Ancient history of Nepal

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The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be Australoid people. By 4000 BCE, the Tibeto-Burmese people had reached Nepal either directly across the Himalayas from Tibet or via Myanmar and north-east India or both.

King Janaka and his daughter, Sita
.

Around 600 BCE, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the

Gautama Buddha (traditionally dated 563–483 BCE).[5] Nepal came to be established as a land of spirituality and refuge in the intervening centuries, played an important role in transmitting Buddhism to East Asia via Tibet,[6]
and helped preserve Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.

By 250 BCE, the southern regions had come under the influence of the

Emperor Ashoka made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and erected a pillar at Buddha's birthplace, the inscriptions on which mark the starting point for properly recorded history of Nepal.[7] Ashoka also visited the Kathmandu valley and built monuments commemorating Gautama Buddha's visit there. By the 4th century AD, much of Nepal was under the influence of the Gupta Empire.[a][8]

In the Kathmandu valley, the Kiratas were pushed eastward by the

Licchavi dynasty came into power c. 400 AD. The Lichchhavis built monuments and left a series of inscriptions; Nepal's history of the period is pieced together almost entirely from them.[9][6] The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by a Thakuri rule. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 11th century AD; not much is known of this period that is often called the dark period.[10]

Prehistory

Prehistoric sites of

Licchavis from India who ruled the Kathmandu valley in modern-day southern parts of Nepal.[14] Other ethnic groups of Indo-Aryan origin later migrated to southern part of Nepal from Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India.[15][16]

Stella Kramrisch (1964) mentions a substratum of a race of Pre-Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu.[17]

Legends and ancient times

Although very little is known about the early history of Nepal, legends and documented references reach far back to the 30th century BC.[18] Also, the presence of historical sites such as the Valmiki ashram, indicates the presence of Sanatana (ancient) Hindu culture in parts of Nepal at that period.

According to legendary accounts, the early rulers of Nepal were the Gopālavaṃśi (

Gopal Bansa) or "cowherd dynasty", who presumably ruled for about five centuries. They are said to have been followed by the Mahiṣapālavaṃśa or "buffalo-herder dynasty", established by a Yadav named Bhul Singh.[19]

The

Gautama Buddha (c. 6th to 4th centuries BCE), whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism, was the best-known Shakya. He was known in his lifetime as "Siddhartha Gautama" and "Shakyamuni" (Sage of the Shakyas). He was the son of Śuddhodana
, the elected leader of the Śākya Gaṇarājya.

Kirat dynasty

The context of Kirat Dynasty ruling in Nepal before Licchavi dynasty and after Mahispal (Ahir) dynasty are depicted in different manuscripts. Delineating the area between the Sun Koshi and Tama Koshi rivers as their native land, the list of Kirati kings is also given in the Gopal genealogy. By defeating the last king of the Avir dynasty Bhuwan Singh in a battle,[24] Kirati King Yalung or Yalamber had taken the regime of the valley under his control. In Hindu mythological perspective, this event is believed to have taken place in the final phase of Dvapara Yuga or initial phase of Kali Yuga or around the 6th century BC. Descriptions of 32, 28 and 29 Kirati kings are found according to the Gopal genealogy, language-genealogy and Wright genealogy respectively.[25] By means of the notices contained in the classics of the East and West, the Kiranti people were living in their present whereabouts for the last 2000 to 2500 years, with an extensive dominion, possibly reaching at one time to the delta of the Ganges.[26]

Licchavi dynasty

The kings of the

Lichhavi dynasty (originally from Vaishali in modern-day India) ruled what is the Kathmandu valley in modern-day Nepal after the Kirats. It is mentioned in some genealogies and Puranas that the "Suryavansi Kshetriyas had established a new regime by defeating the Kirats". The Pashupati Purana mentions that "the masters of Vaishali established their own regime by confiding Kiratis with sweet words and defeating them in war". Similar contexts can be found in 'Himbatkhanda', which also mentions that "the masters of Vaishali had started ruling in Nepal by defeating Kirats". Different genealogies state different names of the last Kirati king. According to the Gopal genealogy, the Lichhavis established their rule in Nepal by defeating the last Kirati King 'Khigu', 'Galiz' according to the language-genealogy and 'Gasti' according to Wright genealogy.[25]

In

Licchavi with an army and subjugates Nepal. Parts of Nepal and Licchavi was later under the direct influences of the Tibetan empire.[27]

Notes

  1. ^ On Samudragupta's Allahabad Pillar, Nepal is mentioned as a border country.

References

  1. PMID 22437208
    .
  2. ^ P. 17 Looking to the Future: Indo-Nepal Relations in Perspective By Lok Raj Baral
  3. ISBN 978-99933-52-07-5
    .
  4. ^ Nepal Antiquary. Office of the Nepal Antiquary. 1978. p. 7.
  5. ISBN 978-1-4384-0933-7
    .
  6. ^
    ISBN 978-0-89158-651-7
    .
  7. ^ Landon 1928, p. 11.
  8. ISBN 978-0-8108-8024-5
    .
  9. ^ Landon 1928, p. 19.
  10. ^ "Nepal Monarchy: Thakuri Dynasty". royalnepal.synthasite.com. Archived from the original on 30 December 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  11. ^ "The Prehistory of Nepal" (PDF).[permanent dead link]
  12. ISBN 9781438105239
    .
  13. PMID 2876631
    .
  14. ^ Gulia, K.S., Ed. "History and Culture of the Himalaya: Historical Propectives Vol. 1". History and Culture of the Himalaya.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ISBN 978-93-85714-70-2
    .
  16. ISBN 9788120725621
    .
  17. ^ Susi Dunsmore British Museum Press, 1993 - Crafts & Hobbies - 204 pages
  18. ^ "Kirates in Ancient India by G.P. Singh/ G.P. Singh: South Asia Books 9788121202817 Hardcover - Revaluation Books". abebooks.com. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  19. ISBN 81-85425-69-8
    .
  20. ^ Groeger, Herbert; Trenkler, Luigi (2005). "Zen and systemic therapy: Similarities, distinctions, possible contributions of Zen theory and Zen practice to systemic therapy" (PDF). Brief Strategic and Systematic Therapy European Review. 2: 2.
  21. ^ Srivastava, K.M. (1980), "Archaeological Excavations at Priprahwa and Ganwaria and the Identification of Kapilavastu", Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies, 3 (1): 108
  22. ^ Tuladhar, Swoyambhu D. (November 2002), "The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited" (PDF), Ancient Nepal (151): 1–7
  23. ^ Huntington, John C (1986), "Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus" (PDF), Orientations, September 1986: 54–56, archived from the original (PDF) on 28 November 2014
  24. ^ Shrestha, D.B.; Singh, C.B. (1972). The History of Ancient and Medieval Nepal (PDF). p. 8.
  25. ^ a b "The Lichhavi and Kirat kings of Nepal". telegraphnepal.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-10. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  26. ^ Hodgson, B. H. (Brian Houghton) (1880). Miscellaneous essays relating to Indian subjects. Robarts - University of Toronto. London, Trübner.
  27. ^ Beckwith, Christopher I (1987). The Tibetan Empire in Central Asia: A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs, and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages. Princeton University Press.

Sources

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