Introduction:
Wedged between India to the south and Tibet (now the autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China) to the north, the Kingdom of Nepal has enjoyed an independent political existence from the very earliest times. The boundaries of modern Nepal fixed in the 18th century A.D. touch on Sikkim in the east and Kumaon in the west, roughly enclosing a territory of five hundred miles in length. Its breadth, however, does not exceed one hundred and fifty miles, which occurs only at a few points, making Nepal a tiny rectangular country in the central Himalayas of South Asia.
This small strip of territory contains an amazing contrast in landscape and topography, ranging from the flat alluvial plain of the Indo-Gangetic basin, in the south, in its Tarai, to the high- altitude mountains covered with perpetual snow, in the north, in which some of the world’s tallest peaks including Mt. Everest are located. Nepal’s ethnic diversity is equally rich; multiple languages and a wealth of cultures thrive within its borders. There are at least forty different sizeable language and cultural groups. The predominant group among them is the Nepali-speaking Hindus.
These various languages of Nepal fall broadly into two main language families, the Indo-Aryan and the Tibeto-Burman, with one or two small languages betraying their Munda origin. This linguistic cacophony is matched by Nepal’s cultural plural- ism which has existed dovetailing each other for hundreds of years.
Physical Isolation of Nepal and its Bearing on Culture:
The physical features of Nepal have been decisive in shaping its culture. The many disparate cultures and languages are themselves a product of diverse and difficult terrain. The fastness of the mountains had cut off its people from the outside world, and left them to enjoy a state of undisturbed peace throughout most of Nepal’s history. Its isolation protected it from the violent transition of history sweeping north India periodically. This insulation helped Nepal to engender a unique quality of preservation in its cultural heritage. Many old and lost traditions have been preserved in Nepal until today.
The French Indologist of repute, Sylvain Levi, who produced the monumental work, Le Nepal, around the turn of the century, has recorded in an article (Levi, 1925) that one can still meet the authentic image of India that is past, in Nepal.
Percy Brown (1912: 127), a British author of the authoritative work on the Indian Architecture supports Levi in the following words: “Nepal illustrates, as approximately as time and ordinary circumstances permit, the state of India before Islam had imprinted its indelible mark on almost every aspect of its life. The manners and customs of people, their religion, arts and industries, the towns and the country, are practically the same as they were ten Centuries ago. Nepal presents an ideal picture of the Middle Ages – Middle Ages of the East.”
The cultural practices of Nepal are essentially of the Hindu and Buddhist derivation finding expressions in the numerous rites and rituals, beliefs, social values, festivals, art and architecture of the land.
The cultural practices of Nepal are essentially of the Hindu and Buddhist derivation finding expressions in the numerous rites and rituals, beliefs, social values, festivals, art and architecture of the land.
The cultural practices of Nepal are essentially of the Hindu and Buddhist derivation finding expressions in the numerous rites and rituals, beliefs, social values, festivals, art and architecture of the land.
The cultural practices of Nepal are essentially of the Hindu and Buddhist derivation finding expressions in the numerous rites and rituals, beliefs, social values, festivals, art and architecture of the land. These are all historical accretions-of different ages, of different sources of origin, which make a fantastic spectacle to an onlooker.
The Nepali Buddhism probably survived owing to Nepal’s physical isolation from the Indian land mass. The revitalization of Hinduism in the later periods, and the weakening of the monastic character of Buddhism in the following centuries after its inception, had uprooted the religion out of India.
The final coup de grace to Buddhism was rendered by the hordes of Muslim invaders pouring down from central Asia into north India in the 13th century A.D., Nepal’s remoteness and difficult access made it a safe haven, so that Buddhism continued to live and be practiced here without the threat of any external violence.
Buddhism in Nepal, however, underwent a process of internal change in its central philosophy, doctrine and rituals as a result of which it acquired a totally different character from its older monastic form in the subsequent periods. Snellgrove (1957: 91) makes an observation of this fact in the following words: “… Nepal has preserved the most precious traces of what Buddhist India once was.
The pagoda type temple, which was already characteristic of India of Yuan-Chwang’s times, but has now long since been replaced by other styles, was still being built in Nepal in the 17th century. Iconographic traditions continue even today and can be traced back, directly to old Pala art of Bengal … It is well-known that Buddhist scholars fleeing India from the Muslim invasions sought refuge in Nepal, Kashmir and Tibet.
Another distinctive trait of Nepalese culture is its power of synthesis and assimilation. It has blended and harmonized even the most opposing philosophies and dogmas reaching its territorial shores. Buddhism and Hinduism have been fused in Nepal quite often, thereby obscuring their sectarian distinctiveness.
There are scores of religious rites and festivals which at the popular level of practice by illiterate masses are devoid of any sectarian character. Divinities like Ganesa, Bhairava, Kumari, Saraswati, Vajrayogini, Mahakala, Ajima (Harati) are some of the divinities worshipped as much by the Buddhists as by the Hindus. In the same way, there are many popular festivals in which the devout Hindu and Buddhist communities equally fervently participate.
One such festival is the chariot-dragging festival of Matsyendranath, who is understood and venerated by his different followers differently, but who, in actuality, is the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara Padmapani. It is very curious to see depicted the many iconographic features of the Hindu god, Siva, in the representation of this Buddhist divinity in Nepal. Although Matsyendranath’s is unmistakably a Buddhist cult- its acknowledged priest Nepali Culture 3 being the Buddhist Vajracaryas- the Hindu King of the country goes to pay him obeisance recognising in him Gorakhnath’s preceptor Matsyendranath.
