Kathmandu Valley

The Kathmandu Valley (Nepal Bhasa: नेपाः स्वनिगः Nepāḥ Svanigaḥ ]), located in Nepal, lies at the crossroads of ancient civilizations of Asia, and has at least 130 important monuments, including several places of pilgrimage for the Hindus and the Buddhists.

Etymology

The city of Kathmandu is named after a structure in Durbar Square called Kaasthamandap. In Sanskrit, kāṣṭh (काष्ठ) = "wood" and maṇḍap (मंडप/मण्डप) = "covered shelter." This unique temple, also known as Maru Satal, was built in 1596 CE by King Laxmi Narsingh Malla. The entire structure contains no iron nails or supports and is made entirely from wood. Legend has it that the timber used for this two story pagoda was obtained from a single tree. As the city has many temples, it is also known as the City of Temples.

History

The Kathmandu Valley may have been inhabited as early as 300 BCE, since the oldest known objects in the valley date to a few hundred years BCE. The earliest known inscription is dated 185 CE. The oldest firmly dated building in the earthquake-prone valley is almost 1,992 years old. Four stupas around the city of Patan, said to have been erected by a certain Charumati, a purported daughter of Ashoka the Great, a Mauryan king, in the 3rd century BCE, attest to the ancient history present within the valley. As with the tales of the Buddha's visit, there is no evidence supporting Ashoka's visit, but the stupas probably do date to that century. The Kirats are the first documented rulers of the Kathmandu Valley; the remains of their palace are said to be in Patan near Hiranyavarna Mahavihara (called "Patukodon"). The Licchavi Dynasty whose earliest inscriptions date back to 464 CE were the next rulers of the valley and had close ties with the Gupta Dynasty of India. The Malla Dynasty ruled Kathmandu Valley and the surrounding area from the 12th century CE until the 18th century CE, when the Shah Dynasty under Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the valley as he created present-day Nepal. Most of ancient Nepali architecture present in Nepal today is from the Malla era. .]]

Newars

The Newars, generally acknowledged to be the original inhabitants of the valley, are understood to be the descendants of the various ethnic and racial groups that have inhabited and ruled the valley in the 2-millennia history of the place. Although in today's state of Nepal, the Newars stand apart ethnically from the other groups on the basis of their composite Hindu-Buddhist religious culture and Nepal Bhasa, today spoken by all Newars as their mother tongue, the multifarious castes in the numerous caste systems within Newar society betray a surprising racial diversity. The similarities between the various cultural traits and complexes within Newar culture and those of many other ethnic groups in the Indian sub-continent lead us to hypothesize the occurrence of both vibrant circulations of peoples and cultures around the sub-continent during the last 2 millennia and a continuous and steady of diffusion of these ideas into the valley. Indologists/anthropologists and Newarologists describe Newar society as a "pre-dominantly Mongoloid people practicing an Indo-Aryan culture."

Mythology

According to Swayambhu Puran, the Kathmandu Valley was once a lake. The hill where the Swambhu stupa rests had lotus plants with beautiful lotus flowers abloom. One story says that the god Manjusri cut a gorge at a place called Kashapaal (later called Chobhar) with a sword called Chandrahrasha and drained away the waters in order to establish a habitable land.

According to Gopal Banshawali, Krishna cut the gorge with his Sudarshana Chakra to let the water out. He then handed the drained valley to the Gopal Vansi people, who were nomadic cow herders.

Geography

The valley is made up of the Kathmandu District, Lalitpur District and Bhaktapur District. The valley consists of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Lalitpur Submetropolitan City, Bhaktapur municipality, Kirtipur Municipality, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and several villages which present a high style of Newar art and architecture. The valley is a cultural and political hub of Nepal. Mixed with all the other cultures, many of whom have recently arrived from different parts of Nepal, Newar culture still exists very vibrantly. The Kathmandu valley was accorded the status of a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in the year 1979.

Through the Kathmandu Valley flows the Bagmati river.

