Kathmandu, April 12

A national hero of Nepal Sankhadhar Sakhwa, who is believed to have begun Nepal Sambat by clearing the debts of all people in Nepal, may never have existed, say archaeologists in light of new evidences.

Nepal Bhasa expert and Chief of the Archaeological Office Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi said Sankhadhar Sakhwa was not at all mentioned in the Gopal Raj Bansawali, one of the oldest Lichchavi manuscripts available in the country.

Sakhwa is said to be a philanthropist who cleared all debts of the people of Nepal during the regime of Lichchavi king Ananda Dev, and began a new era called the Nepal Era to commemorate it. Sakhwa is said to have cleared the debts using gold he panned from the sands of the Bishnumati River.

However, the Gopal Raj Bansawali states that Lichchavi king Raghava Dev may have been ruling at the time Nepal Sambat began, Rajbanshi said.

Shankhadhar Sakhwa is mentioned on the scripts Raj Bhog Mala, and the Nepal’s History, written in the 19th century after Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered the Valley.

Rajbanshi said, “There has to be proper research to verify whether Shankhadhar Sakhwa really existed. If he did, we need to ascertain why he was not mentioned in the Gopal Raj Bansawali.”