" Vedic Aryan entry into Nepal "

By Shiva Raj Shrestha "Malla"

Very little is known about pre-historical Nepal, its people and Aryan entry into Nepal. A hazy picture of Aryan invasion of Nepal and the contemporary aborigines people of Nepal can be drawn with the help of Sata-Patha Brahman and various Puranas. Famous scholars and historians like Pargter, Kirfel, K P Jaiswal and Dr Satya Ketu Vidyalankar have very firmly opined that on the basis of Puranas, an outline of Vedic Aryan Civilization and its clash with Harappa-Sindha Civilization can be drawn.

The great march:-
The Aryans of Rig-Vedic Age of some 4000-4500 years before-present (BP) were firmly established up to Kurukchetra (the region near Delhi), Panchal (present day Bareli-Muradabad) and Ayodhya. But they had not succeeded in conquering the present day Northern Bihar and Terai areas in Nepal, as these places were covered with extremely dense foothill jungles, which were sparsely populated by Indo-Austroid tribes like Nishadh and Santhals. According to "Sath Path Brahman" (supposed to have been written some 3,000 years BP in the Latter Vedic Age), a king named Mathav Videha accompanied by his priest Gautam Rahugana, Viswanarea (holy fire) and a large army, marched through this jungle (slashing, burning and making roads for their horses and chariots), succeeded to cross River Gandaki (Sada-Nira) and established his kingdom as far as Janakpur. Even now, the hermitage of Rahugana can be seen near Deaughat. No reliable data to support the period of Mathav Videha and Gautam Rahugana are available, but Radha Kumund Mukherjee (Hindu Civilization) writes that it should be after 4,500 BP, because they had marched from the banks of (now lost) River Saraswoti during Rig-Veda time.

By the time of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, the present day Deaughat had already become a religious centre and many famous sages of Vedic times had already started meditating in the mountainous regions of upper Gandaki basins. According to Skandha Purana, Goddess Parvati had paid respect to famous sages like Marichi, Pulaha, Narada and Angira (the original ones or their incarnations or successors). According to Vayu Purana, King Divo-dasa was ruling North Western India, when the marriage of Lord Shiva with Parvati took place. According to Matsya Purana, King Divo-dasa belonged to the 38th generation after Baibaswata Manu. Manu himself belonged to some 66 generations before the period of Lord Rama. Ancient Indian Historical Tradition places the time of Lord Rama at around 1600 BC. On the basis of Puranic Vanasvalis (King name list), Dr S K Vydyalanker (Vedic Age) also estimates this time to be some 3,500 BP.] Therefore, Baibaswata Manu�s time can be estimated at 4,820 BP (assuming that an average of 20 years can be given to the rule of one king). Therefore, King Divo-dasa can be placed some 700 years after the Baibaswata Manu (or his time to be some 4,100 years BP). Therefore, Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati�s time can be estimated at 4,100 years BP ,or slightly earlier from the time when King Mathav Videha had entered Nepal. Rahul Sankrityana (in Divo-dasa) has indicated that the Aryan clans of Purus and Tritsus of King Divo-dasa�s time had reached as far as the western banks of River Yamuna only. Therefore, it is logical to think that King Mathab-Videha�s time was slightly later than the time of Divo-dasa or Lord Shiva.

The Puranic record about the entry of the Aryans into Nepal and India has not yet been taken into account. It is indicated from Skanda Purana (Manas Khanda) that one of the most ancient Pre-Vedic Aryan clans of Urus had also entered Far-Western Nepal via Uru Parvat (present day Urai Pass in Bajhang district) probably before the time of Lord Shiva. According to Kurma Purana, the great clan of Urus were dissidents of Chachkus Manu, who was a dissident of Emperior Uttan Pada. Raja Bena and Prithu were also born to the Uru Dynasty. Dakshya Prajapati-II (father of Sati Devi) was also a dissident of Emperor Prithu. Even before the time of Dakshya Prajapati-II, King Sushil (the great grandson of Emperor Prithu) had gone to Himalayas for a meditation (probably from present day Afghanistan). This Puranic record is in line with Dr. Harnley�s view that some Aryans of Iela Vansa (Moon Dynasty) had entered India, after crossing Himalayan passes.

