[Nowadays, Magarāt doesn’t practically exist in Nepal’s political or administrative structure or physical map either. There is no archaeological or epigraphical evidence that would attest Magarāt’s system of governance, military and boundary with other states at that time etc. The history of Magarāt remains basically in popular beliefs. But we can certainly find, Magarāt being mentioned in different history books.]
By B K Rana
WELCOME : Banner reading Sena
and Saru dynasty's Kalānkī Kūlpūjā
(Guardian deity worship) 2070 Bikram Sambat (2014)
|
Nowadays, Magarāt doesn’t practically exist in
Nepal’s political or administrative structure or physical map either. There is
no archaeological or epigraphical evidence that would attest Magarāt’s system
of governance, military and boundary with other states at that time etc. The history of Magarāt remains
basically in popular beliefs. But we can
certainly find, Magarāt being mentioned
in different history books.
In January 1983, I was returning Kathmandu from
Nawalparasi via ‘Kihun Thum’ in Tanahu district west Nepal and while having my lunch
at a small hotel there and on being told to look towards the horizon southwest;
I saw - ‘Rishing and Ghiring’ hills of the ‘Bāra Magarāt’ that day under the
clear blue sky. The hotel manager had told so as I had asked him if he had heard of ‘Rishing
and Ghiring’ at all. The
‘Bāra Magarāt’ literally meant, in those days - pretty much a confederation of
twelve ‘petty states’ in the western hills of Nepal. Those ‘petty states’ of
Magarāt hadn’t developed as much as a nation state. It’s therefore there is no
well recorded history on them.
In the Himalayas, the ‘Kirāta Prādeshā’ or
Kirāta[5] region
has remained as the homeland of the Kirātas: today’s Sunuwar, Rai and Limbu
people primarily - from the Vedic period. The both words - Kirāta and Magarāt - suggest some place, country or
region in our discussion here. The Kirātas come in the Vedas, Ramāyāna,
Mahābhārata and Purans etc. but no mentioning at all of the Magarāt can be found in any such literatures.
When did Magarāt come into existence ?
When did Magarāt come into existence ?
‘Magwār Vishāyā’ – literally ‘Magwār (Magar) district’ |
Bara Magarāt the original seat of Magars
It looks like until the end of 17th century,
the ‘Bāra Magrāt’[6] was homeland of the Magars - it is still today so to say. It consisted of twelve (bāra) different petty
states of the Magar people. They were : 1) Sathung, 2) Paiyung, 3) Bhirkot, 4)
Dhor, 5) Garhung, 6) Rising, 7) Ghiring, 8) Gulmi, 9) Argha, 10) Khachi, 11)
Musikot and 12) Isma.
Both Thomas Smith and Brian H. Hodgson have this
list of ‘Bara (Twelve) Magarāt’ and written also - “Bara Magarāt is the original
seat of Magars; their attachment to the house of Gorkha is but recent of no
extraordinary or intimate nature and modern events have spread them to other parts of the country.” (Smith 1852: 135), (Hodgson – On the Military
Tribes of Nepal -1874: 40)
Daniel Wright also has clearly written ‘Magrāt[7] (Wright 1877: 276) whereas William
Kirkpatrick, Francis B. Hamilton and Rishikesh Shah have not mentioned anything about the
Magarāt but they have a list of
‘Chaubisi Rajyas’ - 24 principalities - in which the twelve different states of Bara Magrāt[8] are also mentioned (Kirkpatrick 1811: 284),
(Hamilton 1819 :237-238), (Shah 1992:65).
Saru
Magars and Sen Thakuris worship together their guardian deity in Paiyung
I have heard there are still some ruins of 'Magar kings' palaces' in Rishing and Ghiring hills of Bara Magarāt. The ruins may be like that of Ligligkot ('Lingling' in Magar language - meaning afresh and all beautiful or like something crystal clear) in Gorkha. Both Liglig and Gorkha were not in ‘Bāra Magrāt’. Paiyung was another of ‘petty
states’ of Bara Magarāt. It is nowadays in Parbat district, west Nepal.
