We want Constitution

" Separate govt in Madhes if ruling parties  don’t correct course: Dahal

UCPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal said on Saturday that it is now the responsibility of the Madhesi people to decide the future of Nepal's course.  Dahal argued that the Madhesi people will have the right to form their own government in the plains if the ruling parties – Nepali Congress (NC) and UML – don’t roll back their seven-province model of federalism. MORE "

Source:http://setopati.net/politics/4067/Separate-govt-in-Madhes-if-ruling-parties-don%E2%80%99t-correct-course-:-Dahal/

What does Dahal wants to prove from this statement.

What the hell is he trying to do. Does he trying to unite the country or trying to divide and destroy it.

Now enough is enough!!!

I still remember When I have voted for the Maoist in first CA election hoping they will do something better for the country. Though I didn't get the chance to vote in second CA selection. But if I would have there I would have definitely not vote to Maoist.

Now, as the time is passing it seems that UCPN is more into destablizing and dividing the country then developing and uniting it.

Whatever the possible reason could be whether it is hunger for Power or influenced by bad forces, UCPN is becoming more and more unpopular among the people of Nepal.

First it was Mohan Baidya who by his smartness and (fake) patriotism try to destablize the nation, now I think the same task is taken by PKD.

This kind of speech or thought will only help in dividing the country. I request all the Maoist esp. PKD not to divide the country on ethinicity. It will be one of the biggest disaster. Why can't they understand such a simple logic. In fact I would say that there is no need to restructure our nation.

We just want PEACE and CONSTITUTION in Nepal.

Rest everything will happen by itself.

Though my blog is for Magar but first I am a Nepali. Nepal means everything to me and I hope that  this thing will be agreed by all the Nepalis irrespective of their caste and religion.

I personally appeal to the people of Nepal if this Leaders can't make the country lets don't them break.

Those who try to do it whether its PKD, MB or any other leader we should beat them like a dog with slippers and make them realize their true color.

This time I want the constitution. Its Now or Never.

Jai Nepal.

Aalam Devi - Lasargha, A Fact

"A question on the occasion of Bada Dashain 2071:

Why Bhimsenpate tree in Alam Devi temple?

_______________________________

[Maski Rana Magars have a tradition of being 'original priests' and crocodiles of Gah, Sinjali, Darlami, Somai, Thapa etc. have a tradition of being 'assistant priests' when such original priests are in a state of false sleep; Goddess Mane is the family deity of Gorkhali Shah kings - Why and why not build a Bhimsen leaf tree in 'Alam Devi' temple? A little bit about how the name Alam Devi came to be, how worship is done in Baradshah, will be posted shortly.]

_____________

Talking about how the name of the present Alamdevi temple came to be 'Alamdevi temple', it also comes to the point that the same Shah Raja of Nepal, Maharaja Khalak had to establish 'relationship' with the Rajputs of Chittor. Bhupathi Rana, who is said to have fled from Chittor in 1495 BS to escape the onslaught of Mughal Emperor Akbar, is now considered to be the ancestor of the Shah dynasty of Nepal. This is not true as the Mughal emperor Akbar was born in 1542, exactly 47 years after the incident. This phenomenon, which is said to have occurred without human birth, is imaginary. This should be taken as a link in the Shah's attempt to show that he was a descendant of the 'Rajputs' of Chittor.

In any case, the idol of Kulayan Devi carried by the Bhupathi Rana, who is said to have been fleeing for his life, was placed under a Bhimsenpati tree at the place where the present Alam Devi is now. There is a saying that 'Alap Devi' was given the name and 'Alap Devi' was later called 'Alam Devi'.

According to another legend, the 'stone' of the common deity of the migrating Rana Magar and Shah Thakuri was a bit heavy, so when the idol was placed under a Bhimsenpati tree, a temple without a roof was built under it and the goddess was called Alap Devi They started saying 'Alam Devi'.

