Princess Shova was born in Kathmandu, the fifth child and youngest daughter of King Mahendra and his first wife, Crown Princess Indra.
She was educated at the Loreto Convent, Darjeeling.
In 1970, she married Kumar Mohan Bahadur Shahi, a descendant of the ruling families of Rukumkot, Jumla and Jajarkot.
On June 1, 2001, ten members of the Nepalese royal family were murdered, reportedly by the Crown Prince Dipendra. Dipendra first shot King Birendra. The wounded king wanted to pick up the weapon that the Crown Prince had left behind and shoot his own son, in an attempt to stop the massacre, but the king was stopped by Princess Shova. Shova must have thought that this was the only weapon in the Crown Prince's possession. She pulled out the magazine. However, the Crown Prince had several other weapons in his possession.[1] The massacre resulted in the deaths of ten royals (including the Crown Prince, who committed suicide). Princess Shova Shahi herself was wounded but survived.
In 2008, the monarchy in Nepal was abolished. Today,[when?] Shova and her brother, the former king Gyanendra, are the only remaining children of King Mahendra.