Nepal has been described as a very ancient country in different religious books and ancient religious mythology (Purans). In the mountain ranges and valleys formed about 130 million years ago, it has been found that the attraction of creatures towards them has significantly increased later.
The remains of Ramapithecus man (human) found around Butwal area of Western Nepal makes it clear that the humans had begun to settle in Nepal more than ten million years ago. The first mention of Nepal has been found in the annex of Atharwa Veda.
Though the time of the Atharwa Veda epilogue cannot be determined precisely, it is believed to have been created between 500 and 600 BC. Nepal has been described together with other countries; Kamaru, Bideha, Udumbar, Awanit, Kaikaya.
Nepal has also been described in the Buddhist like Mul Sarwastibaad, Vinaya Sangraha. These volumes have mentioned that at the time of Lord Buddha, Buddha’s disciples came to Nepal with the
traders. Nepal has been described as Bishaya (District) in Banparva (a section of the Mahabharat).
The Jain treatise, Abashyak sutra and Economics of Kautilya (4th Century BC) has also mentioned about Nepal. Similarly, the Indian Gupta emperor, Samundra Gupta, in his Allahbad inscription, has mentioned Nepal as a ‘neighbouring state’ whereas almost all the sources after that have mentioned Nepal as an independent state.
The word ‘Nepal’ has been mentioned for the first time in Tistung inscription of 569 BS among in the stone inscriptions in Nepal. Thus, it is clear that the country has been known as ‘Nepal’ since the very ancient time. Nepal used to be called Satyabati in Satya epoch, Tapoban in Treta epoch, Muktisopan in Dwapar epoch. Our ancient texts state that the country is called Nepal in Kali epoch.
Source: Government of Nepal Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Department of Information and Broadcasting.
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