There is another saying that the name of the temple was changed from 'Arlang' to 'Alam Devi' as the flag was also called 'Arlang' in the Magar language and Bhupati Rana, who is said to have come from Chittor, built a fort or fort there and worshiped his favorite goddess.

The crocodiles still worship the Bhimsenpati tree. On the occasion of Basanta Panchami in Gorkha, this admin himself has worshiped the Bhimsenpati tree many times. There is still a Bhimsenpati tree in the Alam Devi temple. And, there is no roof in the temple because of the belief that the tree should not be cut down and a roof should not be put on the temple of the goddess.

Francis Hamilton is a British scholar who writes that he had no 'relationship' with the Shah of Nepal, Maharaja Khalak and the Rajputs of Chittaur. He lived in Nepal for 14 months between 1802 and 1083. He is the first to write that the Magars and the Shah dynasty belong to the same clan, i.e. the main festivals celebrated in Nepal today: such as Raksha Bandhan or Janai Purnima, Dashain, Tihar, Maghe Sakranti, etc. These festivals are celebrated according to Hindu law and are also given national recognition. "

Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=534436776699966&id=171605959649718&substory_index=0

What I want to add here is that Aalam also means World in Urdu, whose translation in Nepali could be "Jagat ko Devi'.   Also the title Shah itself is an Urdu word.

Do these things make any sense.

MAGAR KINGS - V

An interesting Article from Facebook in The Magars: Their History, Language and Culture

It simply came to our notice then

________________________

In the year 1481, Shri Shake killed the Khadka (Magar) king of Gorkha and Dravya Shah laid the foundation of the Shah dynasty.

(Wednesday, September 24, 1616, the eighth day of the month)

"There was a Shadka king in Gorsha. His injustice and injustice were also very much in the mind of the unborn king of Bhaya. Ganesh Pandey understood the intentions of the people and made some requests. The Kshatriya clan was born. I begged and begged for more. This is how the industry wants to be done. The people of Bhava Havas Gorsha, who are devoted to some deities, begged me to help them and went to Gorsha. They wanted to pay homage to Narandas Arjyal at Chepya Ghat. Ganesh Pandey started consulting with the Magars in Gorsha. After the advice was blocked, he did not run here at once. It would be better to run here by using force. Others So 1. It's only been 2 years. The king of today is so strong that he is afraid. 10. It's been 12 years. There's a lot of deception going on and on and on. The force increases a lot after the liglig arm. It would be easy to come here from there. Ganesh Pandey has indicated that. The same advice came to Lee Narandas Arjyal and begged for bed. That's what the industry is all about. On the day of the vaccination, the coat was handed over. After that, Gorsha began to rule in the throne. Even the man from Gorsha could take Ganesh Pandey by the hand. At the same time, Raginas Deshi fought for fifteen days from Shri Drabya Shah. Shadka Kayet was not afraid. On the night of the fifteenth day, Ganesh Pandey Panth Arjyal went with all the soldiers and performed Deep Ganesh Pooja. Pandey Panth Aryal Shadal Shas Magar all five started talking to Khadka Raja but did not get along and then Sayet also came. Shri 5 Drabya Shah was killed and all the eleven Shadka kings were killed with their swords. From Taha, Sriganesha Pooja, Sakal Mangal, Brahmins, etc., all five sat in auspicious moments and ascended the throne. After Waha, King Mari of the upper coat handed over the upper coat. In the year 1481, Shri Shake, Shri 5 Maharaja Drabya Shah reigned on the throne of Gorsha.

Gorkhavanshavali - 2009, pp. 5-7

***

Note: Some words are currently in common form and meaning

1) Gorsha = Gorkha

2) Shadka = Khadka

3) Lots = lots

4) Deshda = seeing

5) Shed = sorry

6) Purashcharan = work of sacrificing

7) To do = to do

8) Kastarah = how

9) Bhakti Bhava = Bhakti Bhava

10) Kayet = imprisonment

11) Shadal = Khanal

12) Shas = Khas

13) Returned = Returned

14) Sayet = Sait

15) Gyaar = Gayar

16) On the throne = on the throne (on the throne)

17) Upper Coat = There are 3 coats in Gorkha. The present Gorkha Durbar is considered as 'Majh Kot'. There is a 'lower coat' to the southwest of Gorkha Durbar. In all three coats there are Magar priests.

