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A copper plate inscription of an order by King Rājendra to the Bhaṭṭa priests and other officials regulating entry into the Paśupatinātha temple (VS 1885)

ID: PN_0004_0060

Edited and translated by Axel Michaels in collaboration with Manik Bajracharya
Created: 2020-11-25; Last modified: 2021-02-22
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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, 2020. 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

Abstract

This copper plate inscription by King Rājendra is addressed to the Bhaṭṭa priests and other officials and regulates entry into the Paśupatinātha temple premises for Hindu and other castes.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

1श्रीपशुपतीनाथ

[seal with the legend: श्रीश्रीश्रीराजेन्द्रविक्रमसाहदेव१७३८]

1स्वस्तिश्रीगिरिराज:चक्रचूडामणिनर:नारांय़णेत्यादिविविधवी
2राजमानमानोन्नत्‌श्रीमन्महाराजाधीराज:श्रीश्रीश्रीमहाराज :
3राजेन्द्रवीक्रमसाहावाहादूरसम्सेर:जङ्गदेवानांसदासमरवीजयीनाम्‌
4आगे¯¯¯¯¯¯१¯¯¯¯¯कापूजाहा
5रिराव़ल्‌भट्टभट्टविसेट्‌:भण्‍डारिगैह्रप्रती¯ ¯१¯कादेवाल्‌
6यकोढोकासम्म:हीन्डु:जातकापानीचल्‌नेजातलेरपाहाड्‌∙का
7तामांभोटेले:चढिदर्शनगर्नुहुंछहीन्‍डुपानीनचल्‌नेजातमा:
8कामकाजलेजाहासम्मगैकामगर्नुपर्छ:ताहासम्म:कसाहिकुस
9लेजात्‌सम्मलेर:थाक्‌स्याभोटेलेवाहिरकाढोकाभीत्रदेव़
10ल्‌वाहेक्‌चोक्‌सम्मजानहुंछ:सीढिमाचढनहुदैनअरूपो
11ढेच्यामषलक:कामीसार्की:दमाईभाड्:वाडिरहिन्डुवाहेक्‌का:
12पानीनचल्‌नेजातलेचोकका:वाहीरीढोकावाट:भीत्रजानहु
13दैनयोथीतीनाघीजोजालातेस्‌लाईसजायेहोलासोवमो
14जीम्‌नगर्‍यातीमीहरुलाईपनीभारिसजायहोलाइतीसम्वत्‌
15१८८५साल्‌मीतीचैत्रवदि६रोज५श्भ्‌म्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

Śrī Paśupatinātha

[seal with the legend: śrīśrīśrī rājendra vikrama sāhadeva 1738]

Hail! [An order] of him who is shining with manifold rows of eulogy [such as] ‘The venerable crest-jewel of the multitude of mountain kings’ and Naranārāyaṇa (an epithet of Kṛṣṇa) etc., high in honour, the venerable supreme king of great kings, the thrice venerable great king, Rājendra Vikrama Śāha, the brave swordsman, the divine king always triumphant in war.

Āge: To the priest Rāval1 Bhaṭṭa, the viṣeṭa and bhaṇḍāri officials etc. of -1- [i.e. Paśupatinātha]. Water-acceptable Hindu castes, Tamangs [and] Bhoṭes from the mountain region are allowed to go as far up as the [entrance] doors [of the temple] and pay the deity a revering view (darśana). Among the Hindu Water-unacceptable castes, Kasāīs [and] Kusles may go as far as they need to [to perform] their tasks, and Thāksyā2 Bhoṭes are allowed to go as far as the courtyard inside the outer doors [of the temple] [but] not [up to] the temple. They may not climb the stairs. Further, Poḍhes, Cyāmakhalas, Kāmīs, Sārkis [and] Damāīs, Bhā̃ḍas, Vādis and [other] Water-unacceptable castes who are not Hindus are not allowed to enter the outer door into the courtyard. Whoever does not observe this rule [and] goes [where he should not] will face punishment. If you do not act [to enforce it] accordingly, you, too, will face severe punishment.

