Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. The military of Nepal is the fifth largest in South Asia; it is notable for its Gurkha history, particularly during the world wars, and has been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations. Before the unification of Nepal, the Kathmandu valley was known as "Nepal". The precise origin of the term "Nepāl" is uncertain. "Nepal" appears in ancient Indian literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century BC. However, an absolute chronology can not be established, as even the oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the early modern period. Academic attempts to provide a plausible theory are hindered by the lack of a complete picture of history, and insufficient understanding of linguistics or relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages. According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called "Ne", referred to variously as "Ne Muni" or "Nemi". According to "Pashupati Purana", as a place protected by "Ne", the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as "Nepal". According to "Nepal Mahatmya", "Nemi" was charged with protection of the country by Pashupati. According to Buddhist mythology, Manjushri Bodhisattva drained a primordial lake of serpents to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that "Adi-Buddha" "Ne" would take care of the community that would settle it. As the cherished of "Ne", the valley would be called "Nepal". According to "Gopalarajvamshavali", the genealogy of ancient Gopala dynasty compiled circa 1380s, Nepal is named after "Nepa" the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras. In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which "Nepa" discovered the "Jyotirlinga" of "Pashupatinath" upon investigation, was also named "Ne". Norwegian Indologist Christian Lassen had proposed that "Nepala" was a compound of "Nipa" (foot of a mountain) and "-ala" (short suffix for "alaya" meaning abode), and so "Nepala" meant "abode at the foot of the mountain".