Before the unification of Nepal, Khotang District was part of Majha Kirat (also called Khambuwan), the land between the Dudh Koshi and Arun rivers, which was under the suzerainty of the Sen King of Chaudandigadhi. A 1942 map of Nepal shows the current Khotang area split between Okhaldhunga (East No. 3) and Bhojpur (East No. 4), a division that persisted through the Rana era when Nepal had 32 districts. In 1962 the traditional 32 districts were divided into 75 districts, and Khotang county of East No. 4 was merged with several counties from East No. 3 to form the current Khotang District. Kirat oral tradition (Mundhum) treats Halesi as an ancestral landscape of the Kirat Rai, with figures such as Raechhakule/Khokchilipa remembered as dwelling in the cave in the remote past. In 1861 B.S. (1804 CE), King Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah granted a royal land grant (Birta) and Lal Mohar to Manohar Giri of Ramechhap, appointing him priest of Halesi Mahadev and institutionally establishing Hindu Shaiva worship at the caves.
Researched by the ChillNepal team from published sources. Spot something out of date? Tell us from the place's page.
