A copy of a lālamohara from King Gīrvāṇayuddha to officials in Nuvakot reconfirming the local dhāmī's right to receive firewood for use during processions (VS 1860)
ID: K_0001_0035A
Edited and
translated by Rajendra Shakya and Astrid Zotter
Created: 2017-12-31;
Last modified: 2018-11-13
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Abstract
The lālamohara of which this is a copy reconfirms the right enjoyed by the dhāmī of Nuvakot, originally granted by King Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa, to receive firewood as a provision (māmulī) needed for processions of deities.
Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1श्री५[Unknown seal]1||५४||1वहीनंवर३1११२1६४नं.आगेनुव़ाकोटका∙अडैफूलवारी∙[?]वारी∙फाडोहार∙प्रतीधामी∙लाई∙श्री∙५देवि∙नाराय़णका∙2जात्रामामुलि∙दारुव़ालाई∙सुक्याको∙धोत्रो[?]तीनीहीजो∙श्री∙५ज्यूज्यूवाज्याले∙वक्स्याको∙रहेछहामी∙
3लेपनिथामीवक्स्यौं∙सालवसाल∙रोकतोकनगरी∙देव़ई∙ईतिसंवत१८६०सालमीती∙आसीन∙
4वदी१रोज६शुभ्म्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
Translation
[1r]
Śrī 5
[Unknown seal]
[p.] 541
Ledger Number 3
1122
Number 643 : Āge: To the aḍais in Nuvākoṭa and the pruners4 of the flower gardens5 :
It appears that in yesteryear (hījo, lit. "yesterday") our fivefold venerable great-grandfather (i.e. Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa Śāha) granted the dhāmī dried hollow ...6 as firewood, a usual provision (māmuli) for the processions of the fivefold venerable goddess and Nārāyaṇa. We, too, support [it]. Provide [it] without any obstruction every year.
Friday, the 1st of the dark fortnight of Āśvina in the [Vikrama] era year 1860 (1803 CE)7 . Auspiciousness.
Commentary
The document grants the Nuvakotdhāmī the right to a portion of firewood on the occasion of processions there. A member of the Newar Ḍaṅgola community, the dhāmī is connected to the Bhairavī temple that is a focal point in the ritual life of the locale and was central to Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa’s conquests and personal devotion (Chalier-Visuvalingam 2003: 155–169; Gutschow 2011: I, 154–166). As the medium of this deity, he plays a pivotal role during rituals in the town (a second capital under Pṛthvīnarāyaṇa) and was an important oracle for the Śāha kings.
Together with his wife, the dhāminī, the dhāmī takes part in the processions (jātrā) within the deity's sacred realm. "The processions of the fivefold venerable goddess and Nārāyaṇa" (śrī 5 devi nārāyaṇakā jātrā) the present document speaks of are most probably the two main processions of Nuvakot, the devījātrā (or ṭhūlo jātrā) and the smaller nārāyaṇajātrā (or sāno jātrā) (Chalier-Visuvalingam 2003: 157–161; Gutschow 2011: I, 162–166; Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha VS 2032: 109–113).
While for the Malla period Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha (VS 2032: 87) find the dhāmī having only religious roles, in the Śāha period he also acquired administrative functions, e.g. involvement in the annual reappointment of officials (pajanī), and as an intermediary between the population and the central authorities (ibid. 107). Moreover, he seems to have been one of the most important local record-keepers. Most documents published in the appendix to G. Vajrācārya's and Ṭ. Śreṣṭha's monograph on the history of Nuvakot (VS 2032: appendix, pp. 67–134) come from the collection of Dhāmī Śrīharimānasiṃ. In the autumn of VS 2038 (1981 CE), D. Panta collected further documents in Nuvakot and published 21 more specimens in the possession of the same dhāmī, whose name is given there as Śrīharimānasiṃha Ḍaṅgola (Panta VS 2042).
The person who held the office when the present document was issued was probably either Kṛṣṇa Dhāmī or Rājamānasimḥa Dhāmī. Kṛṣṇa is attested in documents from VS 1835 onwards (Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha VS 2032: appendix, p. 77, no. 23)—the previous office-holder, Gyāndeu Dhāmi being last mentioned in VS 1833 (Panta VS 2042: 10, no. 14); in VS 1861 he commissioned an inscription (Vajrācārya and Śreṣṭha VS 2032: appendix, pp. 45–46, no. 50). Rājamānasimḥa appears in documents from VS 1879 onwards (Panta VS 2042: 40, no. 53).