Saturday, September 19, 2009

History of Newar People

Saturday, September 19, 2009
History (इतिहास)
The different divisions of Newars had different historical developments before their arrival in the Kathmandu valley. The common identity of Newar was formed after their arrival to the valley. Until the unification of Nepal, with the possible exception of the Muslims under Gayasuddin who attacked and destroyed many parts of the valley, all people who had inhabited the valley at any point of time were either Newar or were progenitors of Newar. So, the history of Newar correlates to a great magnitude to the history of Kathmandu valley prior to the Unification of Nepal.

The earliest known history of Newar and Kathmandu valley were recorded in the form of mythical scriptures. One of such texts which even accounts the creation of the valley is Swayambhu Purana.
Swayambhu Purana
Swayambhu Purana is a Buddhist scripture about the origin and development of Kathmandu valley. Swayambhu Purana gives detail of all the Buddhas who came to Kathmandu..... According to Swayambhu Purana, the Kathmandu valley was a giant lake called Nagdaha until the Bodhisattva Manjushree, with the aid of a holy sword called Chandrahrasa, cut open a part of southern hill of Kachchhapala and then cut open Gokarna daha and drained the giant lake, allowing humans to settle the valley land. This apocryphal legend is supported by some geological evidence of an ancient lakebed and it provides an explanation for the high fertility of Kathmandu valley soil. According to Swayambhu Purana, Manjushree then established a city called Manjupattan (Sanskrit: land established by Manjushree), now called Manjipa, where he crowned Dharmakara as the king of the land. A shrine dedicated to Manjushree is still present in Majipa.

No recorded historical document has been found after this era till the advent of Gopal era. A genealogy of emperors is recorded in a book called Gopal Raj Banshawali. According to this manuscript, Gopals were followed by Mahispals, and Kirats before Licchavis entered from south. Some claim Buddha to have visited Nepal during the reign of Kirat emperor Jitedasti.

The Licchavi Licchavi (लिच्छवी )

Licchavi was an ancient republic which existed in what is now Bihar state of India, since the birth of Mahavira , and later a kingdom in Nepal which existed in the Kathmandu Valley from approximately 400 A.D to 750 A.D....dynasty ruled for at least 600 years, followed by the Malla dynasty in 12th century AD. Nepal Bhasa script is estimated to be at least 1200 years old. Nepal Bhasa inscriptions in an ancient manuscript, Nidan, from 901 AD and on a stone tablet from 1173 AD in the courtyard of Bajrayogini Temple.

Bajrayogini Temple
Bajrayogini Temple is a famous Tantrik temple of Kathmandu valley. It is also well known as Bodhisattva's temple.A very famous temple of Nepal of Bajrayogini situated in Sankhu, Kathmandu is supposed to have the greatest power of blessings....at Sankhu

Sankhu (सांखू)
Sankhu is a Village Development Committee in Kathmandu District, Nepal in the Bagmati Zone of central Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 2097 residing in 353 individual households...., attest to the deep roots of Newar culture in the Kathmandu

Kathmandu
Kathmandu is the Capital and the largest metropolis city of Nepal. The city is situated in Kathmandu Valley that also contains two other cities - Patan, Nepal and Bhaktapur....valley.



Newar reign over the valley and their sovereignty and influence over neighboring territories ended approximately 250 years ago with the conquest of the Kathmandu

Kathmandu
Kathmandu is the Capital and the largest metropolis city of Nepal. The city is situated in Kathmandu Valley that also contains two other cities - Patan, Nepal and Bhaktapur....valley in 1769 by the Gorkhali Shah dynasty founded by Prithvi Narayan Shah

Prithvi Narayan Shah
Prithvi Narayan Shah, King of Nepal was a Nepali nobleman. He was the ninth generation descendant of Dravya Shah , the founder of the ruling house of Prithbinarayan..... Newars were engaged in business between Tibet and Moguls in India. So, to affect the Mogul empire's treasury, British East India Company supplied weapons and advice to Prithvi Narayan Shah who in return would conquer kathmandu valley and put an end to the trade between Tibet and Moguls of India. Systematic brutal suppression of newar people was pursued for generations during early shah dynasty rule in order to discourage newar people from any political aspiration.7

The Newar maintain a highly literate culture and their members are prominent in every sphere, from agriculture, business, education and government administration to medicine, law, religion, architecture, fine art, and literature. There is a wide acceptance of the fact that Newar architects may have been responsible for developing Asia's hallmark multi-tiered pagoda

Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia....architecture. Newar devotional pauba (and thanka) painting, sculpture and metal craftsmanship are world-renowned for their exquisite beauty. The fine temples and palaces of Kathmandu

Kathmandu
Kathmandu is the Capital and the largest metropolis city of Nepal. The city is situated in Kathmandu Valley that also contains two other cities - Patan, Nepal and Bhaktapur....

, Patan and BhaktapurBhaktapur

Bhaktapur , also Bhadgaon or Khwopa is an ancient Newar town in the east corner of the Kathmandu valley, Nepal. It is located in Bhaktapur District in the Bagmati Zone....

are largely the product of Newar architects, artisans, and sculptors. Now however the enterprising Newars are spread across Nepal, Bhutan, State of Sikkim and the District of Darjeeling in India.


2 comments:

Niran said...

There is a small hydro-power project near Sankhu but I am unable to find it. So can I get any help from you.
And I am also from Sankhu. :)

suresh said...

is sankhu known as manjupattan???i am eager to visit that historical city and see that shrine dedicated to manjushri..hope anyone will reply my question

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