Some western and also a few Nepali writers have written Mukunda Sena was a Magar king of Palpa. Most writers nowadays write Sena kings of Palpa were Thakuri (Chhetri) kings. While still a student in 1983, I was on a visit to Argali, west Palpa district. I met there some elderly Magars who told they were the descendants of King Manī Mukūnda Sena.
Whether King Manī Mukūnda Sena of Palpa was a Magar or Thakuri, I do not have any preference here at all but historian Mohan Prasad Khanal has footnoted in his book a Newari text translated into Nepali which is very interesting as - Mukūnda Sena rajāle .... yahā thaū thaūmā aāgo lagāudai aāye ... yahā Nepālkā prajāharū sabai ... bhage yahā Magarka rajā Mukūnda Senaka sabai sena jammā bhayar Itūmbahālmā sunako chhānā dekher yasāi thaūmā basaūn bhaner nabigarikan basye ."
A working translation for this text into English would be - 'King Mukunda Sena torched different places and as scared as they were, all people fled (Kathmandu valley)... here the king of Magar - Mukunda Sena's army gathered around a temple in Itumbahal. The temple had golden roof but the army did no harm to it (Khanal 2061 BS:36).
(To be continued ...)
Whether King Manī Mukūnda Sena of Palpa was a Magar or Thakuri, I do not have any preference here at all but historian Mohan Prasad Khanal has footnoted in his book a Newari text translated into Nepali which is very interesting as - Mukūnda Sena rajāle .... yahā thaū thaūmā aāgo lagāudai aāye ... yahā Nepālkā prajāharū sabai ... bhage yahā Magarka rajā Mukūnda Senaka sabai sena jammā bhayar Itūmbahālmā sunako chhānā dekher yasāi thaūmā basaūn bhaner nabigarikan basye ."
A working translation for this text into English would be - 'King Mukunda Sena torched different places and as scared as they were, all people fled (Kathmandu valley)... here the king of Magar - Mukunda Sena's army gathered around a temple in Itumbahal. The temple had golden roof but the army did no harm to it (Khanal 2061 BS:36).
(To be continued ...)
References
Bajracharya, Dhanavajra 2064 BS :
Gopālarajvānshāvaliko Aitihāsik Vivechanā – Nepāl ra Asiyālī Anūsandhāna
Kendrā, Tribhuvan Vishwāvidhyālayā, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
Hamilton,
Francis Buchanan 1819 : An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal, And Of The
Territories Annexed To This Dominion By The House Of Gorkha – Printed for
Achibald Constable and Company, Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, And Brown; and
Hurst, Robinson, And Company, 90, Cheapside, London.
Hasrat, Bikram Jit 1970: History of Nepal – as
told by its own and contemporary chronicles – printed in India at the V. V.
Research Institute Press by Dev Datta Shastri and published by the editor at 5, Krishan Nagar, Hosiyarpur,
Punjab, India.
Hodgson, Brian H. 1874: Languages, Literature, and Religion of Nepal and Tibet together with Geography, Ethnology, and Commerce of those Countries. London: Trubner & Co., 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill.
Hodgson, Brian H. 1874: Languages, Literature, and Religion of Nepal and Tibet together with Geography, Ethnology, and Commerce of those Countries. London: Trubner & Co., 57 & 59 Ludgate Hill.
Kawakita, Jiro 1974 : The Hill Magars and their
Neighbours. Hill Peoples Surrounding the Ganges Plain - Volume III- Tokyo
University Press 3-27 Shinjuku,Shinjuku-ku Tokyo.
Khanal, Mohanprasad 2061: Senārājyāko
Rajanaitik Itihās - Nepāl ra Asiyālī Anūsandhāna Kendrā, Tribhuvan
Vishwāvidhyālayā, Kirtipur, Kathmandu.
Kirkpatrick, William 1811: An Account of Kingdom of Nepaul, a mission to
that country in the year 1793 – Printed for William Miller, Albemarle – Street,
Cleveland-Row London.
