1 The valley and the word "Nepal"

The Kathmandu valley is the historical core of what became Nepal, and the antiquity of the name itself is a debated question. Different traditions tie the word to the classical accounts of the region, to a legendary cowherd protector (Nepa), and to local usage that long predates the modern state. What matters for a law student is the shape of the argument: the name of the state is a claim about continuity, and claims about continuity are argued from inscriptions, chronicles and foreign accounts — each with its own bias.