Luminaries and Their Contributions

Luminaries and Their Contributions 

The people who enlightened a nation by their intellectual or spiritual eminence are called luminaries. These people are known as 'National Personages' as they have done a lot for the nation. A short description of the national personages is given below. 

1. Janak : Janak was a famous king of Mithila kingdom. He was known as a sage king as he was wise and philosophic in nature. He was a follower of Brahma. He gve more importance to soul (Atma) than to the body. So, he was also known as Videha. He was a great scholar of Upnishad. He used to get engaged in discourses with scholars and learned people like Yagyabalkya, Gargi, Maitreyi, etc. he developed Janakpur as a great centre of learning and paved the way to include it in the list of religious site. So he has great contribution to the arya community of the world. 

JANAK

2. Sita : Sita was the daughter of king Janak. She is also known as ianaki. She was married to Rama the prince of Ayodhya. She was famous for her divine power, merit and charity. She is the heroine of the Ramyana, a great epic. She is regarded as the daughter of Nepal. She is a gracious luminary of Nepal and worshipped by the hindus of the world. 

SITA

3. Gautama Buddha : Gautama Buddha was born in lumbini. He propounded Buddhism. He followed the path of truth, justice and non-violence and inspired the world to spread the message of peace. He became the pioneer of global peace. He is called tha 'Light of Asia'. Nepal is proud of his name and fame. 

GAUTAM  BUDDHA

4. Amshuverma : Amshuverma was a famous king of Lichchhavi dynsty. He was a lover of art, architecture and literature. He made kailashkut Bhawan and established a cordial relationship with Tibet and india. He was praised by the Chinese traveler Huen Tsang for his Sanskrit Grammer 'Sabdavidya'. His deeds introduced Lichchhavi period as the golden age in the Nepali history. 

AMSHUVERMA

5. Prithvi Naarayan Shan : Prithvi Naarayan Shan conquered the Kathmandu Valley and moved his capital from Gorkha to Kathmandu. Then he conquered Baise and Chaubise Rajyas and eastern states and laid the foundation of greater Nepal. He expanded the nation, so he is respected as the builder of modern Nepal. 

PRITHVI NARAYAN SHAH

6. Ram shah : Ram Shah was the king of gorkha. He was famous for his economic, social, legaland administrative reforms. Gorkha was the centre of justice and rule of law in his reign. The famous proverb ' one should go to gorkha if deprived of justice' became popular from the time of his eign. 

RAM SHAH

7. Araniko : Araniko was an artist and architect of Nepal during the malla period. King Abhaya Malla sent 80 architects to Lhasa under the leadership of Araniko in response to an invitation of Chinese emperor KublaiKhan. The team built pagoda style monasteries in Lhasa and Beijing. He introduced Nepali art to the whole world and proved Nepal as a store of creation. After his death, Chinese government honoured him with Minghoi Award. The white pagoda of Beijing is regarded as the model and inspiration of the Nepali arts. 

ARANIKO

8. Amar Singh Thapa : Amar Singh Thapa was a great warrior who was known as a living lion of Nepal. The sole credit of expanding Nepal up to Kangada and Ravi river in the west goes to him. He sacrificed his life for the sake of his nation and got involved in saving the prestige and sovereignty of Nepal till his death. 

AMAR SINGH THAPA

9. Bhimsen Thapa : Bhimsen Thapa was the first prime minister of Nepal. He was a patriot, diplomat and great warrior. He was against the imperialism of British East India Company. He made many social, economic and military reforms in Nepal. He was honoured as the first reformist Prime Minister of Nepal. 

BHIMSEN THAPA

10. Balabhadra Kunwar : Balabhadra Kunwar was a great warrior of Nepal and the hero of Khalanga. He fought a decisive war against the British East India Company in Khalanga and defeated the enemies. His bravery has astonished the whole world. 

BALABHADRA KUNWAR

11. Bhanubhakta Acharya : Bhanubhakta was a great poet and a nationalist. He translated the Ramayana into nepali language and wrote many articles. His works unified Nepali's nd made Nepali a common language through his literary activities. 

BHANUBHKTA ACHARYA

12. Motiram Bhatta : Motiram Bhatta dedicated his short life to the development of nepali language. He searched for the scattered works of Bhanubhakta nd highlighted the literary works in his honour. He also wrote many books and development Nepali Language and Literature. 

MOTIRAM BHATTA

13. King Tribhuwan : The Credit of introducing democracy in Nepal goes to King Tribhuwan. He played a great role in ending the rana rule in 2007 BS. By joining his hands with revolutionaries in the Anti-Rna movement. As a member of Praja Parishad, he supported the armed revolution against the tyrannical regime of the ranas and left his palace. When the Delhi Agreement was signed among the three groups- King Tribhuwan himself, Nepali Congress and Rana delegates, democracy was introduced on 7th Falgun 2007 BS. 

KING TRIBHUWAN

14. Shangkhadhar Sakhwa : He was the founder of Nepali Sambat. He collected gold from the sand of Bishnumati and freed the people of Kathmandu from their loans and debts. He is one of the national heroes of Nepal. 

SHNGKHADHAR SAKHWA

15. Pasang Lhamu Sherpa : Pasang Lhamu Sherpa was an ambitious woman who climbed Mt. Everest for the first time among Nepali women. But she died while she was returning from the peak. She is addressed as the bold women of Nepal. 

PASANG LHAMU SHERPA

16. Mahaguru Falgunanda : Mahaguru Falgunanda was the social reformer, leader and philosopher who brought about many reforms in the Kirant culture. He launched a campaign for persuading the Kirats to offer fruits and Naivedya instead of animals and alcohol at the time of their rites and rituals. For the purpose of educating Kirant community, he introduced the policy of establishing a temple and a school in every village. The rules of equal treatment to sons and daughters nd treatment women during menstruation were unplemented. Falgunanda was known as Mahaguru because of his great knowledge, reforms, teachings and leadership. He was declared a national luminary by the government of Nepal in 2066 BS.

MAHAGURU FALGUNANDA