Anecdotal accounts occupy a great deal of space of Kirati lore. Some of them freely mix myths with actual historical events creating a hypothetical situation while some can be classified as mere figments of over simulated imaginations.
Longevity of Kirati Royalty
Kiratis used to maintain their geneological records in a written form known as 'bungsawali'. However, in a state of gross ignorance and misplaced confidence most of them have either been lost or destroyed but enough of their memory survives to enable us to recount how the Kiratis regarded the longevity of their Hangs (Kings) to be synonymous to their godliness.
One may refer to the Holy Bible to find that the patriarchs of biblical era too lived very very long and blessed life.
According to the bungsawali, Yellung Hang founded the Kiratdom of Kathmandu and reigned over it for 90 years and 3 months. He is found variously referred to as Yellung Kerraut (or Kirat) or simply as Yellumber.
Yellung Hang was succeeded by several generations of his able progenies whose combined regnal period lasted for centuries. An event of historical significance is recorded in the bungsawali when in 528 B.C. during the reign of Kirati King Jite Dasty, the Sage of the Sakya, the Enlightened One came to Kathmandu. In direct line of succession, Jite Dasty is the ninth King to occupy the Kirati throne founded by Yellung Hang.
Tradition has it that the Buddha had made the pilgrimage to Kathmandu to worship Swayambhunath, the Adi-Buddha, which had been mentioned in the previous chapter. Working from the Buddha's visit as the reference point and going backwards through 356 years of eight Kirati Hangs' combined regnal period, we can place with reasonable accuracy the founding of Kiratdom of Kathmandu by Yellung Hang in or around 975 B.C.
Kirati Mythological Anecdotes
It will be a matter of some mythological interest to understand how Yellung Hang was deified by his subjects. A terra cotta statue of antiquity has been identified as that of Yellung Hang which shows the sculpture in unfinished form; the feet are not sculpted out. Legend has it that the Kirati god-kings of antiquity used to walk off to the heaven whenever they became dissatisfied with humans. But, the Kiratis loved Yellung Hang dearly and to ensure that he remained with them forever, they decided to leave sculpting of the divine legs incomplete thus denying Yellung Hang the option.
During his pilgrimage to Kathmandu, the Buddha converted King Jite Dasty and his Kirati subjects to the path of nirwan thus establishing a second Enlightened Kingdom on the wake of conversion of his own father Suddhodhan of Kapilbastu. The Buddha's visit also became a catalyst to several of his kinsmen, the Sakyas to settle down among the Kiratis of Kathmandu. By a strange twist of misreading of the ancient script the word Sakya became Yak-kha the forebears of a branch of the Kiratis of eastern Nepal of today.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
The Age of the Purans.
Historians are not unanimous in defining the pre-historic classification of the antiquity of Southern Himalayan region. Many historians are content to place the Age of the Purans immediately after the Epic Age while some historians have attempted to group them together as the Early and Late Epic Age. I differ and I voice my opinion through this dissertation.
Even during the Age of the Purans the gods appear quite human for they are seen throughout this period active in the affairs of mankind. To the Kirats however, this age is the moment of reckoning for the gods appear to be happily disposed towards them, even though according to one of the Kirati legends they claim to have arrived in their homeland before the gods came. Traditionally the Kiratis claim they settled down in Kathmandu Valley in the 1500th year of Dwaper Age; in mythological reckoning the Ages are identified as Satya, Dwaper, Treta and Kali. Kali Age, the present age, followed Treta Age some 8000 years ago and with its end the created universe will once again roll back to the Beginning of the Cycle in Eternal Wheel of Life.
Swayambhu Puran
Of all the ancient Epics and the Purans that have ever been written, the Kiratis have held Swayambhu Puran to be the antediluvian of them all. According to it, Kathmandu Valley was once a pristine lake called Naag-Baas. It was a sacred lake and for aeons several Bodhisattwas and mortal Buddhas had from time to time circumambulated it before offering worship to Swayambhunath.
Tradition has it that Manju Sri arrived at the scene accompanied by his devotees and with one swift stroke of his sword slashed the mountain gorge through which the lake was drained out. Geologists agree that the fertile layers of alluvial soil of Kathmandu Valley could very well have been the sedimentary soil at the lake bed and have little doubt in entertaining this Kirati legend that if ever the very narrow gorge could be sealed the Valley would once again regain its primeval lake form. In this symbolic act of creation Manju Sri made Kathmandu Valley suitable for human habitation and the Kiratis became its first settlers.