The Indo-Austroid sub-races, broadly named as Nishadhas in Puranas, controlled the Himalayan foothill jungles during the Rig-Vedic times. Santhals controlled more eastern parts of these areas. The Puranic descriptions of these people exactly fit with anthropological features of Indo-Austroid people: broad nose, black complexion, thick lips and so on. The findings of the fossilized remains of Ramapithecus mostly in the Siwalic Hills of Pakistan, India and Nepal suggest the evolution of the man in this sub-continent. The fossilized tooth of a Ramapithecus, found by a joint team of American and Nepalese anthropologists in 1980, in Tinau-Butwal area of Nepal, was found to be 11 million years old and the second oldest in the world. There might have been a very small population of "Homo Erectus" and "Homo-Sapiens" in Churea Hills and in lower valleys of the Mahabharat Range of Kumaun, Gadhwal and Nepal. This fact has been also confirmed by archeological findings of middle paleolithic weapons in Kathmandu valley and neolithic tools found in Dang, Lubhu, Nawalparasi, Kavre, Palpa, Sankhuwasava, Morang and Jhapa. Some 30 thousand years old cave-paintings, found near Dalavanda Village of Kumaun, just across Mahakali river, are also an important archaeological evidence to confirm the existence of the ancestors of modern day Kiratas (Raji or Raj-Kiratis) and various Indo-Austroid tribal of Nepal.

Famous historian Baburam Acharya has written (Purnima) that the settlements of "Aagneya" people (Nishadhas and Santhals) were like islands. They used to live in small openings by the banks of rivers in the Himalayan foothill jungles. Rahul Shankrityana (Kaneila Ki Katha) writes that the Kiratas were living in the hilly regions, north of River Ganga. They used to come to lower parts of the jungles even up to the down-stream banks of the river like Ghagra. Here, they used to have frequent battles with Nishadhas, mostly for the control of hunting grounds. By 2,500 BC or so, the Nishadhas were already using copper weapons, and therefore, could drive-away the latter-stone-age Kiratas. Most often, the Nishadhas used to take young Kirati girls as war prisoners and because of these Kirati girls, new hybrid tribes like Tharus came into existence. Later on, when Aryans invaded, it was proved that the Nishadhas were no match to them when it came to cavalry, chariots and command over superior bronze weapons.

The "Kiratas" of Western Himalayas had hundreds of fortresses and had to fight with the Vedic Aryans. The famous war between Kirati Emperior Sambara and King Divo-dasa is described even in the Rig-Veda.

This is how Aryans kept on moving towards the North-east, fighting both with Kiratas as well as with Nishadhas. It seems that later on, the Kinnar-Kiratas and Naga-Kiratas had become more friendly with Aryans, as their common enemies were Nishadhas. (After the defeat of Kirata Emperor Sambara, the Nishadhas were the main enemies of the Aryans). Aryans must have realised this and by accepting Kiratas� Supreme God Lord Shiva as their own, developed friendly ties with the Kiratas.

During Lord Shiva's time, there seems to be a strong existence of yet another sub-race in the western and central Himalayas. They are called "Yakshyas" in various Puranas. Atkinson writes (Himalayan Gazetteer) that even up to the time of Ashoka the Great, the "Khasas" were called "Yakshyas". Their main supporters were "Rakshyasas" and "Guihyakas", who used to protect and exploit gold mines of Lord Kuberas (the Yakshya kings). The important centers of Yakshya Empire were the lower Manas Khanda (present day Khaptad-Malika Region and Kumaun), Southern Tribishap (Tibet) and Mustang. Varaha Purana narrates the story of two sons of Lord Kubera, who were ruling Mustang region in the North Western Nepal. Probably, this Caucasian sub-race of "Yakshyas" had mixed blood with Mongolian sub-races of Tibet that entered Nepal earlier than the "Vedic" Aryans.

Source: http://www.nepalnews.com. np/contents/englishdaily/ ktmpost/2000/dec/dec03/ed itorial.htm#1 ...

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