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History of Nepalese Architecture

This document provides an introduction to the history of Nepalese architecture. It discusses the pre-historic and proto-historic periods in Nepal before the start of epigraphic history in 184 AD. During the pre-historic period, the aboriginal settlers are believed to have lived on hilltops and gradually moved down to the Kathmandu valley along rivers. These early settlers were influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism and included groups like the Nagas, Gopalas, and Mahispalas. The document outlines the trade routes that connected the valley and the influence of groups like the Mauryans, Lichhavis, and Tibetans on Nepalese architecture in early centuries.

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1K views18 pages

History of Nepalese Architecture

This document provides an introduction to the history of Nepalese architecture. It discusses the pre-historic and proto-historic periods in Nepal before the start of epigraphic history in 184 AD. During the pre-historic period, the aboriginal settlers are believed to have lived on hilltops and gradually moved down to the Kathmandu valley along rivers. These early settlers were influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism and included groups like the Nagas, Gopalas, and Mahispalas. The document outlines the trade routes that connected the valley and the influence of groups like the Mauryans, Lichhavis, and Tibetans on Nepalese architecture in early centuries.

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HISTORY OF NEPALESE ARCHITECTURE

YEAR III PART I

Lecture1 : Introduction of History of Nepal

Prepared by – Rajani Shrestha


Introduction of History of Nepal

 No records of pre-historic Nepal

 PROTO-HISTORIC PERIOD/LEGENDARY REFERENCES:

PURANAS AND VAMSAVALIS

SWAYAMBHU PURAN GOPALARAJA VAMSAVALI (14th cen, Jayasthiti Malla)


PASHUPATI PURAN BHASA VAMSAVALI (18th – 19th cen)

 Epigraphic history, starts 184 AD


Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY

 The pillars erected at Lumbini and Nigali Sagar in 257 BC by the


Mauryan emperor Ashoka (269-232 BC)
 The Lumbini pillar inscriptions record that Ashoka came to pray at the spot because Lord
Buddha was born there.
 The inscription on the pillar at Nigali Sagar refers to the repair and expansion in size of the
stupa of a previous Buddha called Konakama in 254 BC and his personal visit and offering of
reverence in 249 BC.
Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY

 Ashoka Stupas of Patan


 Slusser contends stupas may be funerary mounds of pre-Buddhist origin and may predate the
Mauryan period
 Neils Gutschow and Tiwari, however, do not accept this and believe they are no older than
16th century
 4 chaityas associated with Ashoka (claimed by other Buddhist legend) are – Chilancho Chaitya
of Kirtipur, Swayambhu Chaitya, Chabahil Chaitya of Devpatan and the Patuko mound of Patan
Introduction of History of Nepal

Ashoka stupa, Pulchowk


Introduction of History of Nepal

Patuko Mound, Patan


Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY

 Discovery of a stone sculpture of King


Jaya Varma dated 185 AD, 1992
 Ancient Brahmi script states he is the 4 th King who
died in the year 107 Saka Samvat, which coincides
with Jayadev II record on the stele at Pashupati and
the account of Gopalaraja vamsavalis
 Before the Jaya Varma inscription, the earliest
dated document of the valley was the stone
inscription at Changu Narayan erected by Manadeva
in 464 AD
Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY
 Buddhist chronicles refer to monks at Sravasti, an important trading center
(Set Mahet village by the Rapti river) who joined a group of wool merchants bound for Nepal
who had to return because of the difficult passage

 Kathmandu was connected to the Uttarapatha the great northern Indian trade
route which passed through the Sakya capital of Kapilvastu and existed at least from the 6 th
century BC and connected the eastern Gangetic basin with the civilization of the Near East

 The Uttarapatha was connected to Dakshinapatha another great trade route


connected to the Buddhist communities of Sanchi and Ujjain
 Establishment of Tibetan nation in early 7 th century; Nepal, preferred trade route between
Tibet and India; Till the late 18th century, primary source of Valley’s wealth

 Mauryan statesman Kautilya (244 BC) referred to woolen blankets from Nepal in
Arthasastra
Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY
 Italian excavations in Handigaon unearthed built cultural remains dating back to 150
BC
Introduction of History of Nepal

EPIGRAPHIC HISTORY
 Hsuan-tsang, Chinese pilgrim to India in mid 7th century heard in Vaisali
about red copper, yad, Mingming bird and use of copper coins in Nepal

 Chinese envoy wang Hsuan-tse in the mid 7th century during the reign of
Narendradeva on his way from T’ang court to meet Harshavardhana at Kanauj, visited
Kathmandu valley and noted that ‘merchants, fixed and itinerant, were numerous and
cultivators rare’

 The 4th century AD pillar inscription of Samudragupta at Allahabad lists


‘Nepala’ as a frontier state.
 T’an Dynasty, contemporaries of Lichchhavis, referred to Nepal as Ni-po-lo
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL

 Hillocks, the early habitat of the


aboriginal settlers after the drying of
the lake
 Settlements moved down along the hill into
valley along
 Changunarayan, Jagdol, Kapan, Tokha,
Mahankal, Balaju, Swayambhu, Naikap,
Bungamati, Sunakothi, Katunje, Sanga-
Tathali. Later settlements extended to
Bhaktapur, Thimi, Gothatar, Devpatan,
Baluwatar, Manamaiju, Kirtipur, Chovar,
Okhthali, Lagan and Matitar.
Kathmandu
Kathmandu ValleyValley lake around
lake around 15,000
30,000 yrs
yrs ago
ago
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL

 By early Lichchavi period movement had occurred to occupy Patan,


Hadigaon and Kathmandu (Tiwari, 2001).

