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During the medieval period, the whole area from [[Palpa District|Palpa]] to Rukum Rolpa was called the '''Magarat''', a place settled and inhabited by Magars.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sF5uAAAAMAAJ&q=magarat|title=Social history of Nepal|last1=Vaidya|first1=Tulasī Rāma|last2=Mānandhara|first2=Triratna|last3=Joshi|first3=Shankar Lal|date=1993|publisher=Anmol Publications|isbn=978-8170417996|language=en}}</ref>
Another confederation of eighteen Magar kingdoms, known as [[Magarat|''Athara Magarat'']], also existed and was originally inhabited by Kham Magars.
==Origin==▼
There are several mythical stories describing the origins of the Magars.<ref name="Vir1988">{{cite book|author=Dharam Vir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56|title=Education and Polity in Nepal: An Asian Experiment|publisher=Northern Book Centre|year=1988|isbn=978-8185119397|pages=56–57}}</ref>▼
The Magar of the Bahra Magarat east of the [[Kali Gandaki River]] are said to have originated in the land of Seem. Two brothers, Seem Magar and Chintoo Magar, fought, and one remained in Seem, while the other left, ending up in Kangwachen, southern [[Sikkim]]. The [[Bhutia]] people lived at the northern end of this region. Over time, the Magars became very powerful and made the northern Bhutia their [[vassal]]s. Sintoo Sati Sheng ruled in a very despotic manner, and the Bhutia conspired to assassinate him. Sheng's queen took revenge and poisoned 1,000 Bhutia people at a place now called Tong Song Fong, meaning "where a thousand were murdered". The Bhutia later drove the Magars out, forcing them to again migrate further south. As part of this migration, one group migrated to Simrongadh, one group moved towards the Okhaldhunga region, and another group seems to have returned to the east. No dates are given.▼
The origins of the Kaike Magars end up with the mystical tales told and retold by local people. According to one of these stories, the Kaike Magars were the sons of a woman who had fled from an unspecified village of Kalyal kingdom. She subsequently gave birth to her child, a son. The boy, when he grew up, captured an angel while she was bathing with her friends. As time went by, the son and his angel bride had three sons. These sons were the ancestors of the Buddha, Roka, and Gharti clans. The origin of the fourth major clan is different. One of the three sons was a shepherd who kept losing the same female goat every day, so one day he followed her when she wandered away from the rest of the herd. He discovered that she was giving her milk to a baby boy living in the hollow part of a bamboo tree. He brought the baby home. This boy grew up and became the ancestor of the Jhankri clan. The language was called "Kaike," meaning "language of the Gods."▼
==History==▼
[[File:Magar group, military tribe, Nipal.jpg|thumb|Magar group, military tribe, Nepal]]▼
[[File:Magar or Muggur, military tribe, Nipal.jpg|thumb|Magar man, military tribe, Nepal]]▼
The first written history about the Magar people dates as far back as 1100 CE.<ref>Eden Vansittart. 1993 (reprint). ''The Gurkhas''. New Delhi:Anmol Publications. p. 21.</ref> The Magars are one of the oldest known tribes in Nepal. Their ancient homeland was known as ''Magwar Bisaya'', later called Magarat.▼
[[Magarat]] bordered from Marsyangdi river to the Pyuthan area during that time.<ref>Pant and Sharma, The Two Earliest Copperplate Inscriptions from Nepal. p. 6</ref> The Magars prospered at such a level during that period that this part of the country was divided into twelve kingdoms/thams (''Barah'' ''Magarant or twelve magarat)''<ref>Northey, W. Brook & C. J. Morris. 1927. The Gurkhas Their Manners, Customs and Country. Delhi : Cosmo Publications. (122–125)</ref>—each under its own ruler—the members of each supposedly being of common extraction in the male line. Some records show these twelve areas as being [[Argha|Arghak, Khachi]], [[Gulmi]], Isma, Musikot, Ghiring, Rising, Bhirkot, Payung, Garhung, Dhor and Satung.