A sketch of the history of Lalitpur (Patan) with special reference to Buddhism

Dhanavajra Vajracharya was a great historian of Nepal. This article is dedicated to his memory by an anthropologist who could only marvel at Dhanavajra's scholarship and epigraphical skills. In so far as it presents historical materials, this paper is a humble synthesis based entirely on secondary sources and by no means exhausts these. The city of Lalitpur is known by three common names: Patan, Lalitpur and Yala. An investigation of these three names takes us far into both the history and mythology of the city.