The History of the Sen Dynasty of Nepal

Preface

My school taught me about Sen's history, but I didn't have the opportunity to compare and analyze it with life and the world. However, it requires time, dedication, study, and experience. I studied the Kirat Limbu culture; I also studied the genealogy of Phyang Samba and published a book. But something still stuck in my mind. What I feel is that, without the Sen dynasty, the study of the Kirat Limbu, especially the Samba clan, would not be complete.

Mangena Yak of the Samba tribe, i.e., Lingthang Yak, where the Samba surname is believed to have developed, has recently been a part of public participation. Mang Him The construction of the temple is complete. In the Limbu clan, there is no such practice of building a temple at the place of worship. The Limbu people, who consider themselves nature worshippers, have a tradition of worshipping by placing a stone at the base of a sacred natural mountain, such as a thorn, bar, or pipal. There is no concern about the sun or rain, and anyone is welcome to go and worship there at any time.

For a long time, I wondered why and when the practice of building a temple in the Kirat Limbu tradition came about. During the study, it was found that the practice of establishing a temple to their deity Tagera Ningwabhumang in the Limbu community and arranging Phedangba there has been going on since the Sen dynasty reign in Limbuwan (Subba, 1999). With the impact on this tradition, the Samba clan built their ancestral land, Mang Him.

Further proof is the Sen dynasty's religion and culture, as shown by the Shivlinga and Trishul in the Phangfange waterfall cave in the same construction area. On top of that, genealogies have also been published that link the emergence of the Limbu ethnicity with the Sen dynasty (Sen Chabegu Genealogy, 2007; Yonghang Genealogy, 2011; Lingden Sen Genealogy, 2010). The recently published Phyang Samba genealogy 2024 also mentions that Phyang Samba's ancestors were Abhi Sen, Chudamani Sen, and, successively, Samba Tsering (Subba, 2024).

The origins of the above-mentioned Limbu ethnic group can be read in Mundhum and history, where their ancestors occupied and ruled various Limbuvan areas in a short timeframe. Now the curiosity arises: how was this possible? It was surprising to hear this; Mundhum seemed to be reading a fairy tale. Studying the Sen dynasty reveals that Mundhum's story is indeed true, but only as recorded in history. They have actually been the Sen clan, who have been bolstering the Sen regime's power. After they entered Limbuwan, they gradually became socially and culturally intermingled with the Limbu clan and extended Sen influence in the Kirat Limbuwan region.  

Therefore, it is necessary for us to study the history of the Sen period. Looking at it, it became clear that there was a direct influence of the Sen rule in eastern Nepal from the 15th to the 18th century (Subba,1999). Genealogies indicate that the Sens entered Limbuwan from the 14th century on. The Kirat history written by Imansing Chemjong indicates that they ruled the Limbuwan region by giving various positions and rights to the provinces ruled by Kirat Sen to the children born from Limbu women and members of the eligible Limbu clan. During this time, there seems to have been blood mixing between the Sen and Limbu clans.

History indicates that by the time the Gorkhali subjugated both the Sen-ruled Bijaypur region and the Limbu-ruled region beneath it, the Sen dynasty had already settled in Kirat Limbu. Thus, on the basis of historical evidence, there was blood and social and cultural intermingling between the Sen and Limbu clans over a long period of time.

In today's political identity campaign, it is natural for some Limbu to think of a separate Yakthung history due to the memory of the past, i.e., pre-Sen. It should be an academic debate looking for ethno-historical facts about patrimony above political or social prejudices, and it should be historiography based on that. Because in the scientific age, it is the need of the time to properly define identity through evidence-based analytical practice.

The history of Kirat Limbu brings with it the bitter experience of oppression by the Gorkhali regime. The Kirat-Limbu language, script, and culture were oppressed before, during, and after the unification of Nepal. History has recorded numerous instances of community marginalization. It is on the same basis that I consider the advocacy of a separate history and culture above to be natural.

After summarizing this, I am going to summarize the facts, as it would appear biased if I did not state some of them. The Civil Act of 1854 institutionalized the caste system, marginalized tribes, and marginalized non-Nepali speakers (Haingen, 2010). The Shah-Rana regime imposed the Nepali language to retain Kipat right to the Limbu chiefs and caused the linguistic division of the Limbu clan (Regmi, 1999). The then-government education system (1850) removed the Limbu language from the curriculum and recognized only the Nepali and English languages. Not only that, it discriminated against indigenous mother tongues, including the Limbu language, by classifying them as 'backward languages' (Burghart, 1984).

The state declared the Limbu language and Mundhum tradition and culture invalid in the name of implementing the Nepali language. The preaching process suppressed the language (Ganzl, 2021). Imansingh Chemjong searched for and propagated the Kirat Limbu language, history, and culture in an ethnically, linguistically, and culturally affected tribal community in the 20th century. By then, the cultural continuity had already been broken, leaving a profound impact on the Kirat Limbu people. The indigenous people are seeking compensation as an identity movement in the republican Nepal of today. It is not difficult to understand the psychology of Kirat Limbu by looking at the events in the long-term frame of history.

