How true is this story?Or it is too one in the series ofdogmatic lies in the name of her-worship culture like sacrifices during dashain in the holy temple,PN Shah's unification of Nepal,incarnation bestowed upon divinely Gyanendra and so on and so forth.Here it is in a nutshell:
Thousands of years ago, it is said that Kathmandu Valley was nothing more than a Himalayan lake. Buddhist chronicles then tell of the coming of Manjushree Bodhisattva who came through Nepal from China to worship Swyambhu (a manifestation of the primordial Buddha) And as an act of worship, he chose this lowest hill in the southern part of the valley, to drain the then existing lake and create this narrow 8 metre passage.Manjushri, with a blow of his sword, cleaved the southern rim of the valley at the gorge of Chobhar, to drain the waters of the lake, thus rendering the Valley inhabitable..And that too with a sword?Buddhism seem to have lost its way of logical interpretation on this one.

I read the story long time ago in mahendramala........ iZen-Bro.. why do you have to say dogma... I think you are questioning our heritage just cause you live in U.S.
Only one thing !!!
let the past stay in past, it is a good story a folklore, like I said it is just a story.... who has ever heard of sword cutting a gorge on the side of a mountain.

Brother it is a story and our heritage and our culture believes it and many millions of people think the same way too.... why not let it be the way it is.... love your culture and your heritage and be proud of it. We come from a city of temples... don't think like a gora but think like a regular nepali and you will realize how much those temples and gods mean to us as Nepali's not just as hindu or buddist but just nepali............One Nepal..One Nepali

No caste, No creed .. Only Nepali

most logical interpretation:
kathmandu valley was a glacial lake during the Pleistocene Period. At the end of the ice age the glaciers melted and water with its sheer pressure started eroding the surrounding mountains. Then one fine day, after it had been successful in creating a outlet for itself it flowed out from the valley towards the sea.


maybe manjushree with the help of other chaps dislodged a huge rock and the water flowed out.

What do you think about 'Genesis' and 'Noah's ark'? Are you aware of two pages (or chapters) about evolution being erased from textbook of science in Kansas state?

the meaning is symbolic...manjushree's sword cuts the ignorance and hatred to make the world a more habitable place...

iZen, Owww ! It's just a myth !! [ Beautiful statue there.. ] How can you ask if its true or not ? Errrrr.....

PQno.1 seems to provide the logical explanation.Hmm.... or the folk-lore might be symbolic too as Zalim suggests.


Loved this one tho ! Hehe -------- >>> "maybe manjushree with the help of other chaps DISLODGED a huge rock and the water flowed out. "

:p

i loved the way you used the hyphens and arrows to point to the quotation

-------- >>> "-------- >>>"

iZen, Owww ! It's just a myth !! [ Beautiful statue there.. ] How can you ask if its true or not ? Errrrr.....-lady croft
ok its a myth...didn't buddha enforced logic behind myths and manjushree part of buddhist history:*--well maybe I am digging deep~
the meaning is symbolic...manjushree's sword cuts the ignorance and hatred to make the world a more habitable place... -Zalim from Punjab~j/k
great interpratation there
iz

iZen,
Apologies but I have neither the knowledge nor the proof to support that "Buddha enforced" things. This in itself looks like a myth to me !------->> "didn't buddha enforced logic behind myths ". Errr...



Zalim, there you go.One more ! :P

L_C,
No prob.I was being an smart ass...he-he
thanks a/w's

Digging deep? Dig this one!

Ganesh went around the world in his bahan "MUSA" seven times (actually he tricked by going around his parents) while kumar could only manage one in his speedy peacock.....DARN! how is that posssible? can peacocks fly around the world? in 80 days?
Izen u r the making of a next Einstein. "the important thing in life is not to stop questioning...." ~einstein

I think in your case, he meant till you end up in an asylum :). Talking about logic, woudln't the next logical question be "ALL the children in US can speak english fluently while the children in nepal can't ??? "

WAY TO GO!!

snurp,
Good to see you bud.Keep digging man.I am looking for a refuge where I can find all the answers.Some thing like an ultimate cosmic theory.
iz

Buddha dwelled 2500-2600 yrs back. Did manjushree's legend predate Buddha? Did Swayambhu predate Buddha?

Swayambhu stupa is very interesting. It is often said that the Buddha in his deathbed asked his followers to build stupas to in his memory, which means, the Stupa acrhitecture was around before the Buddha. However, the Stupa of Swayambhu (the one that evolved itself) as we see it today, is much much later than the Buddha. Probbaly his dic siples built a small monument or a stupa that "probably" contained the buddha's asthu dhatu. But later it was expanded and enlarged by the Lichhavi and the Malla rulers of the valley.

The Manjushree myth is also very interesting. When Buddhism developed into a complex religion after the death of the Buddha, to give a mystical aura to it, people came up with myths such as of that of the Dhyani Buddhas (amitava et.al) and the future Buddhas (maitreya). And suddenly Buddhism had its own pantheon of deities. It also had deities similar to the Hindu deities, for example, Bhairavs (samvaras) and many more. This invention of new gods and myths surrounding them helped in institutionalizing the religion and to rival Hindusim, and which resulted in complex rituals surrounding these deities. If you think about it, it happens with every religions, they all survive on myths and rituals. The manjushree myth was probbaly added many years after the Buddha to explain the creation of the valley to rival the existing or contemporary Hindu myth regarding the valley which is quite similar to the Manjushree myth.

yo sabai mero bichar ma....from the stuff i heard and read when i was young. I could be mistaken.. so feel free to correct me.

stupas to in his memory- in his memory