As Tihar lights up the country in a festive mood this year, we yet again celebrate another new year of the Nepal Sambat. It has been 1144 years since its establishment in 879 AD (936 BS). On November 18, 1999 AD, the then cabinet had declared the calendar as the national calendar of Nepal and its founder Sankhadhar Sakhwa as a national luminary.
Although the Bikram Sambat and the Gregorian calendars remain the official calendars for administrative purposes, the Nepal Sambat calendar has firmly established itself in the Nepali society of today and is promoted by various cultural organizations. It’s used for the celebration of festivals, observation of rituals and for other cultural purposes.
All that said, the legend behind how an ordinary businessman started what was to become the national calendar of Nepal is quite an interesting tale on its own.
As the chronicle goes, Sankhadhar Sakhwa was no more than an average businessman. He was a local merchant who lived in the vicinity of Maru Tole in the central area of Kathmandu. Little is known about his lineage or his family background. We do know that he lived during the ninth century. So, by saying Nepal, we are mostly referring to the Kathmandu Valley.
The then kings of Kathmandu and Bhaktapur are said to have been king Raghav Deva and king Ananda Deva. As the folk tale comes from Nepal’s Bhasa Bansawali (Chronicles), specific details about their reign mostly remain unknown and are a topic for further research. Nevertheless, the final important character in our story is Siddhawant Joshi, a learned astrologer of King Ananda Deva and an eminent figure in the royal court.
As the story goes, Siddhawant Joshi happened to make an astonishing prediction. After careful measurement and study, he worked out an astrologically determined time. He speculated that if sand drained at Likhu Tirtha, the holy confluence of the Bishnumati and Bhadramati Rivers, were taken at that auspicious hour, and kept for four days would turn into gold. This seemingly miraculous information was quickly communicated to King Ananda Deva.
The king was intrigued and excited. He secretly ordered several workers to fetch him heaps of sand collected at that said hour. But he kept the secret about the gold to himself. So on that particular day, in the hush of dawn, the workers went to Likhu Tirtha as ordered to collect some sand. As fate would have it, Sankhadhar Sakhwa happened to see the porters hoard sacks of sand from the river. His curiosity was piqued!
Why would they come all the way from Bhaktapur just to get some sand? This was the mystery that intrigued him. Something there was extraordinary and that puzzled Sankhadhar. Yet, the porters were not sure themselves. When asked by Sankhadhar, they said they were simply carrying out the king's commands.
But Sankhadhar was clever. He quickly deduced that if it were a royal assignment, the sand ought to be important somehow. Even without solid evidence, he was convinced that the sand was valuable. He offered the workers large sums of money as well as food and drinks for buying the sand off them. The porters who had no idea of the worth of that sand eventually settled on the offer. Sankhadhar had persuaded them to deliver the sand at his house. As for the king, the porters returned to Likhu Tirtha to collect some more sand. By now, the auspicious hour was already over.
The fourth day came. King Ananda Deva who was hoping for gold was greeted with nothing but bland, grey sand. He was greatly disappointed. It is said that in frustration and anger, he burnt down the documents of the astrologer. On the other hand, Sankhadhar Sakhwa was in disbelief. Instead of sacks of sand, his room gleamed with copious, bountiful piles of gold!
It must be god’s blessing is what Sankhadhar thought. In the end, he consulted with many respectable pundits and decided to spend the fortune not for his selfish desires but for paying off the debts of the poor people in the society. Subsequently, he proposed to King Raghav Dev the establishment of a new calendar for the kingdom. Perhaps it was because of his philanthropic act or his contribution of incredible amount of gold to the country but Raghav Dev agreed to the proposal and hence, discarding the previous calendar, the new Nepal Sambat came into being.
After 1144 years, as we celebrate New Year, along with Mha Puja and Goverdhan Puja of Tihar, it is worth looking back at this tale and appreciating what Nepal Sambat also reflects: the culture of philanthropy, selflessness, and caring for the needy that Sankhadhar Sakhwa demonstrated centuries ago that is also the part of our own Nepali culture. Therefore, similar to how we set New Year resolutions, let us all mark the Nepal Sambat new year of 1144 to start being kinder to the people around us. In the spirit of Sankhadhar Sakhwa, let's cultivate kindness and a philanthropic mindset.
(Anup is an A-levels student studying in Budhanilkantha School.)
(Nepalkhabar encourages students to send in their articles on any issues of their interest. The article should be around 500 to 700 words in English and sent via [email protected]. We will select, edit and duly publish them in our blog section.)