Pant, Mahes Raj & Sharma, Aishvarya Dhar 1977 : The Two Earliest Copper-plate Inscriptions from Nepal: Nepal Research Centre, Miscellaneous Papers No 12.
Shah, Rishikesh 1992: Ancient and Medieval Nepal - Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 753/23, Ansari Rd, Dariya Ganj, New Delhi, Delhi 110002, India.
Smith, Thomas 1994: The Nepal Years : Narrative of a Five Years’ Residence at Nepal from 1841 – 1845 - Mrs Rani Kapoor, Cosmo Publications for Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd 24-B Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi 110 002.
Pant, Mahes Raj & Sharma, Aishvarya Dhar 1977 : The Two Earliest Copper-plate Inscriptions from Nepal: Nepal Research Centre, Miscellaneous Papers No 12.
Shah, Rishikesh 1992: Ancient and Medieval Nepal - Manohar Publishers & Distributors, 753/23, Ansari Rd, Dariya Ganj, New Delhi, Delhi 110002, India.
Smith, Thomas 1994: The Nepal Years : Narrative of a Five Years’ Residence at Nepal from 1841 – 1845 - Mrs Rani Kapoor, Cosmo Publications for Genesis Publishing Pvt Ltd 24-B Ansari Road, Daryaganj New Delhi 110 002.
Wright, Daniel 1877: History of Nepal, Translated from Parbatiya – Cambridge : At the University Press. London, Cambridge Warehouse, 17, Paternoster Row. Ambridge : Deighton, Bell, and Co.
[1] The Magar homeland in the western mid-hills of the country before the unification of Nepal.
[2] Both
Brian H Hodgson and Thomas Smith have
same political boundary for Magarāt and have even same text in their books - word by word. Brian H Hodgson was appointed assistant
British resident to Nepal in 1820 whereas Thomas Smith was in Kathmandu five years from 1841 to 1845.
[3] Literally ‘divine instruction’ for how to run state affairs. Nepal followed this 'divine teaching' until quite recently.
[4] As he is said to have said “Magarātko rajā mai
hūm”- literally - ‘I am the king of
Magarāt’ – some scholars therefore believe
he was a Magar himself.
[5] A generally accepted theory is that the Kirātas ‘derive their names from the corrupt
form of the word Kiriath - meaning a
fort or town in Moabite language of the
Mediterranean region’. But how Kirātas went to India and the Himalayan region
is exactly unknown (Hasrat 1970: XXIV 4). Similarly, there is no plausible
explanation also for the word - Magarāt - how it came into currency but we fully understand it comes for the Magar people of Nepal. I have briefly discussed the possibility of
the word Magar in one of my articles already.
[6] There are some people nowadays from different quarters claiming ‘Athār Magarāt’ – a total of 18 Magarāt. Was there any ‘Athār Magarāt’, really ? We do not know much about it, however, Jiro Kawakita has '18 Panthi Tshantial' i.e. '18 clans Chhyantal' and '14 thars Magar' (Kawakita 1974: 63). 'Tshantial' or Chhyantals assert nowadays they are not the Magars at all. We do not have 18 different 'petty state names' like in the 'Bara Mangrāt. I have not found anything written about the '18 Magarāt' in any history books.
[7] “The elder with his rani went, went to Ḍhōr,
conquered Mangrāt and regained Garhōn, Sathun, Bhirkot and Ḍhōr.”
[8] Hamilton’s
‘Chaubisi rajyas’ – 1) Piuthana 2) Malebum or Parbat 3) Galkot 4) Isma
5) Dhurkot 6)Argha 7)Khachi 8) Gulmi 9)Palpa 10) Garahang 11) Poin (Paiyung)
12) Satahung 13) Bhirkot 14) Nayakot (Nuwakot) 15) Kaski 16) Dhor 17) Gajarkot
(Jajarkot) 18) Rising 19) Ghiring 20) Tanahung (Tanahu) 21)Lamjun (Lamjung)
22)Gorkha 23) Tarki 24) Musikot.