Dhakal (Nepali: ढकाल pronounced [ɖʱʌkal]) is a Bahun (बाहुन)/Kshetri(क्षेत्री) surname found in Nepal and in some parts of India (Uttarakhand, Sikkim). They are pahari people and of Indo-Aryan origin.

The Dhakals are believed to be the direct descendants of Rishi or sage Upamanyu, who is in turn believed to be descended from Rishi Vasishta. They are believed to have originated from a place called Dhapuk in the Achham District.^{[citation needed]} The Sikkimese Dhakals were settled in lower parts of kingdom of Sikkim and later migrated towards the capital for the purpose of rearing cattle. Dhakals from mid-western Nepal migrated towards the east including Syanja, Gorkha, and all the way to eastern Nepal.^{[citation needed]} Dhakals were engaged in priestly and astrological works done by Bahun priests in the Kingdom of Gorkha. Astrologer Kulananda Dhakal used to counsel King Prithvi Narayan Shah before war.^[1] Yaku of Bhojpur is known as the Birta of Dhakal; Syanja, Terathum, Bhojpur, and Gorkha are famous places from which many Dhakals have emerged.

Culture

The culture is a part the traditional Nepali-Hinduism Brahmin

Notable people

• Baburam Dhakal (born 1979), Nepalese film director
• Biswas Dhakal (born 1981), Nepalese entrepreneur
• Ek Nath Dhakal (born 1974), politician
• Hari Dhakal, (born 1981) member of the House of Representatives 2022
• Janardan Dhakal, from Rasuwa, Nepalese politician
• Kulananda Dhakal, chief priest and astrologer of the 18th-century ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah
• Ram Krishna Dhakal (born 1974), singer
• Ramnath Dhakal (1962-2015), Nepalese politician
• Rishi Dhakal, US based Nepalese businessman, honorary Consul General California United States of America
• Sagar Dhakal, Nepalese cricketer
• Shobhakar Dhakal, Head of Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Change at AIT, Thailand
• Shyam Dhakal, (born 1981) alpine skier from Nepal.