Newa Vigyan 3 ( NS 1120)

15.1 MB·Newari

by  Kiran Ken Ranjit

(Newfih Vijiifina)
The Journal Of Newar Studies
Shamkhadhar Siikhwiih
(The Famb4r of Nepal Sambat )
Number-;
NS 1120
Newiih Vijiiiina
(The Journal Of Newar Studies)
Number -3 112011999-00 Jwajalapti to all of you. Nepal Sambat 1120 is a
glorious year for all Nepalese people who have been
Editors
DayZ R. Shwa demanding for the reinstallation of the national calendar
Gaurishankar Maandhar Ph.D of Nepal, called the Nepal Sambat (NS) for the official
Advisor use. Finally, after twenty years of struggle, the Nepalese
Prof. Todd T. Lewis leaders and scholars realized that the time has come to
Graphic Designer
recognize the Nepal Sambat.
Sudip Shaya
It is relevant to debrief how the struggle began. The
Poblisher
previous constitution of Nepal (1960) and the Panchayat
Intematioual Nepa BhZshZ Seva Samiti
Government ignored many national symbols and
(INBSS)
Portland, Oregon USA historical achievements of Nepalese people. One of them
NepZh P5sH Puchah America was the use of Nepal Sambat and the Newar language
hgon Branch (the Nepal Bhasha). However, in course of time the
Chairperson
second amendment of the constitution took place in
Dayi R. Shwa
Nepal Sambat 11OO (1980), which marks the beginning
Members
of a new century. It allowed the Nepalese people to
UmZ Shrestha PhD, Gaurishankar Maandhar PhD
DiwW Mahrajan, Sashindra Vapchirya assemble and organize peaceful rallies and mass
Puma BZhZdnr Ranjit meetings. This oppormnity inspired a large number of
Regional Representatives people in the Kathmandu valley and to organize a new
Eugene, Oregon year rally and deliver the new year's messages to the
Binod Kansakir
people of Nepal. These activities inspired national
Los Angeles
feelings among the Nepalese people. Since the political
Sarba Shwa, Buddha L. Shwa
power of the reactionaries was based on anti-nationalism,
San Francisco
they were alanned by the mass arousal. Despite the
Rajesh B. Skstha, Nepih Khalah
North Carolina harassment from the governmenf the celebration of the
Devendra Amitya PhD. new year gradually spread to many cities and towns all
New Jersey over Nepal. After the adoption of the new constitutionjn
Tulsi Mahaijan PhD. 1991, the celebration of new year has been a major
V~rginia
national event among Newars not only within the
Ttibhuvan Tulidhar, Achyut Shrestha
country but also in foreign lands where the Newar people
Nepal
Pmf. Tej R. Kansah reside. Since 1992 the new year celebration has been
Shanta R. Shwa, L&h R. Tuladhar, Siddhi R. Sh5kya organized in the Washington D.C.b y the Nepeh PZsd
Indio Puchoh America (NPPA), 'Friendship Society of Nepal'
Yogbir Shwa, Kalimpong, West Bengal as the day of BhintunH celebration. The first issue of this
Ranjana & Rajiva S. Shrestha, "Rachna", Gangtok, Sikkim
journal was also published on the occasion of Nepal
Canada
Sambat 1117 new year celebration.
Juhee SuwP, Edmonton
In this way, the new year celebration with mutual
Australia
Bimal M% Shrestha, May Jo' Rouke exchange of Bhinmi (Greetings) has become an
UnifedK ingdom impoarint festival among the Newarpeople. Even thmgh
Anil Mk Shwa, Brunel University the Nepal Sambat was started in the pm-Malla period of
The Netherlands
Nepal, the Newars suppolt this calendar by heart because
B%Gl opd Shrestha, Leiden
it was originated in their own motherland. But due to
Mailing Address:
the lack of enough publicity there has been an illusion
New& Vijnina
P.O. Box No. 90581 among other ethnic groups that the Nepal Sambat
Portland, Oregon 97290 USA belongs to the Newars only and hence unfairly has been
named as 'NewFui Sambat'. However, this is not the true
Cover Figure Drawing: Ekirim
Source: Swanigah, Kathmandu name. In order to provide a historical evidences on Nepal
Sambat, we have included an article in this issue. There
are many proofs that have been published in Nepal It would be relevant to cite a remark of a senior and
BhHsha but unfortunately not yet published in other native historian of Nepal, Professor Dor Bahadur Bista
languages. Due to this language banier other ethnic "Many scholars, foreign and Nepali, have studied the
people of Nepal are uninformed about the m e facts of Newars, and much has been published concerning them.
