The history of Nepal is characterised by its isolated position in the Himalayas and its two dominant neighbours China and India.
Neolithic tools found in the Kathmandu Valley indicate that people had been living in this Himalayan region for at least 9,000 years. It appears that people who were probably of Kirant ethnicity lived in Nepal more than 2,500 years back.
The word nepal was derived from the Nepa, the old name of Kathmandu Valley in Nepal Bhasa, the language of Newars, the early inhabitants of the valley. There were also other stories regarding the name of Nepal.
1. Nepal is derived from the sanskrit word nipalaya, which means "at the foot of mountains" or "abode at the foot", may be an eastern equivalent of the European toponym 'Predmont."
2. it comes from the tibetan "niyampal" meaning "holy land."
3. it is a combination of word NE means wool, and PAL , means a tented house. Long ago, nepal was a good producer of wooland the houses were used for for storing the wool hence the word NE_PAL.
4. It is derived from the sanskrit word NEP. with the suffix AL ,meaning cow herders (gopal) who came from the Ganges Plain.
5. As per the schpolar Rishikesh Shsha, a sage (muni) named Ne became the protector (pala)i.e. "land protected by Ne."
No records of early history of Nepal is available only some legends and documented references give us someinformation as follows :
1. The highly revered Sita ( from epic Ramayana) was born in Mithila, currently known as Janakpur in Nepal, the virtues queen of Hindu divine king Lord Rama.
2.The presence of historical sitese.g. Vamiki Ashram, indicates the presence of sanatana Hindu culture in nepal at that period.
3. The Epic Mahabharata mentions the Kiratas among the inhabitants of Nepal. Kirati King Yalambar had the the dubious honor of being stain in the battle of Mahabharata,in which Gos and mortalsfought alongside each other.Legends credits him with meeting Indra, the Lord of Heaven, who ventured into the valley in human guise.
4. According to some of the chronicles the successors of Ne were the gopalava-si or cowherd family, whose names often used in -gupta and were said to have ruled to some 491 years. known as "Buffalo header dynasty."
5. Inscriptions wee found of living a people before the Kirata.
Yalamba - First Kirat King