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xngAAAAMAAJ&q=magars&pg=RA1-PA229|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal|date=1895|publisher=Bishop's College Press|language=en}}</ref><ref>Brian Hodgson and Captain T Smith also give this information. Eden Vansittart. 1993 reprint. ''The Gurkhas''. p. 84.</ref> Among them, the most powerful kings were those of Gulmi, Argha, Khachi.<ref name=":2" /> Broadly speaking, '''the twelve Magarat''' consisted of present-day Argha, Khanchi, Gulmi, Isma, Musikot, Ghiring, Baldengadhi, Rudrapurgadhi, Deuchuli, Tanahang/Tanu-hyula (Tanahu), Kanhu, Ligligkot, Gorkhakot, (Bahakot), Targhakot (Takukot), and Makawanpur areas.<ref>Devkota, Yadav.2076 BS. Itihas: Bahra Magaratmaa Shahi Katak. www.ekantipur.com/koseli/2019/09/14/156843133295239647.html</ref> Similarly, '''Athara (eighteen) Magarat''' consisted of the following regions: Dhurkoi (Gulmi), Gharkoi (Arghakhachi), Paiya (Parbat), Sinkhang (Myagdi), Narikoi (Pyuthan), Balungbang (Pyuthan), Jangkoi (Rolpa), Rukumkoi (Rukum), Chhilikoi (Dang), Bhaba (Dailekh), Borekoi (Jajarkot), Tarakoi (Dolpa), Timarkoi (Jumla), Jural (Doti), Bunkot, Bahrakot, Lu Nanya (Dadeldhura) and Ru-pal (Dadeldhura).<ref name=":2" />▼
The Magars of the middle and western regions also played an important role in Nepal's formative history. Their kingdom was one of the strongest of west Nepal in and around Palpa District during the time of the 22 [[Baisi Rajya]] and 24 [[Chaubisi Rajya]] '' principalities (17th and early 18th centuries).<ref name="Dor Bahadur Bista 1972. p. 62">[[Dor Bahadur Bista]]. 1972. ''People of Nepal''. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 62.</ref> In the 16th century, Palpa ruler Mukunda Sen briefly invaded the Kathmandu valley. Dravya Shah captured Gorkhakot, the last Magarat area, from the Magar King, [[Mansingh Khadka Magar]] in BS 1616 Bhadra 25.<ref>Devkota, Yadav. 2076/05/28 BS. ibid. www.ekantipur.com</ref> In the kingdoms of Gorkha and Musikot, the Magars even seem to have taken part in their own initial defeat, revealing both the weakness of their ethnic solidarity at that time and the presence of clan rivalries.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lecomte-Tilouine|first=Marie|title=The Enigmatic Pig: On Magar Participation in the State Rituals of Nepal, pp. 81–120 in M. Lecomte-Tilouine: Hindu Kingship, Ethnic Revival and Maoist Rebellion in Nepal. Delhi: Oxford University Press, "Collected Essays", 2009, 294 p.|url=https://www.academia.edu/12163822|language=en|journal=Oxford University Press}}</ref> As mentioned in the [[The Asiatic Society|Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal]] founded by [[William Jones (philologist)|Sir William Jones]] in 1784, the city of [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]] was originally the residence of Chitoria (Chitorey) Rana Magars, and the city was built by them. To this day, large numbers of Chitoria/Chitorey Rana Magars are found in the [[Gorkha District]].<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, in the [[Manakamana Temple]] located in [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]], it is mandatory for a priest to be a Magar; specifically, the priest must be a descendant of Saint Lakhan Thapa Magar, who is described as a spiritual guide for [[Ram Shah]], and he had a very close relationship with the queen, who was considered an incarnation of the Goddess.<ref name=":0" /> Interestingly, the main priests of Kalika, the goddess protecting the kingdoms of Lamjung and Gorkha, were also Bohara Magars; it is striking to note how the Magars have been in charge of the religious functions linked to the very source of '''[[Thakuri]] power'''.<ref name=":0" />▼
