Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A directive to susāres to get their wheat allowance from Rājabala Ḍoṭyāla and Ramānātha Pādhyā (VS 1878)

ID: E_2778_0008


Edited and translated by Surabhi Pudasaini in collaboration with Yogesh Budathoki
Created: 2022-07-18; Last modified: 2022-12-31
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Published by Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal, Heidelberg, Germany, 2022. Published by the courtesy of the National Archives, Kathmandu. The copyright of the facsimile remains with the Nepal Rashtriya Abhilekhalaya (National Archives, Government of Nepal). All use of the digital facsimiles requires prior written permission by the copyright holder. See Terms of Use.
The accompanying edition, translation/synopsis and/or commentary are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License CCby-SA.

Abstract

This directive instructs susāres to get their wheat allowance from the aḍais Rājabala Ḍoṭyāla and Ramānātha Pādhyā.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1लुभु­सेराका­७८­सालको­गहु­वालीमध्ये­अ
2डै­राजवल­डोट्‌याल­अडै­रमानाथ­पाध्‍या­
3छेउ­भरिलिनु­¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

1श्री­\

1श्री­तलेज्यूका­सुसार्‍याके­७८­साल­महिना­४­को­सिधा­गहुं­¯¯¯
2¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[table1]

1[?]­२­के­३|•|•­x­भागीलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­
2[?]लक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­x­गुनवती­१­के­१|१०|•­
3[?]रलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­x­दोश्रो­धनलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­
4¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ठौ­चपली­
5गंगावती­१­के­१|१०|•­x­धनलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­
6अमृतलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­x­सिरलक्ष्मी­१­के­१|१०|•­
7९­के­१२|१०|•­

Translation

[1r]

From the wheat crop of the [Vikrama era] year [18]78 on Lubhuserā [land] take [your wheat rations] from (lit. “near”) the aḍaiRājabala Ḍoṭyāla [and] the aḍaiRamānātha Pādhyā.1

Śrī

Wheat (sidhā) [sufficient] for 4 months of the year [VS 18]78 for the susāres of Śrī [Tale?]jyū

[table1]

1[...]3 [muris] for 2x2 Bhāgīlakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1
2[Dhana?]lakṣmī3 1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1x Gunāvatī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1
3[...]ralakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1x Second Dhanalakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1
4---ṭhau capalī4
5Gaṃgāvatī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1x Dhanalakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1
6Amṛtalakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1x Siralakṣmī1 [muri] 10 [pāthīs] for 1
712 [muris] 10 [pāthīs] for 9

Commentary

This document lists the susāres who are to receive wheat for four months from the harvest of Lubhu serā land. The NGMPP catalogue entry for this document notes that the wheat allowance was granted to the susāres of the Taleju temple. At the beginning of the microfilmed image, the words Śrī […]jyū are clearly legible; it is likely that the intended reading is Śrī Talejyū, referring to the physically towering and ritually important structure within the palace complex. Perhaps it was completely readable to the cataloguer who had the physical document in hand. The form susāryā can refer to a person providing any type of service (susāra). The exact kinds of work assigned to a susāre are usually unspecified. There were hundreds of susāres in the royal household. Many were attached to royal women. Others served in storerooms, prayer rooms and kitchens. The labour conditions under which they worked are unclear. The present susāres are all listed without their full names, which otherwise serves to identify their caste or ethnic identity—a fact which might, but does not necessarily, indicate that they were not free labour. Though the term can be used for both genders, all the individuals listed here are women.

The document notes that the 1 muri 10 pāthīs of wheat per person is intended to cover four months of food consumption. In VS 1864 (see DNA_0012_0055), from the annual yields of the Lubhu serā land, palace servants were already being given that amount of wheat annually for the same period of four months. The food allowance of palace servants thus remained stable at least from the VS 1860s till the late 1870s.

This is one of ten documents (E_2778_0001 to E_2778_0010) recording the distribution of wheat to various people working within the Hanumānḍhokā palace complex. All the orders date to VS 1878 and relate to the wheat crop of the Lubhu serā land in that year.

This document stands out from the majority of others in the series of 10 in some regards. It does not identify the person issuing the directive. Previous directives came from the kaparadāraGaruḍaḍhvaja Pā̃ḍe or from the aḍais (the persons otherwise responsible for distributing the wheat, usually the pair Rājabala Ḍoṭyāla and Ramānātha Pādhyā). Aḍais were employed at the Koṭa Bhaṇḍāra, which managed the stores of foodstuffs within the royal palace complex. Each serā was also put under the management of one or a pair of aḍais.5 In most previous documents, the two aḍais were ordered to disburse the wheat. Here the listed susāres are told to approach the aḍais for the wheat.

Notes

1. This is written in the left margin. [⇑]

2. The x by the names perhaps indicates a signature from the person receiving the wheat. These markers are possibly placed near the names in the left column as well. They may be obscured by the blotting and blurry ink evident in the attached image. [⇑]

3. As there is a ‘second Dhanalakṣmī’ listed in the second column of line this, the person listed here is likely the first Dhanalakṣmī. Another Dhanalakṣmī is also listed in in the second column of line five. However, as lines 5-6 seem to be separated from lines 1-3, there would likely be no confusion as to which Dhanalakṣmī was the first. [⇑]

4. This is clearly a section heading separating the women listed in lines 1 to 3 from those listed in lines 5 and 6. The exact meaning is unclear. Possibly, it references a place – perhaps the courtyard where the Iṭācapalī court was housed. [⇑]

5. This at least is suggested by Nijāmatī Kitāba Khānā registers, housed at the National Archives in Kathmandu, from the early VS 1900s. In these registers, serās are listed with specific aḍais assigned to them. [⇑]