Ghansi or Ghasi () was a Nepali grasscutter who is best remembered for inspiring

Bhanubhakta Acharya Bhanubhakta Acharya () (1814—1868 CE) (1871—1925 BS) was a Nepali writer, poet, and translator. He is widely regarded as the first poet in the Nepali language, for which he was conferred with the title of "Aadikabi": literally, "the first po ...

to translate the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

epic

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

into the Nepali language. He made money by cutting grass and selling it. Ghansi built a well in order to be remembered after his death. Not much is known about him except that he belonged to the Pantha caste and lived near the well. He has been portrayed by multiple actors in film, and the tourist destination

Ghansikuwa Ghansikuwa is a famous tourist destination in Tanahu District in the Gandaki Zone of Gandaki Province, Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घ� ...

was named after him.

Life

One day, as

sat on a

stone slab A stone slab is a big stone, flat and relatively thin, often of rectangular or almost rectangular form. They are generally used for paving floors, for covering walls or as headstones. In dolmens Most dolmen constructions were built using stone ...

in an unfrequented forest, he fell asleep while listening to birds chirping. When he awoke, he saw a person cutting grass. Acharya asked him about his whereabouts and Ghansi replied that he was a poor farmer who lived next to Acharya's village. He made money by cutting grass and selling it in the market. Ghansi told Acharya about his plan to build a well so that passers-by could be refreshed, and he could be remembered after his death. His words had a great impact on Acharya, who wrote in a poem that the "grasscutter has taught me a great lesson", and he is credited as one of the inspirations for Acharya's translation of the

epic

into the Nepali language. Ghansi built Ghasi Kuwa in

Vyas Municipality Vyas (Byas), is a municipality of Tanahun District located in Gandaki Province in Nepal and incorporates the village ''Damauli'', the district headquarters, for which the municipality is also often referred to as Damauli. The municipality was es ...

near the Prithvi Highway. The well is awaiting preservation. According to the Bhanu Ghansi Memorial Park Conservation Committee, Ghansi belonged to the Pantha caste and lived near the well which he constructed. They added it was difficult to identify him due to Acharya not mentioning his name in his writings.

Legacy

Ghansi was portrayed in several films. In ''Aadi Kabi Bhanubhakta'' (1999), he is portrayed by Rajpal Thapa. In ''Raat Chirnya Bhanu'' (2017), he is portrayed by Basudev Khanal. Additionally, in

Tanahun District Tanahun District ( ne, तनहुँ जिल्ला , or ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Damauli as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2011 ...

, there is a statue of Ghansi, as well as a statue of Bhanubhakta Acharya at Bhanu Ghansi Memorial Park.

, a tourist destination in

Tanahu District Tanahun District ( ne, तनहुँ जिल्ला , or ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Damauli as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2011 ...

is named after Ghansi.

References

{{Reflist Nepalese people People from Tanahun District 19th-century Nepalese people Nepalese engineers

Life

Legacy

See also

References