MAHAYANA

 Mahayana is one of the important Schools of Buddhism. Like any living religion, Buddhism also  constantly reinterpreted, added to and transformed by the social and cultural traditions amidst which it was practiced. It gave birth to various schools of thoughts and beliefs differing on various points of doctrine and their practice. By the third century BC there were about twenty such different schools of Buddhism co existing and growing in south Asian countries and abroad. One of them is the precursor of the Mahayana school. The main concepts of the Mahayana doctrine were articulated in the first century AD by Nagarjuna through his famous treatise known as Prajnaparamita, a text on transcendental knowledge or the perfection of wisdom.

Mahayana is the response to the expectations of the world; an altruistic and representative views of all those great teachers and Bodhisattwa’s who renounced their salvation from life for keep helping fellow men to their path to enlightenment. It was taken as a path to salvation more directly conceivable, less demanding and easier for an ordinary man to follow.  As its name suggests, Mahayana is considered as  the great vehicle and thus, this doctrine made salvation  possible for all human beings, monks and laity alike not only through their individual  endeavor but also through the vicarious efforts of the Boddhisattvas. 

Unlike in Hinayana, Mahayana recognized faith and worship as alter¬native path to enlightenment and salvation. An inevitable consequence of this being reinterpretation of the concepts of Buddhism.

Putting it in other words, early Buddhism stressed that the goal of each individual was to seek freedom from the chain of rebirth and thus from all sufferings. The word used to describe this goal was Nirvana . Although there were many different philosophical schools, the religion centered around the institution of the monastery with its ordained monks and a lay congregation that supported the monastery. The rituals were simple and minimum. Meditation and introspection were encouraged. Each individual sought his own Nirvana.  But, in case of  Mahayana Buddhism the concept of Boddhisattwa is very important. He is considered as the one who is already enlightened but still desirous to stay on for the welfare of others. His practice of six Parmita’s or the texts of transcendental knowledge namely Dana, Sila, Kshanti, Birya, Dhayana, Prajna is exalted and emphasized. The function of the Boddhistwa is believed to be the postponement of his own final leap into Nirvana and retaining of his life cycle as long as a single sentient being remain undelivered from suffering. 

MAHANKALA

 Mahankala or the great black one is a form of Shiva himself for Hindus where as he is the protector of Mandala for a Buddhist. Terrific looking image of Mahankala may carry with him a drum or a trisul. Several series of Hindu deities are found in the Buddhist pantheon. Mahakala is one of the Hindu deities of Brahma group. He is also one of the eight terrible deities of the Buddhist pantheon with ornaments of snakes, canine teeth, protruding belly and dressed with skin. He is dark blue in colour. He carries trisul and kapala in his two hands. He may have one face with two, four or six arms or eight faces with sixteen arms. As he is the defender of law, he is given a good position at the entrance doors of Buddhist shrines. 

MAHAKALI ZONE

 Area: 2753 square miles. This westernmost zone of Nepal is bounded in the north by Tibet, on the south and also on the west by U.P. of India and on the east by Seti zone. Mighty Himalayas of the north regions, Mahabharat mountain of the middle region and the low altitude mountains, known as Chure are the main physical features of this zone. Minerals spotted in this zone are mica, graphite, limestone, copper and slate which are yet to be exploited. Comparatively one of the backward zones of Nepal, people of this zone mainly depend upon cattle breeding and agriculture. A small portion of population have traditional small scale industries where they make woolen carpets, blankets and other goods of daily necessity. Darchula, Baitadi, Dadeldhura and Kanchanpur are the districts of this zone. 

MAHAKALI RIVER

 Composed of Kali river an Jarkar river of far western Nepal, Mahakali is forming the border line between India and Nepal at Darchula district of Nepal. 

MAHADEV

 Mahadev literally means the great lord or god. It is just another name of Lord Shiva. 

MAHABOUDDHA

 Situated at Mahabouddha area at Okubahal, Patan, this masterpiece of terra-cotta reveals the craftsmanship of the Nepalese. Built by Abhaya Raj, a prist of Patan, his temple contains images of Lord Buddha in its every brick adding up to the astonishing total of more than nine thousand Buddhas and thus, giving it a name- The temple of Million Buddhas. The present temple is not wholly original as the upper part of the temple was rebuilt after 1935 A.D. as when it fell down due to earthquake. However, reconstruction of that part has done perfect justice to the original part which is still preserved. 