Thursday, the 6th day of the dark fortnight of Caitra [of the Vikrama] era year 1885 (1829 CE).

Let it be auspicious.

Commentary

This copper plate was first edited by Govinda Ṭaṇḍana 1999: 463 (Pariśiṣṭa 189). Early travel reports like those of Kirkpatrick 1811: 188f., Oliphant 1852: 76-77 and Wright 1877: 21 indicate that foreigners could enter the temple (compound?) without hindrance, and even later than the restrictions imposed by Rājendra, foreigners could still go at least up to the courtyard. In 1856, Oldfield could even make a watercolour painting of the compound (Gutschow 2015: pl. 13, p. 40). There is also a sanada issued by the Gośvāra Aḍḍā in VS 1981, which previously was placed at all entries of the Paśupatinātha temple compound, wherein foreigners (mleccha) are mentioned in addition to most of the above listed castes who are not allowed to enter the Paśupatinātha temple; see for an edition of this document Puratātattvasaṃgraha, pt. 3 (VS 2020), no. 181, p. 51 and Michaels 1994: 146f. together with attachment A 10 (p. 51). The classification of the castes differs considerably from the caste hierarchy used in the Ain of 1854.

Notes

1. Sometimes the main (mūla) Bhaṭṭa priest at the Paśupatinātha temple is also called rāvala bhaṭṭa or raul bhaṭṭa. [⇑]

2. According to the Nepālī Bṛhat Śabdakośa, s.v. thākse (lit. dirty), they are the Bhoṭes, excluding the Thakālīs, living in the area of Thāk River (the upper part of the Kali Gandaki Gorge). [⇑]

