Gorkha District (Nepali: गोरखा जिल्ला, a part of Gandaki Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal, a landlocked country of South Asia, and connected historically with the creation of the modern country of Nepal and the name of the legendary Gurkha soldiers. The district, with Pokharithok (Gorkha), later known as Prithivi Narayan Nagarpalika as its district headquarters, covers an area of 3610 km² and has a population (2001) of 288134. It is the location of the Manakamana Temple. Also, the temples of great sage Gorakh Nath and goddess Gorakh Kali temple is located in district, after which the district got its name. Four major rivers run within and along it, they are Chepe, Daraudi, Marsyangdi and Budhi Gandaki.
ORIGIN
The major legends associated with naming of "Gorkha":
– In Nepali, ‘Kharka’ means ‘Grass Land’. This land was believed to be like meadow in Ancient period. Thus it was named Kharka and later the term Kharka got modified to Garkha and Garkha changed to Gorkha.
– In Sanskrit Scripture, ‘Gorakshaa’ means the protection of cow. Since Nepal is a country where killing a Cow is condsidered unholy and a very serious crime, the land was named Goraksha and later it became Gorkha.
– Myth holds that a Saint named Gorakhnath appeared for the first in Nepal in Gorkha. There is still a cave with his paduka (feet) and idol of him in this place which supports the myth. Thus since the city was established in the place where Sage Gorakhnath appeared, it was named ‘Gorkha’.
PLACES TO VISIT
MANAKAMA TEMPLE
The Manakamana Temple situated in the Gorkha district of Nepal is the sacred place of the Hindu Goddess Bhagwati, an incarnation of Parvati. The name Manakamana originates from two words, “mana” meaning heart and “kamana” meaning wish. Venerated since the 17th century, it is believed that Goddess Bhagawati grants the wishes of all those who make the pilgrimage to her shrine to worship her.
GORAKHNATH
It lies ten meters down the southern side of Gorkha Palace which is visited with great devotion by Brahmans and Chhetris considering it to be the holy pilgrimage Site. Great fare is organized each year on the day of Baisakh Purnima(the full moon Day of Baisakh) in Gorakhnath Cave.
GORAKHKALI TEMPLE
This Temple is located at the west side of the Gorkha Palace.
CHEPE, Daraudi, Marsyangdi and Budhi Gandaki.
GORKHA KINGDOM
About 1700 steps leads you to the top of the hill at an altitude of 3281 ft. where Newar fashioned Gorkha Palace stands firm along with forts and temple boasting on its rich History. It is at 40–50 minutes of Walking Distance far from Gorkha Bazaar. One can view Manaslu (the 8th Highest Mountain of the World), Dhaulagiri and Ganesh Mountains from the Palace Complex.
MANASLU
Mt. Manaslu (8163m)
LIGLIGKOT
and Lakhan Thapa Gaon are popular places in Gorkha for Hiking.
DHIKE DADA
is a new attraction for public from Gorkha,Tanahun and Lamjung.
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GORKHA KINGDOM
This article is about the Gorkha Kingdom which later became Nepal. Gorkhā is a former kingdom in the confederation of 24 states known as Chaubisi rajya located in present-day western Nepal. The Kingdom of Gorkha extended from the Marshyangdi River in the west to the Trishuli River in the east, which separated it from the kingdoms of Lamjung and Nepal respectively. The inhabitants of Gorkha were known as Gorkhali.
SHAH DYNASTY
From the 16th century, Gorkha was ruled by the Shah dynasty. The Shahs installed themselves as rulers of Gorkha taking advantage of the confusion of an annual race held at a place called Liglig. It was the tradition of the local Ghale people to choose as their king for the year the fastest runner in the competition. In 1559, Dravya Shah attacked and captured Liglig when the inhabitants were engrossed in the race. He displaced the Ghale king and became king of Gorkha.
EXPANSION CAMPAIGN
From 1736, the Gorkhalis engaged in a campaign of expansion started by king Nara Bhupal Shah, which was continued by his son, King Prithvi Narayan Shah and grandson Prince Bahadur Shah. Over the years, they conquered huge tracts of land to the east and west of Gorkha.
Among their conquests, the most important and valuable acquisition was the wealthy Newar confederacy of Nepal Mandala centered in the Kathmandu Valley. Starting in 1745, the Gorkhalis mounted a blockade in a bid to starve the population into submission, but the inhabitants held out.
The Newars appealed to the British East India Company for help, and in 1767, it sent an expedition under Captain Kinloch which ended in failure. The three Newar capitals of Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur fell to the Gorkhalis between 1768 to 1769. The Gorkhali king subsequently moved his capital to Kathmandu.
In 1788, the Gorkhalis turned their attention north and invaded Tibet. They seized the border towns of Kyirong and Kuti, and forced the Tibetans to pay an annual tribute. When the Tibetans stopped paying it, the Gorkhalis invaded Tibet again in 1791 and plundered the Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse. This time the Chinese army came to Tibet’s defence and advanced close to Kathmandu. The alarmed Gorkhalis appealed to the British East India Company for help, but they got none. Eventually, the Gorkhalis were forced to sign a peace treaty under which they had to pay tribute to Beijing every five years.
The Gorkha dominion reached its height at the beginning of the 19th century, extending all along the Himalayan foothills from Kumaon and Garhwal in the west to Sikkim in the east. They were made to return much of the occupied territories after their defeat in the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816).
GORKHA TO NEPAL
The Gorkha dominion continued to be known as Gorkha Rajya (meaning Gorkha Kingdom) until the beginning of the 20th century. Since the 1930s, the name Nepal was used to refer to the entire country as the capital was located in Kathmandu. The name Gorkha Sarkar (meaning Gorkha government) was also changed to Nepal government.
Similarly, the Gorkhali language was renamed as Nepali in 1933. The term Gorkhali in the former national anthem entitled "Shreeman Gambhir" was changed to Nepali in 1951. The government newspaper, launched in 1901, is still known as Gorkhapatra (meaning Gorkha gazette).
The Shah dynasty ruled Nepal until 2008 when it became a republic following a people’s movement. Today, Gorkha District, roughly corresponding to the old kingdom, is one of the 75 administrative districts of Nepal.
GURKHAS AND GORKHAS
Not to be confused with the inhabitants of the old Gorkha Kingdom, the Gurkhas are military units in the British or the Indian army (where they are known as Gorkhas) enlisted in Nepal. Their history goes back to the Anglo-Nepalese War and the Sugauli Treaty of 1816. It allowed the British East India Company to recruit men from the Nepalese hills to serve as soldiers under contract.
The British referred to all those who enlisted as Gurkhas regardless of their ethnic heritage or geographical origin in Nepal. These Gurkhas became part of the British Indian Army after its formation.
During World War I (1914–18), more than 200.000 Gurkhas served in the British Army, suffering approximately 20.000 casualties, and receiving almost 2000 gallantry awards.
During World War II (1939–45), a total of 250.280 Gurkhas served in 40 battalions, plus eight Nepalese Army battalions, plus parachute, training, garrison, and porter units. They earned 2734 bravery awards, and suffered around 32.000 casualties in all theatres.
Following Indian independence in 1947, the Gurkha regiments were split between Britain and India.
WIKIPEDIA
Posted by asienman on 2016-02-12 17:45:35
Tagged: , Nepal , Himalaya , Gorkha , asienman-photography
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