Nepal Sambat. In this regard, we thank the Government It is natural, therefore, for the most people who have
of Nepal headed by the Prime Minister Krishna F'rashad any knowledge of Nepal to have heard or read of
Bhattarai for recognizing the founder of Nepal Sambat, Newars. The term Newar itself was derived fmm the
Shankhadhar Saw* as a national hero and, thus, name of the Country, or vice versa." ('Peaple of Nepal',
fmally justifyjng the slogan 'Nepal Sambat-RaShhiya 2000, Page 17).
Sambat'. Due to these achievements this year has It is a fact that if scholars leave out 'studies of
become the year of victny for the entire Nepalese who Newars' it would be an incomplete study of Nepal. The
boast on their rich heritage and nationality. It is time to Newars are inseparable entity of Nepal. However, Newar
vow Shankhadhar for his good cause in beginning the have been facing the exploitation in every field by the
Nepal Sambat 1120 years ago by making the entire so called dominant p u p w ho has very low profile of
people of Nepal free from debt. The next step for the culhual and historical linkage to the Nepalese
Nepalese people is to publicize materials on Nepal nationality. This has lead to expression of
Sambat and Shankhadhar thmngh the government media dissatisfaction that breaks out from time to time. Even
and to begin to use Nepal Sambat as the official though the Newars are exploited by the so called
calendar. authoritative bodies their dedication to preserve the
Turning to the dark side, this year has also brought a cultural heritage is highly applauded around the world.
hurricane to the lovers of several mother tongues of While stepping into the new millennium the Newars
Nepal. In this year the Supreme Court of Nepal issued a cannot bear further exploitation. They are demand'ig
writ of certiolari on June 1, 1999 which invalidated the their lights for Wig a free modem human. One of the
decisions made by a number of local bodies to introduce missions of this journal is to provide as much
Nepal Bhiigi and Maithili as official languages for using information as possible on Newar studies fium the
within their jurisdiction along with Nepali. This various resources. In this issue we have included quite
decision concluded a two year court case, but the some materials coUected with the help of many native
Kathmandu streets wimessed huge protests and rallies. and foreign scholars and library resources. We believe
This verdict was a big blow to Newars in the modem that it would be beneficial to all people who eagetly
history of Nepal. The Newars are never against the wish to see resources on Newar Studies. As usual, we
'RaStra BhgZ. They suppo~tp reserving other ethnic have received a lot of help and support fmm several
languages of Nepal. The Supreme court verdict has been individuals and institutions to keep this journal going
condemned by several social organizations. They have in a the right direction.
published protest statements not only in Nepal but also Finally, we would like to thank Shashindra
in the foreign countries. In Kathmandu, an activist's Bajracharya, Rama Bajracharya, in Portland and Raj
organization named 'The Nepal Bhrisd Sangharsa Shyasya from JwajalapZ networks, Kashinath Tamot
Samifi' called for 'Nepal Bandha' by stopping the and Bimala Dhungelfrom Central Depment of Nepal
regular business, transportation, staying absent in the Bhasha, in Kathmandu, for their enthusiastic
offices, and so on for one day. Definitely the impact of cooperation in bringing this issue of the journal to your
bandha was successful, however, the verdict was not hand. We would like to also express our hearty
over tumed. As a gesture of protest against the supreme greetings and wish you NhudcfyE Bhinru~an d Subwe
court verdict, this journal rejects the inclusion of Nepali (thank you) for your support in keeping this journal
language articles in this issue. alive.