The 18th-century king, [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]], the founder of the modern Kingdom of Nepal announced and loved to call himself ' the King of [[Magarat]]' or 'the King of Magar country'.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Beine|first=Dave|date=2013-08-25|title=An Investigative Look at Healthcare Beliefs and Practices During the Sen Dynasty|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270128217|journal=Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology|volume=6|pages=61–74|doi=10.3126/dsaj.v6i0.8479|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, a senior researcher in Social Anthropology at the French National Center for Scientific Research, [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] narrated in his autobiography about praying to a goddess whom he described as 'the daughter of Rana [Magar].<ref name=":0" /> During the time of King Prithvi Narayan, Rana Magars were one of the six-member courtiers (''Tharghar'').<ref name=":0" /> [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] in his memories also recalls his Magar ''dada''—the man who looked after him during his childhood.<ref name=":0" />▼
The Scottish contemporary writer, [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], contends in his journal that the [[Shah dynasty]] was derived from the [[Magar people|Magar]] tribe. He argues that: {{Blockquote|text=The family of Gorkha or [[Gorkha Kingdom]] which now governs Nepal, although it pretends to come from [[Chittor]], according to Sadhu Ram{{efn|As per [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], Sadhu Ram Upadhyaya was a [[Brahmin]] belonging to the family of hereditary [[Purohit]]s (royal priests) of Kingdom of Palpa.{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=4}}}}, a good authority, is, in reality, of the Magar tribe; and, at any rate, these people are now firmly attached to its interests, by having largely shared in the sweets of conquest; and by far the greatest part of the regular troops of that family is composed of this nation.|source=An account of the Kingdom of Nepal{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=26}}|author=|title=}}▼
He further contended on Shah family that: {{Blockquote|text=The family pretends to be of the Pamar tribe; but it is alleged, as I have already explained, that this is a mere fable, and that, on the arrival of the colony from Chitaur, this family were Magars.|source=An account of the Kingdom of Nepal{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=240}}|author=|title=}}▼
Many prominent historians of Nepal have claimed that '''Aramudi''', an eighth-century ruler of the Kali Gandaki region, was a Magar King.<ref>Tek Bahadur Shrestha. 2003. Parvat Rajyako Aitihasik Ruprekha. Kirtipur: T.U.</ref><ref>Dr Swami Prapannacharya. (1994–95) Ancient Kirant History. Varanasi: Kirateshwar Prakashan. p. 518.</ref><ref>Hark Gurung, Iman Singh Chemjong, B.K. Rana, Prof. Raja Ram Subedi, Prof. Jagadish Chandra Regmi etc. support the conclusion of Aramudi being the king of Kali Gandaki Region.</ref><ref>Mahesh Chaudhary. 2007. "Nepalko Terai tatha Yeska Bhumiputraharu". p. 9</ref> "Aramudi" derives from the word for 'river' in the [[Magar language]].<ref>Tek Bahadur Shrestha. Op. cit.</ref> 'Ari' – 'Source of Water' + 'Modi'– 'River' = 'Arimodi' or 'Aramudi', thus the literal meaning of Aramudi is a ''source of river''. But due to the lack of historical evidence, there are some conflicting ideas among the historians.▼
Sen dynasty of Palpa were Magar Kings<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoNT6tjk9mQC&q=lecomte-tilouine&pg=PR19|title=A History of Nepal|last=Whelpton|first=John|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521804707|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> as per the hand-written treatise 'Naradsmriti' <ref>Devkota. ibid.</ref> and history books written in Sikkim.<ref>Pradhan, Kumar. Ek Prahar. p. 6</ref> In a palm-leaf manuscript kept in the Kaiser Library, dated 1567 VS (1510), Mukunda Sen is described as a Magar king of Palpa who invaded the Kathmandu Valley in 1581 VS (1524).<ref name=":0" /> Thus, in the 17th century, Malla kings of Kathmandu valley were united to fight back the invasion of Magars from Palpa.