Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir

File:Kumar bhante at anandakuti.jpg

Bhante Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir ({{langx|ne|कुमारकाश्यप महास्थविर}}) (born Asta Man Shakya) (24 July 1926 – 26 February 2012) was a Nepalese Buddhist monk who was awarded the title of Tripitakacharya (Tripitaka Master).{{cite news|title=Monk Kumar Kashyap Mahasthabir no more|url=http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Monk+Kumar+Kashyap+Mahasthabir+no+more&NewsID=322089|accessdate=4 May 2012|newspaper=The Himalayan Times|date=26 February 2012|archive-date=4 February 2013|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130204140001/http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Monk+Kumar+Kashyap+Mahasthabir+no+more&NewsID=322089|url-status=dead}}

In 1944, he was expelled from Nepal by the Rana regime for promoting Theravada Buddhism and writing in Nepal Bhasa.{{cite web|url=http://www.lumbini.org.uk/bd_n_thera_t.html|title=Theravada Buddhism in Modern Nepal|publisher=Lumbini Nepalese Buddha Dharma Society (UK)|accessdate=4 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140804160554/http://www.lumbini.org.uk/bd_n_thera_t.html|archive-date=4 August 2014|url-status=dead}} He spent his exile in India and Sri Lanka.

Early life

Kumar Kashyap (alternative name: Kumar Bhante) was born in Tansen, Palpa, a district in western Nepal. His father was Sanat Kumar Shakya and mother Tej Maya Shakya. He was known as Asta Man Shakya before he became a novice monk in 1942.Bajracharya, Phanindra Ratna (2003). Who's Who in Nepal Bhasha. Kathmandu: Nepal Bhasa Academy. {{ISBN|99933-560-0-X}}. Page 75. After being ordained, Kumar Bhante moved to Kathmandu where he joined the small number of monks and worked to promote Theravada Buddhism.{{cite news|last=Tuladhar|first=Kamal Ratna|title=The monks in yellow robes|url=http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/04/07/saturday-features/the-first-word--the-monks-in-yellow-robes/351932.html|accessdate=4 May 2012|newspaper=The Kathmandu Post|date=7 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120408200957/http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/04/07/saturday-features/the-first-word--the-monks-in-yellow-robes/351932.html|archive-date=8 April 2012|url-status=dead}}

Into exile

The government was suspicious of the activities of the Buddhist monks as they were becoming increasingly popular. The monks were called before the prime minister and ordered to stop preaching Buddhism and writing in Nepal Bhasa which the regime disapproved of equally. They refused, and on 30 July 1944, were ordered out of the country.

The eight monks including Kumar Kashyap, Dhammalok Mahasthavir and Pragyananda Mahasthavir went to Kushinagar, India and then to Sarnath where they founded a Buddhist association named Dharmodaya Sabha (Society for the Rise of the Teaching). Kumar Kashyap later moved to Kalimpong and then to Sri Lanka.Mahasthavir, Bhikkhu Dharmaloka (1999). A Pilgrimage in China. Kathmandu: Bhikkhu Aniruddha Mahasthavir. Pages 124-125.{{cite news|title=Bhikshu Kumar Kashyap Mahasthavir Special|newspaper=Sandhya Times|date=9 March 2012}}

Return to Nepal

In 1946, the monks were allowed to return after a Sri Lankan goodwill mission visited Kathmandu and urged the government to withdraw the expulsion order.{{cite news|last=Dietrich|first=Angela|title=Buddhist Monks and Rana Rulers: A History of Persecution|url=http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BH/bh117536.htm|accessdate=17 March 2011|newspaper=Buddhist Himalaya: A Journal of Nagarjuna Institute of Exact Methods|year=1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131001124156/http://ccbs.ntu.edu.tw/FULLTEXT/JR-BH/bh117536.htm|archive-date=1 October 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Bouddha Bhichhuharu|url=http://50.57.175.244:8001/xmlui/bitstream/10887/638/1/20030518.pdf|accessdate=4 May 2012|newspaper=Gorkhapatra|date=3 September 1946}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Page 7.

Kumar Kashyap returned to Kathmandu and became a writer and teacher at Ananda Kuti Vidyapeeth in Swayambhu. He has published six books. His first book Gautam Buddha was published in 1956. He was editor of Anandabooumi, a Buddhist magazine published by Ananda Kuti Vihar. He was also named a patron of Nepal Lipi Guthi, an organization dedicated to preserving Nepalese scripts.{{cite web|url=http://guthi.net/nepallipiguthi/#PATRONS%20OF%20THE%20GUTHI|title=Patrons of the Guthi|publisher=Nepal Lipi Guthi|accessdate=4 May 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111014012824/http://www.guthi.net/nepallipiguthi/#PATRONS%20OF%20THE%20GUTHI|archive-date=2011-10-14|url-status=dead}}

Kumar Kashyap became abbot of Ananda Kuti Vihar and held the post of Deputy Chief Monk when he died. Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and Prime Minister DM Jayaratne expressed grief at the demise of Kumar Bhante.{{cite news|title=Sri Lankan Prez, PM express grief over Kasyap's death|url=http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/03/02/capital/sri-lankan-prez-pm-express-grief-over-kasyaps-death/349854.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130122005700/http://www.ekantipur.com/2012/03/02/capital/sri-lankan-prez-pm-express-grief-over-kasyaps-death/349854.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2013|accessdate=4 May 2012|newspaper=ekantipur.com|date=2 March 2012}} The government of Myanmar has accorded him the title of Agga Maha Saddhammajothikadhaja and he has been honored by Buddhist organizations in India and Sri Lanka.{{cite news|title=Ven. Kumara Kassapa Maha Thera made outstanding contributions to the Buddha Sasana|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/27/news15.asp|accessdate=11 May 2012|newspaper=Daily News|publisher=Associated Newspapers of Ceylon|date=27 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301142605/http://www.dailynews.lk/2012/02/27/news15.asp|archive-date=1 March 2012}}