Location as a Cultural Factor:
Perched high in the Himalayas, Nepal extends along a terrain that divides the Indian sub-continent from the roof of the world, the Tibetan plateau. The short and easy route to cross the high Himalayas had been provided by the Kuti and the Kyrong passes to the north-east and northwest of the Kathmandu Valley through which communication between India, Tibet and even China had been maintained regularly in the ancient days.
The only other route to go to Tibet from India was via Kashmir farther west. These routes were used as much by the traders as by the cultural entrepreneurs until 1904 A.D., when the British Government of India opened an alternative route via Sikkim. Tibet got its alphabet, its religion and its early religious preachers and gurus from India or Nepal, first around the 7th century A.D. Nepal, therefore, had played a vital role in transmitting Indian culture to Tibet through its territory continuously for many centuries. Indian Buddhist scholars and yogis of great eminence came to Nepal, and many of them crossed over to Tibet afterwards.
Taranath, the Tibetan historian, who visited India in the 17th century A.D., mentions the great Yogacara philosopher Vasubandhu of the 4th century A.D. to have visited Nepal and died there. Snellgrove mentions Naropa, Darika, Ratnaraksita, Milarepa, etc., several of whom came to visit Nepal, before going on to Tibet. Of special significance is the name of Naropa who taught Marpa and, who, in turn, transferred his knowledge to Milarepa, the founder teacher of Ka-gyu-pa sect of Lamaistic Buddhism in Tibet. Similarly, Atisa of Vikramasila Monastery had gone to Western Tibet after an extended visit to the Nepal Valley first.
Thus, the intermediary position of Nepal had definite bearings on its cultural activity throughout history. The overall effect has been imbibing an amalgam of Tibetan and Indian cultural aspects in its life-style. An example of the extensive mix of the two cultures is provided by the Newar, residents of the Kathmandu Valley, the true seat of ancient Nepal.
In complement to the primary Indian influence in their cultural expressions such as their ethnic make-up, their language, paintings, sculptures, temples, their rituals, dance and festivals, there is also an element of Tibetan influence, manifest in all of them.
The traditional ‘entrepot’ trade carried out between Tibet and India via Nepali territory, by Nepali traders as well as Kashmiri Mus¬lims residing in Nepal from the 15th century itself, is a well-known fact of history, and a predictable outcome of Nepal’s physical location.
The Urya castes of the Buddhist Newars are recognised among the prominent class of merchants trading in Lhasa. Nepal’s monopoly of trade in Lhasa in the mediaeval period is witnessed by the fact that coins for circula¬tion in Tibet were minted from silver duly received from the Tibetan government (Walsh, 1908). The route leading from India to Tibet via Nepal was replaced only in 1904 A.D. with the opening-up of a new route through the Chumbi Valley in Sikkim, after Younghusband’s mission to Tibet was undertaken.
Whereas the cultural exchanges of Nepal with India have been mainly one-sided, Nepal having drawn mostly upon Indian sources, its relations with Tibet have been more on a reciprocal basis. In the early period of this relationship, Nepal has given profusely to Tibet in the enrichment of its art and religion. Along with India, Nepal, too, had acted and been a spiritual preceptor to Tibet. This relationship continued down to the period of Dharmasvamin, the Tibetan monk-scholar, who spent some years learning in the monasteries of Svayambhu and Dharmadhatu, and also visited Magadh and Tirhut during Ca. 1226-1234 A.D. (Roerich, 1959).
Earlier to this, we have also evidence from the travel of Drok-mi, who was an important personage in the establishment of Sa-kya-pa sect in Tibet in the 11th century A.D., for gathering knowledge in his doctrine in Nepal and India (Snellgrove, 1957). Before the hordes of attacking Muslims came to Bihar and Bengal in 1204 A.D. and raged the Buddhist monastic centres to the ground there, Nepali monasteries had maintained strong links with many of these Indian Buddhist centres.
When Buddhist scholars from Magadha fled the Muslim invasion to seek refuge in Nepal (some are also said to have fled to Tibet), the Nepali monasteries at that time are said to have hummed with a great deal of erudite activity of these Buddhist scholars. According to Taranath, ‘Ratnarakshita was one pf the last pundits to seek refuge in Nepal’, after the destruction of Odantapuri and Vikramasila monasteries in Magadha by the Muslims (Snell-grove, 1957) had taken place.
The first relations of Nepal with Tibet start taking place in the reign of Srorig-tsan-sgam-po, the first king to lay foundations of a dynastic rule and introduce Buddhism in Tibet. Legends invented around the 10th century A.D. speak of his marrying the Nepali princess, Bhri-kuti, who is believed to have brought with her objects connected with the Buddhist religion in her nuptial gifts.
Irrespective of the historicity of this legend, one point which it scores nicely is the honour and esteem with which Tibet had been looking upon Nepal in the matter of its religion in those days. Bhrikuti has thus been permanently consecrated in the sacred memory of the Tibetans, since she has been identified as one of the Taras (green Tara) by the people in that country.
Written by Professor Prayag Raj Sharman. Full article coming soon.