<ref>Devkota. ibid.</ref> One of Mukunda Sen's wives was also the daughter of the Magar King of Parkogha: Mahadevi Suvarnamala, and she had four sons: Manishya Sen, Imbarsen, Kuvar and Lohang Sen.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, Gajalaxman Singh, Magar King of Makvanpur, whose daughter Kantivati was married to Abhaya Sen (Magar King) of Palpa.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Ghimire, Bishnu Prasad. Palpa Rajyako Itihas. Part 2. p. 15</ref> From her was born the great king of kings Bhattarajadeva.<ref name=":0" /> Around 1700, the ruler of Baldeng (near present-day Butwal) was overthrown by Palpa and other ''chaubisi'' states, and he was supposedly a Magar king.<ref name=":1"/>▼
==Geographical distribution==
Line 55 ⟶ 29:
* [[Koshi Province]] (4.2%)
* [[Sudurpashchim Province]] (2.2%)
* [[Madhesh Province]] (1.2%)
[[File:Maghe Sankranti 2019 Kathmandu 09.jpg|thumb|Magar girls in [[Maghe Sankranti]]]]
The frequency of Magar people was higher than national average in the following districts:<ref>[https://cbs.gov.np/wp-content/upLoads/2018/12/Volume05Part02.pdf 2011 Nepal Census, District Level Detail Report]</ref>
* [[Palpa District|Palpa]] (52.6%)
Line 87 ⟶ 61:
* [[Dhading District|Dhading]] (8.5%)
* [[Mustang District|Mustang]] (7.9%)
▲==Origin==
▲There are several mythical stories describing the origins of the Magars.<ref name="Vir1988">{{cite book|author=Dharam Vir|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEHODCDK-8kC&pg=PA56|title=Education and Polity in Nepal: An Asian Experiment|publisher=Northern Book Centre|year=1988|isbn=978-8185119397|pages=56–57}}</ref>
▲The Magar of the Bahra Magarat east of the [[Kali Gandaki River]] are said to have originated in the land of Seem. Two brothers, Seem Magar and Chintoo Magar, fought, and one remained in Seem, while the other left, ending up in Kangwachen, southern [[Sikkim]]. The [[Bhutia]] people lived at the northern end of this region. Over time, the Magars became very powerful and made the northern Bhutia their [[vassal]]s. Sintoo Sati Sheng ruled in a very despotic manner, and the Bhutia conspired to assassinate him. Sheng's queen took revenge and poisoned 1,000 Bhutia people at a place now called Tong Song Fong, meaning "where a thousand were murdered". The Bhutia later drove the Magars out, forcing them to again migrate further south. As part of this migration, one group migrated to Simrongadh, one group moved towards the Okhaldhunga region, and another group seems to have returned to the east. No dates are given.
▲The origins of the Kaike Magars end up with the mystical tales told and retold by local people. According to one of these stories, the Kaike Magars were the sons of a woman who had fled from an unspecified village of Kalyal kingdom. She subsequently gave birth to her child, a son. The boy, when he grew up, captured an angel while she was bathing with her friends. As time went by, the son and his angel bride had three sons. These sons were the ancestors of the Buddha, Roka, and Gharti clans. The origin of the fourth major clan is different. One of the three sons was a shepherd who kept losing the same female goat every day, so one day he followed her when she wandered away from the rest of the herd. He discovered that she was giving her milk to a baby boy living in the hollow part of a bamboo tree. He brought the baby home. This boy grew up and became the ancestor of the Jhankri clan. The language was called "Kaike," meaning "language of the Gods."
▲==History==
▲[[File:Magar group, military tribe, Nipal.jpg|thumb|Magar group, military tribe, Nepal]]
▲[[File:Magar or Muggur, military tribe, Nipal.jpg|thumb|Magar man, military tribe, Nepal]]
▲The first written history about the Magar people dates as far back as 1100 CE.<ref>Eden Vansittart. 1993 (reprint). ''The Gurkhas''. New Delhi:Anmol Publications. p. 21.</ref> The Magars are one of the oldest known tribes in Nepal. Their ancient homeland was known as ''Magwar Bisaya'', later called Magarat.
