The Tale of Shankadhar Sakhwa - Part I
The calendar of Nepal Sambat is the official calendar for the Newars. It was introduced more than 1100 years ago and is lunisolar. The story behind its origin is fascinating and sometimes hard to believe. Various aspects of it are correct. Due to the gravity of the act, the founder Shankadhar Sakhwa was indoctrinated into the list of national hero's by the former His Majesty's Government.
As per various chronicles and historical narratives, the story goes as follows:
One day a team of coolies (porters) were gathered at Lakhu Tirtha, the confluence of Bagmati and Vishnumati rivers near the Royal Palace of Kantipur, present-day Kathmandu. They were impatiently waiting and pacing at times. As the sun reached a certain point in the sky, they knew the time was right!
They started digging in haste and began to load their baskets with heaps of sand. Once their baskets were filled, they took a sigh of relief. Ensuring the load was secure, they then hit the road. When they reached Maru, they saw a resting house and given the weight was making them heavy and hot, they decided to take a break.
During this time, a merchant commonly referred to as Sakhwal left his house for his endeavour. When he reached the spot where the coolies were resting, he was surprised to see heaps of sand with them. He observed for a while and deduced that they were from Bhaktapur. He was familiar with the dialect of the region. He asked himself, why did these men come all this way to Kantipur for sand? The rivers in Bhaktapur have enough sand to last a lifetime.
To quench his curiosity, he approached the men and asked them that question. The coolies responded, Sir, this sand is not for us. We are only servants, and we do as our master pleases. He instructed us to come here and dig for sand near Lakhu Tirtha at an exact time. We were on our way home and noticed this resting house and decided to take a break.
Sakhwal was fascinated. Why here? He asked himself. He decided to request the coolies to dumb the sand at the courtyard of his house. To do so, he asked them to come to his home for a meal before he left. The coolies were more than happy to receive a free meal.
Once fed, Sakhwal requested the coolies to dumb the sand in the courtyard. The coolies were quite confused. To lighten the situation and motivate them, Sakhwal pulled out his pouch and paid the coolies handsomely. He instructed the coolies to take another heap of sand to their master.
With a free meal and free money, the coolies were very delighted. They were also being paid by their master for this assignment. Thus they felt like it was their lucky day. The men dumped the said and bid farewell to Sakhwal. Once at the junction, they topped their baskets again and left for Bhaktapur.
As the coolies reached Bhaktapur, they took the road to the palace. The guards inspected them. Once satisfied, they were allowed to enter the king's court. Within the palace, king Ananda Malla was patiently waiting for their arrival. Beside him was his dear astrologer, who was very anxious.
The coolies entered the court, and both the king and his astrologer were quick to their feet. They came forward and analysed their baskets. The king looked to his astrologer and said, I hope your prediction comes true. He instructed the coolies to leave the basket and its contents adjacent to the courtyard. They were then paid by the kings chief.
The king asked, so what do we do with this pile of sand now? We wait, replied the astrologer.