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Yoga originated in Nepal; there was no India when Yoga was discovered: Nepal PM Oli

Alleging that Indian experts had been hiding facts about Yoga, Nepal's stand-in Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli claimed that many famous sages such as Patanjali, Kapilmun, and Charaka were born in his country.

Yoga originated in Nepal; there was no India when Yoga was discovered: Nepal PM Oli
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Kathmandu, First Published Jun 22, 2021, 9:17 AM IST

Nepal's stand-in Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli has courted controversy with his remarks that Yoga originated in Nepal, not India.

"When Yoga was discovered, there was no country like India. So, Yoga originated in Nepal; we never gave credit to our sages who discovered Yoga," Oli said while addressing an International Yoga Day programme at his residence.

Alleging that Indian experts had been hiding facts about Yoga, Oli claimed that many famous sages such as Patanjali, Kapilmun, and Charaka were born in Nepal. 

"They studied and practised here (in Nepal)," he said.

India that exists now wasn't there in the past. It was divided into factions. India at that time was like a continent or sub-continent, the caretaker prime minister said.

When and where did Yoga originate?

It is widely believed that Yoga is the cultural outcome' of the Indus Saraswati Valley civilization, dating back to 2700 BC.

Fossil remains of the Indus Saraswati valley civilization with Yogic motifs and figures performing Yoga suggests its presence in ancient India.

The phallic symbols, seals of idols of the mother Goddess, are suggestive of Tantra Yoga. 

Evidence of the presence of Yoga is available in folk traditions, Indus valley civilization, Vedic and Upanishadic heritage, Buddhist and Jain traditions, Darshanas, epics of Mahabharat and Ramayana, theistic traditions of Shaivas, Vaishnavas, and Tantric traditions.

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