History the History of Nepal Began In, and Centres On, the Kathmandu Valley

32 © Lonely Planet Publications History The history of Nepal began in, and centres on, the Kathmandu Valley. Over the centuries Nepal’s boundaries have extended to include huge tracts of neighbouring India, and contracted to little more than the Kathmandu Valley Nepal is said to get its and a handful of nearby city states, but the valley remained the crucible of name from Nepa, the political power and cultural sophistication. Though it has ancient roots, the name given to the Newari modern state of Nepal emerged only in the 18th century and is in many ways kingdom of the still forging itself as a modern nation state. Kathmandu Valley; the Squeezed between the Tibetan plateau and the plains of the subcontinent – word Nepa is derived the modern-day giants of China and India – Nepal has long prospered from from the name of a its location as a resting place for traders, travellers and pilgrims. An ethnic mythological Hindu sage, melting pot, it has bridged cultures and absorbed elements of its neighbours, Ne, who once lived in yet retained a unique character. the valley. After travelling through India and Nepal for a while, many travellers notice both the similarities and differences. ‘Same, same’, they say, ‘…but different’. THE KIRATIS & BUDDHIST BEGINNINGS Nepal’s recorded history emerges from the mist with the Hindu Kiratis. Arriving from the east around the 7th or 8th century BC, these Mongoloid people are the first known rulers of the Kathmandu Valley. King Yalambar (the first of their 29 kings) is mentioned in the Mahabharata, the Hindu epic, but little more is known about them. In the 6th century BC, Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born into the Sakya royal family of Kapilavastu, near Lumbini, later embarking on a path of meditation and thought that led him to enlightenment as the You can visit the Buddha. The religion that grew up around him continues to shape the archaeological site of face of Asia. Kapilavastu, where Around the 2nd century BC, the great Indian Buddhist emperor Ashoka Siddhartha Gautama (the visited Lumbini and erected a pillar at the birthplace of the Buddha. Popular Buddha) lived for first legend recounts how he then visited the Kathmandu Valley and erected 29 years of his life, at four stupas around Patan, but there is no evidence that he actually made Tilaurakot ( p300 ). it there in person. Either way, his Mauryan empire (321–184 BC) played a major role in popularising Buddhism in the region, a role continued by the north Indian Buddhist Kushan empire, which spanned the 1st to 3rd centuries AD. Over the centuries a resurgent Hinduism came to eclipse Buddhism across the subcontinent and by the time the Chinese Buddhist pilgrims Fa Xian (Fa Hsien) and Xuan Zang (Hsuan Tsang) passed through the region in the 5th and 7th centuries the site of Lumbini was already in ruins. 60 million BC 100,000 BC c 563 BC The Himalaya rise as the Indo- Kathmandu Valley is formed as Siddhartha Gautama, the Bud- Australian tectonic plate crashes a former lake bed dries. Legend dha, is born in Lumbini into into the Eurasian plate. The relates how the Buddhist Bo- royalty and lives as both prince Tethys Sea is pushed up, resulting dhisattva Manjushri created the and ascetic in Nepal before com- in sea shells atop Mt Everest and valley by cutting the Chobar ing up with his Middle Way and fossilised ammonites (saligrams) Gorge and draining the lake’s gaining enlightenment under a in the Kali Gandaki Valley. waters. Bodhi tree (pipal tree) in India. lonelyplanet.com HISTORY •• Licchavis, Thakuris, then Darkness 33 WARNING ABOUT FACTS & FIGURES References for most things in Nepal are inconsistent. For example, we’ve seen several different figures for the amount of square kilometres Nepal occupies. When temples were built is also a matter of speculation: some sources give a date of construction for a certain temple and the period of reign for the king who built it, and the two only sometimes coincide. Many temples in Nepal have alternative names. For example, Vishnu Temple in Patan’s Durbar Sq is referred to as Jagannarayan or Charnarayan Temple. Where possible we have provided alternative names that are commonly used. Further confusion results from different systems of transliteration from Sanskrit – the letter ‘h’, or the use of the double ‘hh’ appears inconsistently, so you may see Machhendranath and Machendranath (and no one really knows how to spell Machhapuchhare!). This difference only occurs during transliteration, of course – the Nepali script is always consistent. The letters ‘b’ and ‘v’ are also used interchangeably in different systems – Shiva’s fearsome manifestation is Bhairab or Bhairav. Finally, texts differ in their use of the words Nepali and Nepalese. In this book we use Nepali for the language and for other terms relating to the country and the people. LICCHAVIS, THAKURIS, THEN DARKNESS Buddhism faded and Hinduism reasserted itself with the arrival from northern India of the Licchavis. In AD 300 they overthrew the Kiratis, who resettled in the east to become the ancestors of today’s Rai and Limbu people. Between the 4th and 9th centuries the Licchavis ushered in a golden age of cultural brilliance. Their strategic position allowed them to prosper from trade between India and China. The chaityas (a particular style of stupas) and monuments of this era can still be seen at the Changu Narayan Temple ( p210 ), north of Bhaktapur, and in the backstreets of Kathmandu’s old town. It’s believed that the original stupas at Chabahil, Bodhnath and Swayambhunath date from the Licchavi era. Amsuvarman, the first Thakuri king, came to power in 602, succeeding his Licchavi father-in-law. He consolidated his power to the north and south by marrying his sister to an Indian prince and his daughter Bhrikuti For an online history of to the great Tibetan king Songsten Gompo. Together with the Tibetan Nepal visit www.infoclub king’s Chinese wife Wencheng, Bhrikuti managed to convert the king to .com.np/nepal/history. Buddhism around 640, changing the face of both Tibet and, later, Nepal. From the late 7th century until the 13th century Nepal slipped into its ‘dark ages’, of which little is known. Tibet invaded in 705 and Kashmir invaded in 782. The Kathmandu Valley’s strategic location and fertile soil, however, ensured the kingdom’s growth and survival. King Gunakamadeva is credited with founding Kantipur, today’s Kathmandu, around the 10th century. c 250 BC 57 BC AD 464 Mauryan Emperor Ashoka (r Nepal’s official Vikram (Bikram) Nepal’s earliest surviving 268–231 BC) visits Lumbini, em- Samwat calendar starts, in inscription is carved into the braces Buddhism and builds four spring. Thus to Nepalis the year beautiful Changu Narayan stupas on the outskirts of Patan. 2010 is 2067. Temple in the Kathmandu Much of India and Nepal adopts Valley on the orders of the new religion, ushering in a King Manadeva. golden age for Buddhism..

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