Newar, known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhasa, is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. Referring to the language as Newari may be seen as derogatory.
Newar or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisation. Newars form a linguistic and cultural community of primarily Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman ethnicities following Hinduism and Buddhism with Nepalbhasa as their common language. Newars have developed a division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilisation not seen elsewhere in the Himalayan foothills. Newars have continued their age-old traditions and practices and pride themselves as the true custodians of the religion, culture and civilisation of Nepal. Newars are known for their contributions to culture, art and literature, trade, agriculture and cuisine. Today, they consistently rank as the most economically, politically and socially advanced community of Nepal, according to the annual Human Development Index published by UNDP. Nepal's 2011 census ranks them as the nation's sixth-largest ethnicity/community, with 1,321,933 Newars throughout the country.
Pradhan is generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin in cultures of Hindu tradition, mainly used in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit pradhāna translates to "major" or "prime"; however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxford Hindi-English Dictionary also include "chief" and "leader". The precise interpretation can differ significantly by region. The style was abandoned by many Indian princely states during the Mughal era in favor of Persian styles such as Wasir and Diwan. Mon Pradhan
Shukra Raj Shastri was a Nepalese intellectual and fighter for democracy who was executed by the autocratic Rana dynasty. He is one of the four martyrs of the Nepalese revolution that toppled the Rana regime. The other three are Dashrath Chand, Dharma Bhakta Mathema and Ganga Lal Shrestha.
Nepal Bhasa literature refers to literature in the Nepal Bhasa language. The language has the fourth oldest literature among the Sino-Tibetan languages.
Bajrayogini Temple is a Tantrik temple located at Sankhu in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. It is also well known as Bodhisattva's Temple. The temple is actually a sort of temple complex, with the main temple having been built by King Pratap Malla in the sixteenth century. Vajrayogini is a Buddhist tantric deity, she is also conflated with Ugra Tara, a form of the Buddhist dharmapala Ekajati. However, the temple is sacred to both Buddhists and Hindus.
Newar Buddhism is the form of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on the Newar caste system and patrilineality. The ritual priests (guruju), vajracharya and shakya form the non-celibate religious sangha while other Buddhist Newar castes like the Urāy act as patrons. Uray also patronise Tibetan Vajrayana, Theravadin, and even Japanese clerics.
Nepal Bhasa movement refers to the struggle for linguistic rights by Newar speakers in Nepal in the face of opposition from the government and hostile neighbors. The campaign aims to increase the use of Nepal Bhasa in the home, education, government and business. Despite a high level of development, Newar culture and language are both under threat.
Sankhu (साखु) is the ancient Newar town located in the north-eastern corner of Kathmandu Valley which is about 17 km from the city center of Kathmandu. Sankhu was formerly divided into three Village Development Committee, namely, Pukhulachhi, Suntol and Bajrayogini. Recently the town of Sankhu has been declared as Shankharapur Municipality merging three above-mentioned VDCs and other neighbouring VDCs. At the time of the 2011 Nepal census it had a population of 4333 living in 928 individual households. Sankhu lies between river Salinakhu in east and Asakhu in the west.
Yogbir Singh Kansakar was a Nepalese poet, social reformer and one of the Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa. He worked to develop his mother tongue and promote Arya Samaj sect of Hinduism and Buddhism in the face of repression by the Rana rulers.
Jagat Sundar Malla was a Nepalese teacher and writer who dedicated his life to the education of the common people.
Nepal Bhasa journalism began in 1925 with the publication of the magazine Buddha Dharma wa Nepal Bhasa. It was the first magazine to be published in Nepal Bhasa. It was published from Kolkata, India by Dharmaditya Dharmacharya.
Dharmaditya Dharmacharya (1902–1963) was a Nepalese author, Buddhist scholar and language activist. He worked to develop Nepal Bhasa and revive Theravada Buddhism when Nepal was ruled by the Rana dynasty and both were dangerous activities, and was consequently jailed.
Nepal Bhasa Patrika was the first daily newspaper in the Newar language. It launched on 28 September 1955 from Kathmandu, Nepal. The first editor and publisher was Phatte Bahadur Singh. Nepal Bhasa Patrika ceased publication in 1983.
Girija Prasad Joshi was a versatile Nepalese poet who set a new trend in Nepal Bhasa literature. His poems, epics, plays and novels broke tradition and crossed conventional boundaries. He has been honored with the title Great Poet.
Four Pillars of Nepal Bhasa are the four leaders who spearheaded the campaign to revive the Newar language and its literature during the repressive Rana regime, and guided its renaissance at the beginning of the 20th century.
Swanti is a five-day festival of Nepal which is one of the year's greatest celebrations for the Newar people. It is the Newar version of Tihar or Diwali. The festival highlights the central role of women in the household, and the rituals are related to wishing for good fortune of the family members by presenting them auspicious items and praying for longevity by placating the god of death.
The Śreṣṭha or is the second largest Newar caste group, occupying around 21% of overall Newar population, or about 1.1% of Nepal’s total population. It is believed that the word Srēṣṭha is derived from the Newar word Śeśyah, which itself is derivation of a Sanskrit word Sista meaning 'noble', although literal meaning of the word also translated to 'best or important.' "Shrestha" itself was later adopted as the specific family surname by members of this high-caste Hindu group, although there are over 50 other recognized surnames of Srēṣṭhas. Despite their numerically low national population, their high-status and socio-economic capital puts Śreṣṭhas amongst the most privileged and politically over-represented segments of Nepali population.
The Vidhyeshvari Vajra Yogini Temple - also known as the Bijeśvarī Vajrayoginī, Bidjeshwori Bajra Jogini, Bijayaswar, Bidjeswori, or Visyasvari Temple - is a Newar Buddhist temple in the Kathmandu valley dedicated to the Vajrayāna Buddhist deity Vajrayoginī in her form as Akash Yogini. The temple stands on the west bank of the Bishnumati river next to the ancient religious site of the Ramadoli (Karnadip) cremation ground and is on the main path from Swayambhunath stupa to Kathmandu.
Surya Malla was the second king of Kantipur. He ruled from 1520 to 1530. According to the Bhāsāvamsävali and Padmagiri's Vamsävali, he captured Sankhu and made it his capital.
