Ancient History
Not much is known about Sikkim's ancient history, except that the first inhabitants were the Lepcha people (or "Rong"). They were later encompassed and absorbed by other groups. Sikkim also finds its mention on many Hindu texts as Indrakil or "Garden of Lord Indra."
The Buddhist saint Guru Rinpoche is said to have passed through the land in the 9th century. According to legend the Guru blessed the land, introduced Buddhism to Sikkim and also foretold the era of the monarchy in the state, which would arrive centuries later. There are numerous stories regarding the migration of Tibetans into Sikkim and the establishment of the Sikkimese monarchy. The most popular states that in the 13th century, Guru Tashi, a prince from the Mi-nyak House in Kham in Eastern Tibet, had a divine revelation one night instructing him to travel south to seek his fortunes. Guru Tashi settled down in the Chumbi Valley in Sikkim. In recent years a number of scholarly article have been written on the history of Sikkim, which cast doubt over the validity of these stories.
Read more about this topic: History Of Sikkim
Famous quotes related to ancient history:
“My companion and I, having a minute’s discussion on some point of ancient history, were amused by the attitude which the Indian, who could not tell what we were talking about, assumed. He constituted himself umpire, and, judging by our air and gesture, he very seriously remarked from time to time, ‘you beat,’ or ‘he beat.’”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)