It is also written in the upper coat that 'Ghale Gurung Raja' was there. In this genealogy, 'Khadka Raja' is not referred to as 'Khadka Magar'. However, it is clear that the king was not a 'Khadka Kshatriya' by writing that the low caste king was afraid in Gorsha. Also, "Kshatriya king is not from Kastara and Kshatriya king is from Manula." It also means that 'Khadka Raja' was a 'drunken king'. For the same reason, historians have written 'Khadka Raja' of Gorkha as 'Khadka Magar Raja'.

This means that even before Dravya Shah won the Liglig, there was a 'tika practice'. But it is not clear whether the tika was given to Dashain or not. It is not clear on what occasion or on what occasion such red, black or white tika was given. And, it's not just a decade of protest or support, it's just another post about what is or is written in a historical document. "

Source: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=535673229909654&id=171605959649718&substory_index=0

Liglig Kot Race 2014

" Anish Thapa Magar won in the men's category of the fifth edition of Lig-Lige Daud (Lig-Lige Race) held from Chepeghat Dhovan of Gorkha to the historic Lig-Lig Kot Palace in the district on Tuesday, October 1, 2014.

Thapa Magar, who serves to the Indian Army, completed the 13.2-km race in 56 minutes and 43 seconds.
Nepal Police's Bhumi Raj Rai finished second, clocking 59 minutes and 2 seconds, while Nepal Army's Rajan Khatri stood third, completing the race in 1 hour and 4 seconds.
Thapa Magar was awarded Rs 50,505; Rai took home Rs 25,205 and Khatri got Rs 10,101.

The Lig-Lige race is believed to have started in 1604 BS in Lig-Lig Kot to choose the Ghale Magar king. It was stopped in Dravya Shah's reign in 1616 BS."

 Source: http://www.nepalnews.com/index.php/society-archive/39627-anish-thapa-magar-wins-5th-edition-of-lig-lige-race-in-gorkha

ORIGIN OF MAGARS OF NEPAL - II (Where did the Magar come from?)

After a long gap I finally feel confident to complete my unfinished work. Hope it will further enrich the knowledge of our own history & identity.

In one way it will be a kind of conclusion of all my work & articles collected so far.

As I will always say " There is no doubt that Magars have originated from Mongolian race. The biggest evidence is the resemblance of the physical feature. linguistic tree also shows the that the Magar language belongs to Sino-Tibetan family. (Ref: http://www.ethnologue.com/14/show_language.asp?code=MGP) "


Source: http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=7

But again I need to clarify that when I say Mongolian Race that doesn't mean that we are from Mongolia. For me it only signifies related to physical resemblace. Or otherwise we can say that we are great grand fathers have been migrated from Northern side of Nepal where people have same physical features and same line of language. (Because Mongol name is itself coined around 1200AD)

There movement was definitely like tribe. Like around 1500 BCE vedic people started moving down towards Ganges after the fall of Indus Civilization. That was time when new tribes were moving to new places. In the same way they would have also moved to their present day place.

Now, the next question is when did they come and did they come.

Its pretty easy to answer the second question as most scholars agree and I have found in many articles that Magars have come from present day Sikkim & the they moved towards west. (Read: Magar: A view VIII ( By my friend Babs) at http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=14)

In some articles I have read that Magars have come from India, I personally don't find it very logical.