(Newiih Vijiiiina)
The Journal Of Newar Studies
Number 3
Contents
English
Editorial.. ................................. .......................... ... .................................................... 00
Historical Evidence on Nepal Sambat. ................. ............... Bhuwan La1 Pradhan. 01
Shankhadhar Sh2hwS :The Founder of the Nepa, ............. Suresh Manandhar ..... 07
Shared Words, Shared History ? A Case of Thangmi and Late Classical Newar
................................................. ...................... ....... .................. Mark Turin ................0 9
Obituary
. - -
KZnchhi Buddha Vajracharya ......................................................................................... 18
. -
Divyavajra Vajrach-a rya ................................................................................................... 19
. . -
Vijaya Baha-d ur Malla ....................................................................................................... 21
Bibliography On Newar Studies:
Section I Language and Literature ................................................................................... 22
Section 11 History, Culture, Religion,Society etc. ......................................................... 32
Section 111 Masters Theses In Nepal BhSlshi ................................................................... ,
Conference Paper Abstracts and Titles ................................................................................... 47
Questions and Answers ......................................................................................................... 55
Miscellaneous
Second National Conventional of New& De Dabuh .......................................................5. 6
...........................................................................
New Syllabus on Nepal Bhasha Studies 57
Ne~ali
..................................................................................................................................
58
Nepal Bhashii
Fwlem m.. .............................................................: . .................................................
59
m$*' ....................................................................... ............. 60
v:
'hi (qm djtwfb ~4 H)... .. ......................... ................. m. ....................
* , 64
eQTq& f%Tg m g+bT .-R.u ............,.. mTdw5 9.5.. ........... 71
.....................................................................................
Members and Subscribers' Directory 74
..........................................................
Suggestions, Comments, Concerns and Appreciations 78
. .
Membership Application ......................... .............................................................................. 79
,

Historical Evidence on Nepal Sambat
Bhuwan La1 Pradhan
Kathrnandu
On the basis ofpoor evidence many scholars, non-governmental, public, and social organizations have
attempted to devalue the importance of Nepil Sambat, the original calender of Nepal. The Departmeni of
communication of His Majesty 'S Government has also disillusioned many foreign writers, institutions, and
generalpublic by using the term "Newiri' instead of 'Nepril Sambal 'and 'Nepal Bhrishri'.
This paper presents some historical Anandadeva-111
evidences on the Nepsl Sambat (NS). In The third Anandadeva ruled Nepal Valley in
relation to the origin of the Nepd Sambat, King NS 428-440 (1308-20 AD). He is a son of
Anandadev's name appears in several historical Bhimdeva who belonged to the Malla dynasty
period. In this context, I have identified three of the eastern region.
Kings with the name Anandadeva in the history During the period 736-73 AD, the King
of Nepal. Shankharddeva was ruling the Patan region. He
built a town named 'PurnZvati' in current
Anandadeva-I Indrachowk area. His son Bardhaman extend-
He was a brother of a Lichhavi King ed the area of the town. After this, the names of
Jayadeva of Lalitapur and reigned the kingdom the Kings in the Nepal valley are inconsis-tent.
from the eastern region. He built the Kingdom However, it is clear in many contexts that the
of Bhaktapur by combining several surrounding King Rudradeva defeated several kings on fpur
localities in the year ~ikramSa mbat (VS) 936 border points (BhZnjyGngs) and ruled the Nepal
(879-880 AD.) As it has been mentioned in Valley. Since he had no son to succeed his
several Va@valis including the GopZlrZj throne, he picked one of the descendants of the
VamsZvali, RZjbhog MC16 Vamsrlvali, and the Lichhavi dynasty and declared him successor of
Keshar Library VamsZvali, the King Ananda- his throne. This is how Jaya-deva III became
deva-I was ruling the Kingdom of Bhaktapur King of the region. In the VumsZvali, the King
when the Nepal Sambat was established. of Bhaktapur Ananda-deva-I has been
recognized as the brother of Jayadeva and son
of BalarJunadeva. This relationship is still
Anandadeva-I1
unclear. In the Valley, when Jayadeva was on
He was the second son of the King &
the hone he had built another Kingdom the
Nnsinghdeva and his dynasty has not been
eastern region and handed over to his brother
determined by the historians yet. However, his
Anandadeva-I. According to Keshar Library
name appears in many inscriptions showing his
VamsZvali, Anandadeva-I was not ready to
ruling period between NS 267- 287( 1147-1 167
undertake the charge of the eastern region. So,
AD). It is still a matter of research.
