Astronomy and Civilization in the New Enlightenment by Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka & Attila Grandpierre

Author:Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka & Attila Grandpierre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Dordrecht

Nepalese Civilization

Nepal has been remained the perfect place since the beginning of the human civilization on Earth. The fossils of Ramapithecus, dated 11 millions found in 1980 CE by the team of Dr J.H. Hutchison near Tinahu River, Butwal, western part of Nepal, proves the region as an important place for human civilization since the beginning of pre-historic time (West et al., 1991). It appears that Gopal Dynasty were the first to settle in Kathmandu Valley formerly known as Nepal then Abhir and Kirat Dynasties ruled the nation. Khas (now known as Chhetri) who were the Indo- Iranian (Aryan) of Central Asia who advanced towards the east and settled in the Western Part of Modern Nepal, succeeded to form their Kingdom only in 1100 CE. The epic Mahabharata mentions the Kiratas (900 BC–300 CE as William Kirk Patrick) among the inhabitants of Nepal. The first Kirati king Yalambar had the dubious honor of being slain in the battle of the Mahabharata, in which gods and mortals fought alongside each other. One of the earliest confederations of South Asia was that of the Shakya clan, whose capital was Kapilvastu, Nepal. Siddharta Gautama (563–483 BCE), who renounced his royalty to lead an ascetic life and came to be known as the Buddha (the enlightened one) was born to the Shakya king Sudhodhan. Maurya Emperor Ashoka the Great, the legendary Buddhist proselytizer and ruler from 273 to 232 BCE in India visited Kathmandu, Patan, Lumbini of Nepal as a follower of Buddhism and erected four stupas known as Ashoka Stupa in Patan, and Ashoka Pillar at Lumbini, the birth place of Gautam Buddha (Pei, 2009).

From the findings at the ancient capital of Handigaun, it appears that Licchavi rulers were in power from third to fifth century, and again from eighth to thirteenth century. A well-preserved life-sized sandstone sculpture of a king named Jaya Varman, discovered in Maligaon in the eastern part of Kathmandu, contains an inscription dating from 185 CE which is now kept in the National Museum, Chaauni, Kathmandu. Two inscriptions of a known date, both Licchavi, are the broken pillar inscription from Pashupatinath temple dated 459 CE and the Changu Narayana pillar inscription of King Manadeva in 464 CE. There is a good and quite detailed description of the kingdom of Nepal in the account of the renowned Chinese Buddhist pilgrim monk, Xuanzang; dating from c. 645 CE (Pei, 2009).

The Malla Dynasty was a ruling dynasty of Nepal from the twelfth century to the eighteenth century. Nepalese Art of the Malla period (1200–1769 CE) is considered as the artistic Golden Age. Araniko popularly distinguished as astronomy-enthusiast Balabahu of Nepal, had visited China at the invitation of Emperor Kublai Khan. He had assisted the legendary Chinese astronomer Guo Shoujing exhaustively while constructing astronomical equipments (Pei, 2009).

Before the unification of Nepal in 1793 CE by Prithvi Narayan Shah, there were several kingdoms of different ethnic groups in Nepal. The Shah Dynasty lasted recently as Nepal become Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

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