Collection
Mapa dos Himalaias

Himalayas

ROOM – 10

Records mention the Gopalas and Mahishapalas believed to have been the earliest rulers with their capital at Matatirtha, the south-west corner of the Kathmandu Valley. From the 7th or 8th Century B.C. the Kirantis are said to have ruled the valley. The King Yalumber is even mentioned in the epic, ‘Mahabharat’. Around 300 A.D. the Lichhavis arrived from northern India and overthrew the Kirantis. One of the legacies of the Lichhavis is the Changu Narayan Temple near Bhaktapur.

In the early 7th Century, Amshuvarma, the first Thakuri king took over the throne from his father-in-law who was a Lichhavi. He married off his daughter Bhrikuti to the Tibetan King Tsong Tsen Gampo thus establishing good relations with Tibet. The Lichhavis brought art and architecture to the valley but the golden age of creativity arrived in 1200 A.D with the Mallas.

The Buddhist was introduced in Tibet during the reign of Songtsen Gampo (627–649), first king of Tibet and founder of the Yarlung dynasty, which lasted until mid-9th century. During this period, Buddhism remained confined to the court and aristocracy. Both prior to and following Songtsen Gampo’s reign the major Tibetan religion was Bon, a form of shamanism with ritual performances and the offering of human sacrifices on the occasion of rulers’ funerals. This animist religion was initially hostile to Buddhism, but later accommodated the new faith.