he himself built another kingdom and named it
"Bhaktapui' in 930 VS (873 AD) MZgha
N&h Vijririna No. 3 Pradhan/Historical Evidence ... 1
Krishna Pratipadii on Monday. the king Righavadeva ruled the country for 53
to 63 years; is a remarkable and considerable
Riighavadeva period in the ancient history of Nepal. It was
On the other side in Kintipur, when already 107 years since the Nepal Sambat was
Purnivati (current Indra Chowk region) was in originated in the fust half of the King Righava
the jurisdiction of Patan kingdom, Blilirjuna Deva's period that includes Vikramadeva,
succeeded to Jayadeva. He was then succeeded Narendradeva and Gunakamadeva's ruling
by Manadeva IV. Manadeva 1V ruled both of period in the Nepal Valley. In total, the four
the regions for three and half years and was kings ruled for 123 years as follows:
succeeded by Rsghavadeva. According to the Raghavadeva: 63 years
available sources, the year 301 (VS 633 and Bhadeva g Y-
Narendradeva 6 Months
AD 576) found in inscriptions confis the
Gumak2madeva 51 Years
Manadeva Sambat. It was in use at that time. So
the mention of the year 301 equals to 866 AD.
It is illustrated in a diagram as follows:
In one of the inscriptions, Minadeva was
recognized as the Gaddinasina ( a successor of Jayadeva III Anandadeva
throne) ( see note A) in a religious verse and ( Patan- Pumsvati) (BhaktapW
mentioned the Manadeva Sambat 304. I ( 930 VS)
B&%junadeva I
After the king Manadeva-IV, Viknmadeva
I I
became the king of Purnivati . In this context, it
Minadeva-N Vikramadeva
can be assumed that the king Righavadeva ( Patan + Pumivati) (Pumsvati)
handed over the throne to him (Vikramadeva). I
After him (Riighavadeva,) the king Narendra Raghavadeva
deva (In) took over sovereignty of the (Patan+ .....)
I
kingdom. in addition, thee more kings by name
I___ I I
Narendradeva in the history possibly existed.
I I
One of them ruled only for a few years, and
Narendradeva, Gunakhadeva
then Gunakimadeva became the king of the ...
(Pumavati) (Pumivati)+ Until NS 107
region. But he ruled for 51 years and
maintained several VamsZvalis, inscriptions,
texts etc. This proves that the king Righavadeva Samkhadhara Siikhawiila
ruled the Patan region for 63 years. On the
Other hand, it has been mentioned several times Regarding the Nepal Sambat there are many
in VaqrTvali that the King Gunakhadeva was references available in the GopZlrZjvamsZvali,
the founder of the present Kingdom of RZj ,bhogmZlf and Keshar Library etc. as
Kathmandu (Kintipur). A stone inscriptions follows: (1)
found in Patan mentions this fact as follows: "Tho Anandadevqyci dtijun niguu shaharae bhog
shreernriNi golake ... abhilekha sangrahah hhlign 9 ydnE nvongulin nepdyci vd16 Icigdye vanii: ana nhiipci
gii jaka duugulii ugu shahar yara khwopa (Bhakfapur)
NS 107.
nci tayd riijya ydla ..."
