Gopal Bansa


Gopala Dynasty means Indian : Hindu name, from Sanskrit gopala ‘cowherd’, was a dynasty ruling ancient Nepal. They are known to be first dynasty ever ruled Nepal. It is believed that the Gopals were the part of Yadu tribe. Krishna and Balarama brought Gopals in Kathmandu. Gopals are also mythological dynasty of Nepal. Gopals are credited with the discovery of the Pashupatinath volcanic mound in ancient Nepal, which became the location of the Pashupatinath temple.

History of Gopals

People still believe that the entire Kathmandu valley the heart of Nepal was lake. Some factors played a role and the water got drained out. The sage Ne visited Nepal and made one of the people living in the society the king. The king was Bhuktaman.The first king of Nepal. Having adopted Gupta as their surname and hence known as the Gupta Dynasty, eight generations of this dynasty ruled from 3000 BC to 2400 BC for about 521 years. The kings of this dynasty like Bhumigupta, Jayagupta, Dharmagupta, Harshagupta, Bishnugupta and Jitgupta had made Matatirtha the centre of their administration. Cow rearing was their main occupation. they used to rear cows for milk and agriculture. The last king of Gopal dynasty was Jeet Gupta. Jeet Gupta was childless and the mahispal king Barsingh defeated Jeet and Mahispal dyanastycontinued.

Status of Nepal during Gopal dynasty

Most of the people were Hindus in that period. Women were respected they were the main source of entertainment too. It is believed that they were the people of Indus Valley Civilisation. The caste system was practised in the society. According to the belief, the Kathmandu was a lake and after the water drained out left a fertile soil every where in Kathmandu. In result people started to plant many thing like paddy, wheat etc. The trading was started in that period Nepal was getting richer. The main exporting goods of Nepal during the ancient period are wool, woolen goods, blankets, wood, musk, gold, hides, skins and herbs like chiraito, etc to India. Woolen blankets had a great demand in the market of Pataliputra.
Edited by: Saugat Kharel