Kiratdom of Kathmandu

All went well as the Kiratis began their pastoral life in the Valley of Kathmandu. They prospered during the peaceful reign of Yellung Hang and their "deota" was Paru Hang, the Lord of Paru. The Kiratis knew of the mythical land called Paru, tucked high in the Himal-Chuli where one could reach after crossing one mountain range after another snow clad mountain until one day when the fog lifted, they could behold the blissful eternal land of Paru. In this mythical land Paru resided their nameless deota, known simply as Paru Hang.

This divine land of Paru of Kirati legend is what that gave impetus to the western writers who got it transformed into Shangri-La vividly romanticised by the over simulated imagination.

Paru Hang was not a distant God, but shared the daily pace of the Kiratis' life, often appearing in the guise of a Kirati hunter, dressed in a single wrap-around of tiger or panther-skin and armed with bow and arrows and a trident. Centuries later, when Paru Hang was brahminised and given the new name of Mahadeo or Siwa or Shankar, they retained not only his attire and look of a Kirati huntsman but also his skin colour; he appears fair among dark skinned Hindu divinities.

Some two thousand six hundred years ago, a Kirati Prince, named Siddhartha Gout'm became The Buddha, or The Enlightened One, and began preaching his doctrine of Four Noble Truths. The Buddha chose to convey his message of Nirwan to his Family and the Kiratis of Kathmandu first before beginning his Universal Teaching.

The Buddha arrived at Kathmandu according to Swayambhu Puran during the reign of Kirati King Jite Dasti and offered worship to Swayambhunath, the Primordial Buddha. This is an historical tradition visible till todate as Hangpa Jite Dasti is known to have decreed that his people retain the freedom to continue to worship Paru Hang while following the Four Noble Truths. Ever since, the Kiratis have worshipped the Buddha and Paru Hang together as are seen everywhere in the temples of Kathmandu.

We Kiratis are true to that culture established two thousand and six hundred years ago by our noble King Jite Dasti.