A deposition submitted by Śamśera Bahādura Pā̃ḍe to the Koṭiliṅga court (VS 1942)
ID: K_0172_0057
Edited and
translated by Rajan Khatiwoda
in collaboration with
Manik Bajracharya
Created: 2015-12-18;
Last modified: 2018-06-21
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The accompanying edition, translation/synopsis and/or commentary are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
.
Abstract
This is a deposition submitted by Śamśera Bahādura Pā̃ḍe to the Koṭiliṅga court in support of the claim that Rājakumārī Pãḍenī—who had been found guilty of having sexual intercourse and eating cooked rice with her incestuous husband—had not yet been granted rice expiation (bhātako patiyā).
Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1श्रीकोटीलीङ्2१सहि1लिषितम्नरदेवीटोलवस्नेसम्सेरवहादूरपाडेक्षेत्रीआगेमेराठाहिलावावापिर्थीवहादूरपाडेछेत्रीले[...][...]
2ल्माचारपुस्ताकादीदीनातापर्न्येकालुछेत्रानीकोरभाउजूसधवासोहीचारपुस्ताकानातापर्न्येकोस्मेत्करक
3र्नीगरिभागीजादानीजकावीवाहीताराजकुमारीपडेनीआफ्नालोगन्याभागीगयाकोठाऊमागैजानीजा
4नीकर्नीभातपानीमाभजीआयाकीहुनालेनीजराजकुमारीलाईभातमावाहेकपानीकोमात्रपतिया
5हुंदाभातमानचलीवाहेकभैवस्याकोरभतहालेपनीभातनषाइवाहेकगरीराष्याकोहोभातकोपति
6याभयाकोरभतहालेपनिभातमालिचलिचलाईआयाकोस्मेतछैनसाचोहोलेषीयाकोवेहोराभयाको
7प्रमान्साक्षीभतहातपसिलमालेषिदीयाकोषडाछलेषेकोवेहोरामानीजराजकुमारीपडेनीलाईमकाऐ
8लगरौलाकाऐलगर्नसकीनरभयाकोवेहोरादवाईनभयाकोढाटीझुठावेहोरालेषिदीयाकोठहर्याभंन्या
9ऐनवमोजिम्वुझाऊलाभनीमेरामनोमानषुसीराजीसंगवादिमुचुल्कालेषीअदालतमा¯ १¯ माचढाञ्यूं¯¯¯
10तपसिल
[table]
| लेफ्टेनजगतवहादूरपाडेछेत्री¯¯¯१ | अरूभयाकोकागजपत्रगैरहसवैऐसक चहरीमाषडैछ¯¯¯१ | |
| कप्तानसम्सेरवहादूरपाडेछेत्री¯¯¯१ | ||
| कप्तानभक्तकेशर¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| कप्तानवलवहादूर¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| सीवधोज¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| कर्नैलवीजयजङ्ग¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| सुवेदारवेणीजङ्ग¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| चक्रजङ्गपाडेछेत्री¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| नाऊनजानेकासींहवीर पाडेकानाती¯¯¯१ | ||
| सुवेदारप्रतापवहादूरपाडे¯¯¯१ | ||
| सुवेदारतेजवहादूरपाडेछेत्री¯¯¯१ | ||
| लेफ्टेनभुपभंजन¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| सुवेदारकुलभंजन¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| कप्ताननरजङ्गपाडेछेत्री¯¯¯१ | ||
| सुवेदारनरवीक्रम¯¯¯ऐं¯¯¯१ | ||
| ईनसाईनजुद्धविक्रम्ऐं¯¯¯१ |
27ईतिसम्वत्१९४२सालमीतिफागुणसुदि९रोज१शुभम्¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯
Translation
[1r]
The venerable Koṭiliṅga
1
Signature
Written by Śamśera Bahādura Pā̃ḍe, living in Naradevī Ṭola.
[Regarding] the following: in the year [VS 19]15, when my fourth uncle (ṭhāĩlā bābā) Pṛthī Bahādura Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ran away – having committed adultery with a fourth-generation cousin Kālu Kṣetryānī and a fourth-generation non-widowed sister-in-law – his married wife Rājakumārī Pãḍenī went to where her husband had fled, and she deliberately had illicit sexual relations and ate rice and [drank] water with him. For that reason, having only been granted water expiation, she carries on [as usual] except for not having rice with fellow caste members (bhatāhā), and they too except for not eating rice [with her]. She has not been granted rice expiation, nor do fellow caste members invite her to eat rice together [with them] either. [That this] is true stands in writing, in the written list [below] of fellow caste members, evidentiary witnesses of the details written [above]. I will make Rājakumārī Pãḍenī herself confess to what has been written. If I am unable to make [her] confess, and if it is proven that I have suppressed details of what [actually] occurred and have written false, fabricated details—of [things that] did not occur—I will pay [the penalty] in accordance with the Ain. Therefore, having written a plaintiff’s deposition (muculka) of my own free will, let me [now] submit it to the Koṭiliṅga court.
The list
[table]
| Lieutenant Jagata Bahādura Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | All other documents and so forth related to the proceedings are [already] in the possession of this court. ---1 | |
| Captain Śamśera Bahādura Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Captain Bhaktakeśara Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Captain Bala Bahādura Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Sīvadhoja Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Colonel Vījayajaṅga Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Subedāra Veṇījaṅga ---1 | ||
| Cakrajaṅga Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| The grandchild of Sīṃhavīra Pā̃ḍe whose name is unidentified ---1 | ||
| Subedāra Pratāpa Bahādūra Pā̃ḍe ---1 | ||
| Subedāra Teja Bahādūra Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Lieutenant Bhupabhaṃjana ---1 | ||
| Subedāra Kulabhaṃjana ---1 | ||
| Captain Nara Jaṅga Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Subedāra Nara Vīkrama Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 | ||
| Ensign Juddha Vikram Pā̃ḍe Kṣatrī ---1 |
Sunday, the 9th of the bright fortnight of Phālguna in the [Vikrama] era year 1942 (1886 CE). Auspiciousness.
Commentary
This is one of a series of some seventy manuscripts relating to the same issue. These documents, as mentioned in K_0175_0018, deal with a family dispute between Rājakumārī Pā̃ḍenī (the lawfully married wife of Pṛthī Bahādura) and her brother-in-law’s son (bhatijo) Śamśera Bahādura. On the basis of these documents, it is known that this dispute arose in VS 1918 (see K_0175_0033) after Pṛthī Bahādura committed adultery with the non-widowed wife of a 4th-generation cousin and with a similarly distantly related female cousin. After committing adultery, he fled to the Terai with his entire family and household personnel (see K_0172_0058). Later Rājakumārī returned from the Terai and initiated a court case to get her legal share of the inheritance. Śamśera Bahādura and his family tried to avoid having to give her any property, accusing her of being guilty of willingly accepting rice from her incestuous husband and having sexual intercourse with him. Rājakumārī Pā̃ḍe for her part insisted on her just claim, mentioning the expiation she had undertaken by order of authorities and offering further evidence (see K_0175_0033 and K_0175_0034 and other above-mentioned documents). However, Śamśera Bahādūra refused to accept that she had been granted rice expiation, given that the evidence presented by Rājakumārī only mentions that her body had been purified but does not specify whether she had been granted both forms of expiation (water and rice) or only water. Thus he submits the testimony of eyewitnesses against Rājakumārī to the court that implies that she has not yet been wholly readmitted into the caste.