This inscription can be assumed to be written
"Since Anandadeva's brother has been d i g
in the second half of his ruling period in the
in two regions (Patan and Pumivati) he
Kingdom. The available sources support that
Newah VijEdna No. 3 Pradhan/Historical Evidence ... 2
combined western villages into one unit and manaye khd wee ka n'riye !an ana chwopin pandit
jyoris tayegu Dhriptr: kathan nepriyri zakala janat6y6
named the town Bhaktapur as his own
tyri~ap ulrih sambat hii keta jujunripa ujan phwona .
kingdom."
thukathan sakala neprimiyi tyrisri pulri: kaligata 3981
(2) "Amnda devan bi.sri. 930 mrigha kriina wa .. Srikye 8002 p6khe nepal sambat 1 nhydke jy6
pratipadri sombrir kunu khopaye tak2 rrijya kayri 20 don jula. thukathan juju prikhen ugu sambat chhyayeke
biyih tadhangu nri kame yrira shamkha yri lohan yi
raka rrijya yira
"
murri yrira pashupati dyayri iti lukhZy6 nhyane
"Anandadeva extended his region up to
thripanri nan yrita. pashupati nitha yri param bhakio
Bhaktapur and ruled the kingdom for 20 years"
juugulin anayi briga n~atkih ushi sirhaye he manta ....
"
Similarly, a following passage is also
"Whereas in Kantipur, Shankadhar was filled
available in the. vamsZbvali:
with joy seeing the sand turned into gold after
(3)" ukhe lalita panan shaharaye man deva yri ktiye ...
four days being an intelligent and religious
rrighava deva juju jula ..... rhugu he ilya khwopqye
person he thought of what to do with so much
rinanda deva rrijya yrinri maongu ilaya khwopaye
of wealth, and planned extraordinary contribu-
r..h. wnnrnha chamha jarishi--- ohi lun ,ju iw suvarna
yoga .... bhorw yrita bhadramari va vishnu mati~ri tions to the society ... by doing this, he can earn
samgam lakhu firtha (lun khu) rirtha) ye vanri: phi ko name and good will for the next life,.,.,.as
biya wairhongu ilaya krintipuray chwomha sun
advised by many astrologers he decided to
chhamha Shankha( Dhar) nri rimh ha srikhwri: dh5:mha
rhhamha jyripun( Snddha Jati) khanri: ....... dakwo appeal to the king and requested to relieve
bhari~ryi ito heka: thuikri lobha lrilarhaye lriki: da!m,on every individual of the entire Kingdom from
phi tha:gu rhhen yankala ........ " debt. In this way, he paid off all the debt for the
"Anandadeva, the son Manadeva became people in the year Kaligat sambat 3981.. the
King in Lalita~attana(P atan) At the same time,
Shakya Sambat 8002 and resumed the Nepal
in Khwopa (Bhaktapur) one of the astrologers
. . sambat 1. similarly the ~i~~als o became
had came up with a calculation of an auspicious
famous by granting him the beginning of the
time, during which the sand that in the
new calender (Sambat). shqkhadhar's stone
Junction of the rivers Bhadrarnati and
statue was installed in front of the southemgate
Visnumati would tum'into golden sand ...... A of Pashupati shrine. Being a very devoted
Sharflka
man named (Dhar) JySpu caste to Lord Pashupatinath he renowned his lie in
(farmer), saw people can~ing sand the BSgmati river side near the holy shrine of
Bhaktapur. He convinced them to sell the sand
pashupati7
for him with great pacification ... and took the
I, such a way, a story of beginning ~~~~l
sand to his home." Sambat during the reign of the Kings Ragha-
(4) "ukhe ugu phi suvama murhuta bii vadeva and Anandadeva can be found in the
dhunkugulin lun juyri mawala ..... " VagZvalis. It is also clearly mentioned that the
"On the other side (in Bhaktapw) the sand calendar is known as *he ' ~ Sam~bat' or~ ~ l
was not into gold because it was taken
'Ncpali Sambat'. Since the calendar was started
after the calculated time."
by Sharpkhadhar it is clearly written that
(5) "ukhe k2niipure lhwo dinyripyanhu lip6 munki g4Sham-khadhar k,.ita ~ ~ ~ scarinb[at~ , in
ra:gu phi swo: won balay tasaknn laye trila ....
