At present, there is a lot of discussion about whether to keep diversion in the Kaligandaki river or not. Before debating this issue, one needs to study the history of the Gandaki River in depth.
First of all, the word 'Gandaki' also means rhinoceros. In the Magar language, the letter 'The' comes after the river. For example, since Tadi, Madi, etc. are the names of rivers, the name 'Gandi' can be taken to mean Gandaki in Sanskrit. In the Puranas, it is written 'Gandaki'.
Today people have been calling it Krishnagandaki, Kaligandaki, Gandaki, Kali, Narayani, Saptagandaki etc.
There is an episode in the history of 11th century Kashmir, 'Rajatarangini'. According to the episode, in the eighth century, the Kashmiri king 'Jayapid Vinayaditya' had advanced by digging. As he moved west, he attacked Nepal. At that time there was a king named Armudi in Nepal.
When he reached the shores of Kaligandaki, King Armudi captured Vinayaditya and imprisoned him. The name of this river is 'Kalgandika' in the Rajatarangani inscription. The word 'Kaal means black. This is because it is a deep and big river.
The name of King Armudi is not mentioned anywhere in the historical material of Nepal. Therefore, most historians have speculated that these kings may not be the kings of the whole of Nepal but only one of the Rajputs around Kaligand.
Seen in this way, it is understood that the river Kalgandaki was huge and important at that time. Of the seven Gandakis (Marsyangdi, Madi, Seti, Budhigandaki, Trishuli, Daraundi), Kaligandaki is known to be the chief. However, the river changes course, as evidenced by the fact that the Bagmati River flows around Indrachowk tens of thousands of years ago.
The Gandaki or Kaligandaki river may have changed its course. But in the western part of present-day Nepal, Kaligandaki is a river with a deep gorge and gorge flowing south from North Damodar Kund. This river has been flowing in this stream for thousands of years.
Kaligandaki is one of the sacred rivers of Nepal in terms of history and culture. Here is the Ruru area, Galeshwar, Ridi and Muktinath at the head of the river. The history of Shaligram found in this river is also discussed.
King Shankardev of Nepal took Shaligram of Kaligandaki and offered it to Jagannathpuri. Due to that, even after thousands of years, the king of Nepal got special rights in Jagannathpuri. The king of Nepal can go inside the temple of Jagannathpuri and worship by touching everything.
In this way, Kaligandaki has made us famous in India religiously and culturally. They also revere this river.
The river Kaligand is connected with the Himalayan civilization. The flow and origin of Kaligandaki from Mustang to the plains of the Terai through hilly areas are also large. It is also one of the big rivers like Saptakoshi, Bagmati, Karnali. All these rivers merge with other rivers via India.
Now let us come to today's age. Countries like India and China have been building dams and diversions on rivers. It is said that the Brahmaputra was returned to China by China. People have made diversions for irrigation, disaster relief and water storage. Dissertations are also made for industrial purposes.
While Nepal is also debating whether to make a diversion in Kaligandaki or not, we have to look at many aspects. Along with the aspect of development, people's life, civilization and culture should be taken into consideration. I am never against development and progress. But I also believe that civilization and culture should be taken care of.
Although the history of the Kaligand civilization has not been strong in the last century, it is surrounded by thousands of villages and thousands of settlements. The river has become a source of shelter for the people of Manang, Kaski, Mustang, Myagdi, Baglung, Gulmi, Parbat, Syangja, Palpa, Tanahu, Chitwan, East-Nawalparasi and West-Nawalparasi districts.
The surrounding fields, tar and biodiversity have given life to the people. As a natural resource, it has saved human lives. That is why we have been respecting it culturally as well. Therefore, it would not be wise to consider what gives shelter to oneself from a historical and natural point of view.
(Interview with historian Pant by online journalist Nirbhik Jung Rayamajhi.)
