Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s7.6

v6.c41.s7.6

‘Like that of so many other countries of India, the mythic history of Nepal commences even before the Kaliyuga, and among its pre-historic visitors are mentioned Vipasyī and the other five Buddhas that preceded Śākyamuni, together with Mañjuśrī, Bodhisattva,’ Svayambhū, Śiva, as Paśupati, Vishṇu, and other gods of the Brahmanical pantheon. Tradition adds that king Asoka visited the valley and built five *chaityas*, one in the centre of Patan and the others at four cardinal points round it. The earliest inscriptions¹ belong to the later kings of the Lichchhavi dynasty ‘whose ancestors seem to have come from Vaiśālī and established themselves in Nepal.’ Some of them were Vaishṇavas and others Śaivas. Their inscriptions range from the fifth to the seventh century, when Aṁśuvarman founded a new dynasty.