Vamsr?valis. There is no reason to reject the
shaqkha tasaknn jyrin.vrini dhannarmri jugulin wan
bichri "rim .... a: wa Iun ... sridhriran manukhan yriye existence of the Nepal Sambat.
. .
maphaigu dharmaye jyriye chyalaye .. gugu jyriye wa It is possible to say the water flowing down
dhana kharcha yanri: lokaye rahdhangu nri from the foot hills of the malaya could be a
paralokoye tadhangu punya kame yriye phai . thukarhan
mixed with gold particles and it is undeniable
Newrih Vijiirina No. 3 Pradhan/HistoricaI Evidence ... 3
that shamkhadhar suddenly became rich by come across the names SrSkhawGZa, or scikhwcih
collecting golden sand. Logistically speaking, or scikha wCla in the VansEvalis. In addition to
the historical event of starting the Nepal Sambat the name shamkhadhar, the word scikhwcila is
in the year 304 Manadeva Sambat and ruling of also used in many contexts. It was a tradition
the region by the king Anandadeva-I in of Lhishi merchants that a designated section
Bhaktapux and the King Raghavadeva in Patan of residence is called 'Srikha kothd' where rnon-
and F'umivati is not beyond reality. As etary business is taken place. In Bhaktapur,
described earlier, there were three kings in KwCtha chhen tole a location, is still called
Patan and F'umivati. In Bhaktapur, Ananda- Scikha Kothd.
deva-I himself was in the throne for 29 years. The word phani (room) where the king was
The King Jayadeva EI died immediately after he locked up, still exists in Bhaktapur, and it is
handed over the Bhaktapur region to his brother called SrTKha KothC(Vajracharya NS109911979
Anandadeva-I. It is not unrealistic that Kantipur AD). The business of transition by lending and
was ruled by three kings while the Bhaktapur borrowing money is also called 'Skha' in
region was under the rule of the King Hindi. In that room, where merchants loan
-
Anandadeva-I. For instance, in the year 1938 money to the kings is still called Gkha kothd'.
48 VS there were four Shah Kings, and the Ram Chandm -a's dictionary mentions that
forth one is F'rithivi Vu Vihma S W i n the sdkha means dhrika, 'list ' roba 'ledger' lenden '
modem history of Nepal. In any respect, the 'Business' etc. Similarly, by analyzing the word
King Raghavadeva and Gunakkadeva ruled SCkha wCla it is understood as a person who
the region for 63 and 51 years respectively, was deals with monetary accounts. So the person
an plausible event. In this way, Anandadeva-I who paid off all the debts of people was
ruled the region for quite a long period of time presumably called 'scikhawcila'. The word
in Bhaktapur and he handed over the PurnZvati scikha wCla became 'Scikha:' as the rule of
region to V i a d e v a and the Nepal Sambat phonological process in Newar lanwge.
