By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS
Kathmandu : A historic site that could throw light on the adventures of the five legendary Pandava brothers, whose exploits are sung in the Mahabharat, one of Asia’s most famous epics, faces demolition with Nepal’s government mulling building a dry port in the area.
Buddhanagar village in eastern Nepal’s Biratnagar town, lying close to the Indian border, is regarded by the villagers as having been the capital of mythical king Birat, where the five brothers took shelter after losing their kingdom in a dice game to their cousins, the Kauravas.
Even Biratnagar, the hometown of Nepal’s Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, is regarded as having derived its name from the king who hired the five brothers who were roaming in disguise to evade detection by their foes.
“The area was excavated in the 60s,” says Rajesh Mathema, chief archaeological officer at the Archaeological Survey of Nepal.
“The ruins of a temple were found under a mound. Its unusual elliptical design points to it having been constructed possibly around 1st century BC during the reign of the Sunga kings.”
The excavation also yielded a cache of silver bars with various signs that Mathema says were used as coins and statues.
The lack of awareness about Buddhanagar’s historic relics made the Koirala government last year consider building a dry port in the area with the assistance of the Indian government.
“We received an SOS from the villagers that a survey had begun for the dry port,” Mathema told IANS.
“We went to the spot and found the surveyors had also constructed some pillars.
“We told them to stop and submitted a report to the government, saying it was an archaeological site and should not be disturbed.”
It remains to be seen if the government will now relocate the dry port to another district.
With the village right on the Indo-Nepal border, the best solution would be for a joint venture from the two countries to conduct a full-scale excavation that could succeed in establishing the Mahabharat as not just an epic but true history.
In a blow to historians and the lovers of the Mahabharat, the records of the excavation as well as the artefacts were destroyed by a fire in 1993.
Mathema says the area was likely to have been the site of a large settlement.
“Local myths say it was the capital of King Birat,” he says. “In its neighbouring Jhapa district, there is also a place called Kichakbadh.’
In the epic, Kichak was the lawless brother-in-law of the king who coveted Draupadi, the beautiful wife shared by the five Pandava brothers, and consequently, was killed by Bhimsen, the second brother.
“But names alone are not evidence for archaeologists,” Mathema says.
“When people migrate, they tend to carry the names they knew with them. There are many more places in Nepal named after Mahabharat characters and places.
“To be absolutely certain, you would need extensive excavation.”
But beset with political instability in the capital, a new movement for autonomy in the southern plains and an acute funds crunch, the Nepal government is not in a position to do so.
Locals complain that on the eve of elections, politicians go to the area to woo votes and promise they would protect the area’s archaeological treasures if elected.
But once the polls are over, all promises are forgotten.
Now, the Maoists guerrillas are trying to draw attention to the historical heritage.
“Tens of thousands of Nepalis visit pilgrim sites in India and spend billions of rupees,” the Janadisha daily, the Maoist mouthpiece, commented.
“It is a shame that such important sites within Nepal do not receive any publicity.”