Dear all Magarbandhus,
Please read my earlier email on this subject as under. Sorry for the inconvenience.
This mail may not be of interest to many of you but since it is a matter of academic discussion I hereby write few facts WHAT I FOUND ON MUKUNDA SEN OF PALPA and KING ARAMUDI.
1. According to Eden Vansittart, in The Gurkhas, (p. 15-16) “ The sixth and last king of this dynasty, by name of Hari Deva, had at this time ( about 1100 A.D.) a Magar in his service, who through the machinations of the ministers, was dismissed. This man returned to his home and praised Nepal as having houses with golden roofs and golden pranalis or dharas. The Magar Raja, by name Mukunda Sena, a brave and powerful monarch, having heard of this, came to Nepal from the west with a large number of mounted troops, and subdued Hari Deva, the son of Rama Sinha Deva.”
[This is based on the ‘Notes on Gurkhas’ and ‘Notes on Nepal’ of Eden Vansittart written in 1890 and published in 1895]
2. Similarly, John T. Hitchcock in his The Magars of Banyan Hill( p. 4 ) writes, “…….it was in this southern area, anciently called the Bara Mangranth, that Magar first made their appearance in written history. During the twelfth century, they sacked the Kathmandu Valley that long had been the seat of urban, civilized culture in Nepal.” [This is based on the study conducted in 1960-62 by the writer]
3. According to Rajaram Subedi in Baisi Rajyako Etihasik Rupredha (p. 38)Mukunda Sen was a Thakuri.
4. According to Dr. Jagdish Chandra Regmi in his Nepalko Baidhanik Parampara Mani Mukunda Sen was a Thakuri king who ruled in 1540-1575 AD.
5. According to Francis Buchanan Hamilton in his An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal and of the territories annexed to this dominion by the House of Gurkhas(first published in 1819) Mukunda Sen was a Thakuri king who came from Chitaur.
6. Let me quote some stanzas from Vol I, Book IV of MA Stein’s Kalhana’s Rajatrangini: A chronicle of the Kings of Kasmir. Pp 170–172
531. King Aramudi, who ruled Nepal, and who possessed of wisdom and prowess, wished to prevail over him by cunning.
532. When that [king, i.e. Jayapida] had entered his land, he did not pay homage, but retired with his army to a great distance.
533. While he ( Jayapida), eager for conquest, thus pursued him, he defeated one ruler after the other without having to undertake special expeditions……
537. Then on the [opposite] river bank, which was on the king’s right, there was [seen] Aramudi in position, displaying his army together with his royal parasol.
538. When Jayapida saw that [king’s] mighty force, he flamed up, just as the fire when fed with liquefied butter.
539. As he saw before him the water of the river only knee-deep, and [hence] offering no obstacle, he stepped into it to cross, angry as he was, and unacquainted with the country in which he had not been before.
540. When the reached mid[-stream], the river, which was near the sea, was filled by the tide rising at an unexpected hour, and became unfordable.
541. Then the king’s army, with its mass of men, elephants, and horses, was washed away by the swollen river, and destroyed in a moment.
542. The king, whose ornaments and clothes were torn off by the breaking waves, was carried far away by the flood, while cutting through the billows with his arms.
543. The pitiable cries of one army, the other triumphant shouts of the other, and the din of the river’s, spread uproar in all directions.
544. And the quick[foe]from other bank dragged out and captured Jayapida by means of [men] who stood ready with [inflated]skins, and[thereupon] celebrated a feast……
546. He[Aramudi] placed Jayapida in the hands of trusted jailors, in a castle which was [built] of stones on the bank of the Kalagandika, and very high.
563. When the clever [minister] had obtained the consent of the duped [Aramudi], he went to the imprisoned King Jayapida.
578. The king first fell into the emotions of astonishment and affection, then [threw himself] into the current of the streams, and reached the opposite bank.
579. As soon as he had reached his army, he at once invaded the kingdom of Nepal, and destroyed it completely, together with its ruler.
580. While his jailors did not even know that he had escaped from the prison, he had turned that kingdom into [a thing of the past], which survives only in stories.
I am attaching all mails received and sent on this issue.
Dr. GP Thapa 13 JULY 005