Now the first question is when did they come to Nepal. In one of the article its mentioned they might have migrated around 1100 BCE (Read:  Magars, a short Histroy at http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2009-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2010-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=11)

Here I totally agree with the writer. If we assume that we are a part of Kirat than Kirats were mentioned in Yajurveda which was composed from 1200-1000 BCE. The other example is Mahabharata which was composed around 400 BCE has also mentioned about Kirat King Yalambar. So, we can say that we might have migrated at our present day place around 1500-1100BCE. The second option is what if we are not kirats. But in my opinion if we are not kirats then also we are definitely migrated with them because we belong to the same stock. And there are lot of similarities among us. (Read: Magar: A view VIII ( By my friend Babs) at http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=14)  Or we might have been more earlier here because Magar are more towards west as compared to so called present days kirats. Here I have tried to established the approx time when Magar migrated to Nepal.

However, we have lots of proof that we were among the first settle who settle in Nepal. As I have read in few articles where they claim that Aryans are the one who came first. The finest example is the Name of the places. Though, there would have been lot of changes in Magar culture since they came here, names of rivers, mountains and places itself proves the theory. This is one thing which time could not change.

Then little latter so called Khas tribe might have also started coming, however we can called them vedic people but not Hindus.

Some scholars says that Magar are Buddhist but in my opinion it doesn't seem so. Because, Gautam Buddha was born around 563 BCE and Magars were there before that. Secondly, in Vedas also lot has been written about Sakya clan, which Gautam Buddha belongs to. I personally feel that Magars were never influenced by Buddism at any point of time, only now there is much hype on it.

After this only mention of Magar comes around 800 AD when historians also agree that there was a strong Magar King called Aramudi who used to rule around Kali Gandaki region.

Now, what about the history of Magar before 800 AD and after they settle down in Nepal. Unfortunately, unlike vedic people we don't have vedas or epic like ramayan or mahabharata which can give us some sort of idea about that time. (If anyone has information of that era I would like to request him to share.) Neither our kings have tried to preserve our true identity or try to explore it.

But, one thing was sure that after Magar were settled they have started to grow bigger, from tribe they developed into principalities. However, the development was slow. However, in the meantime many Kings ruled and lot of activities happened in the Ganges plain but this region remain the same. But, the exact details like their area, names and internal politics are difficult to find.

However, by 800AD there was a Magar King, and an state.(Read:  Magars: A view VI at http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=14)

Later, may be lack of strong Magar King, the kingdom got divided into different principalities. Which results into Barah Magarat and Atharah Magarat. Name itself suggest that these were ruled by Magar Kings. Until Prithivi Narayan Shah's unification.

After, muslim invasion started in Ganges plane around 13th Century AD the so called Bahuns started coming to Nepal. Which is agreed by most of the scholars. Because of the same reason Khas people started getting the priority. And they are the one who brought caste system in Nepal. At that time many elite Magars might have been converted into chhetri thats the reason why many titles have common in Magars and chhetries. 

And since they have entered through varanasi via Kali Gandaki region, that is one of the reason why Magars is one of the the most influenced of indigenous group by Hindu as compared to Gurung, Rai & Limbu. 

Here, I just want to  mention that Hinduism and the word Hindu itself come much later as you can read in my blog.

I am sure that Magars were the rulers of Gandaki and Rapti region till 1600 AD.

However, in one of my article  (Read: Magar: A view VIII ( By my friend Babs) at http://laanghali.blogspot.in/search?updated-min=2013-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&updated-max=2014-01-01T00:00:00%2B05:30&max-results=14) my friend Bab tried to explain that Shah were basically converted Magars. But how true the fact is needs to be researched. However, in that article he has tried to explain the origin of Magar.

 

Kirat vs Hinduism IV

There is an excellent article by "Windy Doniger" in her book "The Hindus - An alternative story' on Lord Shiva

This article itself says lot of things.