MAHABHARAT

 This great epic poem of the Hindus is most probably the longest in the world. It contains about 2,20,000 lines divided into 18 Parvas or sections. The central figure of this huge epic is Krishna who is known as he eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The leading subject of the epic is the battle of Kurukshetra, the main object being the kingdom of Bharatvarsa of which Hastinapur was the capital. 

The main story starts from Kind Vichitravirya who was a decendent of legendary Bharat after whose name present day India was given the name Bharatvarsa He was the king of Hastinapur

And that he had two sons, Dhritarashtra and Pandu. Dhritarashtra, the elder one being a blind person, younger brother Pandu became the successor of the throne. In consequence of a curse or due to his disease suspected as leprosy, he took retirement and went to the forest for leading retired life. So Dhitarashtra had to become King inspite of his being blind. Pandu had two wives Kunti and Madri, out of five sons of Pandu, first three namely Yudhisthir, Bhimsen and Arjun were from Kunti and the rest Nakul and Shahadev were from Madri. The paternity of these children is attributed to different gods and that Pandu had acknowledged them. These five sons are jointly known as Pandavas. The eldest son Yudhistir is known as the son of Dharma, the judge of the dead and is, thus, known for his firmness and justice. Bhima or Bhimsen, the second one is known as he son of the wind-god, Vayu. So he is renowned for his extraordinary strength and courage. The third son Arjun, the very important character in Mahabharat is known as the son of Indra, the king of the heaven. Generosity, bravery, kindness and skill in warfare etc. are considered as his qualities. Two younger sons were also brave and spirited, but they are not taken as very important personalities compared to their elder brothers. 

Dhritarashtra, the reigning monarch of Hastinapur had one hundred sons, Duryodhana being the eldest and most dynamic. Those hundred sons were commonly known as Kauravas. They are known for their jealousy and cruelty, specifically Duryodhan being almost the personification of all evils of a prince. So when Dhritarashtra nominated Yudhisthir as his successor instead of his own son, vehement opposition began from his sons. Duryodhan even plotted to kill his cousins i.e. Pandavas by setting fire to their residence, but they escaped to the forest where they lived in disguise upon alms. There, they came to know that Draupadi, the daughter of the king of Panchal had proclaimed a swaymvara at which the husband of Darupadi is to be selected by herself from princely suitors. So, Arjun went there and won the race by bending the mighty bow. On returning back home with Draupadi, Arjun told his mother about his great acquisition, but not knowing what it was she ordered to share it among five brothers. That is how, Draupadi became the common wife of Pandavas. 

Dhritarashtra later divided his kingdom between his sons, Kauravas and Pandavas. Hastinapur was in the share of Kauravas and the Chief city in the share of Pandavas was Indraprastha. Yudhisthir who became the king of Indraprastha conquered many countries performed Rajsuya Yanjan (sacrifice) with a view to be the king of kings. Duryodhan, the king of Hastinapur became furious with hatred and envy. So he started playing tricks against Pandavas. Yudhisthir was invited by him to gamble and was mischievously defeated depriving him from all his possessions, kingdom and even Draupadi. Pandavas had also to pass twelve years in exile incognito, beside insults and degradation they encountered. 

After completion of their period of exile Pandavas determined to restore their lost empire with the help of Lord Krishna. It is during this battle that Krishna had spoken divine song “Geeta” or Bhagvat Geeta addressed to Arjun. The great battle was fought between Pandavas and Kauravas in the battlefield of Kurukshetra which lasted for 18 days. Kaurava’s army was commanded in succession by Bhishma, Drona, Karna and Salya. 

Almost everybody in both sides except five brothers of Pandvas died in he battle. Then, Yudhisthir and his brothers went to negotiate with Dhritarashtra and thus, Yudhisthir was put to the throne of Hastinapur. 