Word	Notes
āge	[fr. S. agre] adv. lit. "henceforeward" (Riccardi 1976: 150 n. 6), especially used in administrative and legal documents to mark the beginning of a text or paragraph. In its function it is similar to uprānta.
bhaṇḍārī	[bhaṇḍāgarika-] var. bhaṃḍārī; n. 1) supervisor of a storehouse; 2) treasurer; 3) cook.
bhā̃ḍa	var. bhāḍa; n. untouchable caste fellows whose members have the profession of singing, dancing and begging for their livelihood. The caste of Bhā̃ḍas is similar to the caste of Vādīs in the Mulukī Ain's caste hierarchy (MA-54.160.17).
bhoṭe	var. bhoṭiyā, bhoṭyā; adj. 1) inhabitant of Bhoṭa, people of Tibetan language and culture (cf. Whelpton 2005: 260). 2) An umbrella term designating Tibetanid groups classified as Enslavable Alcohol-drinkers in the Mulukī Ain (see Ramble 2008: 29-30), but also for a non-ethnically defined legal status.
biseṭa	var. biseṭ, viseṭ, viseṭa, besata; n. 1) a temple steward (cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 855) or a person responsible for administering a religious institution. 2) an official responsible for accountancy of temple trusts, as e.g. of the Paśupatinātha Bhaṇḍāra (Michaels 1994: 158-161). Michaels renders the term as "viśeṣ" and relates the different spellings attested to Skt. viśeṣa (ibd.: 160 n. 138). As the earliest reference quoted goes back to the Malla period (NS 794) and renders the term as beseta (G. Vajrācārya 1966: 23) it seems more likely that the term comes from Newari and is a variant of New. besata/byaṣṭa, "messenger" (cp. Malla et al. 2000: s.v.).
cyāmakhala / cyāme	[fr. N.] var. cyāhmā, cyāhmākhalaka, cyāhmāṣalaka; n. Newar caste similar to Poḍes in occupation yet considered lower to Poḍes in social gradation, the lowest caste among the Untouchable caste groups according to the Mulukī Ain (MA-54.160.1), inferior to Poḍhe caste.
damāī̃	var. ḍamāī, damāi, damāī, damai; also nagarcī or darjī; n. 1) sub-caste traditionally working as tailors and musicians at temples and in life-cyclic rituals of the Indo-Parbatiya. 2) 5th lowest caste (superior to Cyāmes, Poḍhes, Vādīs and Gāines) among the Untouchables in the Mulukī Ain’s caste hierarchy (MA-54.160.5).
kāmī	var. kāmi; n. 1) blacksmith, iron-worker, (mil.) armourer. 2) The 7th lowest caste (superior to Cyāmes, Poḍhes, Vādīs, Gāinyās, Damāī̃s and Kadārās, and similar to Sārkīs) among the Untouchables in the Mulukī Ain’s caste hierarchy (MA-54.160.7).
kasāī	var. kasāi, kasāhi; n. butcher, member of a caste whose traditional profession is the selling meat and fruits, classified in the Mulukī Ain as the 11th lowest (superior to Cyāmes, Poḍhes, Vādīs, Gāinyās, Damāī̃s, Kadārās, Kāmī, Sārkī, Kulu, Hindu Dhobī and Kusle) among the Untouchable castes (MA-54.160.11).
kusle	var. kusalyā; n. untouchable caste fellows who have the profession of cleaning royal houses or courtyards and temples as well as playing musical instruments in the temples.The Mulukī Ain classifies the caste of Kusles as the 10th lowest (superior to Cyāmes, Poḍhes, Vādīs, Gāinyās, Damāī̃s, Kadārās, Kāmī, Sārkī, Kulu and Hindu Dhobī) among the Untouchable castes (MA-54.160.10). In the former social setting, Kusles used to reside in a sataḥ, a two-story building made for the Jogīs to reside but not owned by them. Kusles use the surnames like Darśandhārī or Kapālī and live in such sataḥ (sataḥchẽ) built in almost every twāḥ or ṭola. They keep the records of the new births and deaths in the families of the neighborhood. The social responsibilities of the Jogī community include receiving the offerings from the families that are observing the purificatory rites after any new birth or death in the family. The Jogī community is offered nhaenumābva (a set of all the dishes prepared for the feast during the purificatory rite of the 7th day of the death in the family), sībva (similar set of dishes especially dedicated to the deceased), etc (Mali NS 1130: 223)..
poḍe / poḍhe	[New.] n. Newar caste of sweepers, who traditionally cleaned drainage, septic tanks, etc. They take surnames like Deulā/Dyaḥlā. In the former social setting, they were considered untouchable and were barred to live within the city proper. They also functioned as priests of the power deities at shrines usually outside the city on the banks of a river. The Mulukī Ain accords them the second lowest place among the Untouchables, superior to the Cyāme only.
sanada	var. sanad; n. a regulation, order, decree or certificate of appointment, esp. from the prime minister (prāimaminisṭara yaṇḍa kamyāṇḍara ina cipha) or the commander-in-chief general (kamyāṇḍara ina cipha janarala); "government orders" (Karmacharya 2001: 327).
sārkī	var. sārki; n. the 7th lowest caste (superior to Cyāmes, Poḍhes, Vādīs, Gāinyās, Damāī̃s and Kaḍārā, and similar to Kāmīs) among the Untouchables in the Mulukī Ain’s caste hierarchy (MA-54.160.7) whose traditional profession was leather-working (M.R. Pant 2002: 135).
śrī	[S.] n. word of blessing, can be used as apprecatio, in which case it means 'good fortune' (Pant and Pierce 1989: 12), can be used as a prefix to names of persons and gods, in which case it means 'venerable' or 'glorious' respectively. The number of śrīs used varies, depending on context.
vādī	var. vādi; n. the 3rd lowest caste (superior to Cyāmes and Poḍhes) among the Untouchables in the Mulukī Ain’s caste hierarchy (MA-54.160.3). The Vādīs used to carry out the profession of singing and dancing at the houses of other caste fellows to make their livelihood.