Swayambhu Puran lays the foundation of the Buddha-Margi* belief system, that Adi Buddha or the Primordial Buddha, who is Swayambhu or Self-Existent God, is worshipped as Swayambhunath in Kathmandu in a pre-brahminic tradition. Adi Buddha and the Pancha Dhyani Buddhas or the Five Buddhas of Eternal Meditation have never left their heavenly abode, only the Mortal Buddhas come to live with mankind and guide them to the path of Nirwan. This account of the Buddha renders the Swayambhu Puran as well as the Temple that bears his name, their pre-brahminic status while confirming the Kirati's claim of their presence before the arrival of the gods.
On Manju Sri
Manju Sri, the Celestial Architect, having created land habitable for his people to settle down proceeded to erect the Swayambhnath Temple which, many of his followers believe is the same one still standing there today.
Its unique style of construction should demand attention; the temple edifice is a half globe representing the visible universe upon which sits a cube with its four sides facing the four cardinal directions each emblazoned with All-Seeing-Eyes of God. A pyramid consisting of thirteen tiers ending in a cupola is placed upon the cube; the thirteen tiers representing the thirteen heavens according to the Buddha-Margis* belief.
The Compassionate Buddha taught that all sentient beings who seek god with sincere devotion and faith must reach heaven of their own seeking. Accordingly, Manju Sri created the thirteen heavens for all the faithful seekers, irrespective of the attributes of the god they seek. In addition, he is acknowledged also as the creator of the earth and the nether-world.
Manju Sri is depicted in Nepalese iconography as one seated upon a lotus flower with his right arm holding a sword raised in anticipation of that strike to drain out River Bagmati which rendered Kathmandu Valley habitable to his people.
Such are the contents of the Swayambhu Puran and upon this basis the Kiratis assert their pre-brahminic existence and claim that their Puran predates the Hindu Epics.
*Followers of the Buddha.
Even during the Age of the Purans the gods appear quite human for they are seen throughout this period active in the affairs of mankind. To the Kirats however, this age is the moment of reckoning for the gods appear to be happily disposed towards them, even though according to one of the Kirati legends they claim to have arrived in their homeland before the gods came. Traditionally the Kiratis claim they settled down in Kathmandu Valley in the 1500th year of Dwaper Age; in mythological reckoning the Ages are identified as Satya, Dwaper, Treta and Kali. Kali Age, the present age, followed Treta Age some 8000 years ago and with its end the created universe will once again roll back to the Beginning of the Cycle in Eternal Wheel of Life.
Swayambhu Puran
Of all the ancient Epics and the Purans that have ever been written, the Kiratis have held Swayambhu Puran to be the antediluvian of them all. According to it, Kathmandu Valley was once a pristine lake called Naag-Baas. It was a sacred lake and for aeons several Bodhisattwas and mortal Buddhas had from time to time circumambulated it before offering worship to Swayambhunath.
Tradition has it that Manju Sri arrived at the scene accompanied by his devotees and with one swift stroke of his sword slashed the mountain gorge through which the lake was drained out. Geologists agree that the fertile layers of alluvial soil of Kathmandu Valley could very well have been the sedimentary soil at the lake bed and have little doubt in entertaining this Kirati legend that if ever the very narrow gorge could be sealed the Valley would once again regain its primeval lake form. In this symbolic act of creation Manju Sri made Kathmandu Valley suitable for human habitation and the Kiratis became its first settlers.
Swayambhu Puran lays the foundation of the Buddha-Margi* belief system, that Adi Buddha or the Primordial Buddha, who is Swayambhu or Self-Existent God, is worshipped as Swayambhunath in Kathmandu in a pre-brahminic tradition. Adi Buddha and the Pancha Dhyani Buddhas or the Five Buddhas of Eternal Meditation have never left their heavenly abode, only the Mortal Buddhas come to live with mankind and guide them to the path of Nirwan. This account of the Buddha renders the Swayambhu Puran as well as the Temple that bears his name, their pre-brahminic status while confirming the Kirati's claim of their presence before the arrival of the gods.
