Skip to main content

The Kirat Dynasty


Nepal's very first recorded or discovered history began with the Kiratis, who arrived in the 7th or 8th century BCE from the east to the Kathmandu valley (now the capital of Nepal). Little is known about them, other than their deftness as sheep farmers and great fondness for carrying long knives. The Kirats ruled for about 1225 years (800 BCE-300 CE), their reign had a total of 29 kings during that time. Their first and best-remembered king was Yalambar, who is referenced in the epic Mahabharata.

In the chronicle of Bansawali William Kirk Patrick mentions that the Kirat rule existed from about 900 BCE to 300 CE. During this long period altogether 29 Kirat Kings ruled over the country. The 29 Kirat Kings were;

1. Yellung Hang or Yalambar
2. Pari Hang
3. Skandhar Hang
4. Balamba Hang
5. Hriti Hang
6. Humati Hang
7. Jitedasti Hang
8. Galinja Hang
9. Oysgja Hang
10. Suyarma Hang
11. Papa Hang
12. Bunka Hang
13. Swawnanda Hang
14. Sthunko Hang
15. Jinghri Hang
16. Nane Hang
17. Luka Hang
18. Thor Hang
19. Thoko Hang
20. Verma Hang
21. Guja Hang
22. Pushkar Hang
23. Keshu Hang
24. Suja Hang
25. Sansa Hang
26. Gunam Hang
27. Khimbu Hang
28. Paruka Hang
29. Gasti Hang

The First Kirat King Yalambar

The 1st Kirat King Yalambar laid the foundation of the Kirat dynasty after defeating the last ruler of the Abhir dynasty. When Kirats occupied the valley, they made Matatirtha their capital. The Kirat kingdom during the rule of Yalambar had extended to Tista in the East and Trisidi in the West. It is said Yalambar had gone to witness the battle of Mahabharata between the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He was so brave and powerful that Lord Krishna beheaded him prior to the battle suspecting he might fight for the Kauravas.

The 7th Kirat King 'Jitedasti'

During the rule of the 7th Kirat King Jitedasti, Lord Gautam Buddha visited the valley with his several disciples. He visited holy places of Swayambhu, Guheswari, etc., and preached his religious teaching. The Kirats of the valley refused to follow his doctrine but welcomed Lord Buddha and his disciples.

The 14th Kiirat King 'Sthunko'

During the rule of the 14th Kirat King Sthunko, the Indian Emperor Ashok came to the Kathmandu Valley with his daughter, princess Charumati. During his stay in the valley, he had four stupas built in four directions and one in the centre of Patan. He arranged his daughter Charumati's marriage with a local young prince named Devpal. Prince Devpal and his consort Charumati lived at Chabahil near Pashupati area. Later Charumati had the stupas of Devpatan built after the death of her husband in his memory. Charumati who had later on become a nun herself also got erected a convent where she resided and practiced Lord Buddha's doctrine.

The 15th Kirat king 'Jinghri'

During the rule of the 15th Kirat King Jinghri, another religious doctrine, Jainism, was being preached by Mahavir Jain in India. In this regard, Bhadrabhau, a disciple of Mahavir Jain, came to Nepal. But Jainism did not gain as much popularity as Buddhism in Nepal.

The 28th Kirat King 'Paruka'

During the rule of the 28th Kirat King Paruka, the Sombanshi ruler attacked his regime many times from the west. Although he successfully repelled their attacks, he was forced to move to Shankhamul from Gokarna. He had a royal palace called "Patuka" built there for him. The 'Patuka' palace can no longer be seen, except its ruins in the form of a mound. Patuka changed Shankhamul into a beautiful town.

The 29th Kirat King 'Gasti'

The last King of the Kirat dynasty was Gasti. He proved to be a dimpled or weak ruler and was overthrown by the Sombanshi ruler Nimisha. This ended the powerful Kirat dynasty that had lasted for about 1225 years. After their defeat, the Kirats moved to the Eastern hills of Nepal and settled down, divided into small principalities. Their settlements were divided into three regions, i.e., 'Wallokirat' that lay to the East of the Kathmandu Valley (now the capital of Nepal), 'Majkirat' or Central Kirat region and 'Pallokirat' that lay to the far East of the Kathmandu valley (now the capital of Nepal). These regions are still heavily populated by Kirats.
The Gods of Kirat: Paruhang and Sumnima

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Yep, I Got Promoted Today!

