His poems possessed a formal dignity that had been lacking in most earlier works in Nepali; many of them conformed in their outlook with the philosophy of orthodox Vedanta, although others were essentially original in their tone and inspiration.

From an early age, he composed pedantic "riddle-solving" (samasya-purti) verses, a popular genre adapted from an earlier Sanskrit tradition, and his first published poems appeared in 1904.

Lekhnath was honoured by the Nepali literary world on his seventieth birthday in 1955 when he became the focal point of a procession around the streets of Kathmandu.

In 1957, he was awarded membership in the newly founded Royal Nepal Academy, and in 1969 he was honoured posthumously with the prestigious Tribhuvan Puraskar prize.

These honours are a mark of the peculiar reverence felt by members of the cultural establishment of Nepal for the man whose poems represent the "classical" aspect of their modern literature.

Penniless, he embarked on a search for his father's old estate in the Nepalese lowlands, which was ultimately fruitless, and he, therefore, spent the next few years of his life seeking work in India.

In 1909 he returned to Kathmandu, where he entered the employ of Bhim Shamsher, an important member of the ruling Rana family, as priest and tutor.

One of Lekhnath's most popular poems, "A Parrot in a Cage" (Pinjadako Suga) is usually interpreted as an allegory with a dual meaning: on one level of interpretation, it describes the condition of the soul trapped in the body, a common theme in Hindu devotional verse, but it also bewails the poet's lot as an employee of Bhim Shamsher.

This particular poem is extremely famous in Nepal because it is one of the earliest examples of a writer criticizing the Rana families who ruled the country at the time.

In 1909, when Lekhnath returned to Kathmandu, he entered the employ of Bhim Shamsher, an important member of the ruling Rana family, as priest and tutor.

As a result of this fruitful relation, his first major composition, Varsha Vichara (Reflections on the Rains), was first published in Madhavi in 1909.

In all of his creations, his primary concern was to create "sweetness" in the language of his poems, and many were rewritten several times before the poet was content with them.

His first composition after 1950 was a long poem entitled "Remembering the Truth of Undying Light" (Amar Jyotiko Satya-Smriti), which expressed grief over the death of Mahatma Gandhi.