Ancient Lahul and Himalaya

The present work concerns the tiny tract of Lahul in the wide perspective of the geography and history of the great Himalaya. The Pali Literature referring to the river Chandrabhaga - which originates from Lahul- and its inhabitants, introduces to an important moment in the ancient history of Lahul, stating that there live Kinnaras on the banks of Chandrabhaga. Lahul is situated at the headwaters of Chandrabhaga. The river received this name at its head. Firstly its two heads were named viz. Chandra and Bhaga and the combination of the two became the name of the main river. As against this, its former name Asikni, Vedic, was received at its last end. Of its other two names one is the earliest and the second the latest.

Tobdan (1944) belongs to Lahul. He is interested in studying about Lahul and incidentally about the areas surrounding it in the aspects like history, culture, etc. He writes in English, Hindi and Bhoti. His works relate to Lahul, Spiti, Kinnaur, Kullu and Zanskar. His last work was Spiti, A Study in Socio-Cultural Traditions (2015). He has been associated with the Peoples' Linguistic Survey of India, Himachal. He had been member of the Governing Body of the Himachal Arts, Culture and Language Academy, Shimla.

**Contents and Sample Pages**