Ancient and Medieval Nepal

Shaha’s Ancient and Medieval Nepal presents a rigorous examination of Nepal’s origins and trajectories shaping its modern identity.

Nepal is on the threshold of a new era. A new Constitution vesting sovereignty in the people has come into being, first election to House of Representatives held and duly elected government has assumed office. A fresh wind is blowing across the land and all eyes are on the vision of a new and brighter future. What then is the relevance of a new book on ancient and medieval Nepal at this point of time

It is precisely at this juncture that a nation must ask itself: Who are we? Where have we come from? and where are we going? No viable answer can be given to the third question without some reflection on the first two. Failure to root the new order in the culture and tradition of the nation will produce a bewildered society, people who have lost their mooring and don't know where they are going.

The above questions furnish an appropriate answer to the question what then is the relevance of a new book on ancient and medieval Nepal at this point of time.

Rishikesh Shaha is well qualified to undertake such a study. Having published Modem Nepal: A Political History 1769-1955 and Politics in Nepal 1980-1991; Referendum Stalemate and Triumph of People Power, Prof. Shaha now goes back and presents us Ancient and Medieval Nepal, thus covering the history of the nation from the earliest times to the modern period.

The work includes the latest scholarship on the subject and would, it is hoped, be of use not only to those who must now shape the destiny of Nepal but also to those who love the land and long to know more about its people.

Table of Contents

• Foreword vii
• Preface ix
• Maps at the end
• I Introduction 1
• II The Licchavi Era (5th Century A.D. to Mid 9th Century) 11
• IIl Licchavi Society 25
• IV The Dawn of the Medieval Era (A.D. 880-1200) 39
• V The Early Mallas 46
• VI Jayasthiti Mafia and His Successors 55
• VII A Brief Account of the Better-known Kingdoms in Medieval Nepal 62
• VIII The Kingdom of Kathmandu (c. 1484-1768) 71
• IX The Kingdom of Patan (c. 1536-1768) 82
• X The Kingdom of Bhadgaun (c. 1496-1769) 91
• XI Social Conditions in Medieval Nepal 98
• XII Religion in Medieval Nepal 106
• XIII Medieval Art and Architecture 121
• Chronology 135
• Bibliography 143
• Index 147