabitants.

[13] He reached within 75 km (47 mi) of Kathmandu and captured the forts at Sindhuli and Hariharpur, but was forced to retreat by a two-pronged attack from Kaji Vamsharaj Pande and Sardar Banshu Gurung.

[16] King Prithvi Narayan Shah began to assure support to locals of the outer reaches of the Kathmandu valley.

[18] People began to look upon Prithvi Narayan as the savior since he defeated the British forces who were detrimental to the agriculture, trade, and handicrafts.

The fall of the hilltop town located to the west of Kathmandu, which was marked by bloody fighting and savagery, was a setback for the valley's defense.

At Bhimsensthan, Newar women stood at the windows of their houses and poured buckets of water laced with chili powder on the Gorkhali soldiers below.

Historian Baburam Acharya writes "None of the inhabitants of Kathmandu lost anything as a result of the occupation of their town by Prithvi Narayan Shah.