On Manju Sri
Manju Sri, the Celestial Architect, having created land habitable for his people to settle down proceeded to erect the Swayambhnath Temple which, many of his followers believe is the same one still standing there today.
Its unique style of construction should demand attention; the temple edifice is a half globe representing the visible universe upon which sits a cube with its four sides facing the four cardinal directions each emblazoned with All-Seeing-Eyes of God. A pyramid consisting of thirteen tiers ending in a cupola is placed upon the cube; the thirteen tiers representing the thirteen heavens according to the Buddha-Margis* belief.
The Compassionate Buddha taught that all sentient beings who seek god with sincere devotion and faith must reach heaven of their own seeking. Accordingly, Manju Sri created the thirteen heavens for all the faithful seekers, irrespective of the attributes of the god they seek. In addition, he is acknowledged also as the creator of the earth and the nether-world.
Manju Sri is depicted in Nepalese iconography as one seated upon a lotus flower with his right arm holding a sword raised in anticipation of that strike to drain out River Bagmati which rendered Kathmandu Valley habitable to his people.
Such are the contents of the Swayambhu Puran and upon this basis the Kiratis assert their pre-brahminic existence and claim that their Puran predates the Hindu Epics.
*Followers of the Buddha.
Friday, August 18, 2006
Kirats during the Pre-Historic Age.
The Epic Age
The earliest account of the Kirats has been found recorded in the Hindu Epics. Strange as it may sound, god Siva, one of the supreme gods of Hindu Trinity, is portrayed in the Hindu Epics as an ascetic and attired in the manner of a Kirat.
It is the pre-historic era when man was still a hunter-gatherer, Siva appears as one, draped in a single leopard pelt wrap-around, often armed with a trident or a bow and arrow. Surprisingly however, that is the one and only way Siva has been depicted in all Hindu cultural icons. The Kirats have thus been identified with that image of Siva and upon this basis the Kirats claim their noble ancestry.
However, long before the Hindus had arrived in their midst, the Kirats themselves had been claiming a direct lineage from Siva. Kirats have always associated their god Siva to the snow-clad Himalayas, whose residence is an abstract mountain abode known as Kailas. To the Kirats, their god was not a distant god, but one that lived among them sharing their daily pace of life. Somehow, the god of the Kirats appear to have been assimilated into pantheon of Hindu gods even before the Hinduism itself was properly codified.
The Epic Battle
During the Hindu epic battle of Mahabharat fought between the five brothers known as Pandaw against their one hundred cousins known as Kauraw, the Kirats had sided with the latter. Kauraws were annihilated in that battle and so were the Kirats. Students of this epic battle give credit to Krishna, the god incarnate, who had sided with the Pandaw to be the reason of Kauraw's defeat.
There ought perhaps to be some measure of truth attached to this episode, because we find the mention of Kirats completely disappears from all subsequent accounts following this epic battle.
However, just prior to this battle, Arjun the hero of the Pandaw brothers had fought a duel with Siva and the latter, impressed by the hero's prowess, it is mentioned in the same epic, had granted him a weapon endowed with divine power.
There is a curious detail apparently overlooked by the brahmin pundits about the Mahabharat personalities as interpreted by the Kirats. Kirats had not only sided with the Kauraws but according to a benediction* written in sanskrit, Duryodhan, the leader of the Kauraws, is invoked by the Kirats being the most honorable among all men whereas the names of Krishna and Arjun have not even been mentioned.
A Prelude to the Battle
The Pandaws and the Kauraws ruled over neighboring lands and they apparently lived in peace and harmony except that they too had their own share of human frailties, they were subject to a vicious passion of 'tripasha', a form of royal game of dice. During one of their tryst with destiny the Pandaws lost the wager, they lost not only their kingdom but their entire possession including their common wife. (The five brothers were wedded to a single woman).
Duryodhan spared their life but the Pandaws were banished from the land for the next thirteen years with a condition that they must spend the last year incognito and if their concealed identity is revealed they must pay with their lives.
The Epic records in vivid details their thirteen years sojourn in the forests of far eastern Himalayas, but they return nearer home to spend their fateful year of disguise. According to the Birat Parba of the Epic Mahabharat, the Pandaws successfully spent the thirteenth year disguised as domestic servants in the court of Kirati King Birat in Eastern Nepal. This provides one categoric evidence of their agnate relationship with the Kirats, that Pandaws and Kauraws were ethnic Kirats.