▲[[Magarat]] bordered from Marsyangdi river to the Pyuthan area during that time.<ref>Pant and Sharma, The Two Earliest Copperplate Inscriptions from Nepal. p. 6</ref> The Magars prospered at such a level during that period that this part of the country was divided into twelve kingdoms/thams (''Barah'' ''Magarant or twelve magarat)''<ref>Northey, W. Brook & C. J. Morris. 1927. The Gurkhas Their Manners, Customs and Country. Delhi : Cosmo Publications. (122–125)</ref>—each under its own ruler—the members of each supposedly being of common extraction in the male line. Some records show these twelve areas as being [[Argha|Arghak, Khachi]], [[Gulmi]], Isma, Musikot, Ghiring, Rising, Bhirkot, Payung, Garhung, Dhor and Satung.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3xngAAAAMAAJ&q=magars&pg=RA1-PA229|title=Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal|date=1895|publisher=Bishop's College Press|language=en}}</ref><ref>Brian Hodgson and Captain T Smith also give this information. Eden Vansittart. 1993 reprint. ''The Gurkhas''. p. 84.</ref> Among them, the most powerful kings were those of Gulmi, Argha, Khachi.<ref name=":2" /> Broadly speaking, '''the twelve Magarat''' consisted of present-day Argha, Khanchi, Gulmi, Isma, Musikot, Ghiring, Baldengadhi, Rudrapurgadhi, Deuchuli, Tanahang/Tanu-hyula (Tanahu), Kanhu, Ligligkot, Gorkhakot, (Bahakot), Targhakot (Takukot), and Makawanpur areas.<ref>Devkota, Yadav.2076 BS. Itihas: Bahra Magaratmaa Shahi Katak. www.ekantipur.com/koseli/2019/09/14/156843133295239647.html</ref> Similarly, '''Athara (eighteen) Magarat''' consisted of the following regions: Dhurkoi (Gulmi), Gharkoi (Arghakhachi), Paiya (Parbat), Sinkhang (Myagdi), Narikoi (Pyuthan), Balungbang (Pyuthan), Jangkoi (Rolpa), Rukumkoi (Rukum), Chhilikoi (Dang), Bhaba (Dailekh), Borekoi (Jajarkot), Tarakoi (Dolpa), Timarkoi (Jumla), Jural (Doti), Bunkot, Bahrakot, Lu Nanya (Dadeldhura) and Ru-pal (Dadeldhura).<ref name=":2" />
▲The Magars of the middle and western regions also played an important role in Nepal's formative history. Their kingdom was one of the strongest of west Nepal in and around Palpa District during the time of the 22 [[Baisi Rajya]] and 24 [[Chaubisi Rajya]] '' principalities (17th and early 18th centuries).<ref name="Dor Bahadur Bista 1972. p. 62">[[Dor Bahadur Bista]]. 1972. ''People of Nepal''. Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar. p. 62.</ref> In the 16th century, Palpa ruler Mukunda Sen briefly invaded the Kathmandu valley. Dravya Shah captured Gorkhakot, the last Magarat area, from the Magar King, [[Mansingh Khadka Magar]] in BS 1616 Bhadra 25.<ref>Devkota, Yadav. 2076/05/28 BS. ibid. www.ekantipur.com</ref> In the kingdoms of Gorkha and Musikot, the Magars even seem to have taken part in their own initial defeat, revealing both the weakness of their ethnic solidarity at that time and the presence of clan rivalries.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Lecomte-Tilouine|first=Marie|title=The Enigmatic Pig: On Magar Participation in the State Rituals of Nepal, pp. 81–120 in M. Lecomte-Tilouine: Hindu Kingship, Ethnic Revival and Maoist Rebellion in Nepal. Delhi: Oxford University Press, "Collected Essays", 2009, 294 p.|url=https://www.academia.edu/12163822|language=en|journal=Oxford University Press}}</ref> As mentioned in the [[The Asiatic Society|Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal]] founded by [[William Jones (philologist)|Sir William Jones]] in 1784, the city of [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]] was originally the residence of Chitoria (Chitorey) Rana Magars, and the city was built by them. To this day, large numbers of Chitoria/Chitorey Rana Magars are found in the [[Gorkha District]].<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, in the [[Manakamana Temple]] located in [[Gorkha District|Gorkha]], it is mandatory for a priest to be a Magar; specifically, the priest must be a descendant of Saint Lakhan Thapa Magar, who is described as a spiritual guide for [[Ram Shah]], and he had a very close relationship with the queen, who was considered an incarnation of the Goddess.<ref name=":0" /> Interestingly, the main priests of Kalika, the goddess protecting the kingdoms of Lamjung and Gorkha, were also Bohara Magars; it is striking to note how the Magars have been in charge of the religious functions linked to the very source of '''[[Thakuri]] power'''.<ref name=":0" />