 People of Tibeto-Burman origin probably drifted down from the harsh


Tibetan plateau and were ancestors of the current hill tribes and
Newars. (Slusser, 1982)
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL
 Aborigines were serpent worshippers, were called Nagas, as per legends
 Legend portrays the Nagas as a matriarchal society,
 Worshipping simple unhwen stones as tribal female deities dedicated to Kali, Kumari, Devi,
Malika, Maiju and Ajima
 Traces of such customs still remain with the Newars, the Kiratas and Rajbanshis (Tiwari, 2001)

 The similarity in place names of Tistung-Palung-Chitlang to the south of Chandragiri hills, now
inhabited by the Hale and Gwa caste groups of Newars, and Chepang area, as well as the
linguistic relations between the Chepangs, Newars and Kirats indicate they could have
common ancestry and could be descendents of the Nagas (Tiwari, 2001)

 The Newar name for Patan, Yala, is believed to originate from the Kirat king
Yellung or Yalambara, the alleged founder of the dynasty and the city.

 Chyasal-tol is believed to commemorate the 800 Kiratas slain in battle with


the Lichchavis (Tiwari, 2001).
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL
GOPALAS AND MAHISPALAS
 Chronicles > came from India
 Nirish Nepal > derived from pastoral community of Nagas who broke up into two groups:
Gopalas (cow herders) Mahispalas (bufffalos herders)

 Aboriginal herdsmen of the Bagmati region and the primogenitors of the Newars
 Newar caste hierarchy has the Hale or Gwa caste divided into two sub-sections:
Sapu (cow milker) Mepu (buffalo milker)

 The predominance of Hale and Gwa castes among the Newars in Taukhel, Nhulu, Kunchha,
Papung, Pulagaun and Shikarkot villages of Tistung-Taukhel-Chitlang regions indicate they are
not mythical but real historical people (Tiwari, 2001).
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL
GOPALAS AND MAHISPALAS

 The seven daughter groups of Gopalas and Mahispalas occupied seven


villages of Kathmandu, according to vamsavalis:

Satungal, Boshigaun, Machchegaun, Taukhel (Tahakhel?), Kirtipur, Lohankot and Nagam (Panga)

• These villages have concentrations of Gwas and Hales.


• During the Jatra of Satgaons, all the seven guardian goddesses of the villages come
together at the site of the mother goddess of Vishandevi temple on the banks of the river
Balkhu (Indramati Ganga).
• Podes are the group leaders of the festivities. Podes are also guardians of the matrika
temples eg. Tunaldevi Ajima of Chandol datable to the 5th century. Podes also do not
practice Yihi of the Newars .
• Could they be older than the Gopalas?

Just as indicated by the legends, it is possible the Gopalas and Mahispalas occupied the higher
lands around Palung, Tistung, Satgaon etc. with their capital at Matatirtha (Tiwari, 2001).
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL
 Gopalas and Mahispalas > Vaishnavite Hinduism
 Kiratas > Saivite Hinduism

If the logic of movement of settlements from the higher to the lower level over time is to be
accepted, then the Buddhist sites were probably older as they were located on the higher
level of the same mountain spurs.

Therefore, Buddhism probably arrived earlier.


Buddhist and Hindu legends seem to refer to the same early sites of religious or secular
importance to pre-Lichchavi settlers.

Ichangu Narayan – Ichangu Vipaswibuddha – Jamacho


Sikha Narayan – Pharping Sikhitathagata – Champadevi
Bishankhu Narayan – Bishankhu Viswobhubuddha – Phulchoki
Changu Narayan – Changu Manjushri – Manichurthan
Introduction of History of Nepal

PRE-HISTORIC NEPAL
GOPALARAJA VAMSAVALI

 Gopalas > cowherd rule > 505 yrs, 11th century BC? 2000 yrs after Kaliyug – Nanda Rule
 Mahispalas > buffaloherd rule > 161 yrs
 Kiratas > 700 yrs?
 Lichchhavis > 78 AD, 2nd century AD – Jayaverma (died 184 AD)
5th century AD – Manadeva
7th century AD – Amshuverma, Bhrikuti & Srongchan Gompo
7th century AD – Narendradeva
8th century AD – Jayadeva II

 Nepal sambat starts 879 October 20


 Dark period > 8th – 12th century, limited information
 Thakuri? > Gunakamadeva (950-990 AD)
 Malla > 12th – 18th century
 Shah
 Rana
References:
• Nepalese Architecture, - Banerjee, N.R.
• Traditional Architecture of Kathmandu Valley, - Korn, W.
• Temples of the Nepal Valley, - Dr. S.R. Tiwari.
• The Brick and the Bull, An account of Handigaon, - Dr. S.R.
Tiwari.
• The history of Ancient and Meidival Nepal, in a nutshell with
some comparative traces of foreign history, 1972, -D.B. Shrestha
and C.B. Singh
• History of Architecture, Introduction to History of Nepal- prepared
by M.S. Dongol
• The Nepalese Pagoda, - Bernier, R.M.
• Nepal Mandala, - Marry Slusser

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