A Brief History
| Long ago, Nepalis tell, the Kathmandu Valley was a lake, the realm of snake gods, the Nagas. Then Manjushri, a wise teacher of the great god Shiva, slashed the earth with his sword, creating the slit of the Chobar Gorge and releasing the waters. All the snakes left except the King of the Nagas, who still lives in a pond that is never drained. |
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Geologist agree that water did once cover the valley. They suggest that an earthquake created the gorge where the Bagmati River now flows. And it is true there are no snakes. The early history of Nepal is thus a mixture of fact and myth, with religious lore associated with virtually every landmark and event. Initially a collection of small feuding principalities both isolated and protected by the mountaineous geography, Nepal has never been a colony. From time to time, some of the feudal domains were brought together by one powerful figure, but present-day Nepal has been a unified nation for just over 200 years. The name Nepal was originally applied to the Kathmandu valley only, and the country's formal history chiefly concerns this centre.
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