"                                 THE RISE OF SECTARIAN HINDUISM

Despite (or because of) the rise of Buddhism in this period, both Vedic sacrificers and
members of the evolving Hindu sects of Vaishnavas and Shaivas (worshipers of Vishnu and
Shiva) found new sponsors among the ruling families and court circles.20 The keystone for the
Brahmin establishment was the new economic power of temple cities.21 From about 500 BCE,
kings still performed Vedic sacrifices to legitimize their kingship,22 but the sectarian worship of
particular deities began partially to replace Vedic sacrifice.23 As the gods of the Vedic pantheon
(Indra, Soma, Agni) faded into the background, Vishnu and Rudra/Shiva, who had played small
roles in the Vedas, attracted more and more worshipers. Throughout the Ramayana and
Mahabharata, we encounter people who say they worship a particular god, which is the start of
sects and therefore of sectarianism.
Pilgrimage and puja are the main forms of worship at this time. Pilgrimage is described at
length in the Mahabharata, particularly but not only in the “Tour of the Sacred Tirthas”
(3.80-140). Sacred fords (tirthas) are shrines where one can simultaneously cross over (which is
what tirtha means) the river and the perils of the world of rebirth. As in Ashoka’s edicts, the
“conquest of the four corners of the earth” (dig-vijaya), originally a martial image, is now
applied to a grand tour of pilgrimage to many shrines, circling the world (India), always to the
right. Puja (from the Dravidian pu [“flower”])24 consisted of making an offering to an image of a
god (flowers, fruits, sometimes rice), and/or moving a lamp through the air in a circular pattern,
walking around the god, and reciting prayers, such as a litany of the names of the god. Krishna in
the Bhagavad Gitafa says that pious people offer him a leaf or flower or fruit or water (9.26).
Sometimes the image of the god is bathed and dressed, and often the remains of the food that has
been offered to the god is then distributed to the worshipers as the god’s “favor” or “grace”
(prasada), a relic of the leftovers (ucchishta) from the Vedic sacrifice.
There is rich evidence of the rise of the sectarian gods. The Mahabharata includes a
Hymn of the Thousand Names of Shiva (13.17), and in 150 BCE Patanjali, the author of the
highly influential Yoga Sutras, foundational for the Yoga school of philosophy, mentions a
worshiper of Shiva who wore animal skins and carried an iron lance. Gold coins from this same
period depict Shiva holding a trident and standing in front of a massive bull, presumably the bull
that is Shiva’s usual vehicle. In the first century BCE, under the Shungas, artisans produced what
is generally regarded as the earliest depiction of the god Shiva: a linga just under five feet high,
in Gudimallam, in southeastern Andhra Pradesh. (See page 22.) Its anatomical detail, apart from
its size, is highly naturalistic, but on the shaft is carved the figure of Shiva, two-armed and also
naturalistic, holding an ax in one hand and the body of a small antelope in the other. His thin
garment reveals his own sexual organ (not erect), his hair is matted, and he wears large earrings.
He stands upon a dwarf. A frieze from the first or second century CE suggests how such a linga
might have been worshiped; it depicts a linga shrine under a tree, surrounded by a railing, just
like the actual railing that was discovered beneath the floor in which the image was embedded.25
The Mahabharata tells a story about the circumstances under which Shiva came to be
worshiped:
SHIVA DESTROYS DAKSHA’S VEDIC SACRIFICEOnce upon a time, when Shiva was
living on Mount Meru with his wife, Parvati, the daughter of the mountain Himalaya, all the
gods and demigods thronged to him and paid him homage. The Lord of Creatures named Daksha
began to perform a horse sacrifice in the ancient manner, which Indra and the gods attended with
Shiva’s permission. Seeing this, Parvati asked Shiva where the gods were going, and Shiva
explained it to her, adding that the gods had decided long ago not to give him any share in the
sacrifice. But Parvati was so unhappy about this that Shiva took his great bow and went with his
band of fierce servants to destroy the sacrifice. Some put out the sacrificial fires by dousing them
with blood; others began to eat the sacrificial assistants. The sacrifice took the form of a wild
animal and fled to the skies, and Shiva pursued it with bow and arrow. The gods, terrified, fled,
and the very earth began to tremble. Brahma begged Shiva to desist, promising him a share of
the sacrificial offerings forever after, and Shiva smiled and accepted that share (12.274.2-58).
This important myth, retold in various transformations several times in the Mahabharata
26 and in other texts through the ages, is in part a historical narrative of what did happen in the
history of Hinduism: Shiva was not part of the Vedic sacrifice, and then he became part of the
Hindu sacrifice. The gods, particularly Daksha (a creator, mentioned in the Rig Veda hymn of
Aditi [10.72.1-5]), exclude Shiva from their sacrifice because Shiva is the outsider, the Other, the
god to whom Vedic sacrifice is not offered; he is not a member of the club of gods that sacrifice
to the gods.27 He appears to Arjuna, in a pivotal episode of the Mahabharata, in the form of a
naked Kirata, a tribal hunter (3.40.1-5). The myth of Daksha’s sacrifice verifies Shiva’s
otherness but modifies it so that Shiva is in fact given a share in some sacrifices, still not part of
the Vedic world but the supreme god of the post-Vedic world, at least in the eyes of the Shaivas
who tell this myth.28
In the Ramayana, the god Rama is on his way to becoming one of the great gods of
sectarian Hinduism. The god Krishna too now enters the world of Sanskrit texts, in the
Mahabharata. The grammarian Panini, in the fifth century BCE, mentions a Vasudevaka, whom
he defines as a devotee (bhakta) of the son of Vasudeva (Krishna), an avatar of Vishnu. This was
the time of the beginning of the Bhagavata sects, the worship of Bhagavan, the Lord, a name of
Vishnu or Shiva. In 115 BCE, Heliodorus, the son of a Greek from Taxila and himself the Greek
ambassador to one of the Shungas,29 set up a pillar in Besnagar in Madhya Pradesh (not far from
the Buddhist stupas at Sanchi), topped by an image of Vishnu’s eagle (the Garuda bird) and an
inscription. Heliodorus said he had done this in honor of the son of Vasudeva and that he himself
was a Bhagavata.30 This is significant evidence of the conversion of a non-Indian not to
Buddhism but to a new form of Hinduism. These are the early stirrings of communal sects that
were beginning to supplement, sometimes to replace, the royal and domestic worship of the
Vedic gods."