Because this wound still hurts today and is reflected in the visible behaviors of their thinking and identity. The same fate not only befalls Kirat Limbu but also the Sen dynasty. Surya Bahadur Sen Oli, Nepal's senior administrator and researcher, revealed a fact in a YouTube interview. Oli said that his forefathers belonged to the Sen dynasty and that his ancestor moved to a different location and stayed hidden under an Oli surname to evade being wiped off of Sens by the Gorkhali rule after the Sen clan was vanquished. He further disclosed that although his ancestors promised their offspring not to labor under Gorkhali rule, the condition drove him to serve under the Shah.

Earlier, during a meeting with linguist Balkrishna Pokharel, he had said that Oli's ancestor was the Magar clan. The linguist Pokharel mentioned this fact in History of Khas Jati (Pokharel, 1998).

What can be learned from this tale is that the injury of oppression inflicted on the defeated by Gorkhali during the expansion of the state is not forgotten today, not only by Sen or Magar but also by the Kirat Limbu community. While it is painful to paint those scars of history, it has at least helped to enliven their historiography.

Since it was challenging to identify oneself as Sen during that period, it is not difficult to assume that the concept of hiding the relationship with Sen was developed in Kirat Limbu, just like Surya Bahadur Sen's ancestor assumed the surname Oli. Even today, some Kirat Limbu are not proud to know that their ancestors are of the Sen dynasty. They claim to be distant or detached. There are two reasons for this: firstly, they are attempting to maintain or gain more political rights by claiming to be a separate Limbu clan, and secondly, they are unable to comprehend the historical contributions made by the Sen dynasty, not only to the Kirat Limbu community, but also to all other ethnic groups and castes in Nepal's religious and cultural realm.

Many Limbu people may not know that the Sens in the society of that time taught the Limbu to rule or administer by giving them various positions. According to the historian Chemjong, the Sen dynasty not only helped the Limbu clan in the development of administrative capacity but also smoothed the relationship between the Khas and the Aryas in Nepal (Chemjong, 2003). The Sens have made a significant contribution in creating social and cultural awareness by increasing the relationship between the tribal tribes of Nepal and the Aryas. History shows that the Sens actually acted as a bridge between the indigenous groups of people, the Khas, and the Arya community. As a result, the Kirat Limbu community's existence and identity have become part of today's state. Not knowing about the Sen Dynasty, which ruled the state, is a disrespect to history. This is not befitting of any Nepali, not only the Kirat Limbu community.

This writing highlights the Sen Dynasty's impact on Nepali society and their contribution. The first chapter of the book offers background information covering the goal of the book, the research technique, and the kinds of materials consulted.

To sum up, I have tried to provide an insight into the study of the Sen Dynasty from different dimensions. Hopefully, I will consider myself blessed if my efforts help readers, students, and researchers who are interested in Nepal's history. Thank you.

Dr. Nawa Raj Subba

Biratnagar, Nepal

2025

Bibliography

Burghart, R. (1984). The formation of the concept of nation-state in Nepal. The Journal of Asian Studies, 44(1), 101–125. https://doi.org/10.2307/2056748

Chemjong, I.S. (2003). History and Culture of the Kirat People.  Kirat Yakthung Chumlung. (Original work published in 1948)

Genzel, M. (2021). Ancestral Voices: Language and Customs in the Limbu World. Routledge.

Hagen, S.I. (2010). The Rise of Ethnic Politics in Nepal:  Democracy on the Shore. Routledge.

Linden, R.  (2010). Kirteshwar Tsetchene Senehang Lingden Limbu History and Genealogy. Kathmandu.

Regmi, M.C. (1999). Royal Gorkha: An Account of Gorkha Rule in Nepal.  Adroit Publishers.

Pokharel, B.K. (1998). Khas Jatiko Itihas. Biratnagar, Udatt Anusandhan.

Sen Chobegu, Bibi (2007). Kirat Senehang Limbu Genealogy. Kirat Thegim Genealogy Publications Society.

Subba, T.B. (1999). Politics of Culture. Sangam Books.

Subba, N.R. (2024). The Genealogy of Phyang Samba 2024, Biratnagar, Hamro Idea.

Yonghang, B.B. (2011). Yonghang Bamsawali.  (B. R. Subba, ed.). Ilam.

Background

As for the origins of the Sen Dynasty, historians are divided. Some of these researchers claim a genealogy leading to the Bengal-based Sen dynasty, which ruled parts of northern India preceding the 13th-century Islamic incursions (Regmi 1975). Some others, however, argue that in Nepal, Sen rulers emerged autonomously as their own regional chieftains and expanded their territory into the eastern Terai and the mid-hills (Stiller, 1993).

Nepal's Sen rule is believed to have begun at strategic junctions in Makwanpur that linked the Terai plains with the highland trade routes. The Sen rulers extended their influence to Bijaypur and Chaudandi, becoming predominant powerbrokers in eastern Nepal through the late 16th century (Sharma 2001),

A. Importance of Sen Dynasty History in Nepalese history.

The rule of Sen dynasty, which governed portions of contemporary Nepal and India during the medieval ages, is recognized as a significant historical resource for understanding the development and ongoing interactions involving numerous ethnic communities, including the Kirat Limbu, Khas,