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E_3420_0007

Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A copy of a patra from General Bhīmasena Thāpā ordering Mukunda Siṃ Rāī to repair and play an inherited nagarā (VS 1885)

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Edited and translated by Julia Shrestha
Created: ; Last modified: 2024-07-09
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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, 2024. 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 document issued by General Bhīmasena Thāpā orders Mukunda Siṃ Rāī to repair and play his old and damaged nagarā, which had been given to his father Manajīta Rāī by the king.


Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1५­
2(छाप)­
3विश्वेश्वर­

1श्रीदुर्गा­-१­
2श्री­५­सर्कार­

1१­

1स्वस्ति­श्रीजनरलभीमसेनथापाकस्य­पत्रम्­
2आगे­मकुन्द­सिं­राईके­तेरो­वावु­मनजीत­राईलाई­-१­-
3वाट­नगरा­वक्ष्याको­पुरानु­भै­विग्र्याका­तारो­थपि­नया­वनाई­
4काजमा­चलाउनु­इति­सम्वत्­१८८५­साल­मिती­वैशाष­वदी­१­
5रोज­१­शुभम्­

Translation

[1r]

5

(Seal)

Viśveśvara1

Glorious Durgā! - 12 Śrī 5 Sarkāra

1

Hail! [This is] a letter (patra) from the venerable General Bhimasena Thāpā.

Āge: To Mukunda Siṃ Rāī. The nagarā previously given to your father Manajīta Rāī by -1- [Śrī 5 Sarkāra],3 has become old. Replace the damaged strings,4 make them new, and play [the drum] during your duty. Sunday, the 1st of the dark fortnight of Vaiśākha in the [Vikrama era] year 1885 (1828 CE). Auspiciousness.


Commentary

This document demonstrates that maintaining and playing the nagarā kettledrum was one of the Limbu subbā's official duties.5 It suggests that Mukunda Siṃ Rāī inherited the responsibility of maintaining his nagarā, along with the office of subbā of Phedāp, from his father, Manajīta Rāī. For a discussion of the role and use of this drum in the Limbu context, particularly its function as a key emblem of subbāṅgī (i.e. "subbāship"), see the commentary to the edition of E_3345_0008.

Notes

1. Skt. "lord of the universe", an epithet of Śiva (Monier-Williams 1899: s.v. viśveśvara). [⇑]

2. This number seems to have been placed here mistakenly since the deity is not referred to in the text. [⇑]

3. I.e., by the king, who is mentioned above as Śrī 5 Sarkāra for insertion under number 1 in the text. [⇑]

4. Tāro thapnu refers to the tightening of the string of a musical instrument. Percussion instruments use leather strings or cords to tie the membrane to the corpus, thereby holding the instrument together and tuning it. [⇑]

5. The name "Rāī" here does not indicate that the individual belonged to the Rāī ethnic group, as the use of contemporary ethnonyms was only gradually established, and the terms considerably changed their meanings over time. Moreover, Phedāp lies within the area inhabited by Limbus (Limbuvāna, Pallo Kirāta). "Rāī" derives from a title bestowed upon local Kiranti leaders by the Sena kings of Makwanpur, and later by the Gorkhalis, thereby granting them a measure of autonomy while integrating them into their political fold and, later, the emerging Nepalese state (Schlemmer 2010: 47-48). Schlemmer (ibid.: 49) notes that from the late 18th to mid-19th century, "Rāī" more specifically came to designate Mājha Kirāta functionaries, while "Subbā" referred to those in Pallo Kirāta. However, the present document indicates that this distinction was not yet fully established when the present document was issued. [⇑]