The Hindu: An alternative History

This is an excellent book by "Windy Doniger", where she has tried to explore the history of Hinduism. A must read book for all who are interested in the subject or History".

Here is a few paragraph from the book which try to mention that how Hinduism is evolved.

"          AN ALTERNATIVE ANSWER: FUSION AND BRICOLAGE

It is therefore unlikely that both the Vedas and Harappa were “a product of the

civilization of these two peoples,” but it is more than likely that later Hinduism was a product

of both of them, a linguistic and cultural combination of Vedic words and Indus images, as well

as other contributions from other cultures. In some areas this combination was a fusion, a

melting pot, a hybrid, while in others the elements kept their original shape and behaved more

like a tossed salad, a multiplicity. This is of course quite different from saying that the Veda was

composed in the Indus Valley cities. But even if the languages and cultures were distinct, as

surely they were, people from the two cultures must have met. Ideas already current in India

before the entry of the Vedic people or arising outside the Vedic world after that entry may have

eventually filtered into Vedic and then post-Vedic Sanskrit literature.55 (These ideas may have

come not only from the IVC but also from the so-called Adivisis or “Original Inhabitants” of

India, or from the Munda speakers and Dravidian speakers whose words are already incorporated

in the Rig Veda, though that is another story.) Survivors of the Indus cities may have taught

something of their culture to the descendants of the poets who composed the Vedas. The people

of Harappa may have migrated south, so that their culture could have found its way into the

strand of Hinduism that arose there. Some elements of pre-Vedic Indo-European civilization

may have been taken up by the last inhabitants of the Indus Valley. Some elements of the Indus

civilization may have been adopted by the authors of later Vedic literature. Some combination of

all of the above seems extremely likely.

