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ABOUT NEPAL
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OUTSIDE NEPAL
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THE KIRATIS
The Kiratis were a tribal hill people who came from the East. (The Ramayana mentions them as being dwellers of the northeastern Himalayan region.) The Kirati invasion of the Kathmandu valley occurred sometime around 700 BC. The mist famous among the Kirati rulers was Yalambar - the first of them.
Jitadassi, the seventh king, is said to have helped the Pandavas during the Great War of the Hindu epic the Mahabharata. It was also during the reign of Jitadassi that Gautama Buddha was said to have visited the Valley. The Kiratis' rule saw a succession of 29 kings until the Licchavis at around AD 200 defeated Gasti, the last of them.
THE LICCHAVIS
The advent of the Licchavis brought in the first golden era of Nepalese art and Culture. They were also the ones who introduced the Hindu caste system into the valley. Among the 48 Licchavi rulers, Mana Deva I, who ascended the throne in AD 464, was a ruler of considerable talent and abilities. He consolidated the kingdom in all directions with his powerful army and political tact. Besides this, he was also a patron of the arts. Pagoda-roofed structures came into vogue. Sculptors fashioned exquisite images of their Gods and Kings. It was during this same period that the temples of Changunarayan, Vishabjynarayan, Sikhomanarayan and Ichabgunarayan were built. Other notable masterpieces include the Reclining Vishnu of Budhanilkantha, the gilting of the roof of Pashupatinath Temple, the struts of Hanuman Dhoka and the Basantapur Tower, the Uku Bahal in Patan, and the Indreshwar Mhadev Temple at Panauti.
THE THAKURIS
Amsuvarma, of the Thakuri lineage, ascended the throne in AD 605 upon the death of his father-in-law Shivadeva, a Licchavi King. According to the travelling Chinese monk Huen Tsanf, Amsuvarma had attained high military and literary glory. Of his palace at Deopatan, Huen Tsang says that it was seven stories high and ornamented with gems and pearls. Amsuvarma made matrimonial alliances with both his powerful neighbors of the north and the south. To Tsrongsten Gompo, Tibet's powerful ruler, he offered his daughter, Bhrikuti, and to the Indian Prince, he offered the hand of his sister. (It was Bhrikuti, along with a Chinese princess, who converted the Tibetan king to Buddhism, thus heralding the advent of the religion the country was to later become famous for. Bhrikuti is considered the Green Tara of the Buddhist psntheon while the Chinese princess is known as the White Tara.)
After the death of Amsuvarma in AD 629, power reverted to the Licchavis once again for a considerable period of time. It was only in AD 879 that Raghadeva founded the real Thakuri Dynaty. To commemorate this event, Raghadeva established the Nepal Sambat Era, a calendar that is still followed by the Newars of Kathmandu Valley and is running in its 12th century.
The reign of the later Thakuris has been considered the Dark Age in the history of Kathmandu on account of much strife and turmoil during this period and that included the ravages of multiple foreign invasions. But trade and commerce still flourished and cities and settlements grew.
Another King, Ganakamadeva, who ruled from AD 949 till AD 994 deserves special mention. It was he who introduced the important festivals of Indra, and Kridhna Jayanti. But more importantly, Gunakamadeva founded Kantipur, today's Kathmandu.
THE MALLAS
In AD1200, King Arideva assumed the title of Malla, and the dynasty of the Mallas ruled Kathmandu Valley for a total of 568 years. At one time, during the reign of King Yakshya Malla (1428-1482), the Valley's territorial gains had extended north as far as Digarcha in Tibet, Gorkha to the west, Morang to the east, and southwards up to Bodh Gaya in Bihar, India.
The early period of the Malla rule saw peace and tranquility with a great deal of progress in all spheres of life. Though the Mallas were Vaishnavite and Shaivite Hindus, they showed tolerance towards other religions too. Endowment monasteries, Muslims were allowed to settle in the Valley although they were forbidden to convert others. Even a Roman Catholic Mission of the Capuchin order was allowed into Kathmandu and granted land by royal decree.
The Mallas were benevolent patrons of the arts and it was during their reign that a renaissance of the arts flourished. Traditionally passed down from father to son, the skills of proficiency. Further developments evolved with new ideas being acquired from neighboring kingdoms. These craftsmen excelled in stone carving, woodcarving, brick making, metal work and painting.
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