Editing History of Nepal (section)

===Legends and ancient times===
Although very little is known about the early history of Nepal, legends and documented references reach far back to the 30th century BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=9616436150&searchurl=tn=kirates+ancient+india&sortby=17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1|title=Kirates in Ancient India by G.P. Singh/ G.P. Singh: South Asia Books 9788121202817 Hardcover - Revaluation Books|website=abebooks.com|language=en|access-date=2017-12-09}}</ref> Also, the presence of historical sites such as the [[Valmiki Ashram|Valmiki ashram]], indicates the presence of ''Sanatana'' (ancient) Hindu culture in parts of Nepal at that period.

According to legendary accounts, the early rulers of Nepal were the ''Gopālavaṃśi (''[[Gopal Bansa|Gopal Vansha]]) or "cowherd dynasty", who presumably ruled for about five centuries. They are said to have been followed by the ''Mahiṣapālavaṃśa'' or "buffalo-herder dynasty", established by a [[Yadav]] named Bhul Singh.<ref>[[Shaha, Rishikesh]]. ''Ancient and Medieval Nepal'' (1992), p. 7. Manohar Publications, New Delhi. {{ISBN|81-85425-69-8}}.</ref>

The [[Shakya]] clan formed an independent oligarchic republican state known as the ''Śākya Gaṇarājya'' during the late [[Vedic period]] (c. 1000 – c. 500 BCE) and the later so-called [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|second urbanisation]] period (c. 600 – c. 200 BCE).<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Groeger|first1=Herbert|last2=Trenkler|first2=Luigi|date=2005|title=Zen and systemic therapy: Similarities, distinctions, possible contributions of Zen theory and Zen practice to systemic therapy|url=http://www.jugendberatung.at/download/kunden/00009162.pdf|journal=Brief Strategic and Systematic Therapy European Review.|volume=2|pages=2}}</ref> Its capital was [[Kapilavastu (ancient city)|Kapilavastu]], which may have been located in present-day [[Tilaurakot]], [[Nepal]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Srivastava|first1=K.M.|title=Archaeological Excavations at Priprahwa and Ganwaria and the Identification of Kapilavastu|date=1980|url=https://journals.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/index.php/jiabs/article/viewFile/8511/2418|journal=Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies|volume=3|issue=1|page=108}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Tuladhar|first=Swoyambhu D.|title=The Ancient City of Kapilvastu - Revisited|date=November 2002|url=http://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/ancientnepal/pdf/ancient_nepal_151_01.pdf|journal=Ancient Nepal|issue=151|pages=1–7}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Huntington|first=John C|title=Sowing the Seeds of the Lotus|date=1986|url=http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/resources/downloads/jchArticles/Part%205.pdf|journal=Orientations|volume=September 1986|pages=54–56|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128233735/http://huntingtonarchive.osu.edu/resources/downloads/jchArticles/Part%205.pdf|archive-date=28 November 2014}}</ref> [[Gautama Buddha]] (c. 6th to 4th centuries BCE), whose teachings became the foundation of [[Buddhism]], was the best-known Shakya.
He was known in his lifetime as "Siddhartha Gautama" and "Shakyamuni" (Sage of the Shakyas). He was the son of [[Śuddhodana]], the elected leader of the Śākya Gaṇarājya.