▲The 18th-century king, [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]], the founder of the modern Kingdom of Nepal announced and loved to call himself ' the King of [[Magarat]]' or 'the King of Magar country'.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Beine|first=Dave|date=2013-08-25|title=An Investigative Look at Healthcare Beliefs and Practices During the Sen Dynasty|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270128217|journal=Dhaulagiri Journal of Sociology and Anthropology|volume=6|pages=61–74|doi=10.3126/dsaj.v6i0.8479|doi-access=free}}</ref> According to Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, a senior researcher in Social Anthropology at the French National Center for Scientific Research, [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] narrated in his autobiography about praying to a goddess whom he described as 'the daughter of Rana [Magar].<ref name=":0" /> During the time of King Prithvi Narayan, Rana Magars were one of the six-member courtiers (''Tharghar'').<ref name=":0" /> [[Prithvi Narayan Shah]] in his memories also recalls his Magar ''dada''—the man who looked after him during his childhood.<ref name=":0" />
▲The Scottish contemporary writer, [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], contends in his journal that the [[Shah dynasty]] was derived from the [[Magar people|Magar]] tribe. He argues that: {{Blockquote|text=The family of Gorkha or [[Gorkha Kingdom]] which now governs Nepal, although it pretends to come from [[Chittor]], according to Sadhu Ram{{efn|As per [[Francis Buchanan-Hamilton]], Sadhu Ram Upadhyaya was a [[Brahmin]] belonging to the family of hereditary [[Purohit]]s (royal priests) of Kingdom of Palpa.{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=4}}}}, a good authority, is, in reality, of the Magar tribe; and, at any rate, these people are now firmly attached to its interests, by having largely shared in the sweets of conquest; and by far the greatest part of the regular troops of that family is composed of this nation.|source=An account of the Kingdom of Nepal{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=26}}|author=|title=}}
▲ He further contended on Shah family that: {{Blockquote|text=The family pretends to be of the Pamar tribe; but it is alleged, as I have already explained, that this is a mere fable, and that, on the arrival of the colony from Chitaur, this family were Magars.|source=An account of the Kingdom of Nepal{{sfn|Hamilton|1819|p=240}}|author=|title=}}
▲Many prominent historians of Nepal have claimed that '''Aramudi''', an eighth-century ruler of the Kali Gandaki region, was a Magar King.<ref>Tek Bahadur Shrestha. 2003. Parvat Rajyako Aitihasik Ruprekha. Kirtipur: T.U.</ref><ref>Dr Swami Prapannacharya. (1994–95) Ancient Kirant History. Varanasi: Kirateshwar Prakashan. p. 518.</ref><ref>Hark Gurung, Iman Singh Chemjong, B.K. Rana, Prof. Raja Ram Subedi, Prof. Jagadish Chandra Regmi etc. support the conclusion of Aramudi being the king of Kali Gandaki Region.</ref><ref>Mahesh Chaudhary. 2007. "Nepalko Terai tatha Yeska Bhumiputraharu". p. 9</ref> "Aramudi" derives from the word for 'river' in the [[Magar language]].<ref>Tek Bahadur Shrestha. Op. cit.</ref> 'Ari' – 'Source of Water' + 'Modi'– 'River' = 'Arimodi' or 'Aramudi', thus the literal meaning of Aramudi is a ''source of river''. But due to the lack of historical evidence, there are some conflicting ideas among the historians.
▲Sen dynasty of Palpa were Magar Kings<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KoNT6tjk9mQC&q=lecomte-tilouine&pg=PR19|title=A History of Nepal|last=Whelpton|first=John|date=2005|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0521804707|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> as per the hand-written treatise 'Naradsmriti' <ref>Devkota. ibid.</ref> and history books written in Sikkim.<ref>Pradhan, Kumar. Ek Prahar. p. 6</ref> In a palm-leaf manuscript kept in the Kaiser Library, dated 1567 VS (1510), Mukunda Sen is described as a Magar king of Palpa who invaded the Kathmandu Valley in 1581 VS (1524).<ref name=":0" /> Thus, in the 17th century, Malla kings of Kathmandu valley were united to fight back the invasion of Magars from Palpa.<ref>Devkota. ibid.</ref> One of Mukunda Sen's wives was also the daughter of the Magar King of Parkogha: Mahadevi Suvarnamala, and she had four sons: Manishya Sen, Imbarsen, Kuvar and Lohang Sen.<ref name=":0" /> Similarly, Gajalaxman Singh, Magar King of Makvanpur, whose daughter Kantivati was married to Abhaya Sen (Magar King) of Palpa.<ref name=":0" /><ref>Ghimire, Bishnu Prasad. Palpa Rajyako Itihas. Part 2. p. 15</ref> From her was born the great king of kings Bhattarajadeva.<ref name=":0" /> Around 1700, the ruler of Baldeng (near present-day Butwal) was overthrown by Palpa and other ''chaubisi'' states, and he was supposedly a Magar king.<ref name=":1"/>
==Subdivisions==
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