was established in the &lier period of the King Hence the word 'Sikha wda' found in
Raghavadeva. It was already 107 years of varpcivalis is neither refenkg to / sci / 'cow'
Nepal Sambat when Gunakiimadeva's name nor / khwcil 'face' or a cowherd or caste of
appeared in the vorpcivalis. cow raiser. In the Samtshipta Gcipcilrcij
Furthermore, when Shmadhar of Puma- FarpsEvali, it is written as follows:
vati announced the beginning of the Nepal raja shree righava deva varsa 63 mrisa 6.1/2 shree
Sambat, Raghavadeva was king of Patan and pashupati bhaitaraka samvaia sara pmvrifi Fti"
Pumivati as well, and Ananda- deva-I was the According to this reference, the founder of
King in Bhaktapur. Without king's consent, it the Nepal Sambat is the King Riighavadeva
was not possible to make a public announce- himself. However, a misleading passage
ment while Purnavati area of Kathmandu was shdwing that the Sambat was offered to
under the rule of Righava- deva. This is how it Pashupati Nith by king Raghavadeva is also
can be proved that the Nepal Sambat was found as follows :
established during the reign of the King juju shree righdeva bhoga var? 63 mrisa 6
"
Raghavadeva. shree pasupati bhaitarake yita sambaia sara
dechhcila
SiikhwSlla or Sakhwiih or SiikhaWila "
' King Righavadeva who ruled the kingdom
By examining the word 'SCkhawcila' we
Newr?h Vijirina No. 3 Pradhan/HistoricalE vidence. .. 4
for 63 years and 6 months had offered the 3. Saka rij V- 1326
sambat (Calender) to the lord Pashupatincith.' 4. Manna NepSikZ sarp 524
According to the rules of writing vamrci- Obviously from the above list the sambats
valis, name of every king is mentioned and established by the kings are referred by the term
number of years ruling the kingdom including 'R6ja' whereas in Nepal Sambat the word
good deeds of his period. Therefore, in the 'raja' is dropped. A question may arise he^
va~&ali,m entioned above, only a section of a that why the phrase 'Manna' is used instead of
passive sentence written in Sanskrit is readable 'Rfija' as in 'shree manna nepcilikZ
' Shree Pasupatinaath ycita .... sambat When people of Nepal install inscriptions
dechhala'. It is not clear from the sentence who even after 500 years of Nepal Sambat, no one
had established the Sambat. So, it is still unclear mentioned the Nepal Sambat was introduced by
as to exactly who established the Sambat, the a king. But, now after l l00 years it is futile to
king Righava deva or some one else. claim that the sambat was established by King
Secondly, sambat sar prabriti: kn'ta' sho- Raghavadeva.
uld be 'kriteta' as an agent marker 'by' 'teta '. Moreover, the Nepal sambat was started on
However it is written 'kn'ta'. Kachhali thwo or Kartik Sukla Mpada 936
Thirdly, according to several Vamsavali the VS and 802 Saka Sambat or according to
Nepal Sambat was founded by Saqkhadhar and Colherm's comparative calculation, it was
asked king's permission to establish a new introduced on October 20th 879 AD. Before
sambat, and the king had also used the same this the Manadeva Sambat was in use and it
sambat. The king asked to install his statue near was introduced on 498 Saka Sambat and it was
the shrine of Pashupatincith. This shows that used from the beginning of the Lichhavi period.
he was a devotee to the Pasupatinith. So, the The Nepal Sambat was introduced when it
phrase 'Shree Pasupatinatha yita ......s ambat was already Manadeva Sambat 304 in the
dechhr?la' is clearly referring to shaqkhadhara middle of the year. (see note B) These other two
not to the King Righavadeva. However the Sambats originated in Nepal. In the yearms
change of new sambat took place in his time. 888 (1768AD) when the Shah King Prithivi-
Fouthly, even though the debt was paid off niriyan Shih conquered the Kathmandu
by Shankhdhara no public announcement is Valley, Nepal Sambat was in use for official
permitted without granting permission from the and non-official purposes. In many of the
royal authorities. Therefore, the King Righava western regions, the same Nepal Sambat was
deva's name was linked with beginning of the used. Beside this, it was also used by neighbor-
new sambat. Since the money was spent by ing countries like Tibet and China for
sh-adhar the Sambat was written as correspondences. In this regard the historian
'Samkhadhar Knt Nepal Sambat or NepaZi DhanaVajra VajfichSrya writes:
Sambat'. ' b eo riginal copy of a promised letter to th; King
Fifth, According to the Malla period inscrip- Shakri Singh of Kribhre region from An emperor of
Ming Dynasty is written in Sanskrit language with the
tion (NS 524) found in the Lii Hiti (Golden
Ranjana script that stiN mists in the Foreign Minishy
Spout) in Patan, four different calenders were
indicates the date Nepal Sambat 535. This proves that
used in ancient Nepal. not only Nepal Sambat but also Ranjana Scnpt and
1. Sri Kaligata V- 4505 Sanksrit language were known to Chinese Royalties."
2. Sri V i arZ j V- 1461 (see Note C)
Newrih VijZrina No. 3 Pradhan/Historicnl Evidence ... 5