Etymology of the word 'Nepal'

EAfter the short description of evolution of Nepal. Lets talk about the formation of the nation, Nepal or how this country got its name 'Nepal'.

There are several stories and arguments over the establishment of country as Nepal or how and why 'Nepal' is named to this country. The various reasons are as below:

• A very long long time ago, the Kings of the Gopala dynasty ruled over it. They were called 'Nepa',so, after the name of the dynasty who ruled over it, the country was named as Nepal.
• In epoch "Himbatkhanda" it is complied that during 14th to 15th century Ne muni (son of Marichi) prayed to Goddess and as per her wish and order, he established a country. As Ne muni formed the country and became the protector(pala) of this land and the founder of the first ruling dynasty, people called this place Nepal.
• It has been suggested that the name Nepal comes from the Tibetan word "Niyampal" which means "holy land".
• Again, according to some Nepal came from the compounding the words Ne (which means wool) and Pal ( which means tented house). A long time ago, Nepal used to produce a lots of wool and the houses were used to store the wool. Hence, the word Nepal formed.
• The word 'Nepal' may be derived from the Sanskrit word 'Nipalaya' which means ' at the foot of the mountains' or 'abode at the foot'.
  In the Gandaki Mahatmya, it is mentioned that a king named 'Nepa' ruled over it. He conquered many kingdoms and established shankar as his deity. He founded a country and named it 'Nepal' after his own name.
  In Newari language (language of ancient tribe of kathmandu valley) 'Ne' means 'center' and 'Pa' means 'country'. So, 'Nepa' means a country situated at the centre. Nepal is situated between two giant countries India and China. So, it was called a central country or Nepal.
  In the dialogue of Lepchas (one of the ancient tribe of Nepal), 'Ne' means 'holy' and 'Pal' means 'cave'. As this place is holy for both Hindus and Buddhist, it got its name 'Nepal'.
  Kirats, one of the dynasty that ruled Nepal in ancient times, had a clan called 'Nepar' living in Kathmandu Valley. So, the name Nepal might be derived from the word 'Nepar'.