A good example of this possible fusion is the case of bricks. The authors of the Rig Veda

did not know about bricks; their rituals required only small mud altars, not large brick altars. But

later, around 600 BCE, when the Vedic people had moved down into the Ganges Valley and

their rituals had become more elaborate, they began to build large brick altars. The size of the

mud bricks was a multiple or fraction of the height of the patron of the sacrifice, and a fairly

sophisticated geometry was developed to work out the proportions. We know that the Indus

people had mastered the art of calculating the precise size of bricks, within a system of uniform

and proportionate measurement. The use of bricks and the calculations in the Vedic ritual may

therefore have come from a Harappan tradition, bypassed the Rig Vedic period, and resurfaced

later. This hypothesis must be qualified by the realization that kiln-fired (in contrast with

sun-fired) brickwork does not reappear until the last centuries BCE, a long time for that secret

to lie dormant. But other aspects of brickmaking, and other ideas, may have been transmitted

earlier.

Though the Vedic people told the story of their early life in India, and their descendants

controlled the narrative for a very long time, most of what Hindus have written about and talked

about and done, from the Mahabharata on, has not come from the Veda. In part because of the

intertextuality and interpracticality of Hinduism, one text or ritual building on another through

the centuries, right back to the Veda, scholars looking at the history of transmission have

assumed that the Veda was the base onto which other things were added in the course of Indian

history, just as Central Asia was the base that absorbed the impact of that interloping piece of

Africa so long ago. And in the textual tradition, at least, this is true enough of the form in which

the ideas were preserved, the chain of memorized texts. But from the standpoint of the ideas

themselves, it was quite the opposite: The Veda was the newcomer that, like the African island

fusing onto a preexisting continental base, combined with a preexisting cultural world consisting

perhaps of the Indus Valley, perhaps of any of several other, more widely dispersed non-Vedic

cultures.

The non-Veda is the fons et origo of Hinduism; new ideas, new narratives, new practices

arose in the non-Sanskrit world, found their way into the Sanskrit world, and, often, left it again,

to have a second or third or fourth life among the great vernacular traditions of India. These new

narratives and practices fitted into the interstices between the plot lines of the great Sanskrit

texts, as stories told in response to the protagonists’ questions about places encountered on their

travels or to illustrate a relevant moral point, or any other reason why. The non-Veda is not one

thing but so many things. We have noted, briefly, and can rank in the order that their records

appear in history, the existence of at least five cultures: (1) Stone Age cultures in India long

before the Indus are the foundation on which all later cultures built. (2) At some point,

impossible to fit into a chronology or even an archaeology, come the Adivasis, the “Original

Inhabitants” of India, who spoke a variety of languages and contributed words and practices to

various strands of Hinduism. Many of them were there long before the IVC and may have been a

part of it; many of them have never been assimilated to Hinduism. Next come (3) the Indus

civilization and (4) the village traditions that preceded, accompanied, and followed it, and after

that (5) the culture of the Vedic people. Along the way, other language groups too, such as (6)

the Tamils and other Dravidian speakers,60 who may or may not have been a part of the IVC,

added pieces to the puzzle.

Hinduism, like all cultures, is a bricoleur, a rag-and-bones man, building new things out

of the scraps of other things. We’ve seen how the British used the stones of Mohenjo-Daro as

ballast for their railway before (and after) they realized what those stones were and that a

Buddhist stupa stands over some of the ruins there. So too Hindus built their temples on (and out

of) Buddhist stupas as well as on other Hindu temples, and Muslims their mosques on Hindu

temples (and Buddhist stupas), often reusing the original stones, new wine in old bottles,

palimpsest architecture. In the realm of ideas as well as things, one religion would take up a

word or image from another religion as a kind of objet trouvé. There are no copyrights there; all

is in the public domain. This is not the hodgepodge that the Hindus and the early Orientalists

regarded as dirt, matter out of place, evidence of an inferior status but, rather, the interaction of

various different strains that is an inevitable factor in all cultures and traditions, and a Good

Thing."

