# Shiva Shankar

_Nepalese musician (1932-2004)_

Canonical: https://diginpl.com/people/shiva-shankar
Last updated: 2026-10-31

> Shiva Shankar Manandhar (Nepali: शिव शंकर मानन्धर; 22 February 1932 – 14 November 2004) was a singer, music composer of Nepali songs, and the lead actor in the first Nepali movie, Aama. For nearly a half century beginning from 1950 to late 1990, his name has probably been mentioned more often in books, journals, lectures and conversations about Nepalese music than any other musicians.. He is considered as the most versatile music composer of Nepal and his music style was followed by several contemporary musicians.

## Quick facts

- **Born:** 22 February 1932 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7499251#P569))
- **Died:** 14 November 2004 ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7499251#P570))
- **Citizenship:** Nepal ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7499251#P27))
- **Occupation:** singer; film actor; composer ([Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7499251#P106))

## About

Singing and composing music for songs of love, tragedy, devotion (bhajan) and patriotism, he pioneered many of the genres of modern Nepali music. He has composed music for around 1,200 Nepalese songs. He himself sang about three hundred songs. For these contributions, Shiva Shankar received dozens of prestigious national awards.

Shiva Shankar Manandhar was recruited to the service of the state-owned Radio Nepal in 1951 by Bal Krishna Sama, the pre-eminent playwright of Nepal. Soon he was tasked with exploring and mentoring new musical talent and overseeing the recording of songs in the studio for radio broadcast. Together with his colleague Nati Kaji, he made Radio Nepal an institution for breeding modern Nepalese music and songs. All Nepalese singers and musicians of the later half of the twentieth century came into prominence through this institution. Radio Nepal fostered not only the in-country musical talents, but also motivated several prodigious musicians of Darjeeling (India) to blossom in Nepal. They included Amber Gurung, Gopal Yonzon, Aruna Lama and several others.

While working at Radio Nepal, Shiva Shankar composed music for many prominent Nepalese singers. These included Tara Devi (singer), Mira Rana, Nirmala Shrestha, Gyanu Rana, Aruna Lama, Kunti Moktan, Ganga Malla, Puspa Nepali, Narayan Gopal, Prem Dhwoj Pradhan, Yogesh Vaidhya, Udit…

## Questions

**When was Shiva Shankar born?**  
Shiva Shankar was born on 22 February 1932.

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## Sources

- [Wikipedia (English): Shiva Shankar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_Shankar) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikipedia (Nepali): शिवशंकर मानन्धर](https://ne.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%B5%E0%A4%B6%E0%A4%99%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%B0_%E0%A4%AE%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%A7%E0%A4%B0) — [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
- [Wikidata item Q7499251](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7499251) — [CC0 1.0](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- [Image: Shivashankar1.jpg by Manandharg ( talk ) (PD)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Shivashankar1.jpg)

## Licence and attribution

Text from the Wikipedia article Shiva Shankar, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page's text is shared under the same licence. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Shivashankar1.jpg — Manandharg ( talk ), PD.

## Cite this page

"Shiva Shankar". DigiNepal. Last updated 31 October 2026. https://diginpl.com/people/shiva-shankar. Retrieved 4 November 2026.