*The Benediction in sanskrit (A Father's Blessings).
"Aayurdronasute srayamcha Dasarathe, shatrukshayam Raghawe,
Aishwarya Nahuse gatishchapawane, manancha Duryodhane."
"May thou live the life of Drona's son,**
May thine reputation be as of Dasarath,
May thou vanquish thine enemies as did Raghaw;
May thine prosperity be as of Nahush,
May thou move as does the breeze,
May thou be as honorable as Duryodhan."
** Drona's son Ashwatthama was blessed to live an 'immortal' life.
The earliest account of the Kirats has been found recorded in the Hindu Epics. Strange as it may sound, god Siva, one of the supreme gods of Hindu Trinity, is portrayed in the Hindu Epics as an ascetic and attired in the manner of a Kirat.
It is the pre-historic era when man was still a hunter-gatherer, Siva appears as one, draped in a single leopard pelt wrap-around, often armed with a trident or a bow and arrow. Surprisingly however, that is the one and only way Siva has been depicted in all Hindu cultural icons. The Kirats have thus been identified with that image of Siva and upon this basis the Kirats claim their noble ancestry.
However, long before the Hindus had arrived in their midst, the Kirats themselves had been claiming a direct lineage from Siva. Kirats have always associated their god Siva to the snow-clad Himalayas, whose residence is an abstract mountain abode known as Kailas. To the Kirats, their god was not a distant god, but one that lived among them sharing their daily pace of life. Somehow, the god of the Kirats appear to have been assimilated into pantheon of Hindu gods even before the Hinduism itself was properly codified.
The Epic Battle
During the Hindu epic battle of Mahabharat fought between the five brothers known as Pandaw against their one hundred cousins known as Kauraw, the Kirats had sided with the latter. Kauraws were annihilated in that battle and so were the Kirats. Students of this epic battle give credit to Krishna, the god incarnate, who had sided with the Pandaw to be the reason of Kauraw's defeat.
There ought perhaps to be some measure of truth attached to this episode, because we find the mention of Kirats completely disappears from all subsequent accounts following this epic battle.
However, just prior to this battle, Arjun the hero of the Pandaw brothers had fought a duel with Siva and the latter, impressed by the hero's prowess, it is mentioned in the same epic, had granted him a weapon endowed with divine power.
There is a curious detail apparently overlooked by the brahmin pundits about the Mahabharat personalities as interpreted by the Kirats. Kirats had not only sided with the Kauraws but according to a benediction* written in sanskrit, Duryodhan, the leader of the Kauraws, is invoked by the Kirats being the most honorable among all men whereas the names of Krishna and Arjun have not even been mentioned.
A Prelude to the Battle
The Pandaws and the Kauraws ruled over neighboring lands and they apparently lived in peace and harmony except that they too had their own share of human frailties, they were subject to a vicious passion of 'tripasha', a form of royal game of dice. During one of their tryst with destiny the Pandaws lost the wager, they lost not only their kingdom but their entire possession including their common wife. (The five brothers were wedded to a single woman).
Duryodhan spared their life but the Pandaws were banished from the land for the next thirteen years with a condition that they must spend the last year incognito and if their concealed identity is revealed they must pay with their lives.
The Epic records in vivid details their thirteen years sojourn in the forests of far eastern Himalayas, but they return nearer home to spend their fateful year of disguise. According to the Birat Parba of the Epic Mahabharat, the Pandaws successfully spent the thirteenth year disguised as domestic servants in the court of Kirati King Birat in Eastern Nepal. This provides one categoric evidence of their agnate relationship with the Kirats, that Pandaws and Kauraws were ethnic Kirats.
*The Benediction in sanskrit (A Father's Blessings).
"Aayurdronasute srayamcha Dasarathe, shatrukshayam Raghawe,
Aishwarya Nahuse gatishchapawane, manancha Duryodhane."
"May thou live the life of Drona's son,**
May thine reputation be as of Dasarath,
May thou vanquish thine enemies as did Raghaw;
May thine prosperity be as of Nahush,
May thou move as does the breeze,
May thou be as honorable as Duryodhan."
** Drona's son Ashwatthama was blessed to live an 'immortal' life.
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