Kichkabad Jhapa : Famous Tourist Destination And Its History
Kichkabad
Kichkabad of Jhapa is an important tourist destination of Nepal, which is associated with the story of the Mahabharata period but is overshadowed in terms of publicity. Archaeological excavations by the Department of Archeology have uncovered palaces, forts, walls, utensils and bricks dating back more than 2,000 years in this area, which is spread over an area of 10 bighas in Ward No. 2, South Bhadrapur Municipality, 10 km from Chandragadhi Airport.
Archaeologists hailed the first excavation in 2059, when clay bricks with the swastika mark were found on the site. Uddhav Acharya, a former senior archaeologist of the Department of Archeology, who was involved in the excavation, said in his report that the artefacts found in the seven-room palace and fort date back to the Shung-Kushan period around 200 BC. There is no doubt that Kichakbad has become a popular destination in the East as it has attracted the attention of stakeholders in infrastructure development.
According to Keshav Prasad Dhungana, a 64-year-old priest of the temple at Kichakbadh, the name of the place has been changed to Kichakbadh because of the killing of a character named ‘Kichakad’ in the Mahabharata story who had an evil eye on Queen Draupadi. According to him, Kichak was the salo of Virat Raja. In the king’s court, Draupadi was hiding in disguise with five Pandavas.
Draupadi’s appearance and Kichak, who was stuck in her youth, started abusing her repeatedly. On the advice of Bhimsen, who had become a cook in secret, Draupadi called Kichak alone in the theater one night. There is a legend that Bhimsen, who was hiding in Draupadi’s costume, killed Kichak by punching him.
According to Pujari Dhungana, the present Kichakbad site is believed to be the same huge theater. It is believed that there may be an old palace in this place even on the basis of its geographical location as there is a small hill in the middle of the fertile field up to Kosau which is deeply cultivated.
There are currently two statues of Bhimsen killing Kichak at the Kichakbad site. Dil Bahadur Thebe, chairman of the Kichakbad Religious and Historic Tourist Preservation Committee, said that a new statue was erected in the northern part of the district after the old one started collapsing in 2038 BS.
Every year on the full moon day of Magh Shukla, a religious fair is being held here and people of all religions and sects are flocking to the fair. According to the locals, the people of the Rajbanshi community have been performing special worship in the old pond in the northern part of the Kichakbad site.
There are temples of Sati Devi, Vishnupaduka and Shiva in the Kichakbad complex located at the confluence of beautiful Mechi and Deuniya rivers. The two-storey building for the hospice in the southern part has a temporary police station and a barracks.
On the west side of the complex are the ruins of an old palace or a building that looks artistic. Surrounding this hill are the ruins of an old wall about four feet wide which is believed to be the security fort of Kichak Durbar or Natyashala.
In the middle of the center, many doors, sewers and stage-like brick debris have been found. It was excavated by the Department of Archeology. This is why it is believed to be the theater of the great king. Supporting the myth of Kichkabad site, the novel ‘Radha’ written by Krishna Dharawasi won the Madan Award.
“When I was writing the novel Radha in the year 2060, I started from the excavation of Kichakbadha,” said Dharavasi.
Literary writer Dharavasi has a different opinion about the archeological objects found in Kichkabad. He was of the opinion that all these materials were not from the Kichak palace but from the ruins of a Koch king’s palace. He said that the importance of Kichkabad would not be diminished if it was confirmed that Koch was the palace of kings. He suggests that archaeologists should determine whether Koch is the king’s palace.
Due to the remoteness of the Mechi River and its proximity to the main settlement, it is difficult to preserve the ruins found at Kichkabad. Formerly under Prithvinagar Village Development Committee, this area is now within Ward No. 2 of Bhadrapur Municipality.
Chintamani Dahal, former head of the Mechi Multipurpose Campus and historian, said that the local, state and federal governments should pay special attention to make Kichakbad a tourist attraction as Jhapa is an important place associated with the legend of the ancient Mahabharata.
“Excavations have confirmed that the Kichkabad site is of mythological and religious significance,” said Dahal, a historian searching for the Kichkabad site. “Archaeologists have found two ruins of ancient palaces here.”
It is undeniable that attracting tourists will help in the development of this region. There is a demand from the locals that the Bhadrapur Municipality should invest in the infrastructure development of the Kichakbad site. According to Thebe, chairman of the Kichakbadh Religious and Historic Tourist Site Preservation Committee, the Deuniya River has recently been embanked with Rs 5 million sent by the Government of Nepal for the conservation of the area.
The committee has formulated a master plan of Rs. 525 million for the development of infrastructure including forest picnic site, kindergarten, zoo, community building, suspension bridge, old age home and pond conservation. Although the Department of Archeology has been conducting excavations here every year, the excavation work has been stopped for the past few years. The government has not said why the excavation was stopped or when it will be completed.
Chandra Shrestha, deputy chief of Bhadrapur Municipality, said that the municipality aims to make Kichakbad a model religious tourist destination. Stating that the Department of Archeology and the municipality are working for the conservation of the site in their own way, Deputy Chief Shrestha informed that the Bhadrapur Municipality has allocated
The municipality has been providing an annual budget . Due to its proximity to the Chandragadhi Airport, a place of archeological and religious significance, there is no message that it can attract not only internal but also external tourists if it can be properly protected and promoted.
