A History of Nepal

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History of Nepal

 

"The documented history of Nepal begins with the Changu Narayan

temple inscription of King Manadeva I (C 464-505 A.D.) of the

Lichavi dynasty."

 

Before Nepal's emergence as a nation in the latter half of the 18th

century, the designation 'Nepal' was largely applied only to the

Kathmandu Valley. Thus up until the unification of the country,

Nepal's history is largely the history of the Kathmandu Valley.

References to Nepal in famous Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata,

Puranas and also Buddhist and Jain scriptures, establish the

country's antiquity as an independent political and territorial

entity. The Vamshavalis or chronicles, the oldest of which was

written during the 14th century, are the only fairly reliable basis

for Nepal's ancient history. The Vamshavalis mention the rule of

several dynasties the Gopalas, the Abhiras and the Kiratas -- over a

stretch of centuries. However, no extant historical evidence has yet

authenticated the rule of these legendary dynasties. The documented

history of Nepal begins with the Changu Narayan temple inscription

of King Manadeva I (C 464-505 A.D.) of the Lichavi dynasty.

 

 

 

 

 

Lichavi Dynasty

 

The Lichavis are said to have migrated into Nepal from north India

in around 250 A.D. The first Lichavi king of historical importance

was Manadeva 1. Another important Lichavi monarch was Anshuverma who

opened trade routes to Tibet. One of his daughters, Bhrikuti, who

was married to Tibetan ruler Tsrong-tsong Gompo, was instrumental in

spreading the Gospel of the Buddha in Tibet and China. Anshuverma

has been referred to as a man of many talents in the accounts of the

Chinese traveler Huen Tsang, who had visited India in the 7th

century AD.

 

Narendradeval another Lichavi king, initiated friendly relations

with China and his successors laid the foundations of friendship

with India by entering into matrimonial alliances with the Indian

royal families. The Lichchhavi rule spanned over a period of about

630 years, the last ruler being Jayakamadeva.

 

Malla Dynasty

 

After the fall of the Lichchhavis came the Malla period during which

the foundation of the city of Kantipur (later Kathmandu) was laid.

The early Malla rule started with Ari Malla in the 12th century and

over the next two centuries grew into a large empire before

disintegrating into small principalities which later became known as

the Baisi (i.e. the twenty-two principalities). This was more or

less coincidental with the emergence of the Chaubisi (i.e. twenty-

four principalities). The history of these principalities remains

shrouded up until the time when they joined other kingdoms, both

large and small, to form the unified Kingdom of Nepal.

 

Jayasthiti Malla, with whom commences the later Malla period in the

Kathmandu Valley, reigned towards the end of the 14th century.

Though his rule was rather short, his place among the rulers in the

Valley is eminent for the various social and economic reforms such

as the 'Sanskritization' of the Valley people, new methods of land

measurement and allocation etc. Yakshya Malla, the grandson of

Jayasthiti Malla, ruled the Kathmandu Valley until almost the end of

the 15th century. After his demise, the Valley was divided into

three independent Valley kingdoms -- Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan -

- in about 1484 A.D. This division led the Malla rulers into

internecine wars for territorial and commercial gains. Mutually

debilitating wars gradually weakened them and by the time of King

Prithvi Narayan ShahÕs invasion of the Valley, they had by

themselves reached the brink of political extinction. The last

rulers were Jaya Prakash Malla, Tej Narsingh Malla and Ranjit Malla

of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur respectively.

 

Shah Dynasty, Unification of Nepal

 

Prithvi Narayan Shah (c 1769-1775), with whom we move into the

modern period of Nepal's history, was the ninth generation

descendant of Dravya Shah (1559-1570), the founder of the ruling

house of Gorkha. Prithvi Narayan Shah succeeded his father King Nara

Bhupal Shah to the throne of Gorkha in 1743 AD. King Prithvi Narayan

Shah was quite aware of the political situation of the Valley

kingdoms as well as of the Barsi and Chaubisi principalities. He

foresaw the need for unifying the small principalities as an urgent

condition for survival in the future and set him self to the task

accordingly.

 

His assessment of the situation among the hill principalities was

correct, and the principalities were subjugated fairly easily. King

Prithvi Narayan Shah's victory march began with the conquest of

Nuwakot, which lies between Kathmandu and Gorkha, in 1744. After

Nuwakot, he occupied strategic points in the hills surrounding the

Kathmandu Valley. The ValleyÕs communications with the outside world

were thus cut off. The occupation of the Kuti Pass in about 1756

stopped the ValleyÕs trade with Tibet. Finally, King Prithvi Narayan

Shah entered the Valley. After the victory of Kirtipur. King Jaya

Prakash Malla of Kathmandu sought help from the British and so the

East India Company sent a contingent of soldiers under Captain

Kinloch in 1767. The British force was defeated at Sindhuli by King

Prithvi Narayan ShahÕs army. This defeat of the British completely

shattered the hopes of King Jaya Prakash Malla. The capture of

Kathmandu (September 25. 1768) was dramatic. As the people of

Kathmandu were celebrating the festival of Indrajatra, Prithvi

Narayan Shah and his men marched into the city. A throne was put on

the palace courtyard for the king of Kathmandu. Prithvi Narayan Shah

sat on the throne and was hailed by the people as the king of

Kathmandu. Jaya Prakash Malla managed to escape with his life and

took asylum in Patan. When Patan was captured a few weeks later,

both Jaya Prakash Malla and the king of Patan, Tej Narsingh Mallal

took refuge in Bhaktapur, which was also captured after some time.

Thus the Kathmandu Valley was conquered by King Prithvi Narayan Shah

and Kathmandu became the capital of the modern Nepal by 1769.

 

King Prithvi Narayan Shah was successful in bringing together

diverse religio-ethnic groups under one national. He was a true

nationalist in his outlook and was in favor of adopting a closed-

door policy with regard to the British. Not only his social and

economic views guided the country's socio-economic course for a long

time, his use of the imagery, 'a yam between two bouldersÕ in

Nepal's geopolitical context, formed the principal guideline of the

country`s foreign policy for future centuries.

 

The War with British - The Nepalese had differences of opinion with

the East India Company regarding the ownership of the land strip of

the western Terai, particularly Butwal and Seoraj. The outcome of

the conflict was a war with the British. The British launched their

attack on the Nepali forces at Nalapani, the western most point of

Nepal's frontier at the close of 1814. Though the Nepalese were able

to inflict heavy losses to the British army on various fronts, the

larger army and the superior weapons of the British proved too

strong. The Nepali army evacuated the areas west of the Mahakali

river and ultimately the treaty of Sugauli was signed with the

British in 1816. Among other things, this treaty took away a large

chunk of the Terai from Nepal and the rivers Mahakali and Mechi were

fixed as the country's western and eastern boundaries. At this time,

King Girvana Yuddha Biktram Shah was on the throne of Nepal, and the

power of state was in the hands of Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa who

wielded enormous power during the rule of King Girvana Yuddha Bikram

Shah and his son King Rajendra Bikram Shah.

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