Sankhadhar Sakhwa And Nepal Samvat By Rajendra Shakya, KATHMANDU: The initiation of Nepal Samvat, possibly the only era in the world that is named after a country, has two individuals involved in the process. It involves Sankhadhar Sakhwa, the sponsor who relieved debts of the whole country's population, and King Raghava Dev, the king of Lalitpur who ordered the initiation of the new era. During the reign of King Raghava Dev, Sankhadhar, a local businessman, acquired a large amount of gold in some mysterious fashion. Sankhadhar himself is a mysterious figure in the Nepalese history, and the way he acquired the necessary amount to free people from their debts is equally, if not less, mysterious. Some believe he was a businessman, a money lender, a potter, while some say he was a peasant. The severe lack of historic proof of Sankhadhar's existence has raised questions on the historicity of this national luminary. Not much is known about his birth and life, except for he was a resident of Kantipur, now known as Kathmandu city, and he died 10 years after the commencement of Nepal Samvat. Gopalraj Vamshawali, the chronicle considered most reliable to date for the study of Nepalese history, has remained silent on Sankhadhar, which suggests that Sankhadhar is only a mythical figure. However, we can find frequent references to Sankhadhar in modern chronicles. The modern chronicles, popularly called Bhasa Vamshawali, say Sankhadhar cleverly bought the loads of sand from porters, who were taking them to the royal palace as per a confidential order of their King Aananda Dev, the ruler of Bhaktapur. The sand was taken out from Lakhu Tirtha, a river in eastern Kathmandu currently known as Swarnawati. Sankhadhar was overridden with joy as the sand turned into gold after four days. He thought of using the newfound fortune for a good cause. He took permission of the king to free all the people of the country from their debts and started a new era. Many people find the story hard to digest, as sand itself turning into gold seems quite unnatural. However, there are some facts that suggest that it is possible. The name Lakhu is a derivative of Lun Khu, which means 'river of gold' in the local Newar language. The river's Sanskrit name Swarnawati also possess the same meaning. And still in western Nepal, there are people who make their livings by taking out gold from the sand of Karnali River. There is a place called Sunkhani in Dolakha, where people used to take out gold from mines. These facts suggest that sand can turn into gold. And considering the population of the valley then, it seems quite possible that the sand that Sankhadhar bought turned into gold, or there were ample amount of gold dusts mixed in it. And he used the gold to relieve all the people from their debts. This great person who had remained hidden in the vastness of Nepalese history for centuries emerged in an inscription of Nepal Samvat 827 belonging to the reigning period of King Bhupatindra Malla, who is credited for the construction of Bhaktapur Royal Palace. The inscription at Jenla Tole of Bhaktapur has mentioned ?Nepal Bhakha Sankhwa Samvat,' a clear reference to Shankhadhar Sakhwa. Many eras have prevailed in Nepalese history. Kaligat Samvat, Shak Samvat, Mandev Samvat, Nepal Samvat and Bikram Samvat are the eras mostly brought into use by the rulers then. Nepal Samvat is 802 years junior to Shak Samvat, which is considered to be the Early Lichhavi Samvat. Similarly, the Later Lichhavi Samvat is popular known as Mandav Samvat, named after King Mandev II who commenced it. Shak Samvat was in use for 498 years while Mandev Samvat remained the official era for 304 years. But the era that received official recognition for the longest period of time in Nepalese history is Nepal Samvat. Its earliest record of its official use dates back to NS 290 in a colophon of 'Shiva Dharma Shastra.' There are other earlier records too but they don't clearly state the name Nepal Samvat. However, historians believe that the era is Nepal Samvat. Nepal Samvat remained the official era throughout the medieval period of Nepalese history. It was only with the fall of Malla Empire in the valley that the official use of this era came to an end. However, it was still used ocasionally along with Bikram Samvat. Later, Chandra Shumsher Rana, the most dominant prime minister of the Rana Regime, officially brought Bikram Samvat in use in 1903 AD. It was NS 1023 then. And, this year, we are observing the 1126th year of Nepal Samvat. Professor Kilhorn is credited for converting Nepal Samvat into the Gregorian calendar and deriving the difference of time period between the two eras. His findings show that Nepal Samvat was commenced on October 20, 879 AD, Thursday. The new year of Nepal Samvat is observed on the first day of the bright lunar fortnight of the month of Kartik, which coincidentally falls on the fourth day of Tihar that the Newar Community observes as Mha Puja, the day when they worship the self for good health and prosperity. It is, however, quite unfortunate that the celebration of the Nepal Samvat New Year is restricted to the Newar community only. Some even call it the Newari Era, which is a derogative term for Nepal Samvat. It is certainly not the legacy of the Newar community only. The era bears the name of our nation, not of any community or person as in Bikram, Shak or Mandev eras. The Nepal Era Calendar as corresponding to the Gregorian and Bikram Era Calendar Month (Nepal Era) (Christian Era) (Bikram Era) 1 Kachhala (Tho / Ga) November Kartik / Mangshir 2 Thinla (Tho / Ga) December Mangshir /Paush 3 Pohela (Tho / Ga) January Paush / Magh 4 Silla (Tho / Ga) February Magh / Falgun 5 Chilla (Tho / Ga) March Falgun / Chaitra 6 Chaula (Tho / Ga) April Chaitra / Baishakh 7 Bachhala (Tho / Ga) May Bhaisakh / Jestha 8 Tachhala (Tho / Ga) June Jestha / Ashar 9 Dilla (Tho / Ga) July Ashar / Shrawan 10 Gunla (Tho / Ga) August Shrawan / Bhadra 11 Yanla (Tho / Ga) September Bhadra / Ashwin 12 Kaula (Tho / Ga) October Ashwin / Kartik Source: http://www.newslinenepal.com/index6.php?type=7&tbl=ace&sno=19