Geographical Introduction to Nepal

Nepal, the land of the Buddha, the Everest and the brave Gurkhas lies in the South Asian region as a sovereign nation. This Himalayan Hindu Kingdom has always existed as an independent nation despite some historic shifting of its borders. So when we talk about the geography of Nepal, the mention of political shapes it look in its history, is well justified.

It is difficult to outline exact political map of Nepal in the past, however, the off-quoted Sanskrit expressions in ceremonial rituals and else-where  like Jambu Island, Indian region, Himalayan sector indicate which area Nepal covered in the ancient time. According to the geologists, Nepal was in the bed of the Tethys sea some seventy million years ago. Due to the internal geological movements, the bed of the sea rose leading to the formation of mountains, hills and basins. This is why the geographical landscape is widely varied. The altitude of Nepal is so diverse in a short distance that it ranges from just above the sea level and the summit of the Everest in the distance of just 193 kilometers.

Although the exact borders of ancient Nepal cannot be easily determined, the evidences of the Lichchhavi Period prove that it was as big in area as modern Nepal. Apart from the inscription on the Allahabad pillar which indicates Nepal to have been spread from Assam in the east and Garhwal in the west (both in Indian now), Sanskrit verses written at that time describe it to be one of the five Himalayan sectors lying in the east of Kumaun. The facts that a Chinese traveller Huen Sang who visited Nepal in the ancient time mentions Nepal with an area of 4,000 lee (about 900 kilometers) and that Lichchhavi King Narendra Dev commanded the cavalry with 7,000 horses prove that Nepal had a large land area even in the past. Besides, Samundra Gupta’s pillar inscriptions, Tang account and many other evidences claim that the land area of Nepal then was at least as big as Nepal now. That Nepal was a famous and revered place even in the ancient time is obvious from this verse from Chapter 71 of Skanda Purana, Himawat Khanda:

Satyawati in the Satya era, Tapoban in the Treta era, Muktisopan in the Dwapar era and Nepalika puri in the Kali era.

When we scan the political history of Nepal after the ancient time, we find Nepal to have stretched between the Tishta and the Brahmaputra in the east and Fort Kangada in the west (both places lie in the inner part of India now), sometimes divided and diversified, sometimes unified and greater Nepal. In mediaeval times, Nepal was divided into many tiny states ruled by kings. Khas states in the west, Malla states in the Kathmandu Valley, Doy state in the Terai, Sen states and Baisi-Chaubisi states.  The demarcation specified by the Sugauli Treaty signed between Nepal and the British East India Company in 1842 can be considered the area of modern Nepal.

 

The map resembles an irregular brick spreading length-wise from east to west. The borders in the east and the west are the Mechi river and the Mahakali river respectively. In the north, specified peaks and gorges divide Nepal and China, and in the south, pillars fixed along the line at a distance of one kilometers in between act as the borders between Nepal and India. About 9 meters of land along the pillar line is the demarcation line known as Dush gaja. The total land area of present Nepal is 1,47,181 square kilometers, with the length of 885 kilometers and the width ranging from 144 kilometers to 240 kilometers.