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Nepal's early history is so intertwined with legend, that it is sometimes almost impossible to separate fact from myth. A good example of this mingling of fact and fiction is the legend about the origin of the Kathmandu Valley.
Legend has it that the Kathmandu Valley was once a large lake surrounded by mountains. It was known as Nag Hirat - 'Tank of serpents' - as nagas or magical snake-beings were said to guard treasure lying at the bottom of the lake. The Buddha dropped a lotus seed into this lake, and it bloomed into a thousand-petalled lotus of blazing light. Centuries later, the Boddhisatva Manjushri arrived from the north and with a single stroke of his Sword of Wisdom, cut a gorge in the mountainous ring around the lake. The waters of the lake rushed out, leaving a flat and fertile bowl that is Kathmandu today.
The Hindu belief is that it was Krishna who created the valley by throwing a thunderbolt that created the Chobar Gorge.
Scientific view also states the valley was actually under water once and that its rivers do flow southward through the Chobar Gorge.
Apart from the legend Nepal has always been an independent country with glorious history, culture and tradition. Although independent, Nepal was ruled by many rulers of different origins.
KIRATIS a Mongoloid people who are believed to be the first rulers, ruled Kathmandu Valley around the 7th or 8th century BC. Very little is known about them. Their first king Yalambar is mentioned in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
Then came the LICCHAVI dynasty. These kings of high-caste Hindu origin ruled from about A.D. 330 to 600. They were responsible for the golden age of Nepali art and architecture as the numerous fine sculptures and delicately carved chaitya, still exists today.
Amsuvarman, the first THAKURI king, came to power in 602 AD, when he succeeded his Licchavi father-in-law. Known as a wise and learned ruler, he married his daughter Bhrikuti to Srongtsen Gampo, the ruler of Tibet who at the time was a very powerful Tibetan King.
The MALLA Dynasty followed the Thakuris. The golden age of the Mallas (1201-1768) began with its first ruler King Arideva. This age saw the generation of vast amounts of wealth, the completion of Nepal's most important palaces, temples and works of art, and the foundation of many current festivals and customs. The rulers competed heavily with each other in this respect. The three greatest towns - Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur - each had powerful rulers who were great patrons of art and culture. Efforts were focused around the Durbar Squares close to the three main palaces. Temples and shrines in stone, brick and wood encrusted with precious metals sprouted everywhere.
The malla rulers were finally overthrown in 1768 by Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder of the present SHAH dynasty. Starting from the tiny Gorkha kingdom, they belonged to Rajasthan who fled during the Muslim invasion. They gradually extended their power with the ultimate vision of someday ruling Kathmandu. Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley and moved his capital there, after 26 years of battles and sieges. Thus began the Modern history of Nepal.
Although Nepal is proud of never having been colonized by a foreign power, but for 104 years, it was ruled by a dynasty considered more despotic than the British Empire ever was. The Rana dynasty. Founded by the dashing Jung Bahadur Rana (Kunwar) took ambition to new heights. After assassinating his own uncle, Jung Bahadur ordered the notorious Kot Massacre of 1846, in which over a hundred courtiers were slaughtered. He deposed the weak Shah ruler and placed the young crown prince as a figurehead on the throne. He proclaimed himself Prime Minister, then Maharaja. He proceeded to inter-marry his many children with members of the Shah royalty, thereby increasing his personal and political connections. For the next century, the Shah kings were indulged but kept away from active politics.
In 1950, King Tribhuvan took refuge in the Indian Embassy and later fled to New Delhi. With the help of Indian government King Tribhuvan returned to Nepal in 1951 as ruler of his country and presided over a coalition government overthrowing the Rana rulers.
King Mahendra succeeded his father King Tribhuvan, upon his death in 1955 followed by King Birendra, the eldest son of King Mahendra. King Birendra came to power in 1972, following the death of his father King Mahendra. In the February of 1990 there started a rebellion due to the widespread discontent with the existing Panchayat system. Groups of protestors were met by tear gas, bullets, and arrests. Rioting, curfews and strikes continued for the next few months in which approximately 300 people were killed. In April of the same year, King Birendra thus declared Nepal as a 'multi-lingual, multi-ethnic, democratic, independent, indivisible, sovereign, Hindu, and constitutional Monarchical Kingdom' with the king as the symbol of national unity and the constitutional monarch which had been followed since then.
Nepal is presently ruled by His Majesty Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah, the 12th King in the Shah Dynasty. |
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