Yep, I Got Promoted Today!  आफ्नो कर्ममा विश्वास गर्छु। कसैको नराम्रो सोच्दिन। सबैजना खुशी भएर बाँच्नुपर्छ भनेर सोच्छु। मैले कसैलाई सत्रु ठानेको पनि छैन। सत्रु बनउँन लायक काम पनि गरेको छैन। मेरो Principle भनेको Do no harm, take no shit हो।  जे होस्, मेरो मेहनत, ट्यालेण्ट्स, ईमान्दारिता र स्किल्सको कदर हुँदा खुशी लागेको छ। मलाई थाहा छ, म एउटा खुट्किलो मात्रै चढेको हो, ६ महिनाको सुरुवातीमा। अझै शीखरको यात्रा तय गर्न टाढै छ। तर मलाई यति थाहा छ, यी चालिसकेको पाईलाहरु शीखर नपुगी कुनै हालतमा थाक्ने छैनन्। आपा-आमा, हजुरहरूप्रति म सँधै कृतज्ञ छु। किनभने, म आज जहाँ छु, तपाईंहरुकै आशिर्वादले छु। तपाईंहरु भौतिक रुपमा साथमा नभएपनि, सँधै राम्रो काम गरेर, हजुरहरुको आत्मलाई शान्ति दिने मेरो अन्तर्मनको चाहना छ।  अन्त्यमा, Sticks n Sushi लाई र मेरो Head Chef दुबैलाई भूँईसोरी धन्यवाद दिन चाहान्छु। I won’t let down guys. यो मेरो खुशीको पललाई अझै खुशी थप्न, आफूले आफैलाई IPhone 15 Pro गीफ्ट गर्ने पनि घोषणा गर्दछु। किनभने, संसारमा सबैभन्दा ठुलो कुरा भनेको Self Happiness रहेछ।  Thank you ALL!
Post a Comment
Read more

A brief summary of Yashok and its pictures

Yashok is small in size yet it is very beautiful. It is in the west of Panchthar district. It is the second famous place after Phidim in Panchthar.  Recently, it was connected with roads. If you wanna go Yashok, there are 4 ways to get; one from Ranke, another from Phidim, next one from Mauwa and last one from Tehrathum. There are two internationally renown holly places namly Kusayak and Kumayak. It is considered as one of the sacred places in Nepal as Pathivara Mandir in Taplejung. It is also the center of many vdcs. It is also famous for Trishala Mela. It happens in the interval of every three years periods for three days. At this time, many progarams are organized. People not only come here from inside Nepal but also people come from all over the world at that time and they especially, worship Kusayak and Kumabayak at that time. In short,  it is the landmark of Panchthar. People love its eternal untamed beauty and we love its prosperity. Up with Yashok B
Post a Comment
Read more

Unsafe Nepalease Sky

Cpt. Paras Kumar Rai So shattered by the news of plane crash at Lukla Tenzing Hilary airport in Solukhumbu. In which plane crash, pilot Paras Rai and co-pilot  Srijan Manandhar of Goma Air cost their lives and air hostess Pragya Maharjan was injured to death. My heartfelt condolences go to Cpt Paras Rai and co-pilot Srijan Manandhar and pray for the rapid recovery of Pragya Maharjan. Co-Pilot Shrijan Manandhar Every year, we have been losing couples skillful pilots by buying the second handed planes and helicopters from the European countries. Not only we lose the pilots but also we lose the crews of the plane s and helicopters and its boarded passengers. Many surveys have shown that the sky of Nepal is not safe for the flight. But the government has not made any concrete plan for it yet. Air Hostess Pragya Maharjan It's very expensive to study the pilot course for the students who want to do it. For this, we need to go abroad because we don´t have this
Post a Comment
Read more