Places to see

Important monuments of Kathmandu valley include:

  • Kathmandu Durbar Square
  • Patan Durbar Square
  • Bhaktapur Durbar Square
  • Thimi Durbar Square
  • Changu Narayan
  • Swayambhunath Stupa
  • Boudhanath Stupa
  • Pashupatinath temple
  • Balkumari Temple/Thimi
  • Wakachhen Mahadev/Thimi
  • Golden Window/Thimi
  • Chabahil
  • Manjushree Temple in Majipa, Manjushree Tole
  • Aditnath Temple in Chobhar[1] hill village
  • Palanchok Temple in kavre, east from middle of Kathmandu

Present

This valley hosts an UNESCO World Heritage Sites composed of seven different Monument Zones: The centers of the three primary cities, Kathmandu Hanuman Dhoka, Patan and Bhaktapur, the two most important Buddhist stupas, Swayambhunath and Boudhanath and two famous Hindu shrines, Pashupatinath temple and Changu Narayan. Since 2003 the World Heritage List lists the site as being "in danger" out of concern for the ongoing loss of authenticity and the outstanding universal value of the cultural property.

In the past, Tibetan Buddhist Masters including Marpa, Milarepa, Rwa Lotsava, Ras Chungpa, Dharma Swami, XIII Karmapa, XVI Karmapa and several others visited and traveled in the Kathmandu Valley. However, the largest group of Tibetans came in the 1960s. Many settled around the Svayambhu and Baudha Stupas. Many other famous Lamas known throughout the world have their Buddhist monasteries and centers in the Kathmandu Valley..

Musical inspiration

Cat Stevens wrote a song titled "Katmandu," which appeared in his 1970 album, Mona Bone Jakon.

Rock musician Bob Seger wrote a song titled "Katmandu," which appeared on his 1975 album, Beautiful Loser.

Kathmandu is mentioned in the song "Cry Baby," by Janis Joplin.

Kathmandu is also mentioned in the song "Nobody Told Me," by John Lennon.

A Russian rock band Krematorij had a song titled "Kathmandu" on their 2000 album Three Springs.

The Argentinian musician Fito Páez has a song called Tráfico por Katmandú ("Traffic through Kathmandu" in English).

New age guitarist Will Ackerman has a song called "A Happy Home in Kathmandu" on his 1993 album The Opening of Doors.

The group Tantra recorded a song called "The Hills of Katmandu" in the early 80's.

The world-famous banjo player Béla Fleck has a number called "Kathmandu."

David Hughes from Sweden, included a track titled "Kathmandu" on his 2007 release "Foreign Shores".

Some recent travelogues refer to the valley as the "Emerald Valley".

See also

  • Culture of Nepal
  • Dolakha Newar Language

External links

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25 March 2016
Ekailashtour.com specializes in small group tours and tailor-made trip to Mount Kailash, central Tibet, Guge Kingdom and Everest base camp. An expert’ team, based in Nepal, is passionate and extremely knowledgeable about the region having lived or traveled widely there. Our flexible and innovative Kailash tour itineraries are now even better value and take you beyond the tourist sites for a real experience of a lifetime! for more details http://www.ekailashtour.com
Lok Bhatta
25 February 2017
Kathmandu Valley situated in the Hilly Region of Nepal in Bagmati Province No. 3.  A civilized place since 3200 years is interesting with its capital of Nepal, world heritage site & the Himalaya view.
Anacka Lee
19 February 2017
SUR SUDHA Music Shop provides huge collections of all kinds of CD's and DVD's from almost all around the world as possible as it is....老板是个中国通!沟通无压力!人非常热情幽默!
Trekking Experts
7 December 2014
Kathmandu is situated in a valley in the heart of Nepal. Kathmandu is also known as the ‘city of temple’ where uncountable temples and world famous world heritages sites are also in Kathmandu.
Lok Bhatta
11 August 2019
Nagarkot Sunrise Day Tour is top-rated 5 to 8 hours trip to observe captivating sunrise above majestic Himalayan peaks with Mt. Everest (8848 m). Every morning this trip departs with a skilled guide.
Lok Bhatta
3 October 2019
Nagarkot Sunrise Day Tour is featured worth trip of Kathmandu to observe incredible sunrise view over the world highest mountains, Mt. Everest (8848 m) to Mt. Manaslu (8163 m).
Lok Bhatta
11 August 2019
Everest Base Camp Trek is 13 days challenging journeys on 124.4 km long route in Solukhumbu District of Nepal with 30 minutes flight. This hiking is interesting with well-known Sherpa hometown.
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