This battle gave a great shock to Dhritarashtra and also Pandavas for the death of a large number of their kith and kin. So pandavas, later, performed Aswamedh Yajna (a great worshipping in which a  powerful horse is sacrificed). Because of deep sorrow, Yudhisthir abdicated soon and went to the Himalayas on way to the heaven on Mt. Sumeru. Pandavas had also to repent and realize various mistakes and philosophical misunderstanding regarding ideal life before they are entered into the heaven at the insistence of Yudhisthir. 

The eighteen Paravas or sections of Mahabharat are as follows: 

1. Adiparva- This introductory section describes the genealogy of Pandavas and Kauravas, their rivalry upto the marriage of Pandavas with Draupadi. 

2. Sabhaparva- The assemble section describes how Yudhisthir lost his kingdom etc. and had had to retire into exile. 

3. Vanaparva- The life of Pandavas in the forest. 

4. Varatparva- Adventures of Pandavas while extending their help to king Virat after completion of their years of exile. 

5. Udyogparva- Preparations of war o both sides. 

6. Bhishmaparva- Description of the battle when the Kaurava army was under the command of Bhishma. 

7. Dronaparva- Battle scenes during Drona’s command of Kaurava army. 

8. Karnaparva- During Karna’s command of Kaurava army. 

9. Salyaparva- Battle scenes during Salya’s command of Kaurava army. 

10. Suptikaparva- Mighty attack of Kauravas on the Pandav camp. 

11. Striparva- Description of women including Gandhari lamenting over the slain. 

12. Shantiparva- Discourse by Bhishma on morality and princely duties with an intention to assuage the grief of Yudhisthir. 

13. Anusasanaparva- Bhishma’s discourses and his death. 

14. Aswamedhikaparva- Performance of Horse sacrifice by Yudhisthir. 

15. Ashramparva- Retirement of Dhritarashtra, Kunti, Gandhari etc. in the woods and their death. 

16. Mausalaparva- Death of Krishna and Balram. Mutual fight of Yadavas resulting into their self-destruction. 

17. Mahaprasthanikaparva- Yudhisthir’s self-abdication and departures with his brothers towards the heaven. 

18. Swargarohanparva- Entrance of Pandavas and Draupadi into heaven. 

MAGH

 The month of Magh begins by the middle of January approximately. See Months of Nepal. 

MAGAR

 Magars of Nepal are settled mostly in the middle regions of Nepal. They are also found in eastern Nepal and other parts of the Kingdom. Tihun Rana, Thapa, Ale, Pun, Budhathoki and Gharti are all the different classes of magars and that they discriminate between higher and lower class Magars. Magars are in general Buddhist by faith, but those in the southern parts of Nepal have changed themselves in the lines of Aryan culture in their way of life and religion. Those in the north are directly influenced by Tibetan religion and culture. 

Many Magars are engaged in agriculture where as others work as carpenter, masons and other type of manual workers. In some areas they make mats, bamboo products and other indigenous goods. 

Districtwise, a large number of Magars live in Palpa, Tanahu, Myagdi, Pyuthan and Rolpa. They are also found in Arghakhanchi, Syangja, Parbat, Baglung, Dolpa, Surkhet, Sindhuli and Udaypur. Research scholars opine that the Sen kings and Thakuris of the Magrant districts are also Magars. These facts make the Magars as one of the most pervasive ethnic groups of Nepal. Their language belongs to the Tibeto-Burman family. They have their own unique dress codes and culture which are gradually getting  lost and forgotten. They are Buddhist by religion. The Magar priest is called Bhusal. According to the census of 1991, the present Magar population stands at 7.2% of the national total.

MADHESHI

 Nepal has more than 500 miles long open border with its southern neighbour, India. As a result millions of people immigrated from India and settled in the terai belt of Nepal during last centuries. So, these people known a Madhesis, resemble with people of adjoining provinces of India in their way of life, look, languages etc. Danuwar, Rajbansi, Maithili, Bhopuri, Awadhi, Majhi, Raji, Satar etc. are the main races of people catagorised as Madhesies. Several of these races were formerly hunters, but lately, they have adopted cultivation as their profession. They have developed their culture and civilization in the lines off fellow Hindu communities whom they came in contact with.