User:Jbasnet/History of Nepal

Article Draft
Since this page needs clean up help, I wanted to focus on deletions of irrelevant, unsourced, or incorrect information, and restructuring of the article to improve its readability.

My proposed change is to take out some of the information and merge some in the Toponymy section to enable us to remove a citation and help clean up the page and verify the references. The reference I want to remove is Shrestha, Nanda R. (2002). Nepal and Bangladesh. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 22. ISBN 9781576072851. It is not used again throughout the wiki page and the other 2 references used in that section cover the information it provides.

Toponymy
"In Licchavi-era inscription found in Tistung, the local people have been addressed as the 'Nepals'. Experts are of the opinion that some or all of the inhabitants of Nepal in the ancient period were likely called 'Nepals', which meant that the word 'Nepal' was used to refer to both the land and its population. These Nepals are considered the progenitors of modern-day Newars. Nowadays 'Nepali' is one of the more respectful terms, alongside the terms 'Nepal' and 'Newar', which are variations of the same term. Other variants found in medieval texts are 'Nepar' and 'Newal'.

The derivation of the word Nepal is also the subject of a number of other theories:" (Copied from History of Nepal).


 * 1) I would like to delete some of this section due to this information not being cited properly, I did not find information about the Tistung inscriptions and the terms "Nepar" or "Newar" mentioned in the 3 references cited for that section.
 * 2) I would like to rewrite it as:

"Nepal's origin remains a mystery despite written records dating back to the fifth century A.D. Classical Indian sources mention Nepal, and Nepali stories delve into mythology, religion, and culture rather than providing a clear historical account.

The derivation of the word Nepal is a subject of various theories:"

--


 * "The Sanskrit word Nepalaya means "at the foot of the mountains" or "abode at the foot"; Nepal may be derived from this.
 * The Tibetan word Niyampal means "holy land". Nepal may be derived from it." (Copied from History of Nepal).


 * 1) I would like to remove these two bullets as they are not found in the references or are incorrect:

On page 19 of Nepal by Bhattarai, Krishna P, it says: "Himalaya means "abode of snow" in the Sanskrit language." It does not say anything about Nepalaya or Niyampal. The other two references also fail to mention them, these bullet points are unsourced material.

--


 * "Some inhabitants of northern Nepal came from Tibet, where they herded sheep and produced wool. In Tibetan, ne means "wool" and pal means "house". Thus, Nepal is "house of wool".
 * A popular theory is that Lepcha people used the words ne ("holy") and pal ("cave") and thus Nepal to describe a "holy cave".
 * According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi. According to Pashupati Purana, as a place protected by Ne, the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as Nepal.[b] According to Nepal Mahatmya,[c] Nemi was charged with protection of the country by Pashupati.
 * According to Buddhist legend, the deity Manjushri drained the water from Nagadaha (a mythical lake that is believed to have filled the Kathmandu valley). The valley became habitable and was ruled by Bhuktaman a cow-herder, who took advice from a sage named "Ne". Pāla means "protector" or "taking care", so Nepal reflected the name of the sage who took care of the place, according to Nepali scholar Rishikesh Shaha." (Copied from History of Nepal).


 * 1) The references do not mention Pashupati Purana, Nepal Mahatmya, or Rishikesh Shaha (in reference to the origin of Nepal's name) so I would like to replace this portion to be:


 * "Most inhabitants of northern Nepal came from Tibet, where they herded sheep and produced wool. In Tibetan, ne means "wool" and pal means "house". Thus, Nepal is "house of wool".
 * Newar people in the Kathmandu Valley named their homeland Nepal, derived from "Nepa," meaning "country of the middle zone," highlighting its central location in the Himalayas.
 * A popular theory is that Lepcha people associated Nepal with a "sacred or holy cave."
 * According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi.
 * According to Buddhist legend, the deity Manjusri drained the water from Nagadaha (a mythical lake believed to have filled the Kathmandu valley). The valley became habitable, ruled by Bhuktaman a cow-herder, who took advice from a sage named "Ne". Pāla means "protector" or "taking care", so Nepal reflected the name of the sage who took care of the place."

These quotes are adequately supported by the references : Nepal by Bhattarai, Krishna P. and Ancient and medieval Nepal by Shaha, Rishikesh. Both of these references are also used for more information in this wiki page.

 So, overall the text replacing that section would look like: 

Toponymy
Nepal's origin remains a mystery despite written records dating back to the fifth century A.D. Classical Indian sources mention Nepal, and Nepali stories delve into mythology, religion, and culture rather than providing a clear historical account.

The derivation of the word Nepal is a subject of various theories:


 * Most inhabitants of northern Nepal came from Tibet, where they herded sheep and produced wool. In Tibetan, ne means "wool" and pal means "house". Thus, Nepal is "house of wool".
 * Newar people in the Kathmandu valley named their homeland Nepal, derived from "Nepa," meaning "country of the middle zone," highlighting its central location in the Himalayas.
 * A popular theory is that Lepcha people associated Nepal with a "sacred or holy cave."
 * According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi.
 * According to Buddhist legend, the deity Manjushri drained the water from Nagadaha (a mythical lake believed to have filled the Kathmandu Valley). The valley became habitable, ruled by Bhuktaman a cow-herder, who took advice from the sage named "Ne". Pāla means "protector" or "taking care", so Nepal reflected the name of the sage who took care of the place.