Source:  The Hindu: an alternatgive history by Windy Doniger

Influence of Magar language in Nepali language -II

" The Khas language, originating in Jumla and the Sinja Valley, influenced Nepali language which incorporated words from Sanskrit and Magar language . Many Magar words are used even today, especially location names. Some are:^[27]

• Dhaulagiri (Dhaula-difficult, gi-following down, ri-water)
• Chomolungma (cracked peak)
• Lhotse (a cone-shaped container made of corn-cob cover)
• Sisne Himal (a fallen head)
• Kanchanjunga (clear peak)
• Koshi (deep), Kali Gandaki/Kali Gandi (dirty water)
• Bheri/Bhiri (river rolling down from a cliff)
• Karnali (curved), {(di = water Cf. Sanskrit nadi (na+di)= river}
• Budhi Gandaki/Budi Gan + di (Having a lot of water)
• Bagmati/Bangmadi (Bang-meadow suitable for human settlement; madi-river)
• Marsyangdi (serpentine river)
• Kot/Koi (place where government administration is conducted)
• Patan (meadow filled with short grass and small bushes)
• Dhorpatan (Dhor-extended and wide)
• Sinja (sin-wood; ja-pot)
• Galkot/Galkoi (Gal-brave)
• Musikot (musi-a place in the shadow)
• Gorkha/Garkhakoi (a small village)
• Gaam (a big village)
• Ligligkot (a high Kot)
• Rupandehi/Rupadihi (rupa-silver; dihi-field)
• Lumbini/Lungbingi (lung-stone; bingi-without)
• Chitwan/Chidvan (chid-dense; van-jungle)
• Dang (long)
• Salyan (paved platform for rest)
• Sindhuli/Singdhuli (a heap of ashes)
• Tilaurakot/Tilawakoi (place selling sesame seed)
• Jhapa (a land full of soil)
• Tansen/Tansing (Tan-straight; sing-wood/timber)
• Baglung/banglung (lung-a - stony)
• Kushma (a confluence)
• Dhankuta (place above a cliff)
• Hile (a place that comes immediately after you climb an uphill path)
• Mechi (low flat land)

Some scholars opine the amount of Magar words in Nepali indicates that Magarat (historic Magar lands) were larger than generally believed, extending from Dhading to Doti.,^[28] that the place suffix Kot indicates a place from which Magar kings formerly ruled. "


Source : http://mireinrothablogspotcom-mirein.blogspot.in/2012/06/blog-post_4428.html

Magar Empire

"Magar Empire

Magar is a warrior and martial people that first established it's kingdom in present day western Nepal. They were animistic and shamanic in their religious practices. The Kham Magar of upper Karnali basin and their brethren of mid hills of Nepal had a flourishing and empirical kingdoms. Much archaeological proof of their existence can be found in the western mid hills of Nepal.

Magar have a strong military and warrior traditions. However, their hospitality and concern for the fellow human being is also legendary. The two waves of immigrants became the undoing for Magar empire.

Firstly, the Khasas were welcomed and assimilated within Magar empire. Secondly, following the rout of fundamentalist Brahmin Hindus of the Gangetic plains of India by the advancing Mugal forces, the traditionalist Brahmin Hindus entered Magar empire as refugees. They brought with them Hindu religion.

It is the misfortune of Magar empire and the whole Magar people that these two groups were given sanctuary in Magar empire. The latter group of refugees started to impose their fundamentalist view of Hindu religion upon Magars in Magar kingdoms whereas the former group were given the status of Chettri by the latter group in accordance to their fundamentalist view of Hindu religion.

This left the Magar people to be boxed into the third tier of their own kingdoms. (The first being the fundamentalist refugee Brahmin, the second being newly elevated Chettri, previously the Khasas)

This meant that the once rulers of the Nepali mid hills became the ruled upon. Thus starts the degradation of Magar empire. The introduction of Hinduism in itself became the cataclysmic event in the undoing of the Magar empire."


Source: http://pastnepal.blogspot.in/2008/10/magar-empire.html