A purjī of Commander-in-Chief Bhīma Śamśera ordering the Gūṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā to summon recalcitrant ritualists of Bhaktapur's Taleju for the Dasaĩ festival (VS 1962)
ID: K_0230_0034
Edited and
translated by Astrid Zotter
in collaboration with
Rajan Khatiwoda and Ramhari Timalsina
Created: 2016-06-27;
Last modified: 2018-11-23
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Abstract
In this purjī, Commander-in-Chief Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā directs the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā to have hiphales, who serve Bhaktapur’s Taleju carry out their customary duties after they had stopped doing so. The office is directed to send a clerk to help two subbās to force the recalcitrants, on pain of imprisonment, to carry out their tasks during the impending Dasaĩ rituals and to promise them new arrangements once the festival is over.
Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1श्री\1तलेज्यू2१1श्री३माहाराजदाज्यैज्यू
2२[unknown signature]1श्रीभाईमेजरजनरल•
2जदुसम्सेरजङ्
3राणावाहादुर•
4३1श्रीकम्यांडर•ईनचीफजनरल•भीम•
2सम्सेरजङ्राणावाहादुर•वाट
3श्री५सर्कारगुठीवंदोवस्तका•हाकिम्•कारींदालेपुर्जिहेरी•भादगाऊ
4¯ ¯१¯कोकाम्माहीफलेहरूआईगर्नुपर्नेकाम्•पुरानाहिफलेहरु•
5रपोलाहा•स्मेत्•नआयाकोहुनालेकाम्अड्काऊ•हुनेभयाकोहाल्
6जाहेर•भयाकोहुनाले•पुरानीञाँहिफलेहरुजहाछ•मानीस्पठाईपक्री
7हालतिमीहरूलेकामचलाऊनु•दसैसकेपछी•तिमीहरुकोवंदोवस्त
8हुन्याछ•हालकाम्चलायेनौ•भन्याजगावेच्यामातिमीहरूझेलषाना
9पर्नेछभनी•सुनाई•कामचलाऊन•लाऊनुभंने¯ ¯२¯वाटहुकंवक्सेकोरलेषी
10यावमोजिम्•काम्गराऊनुभंने¯ ¯ ¯३लाईपनीलेषीगयाकोहुनाले•तिमीह
11रूलाईपनीलेषीवक्सेकाछौतेस्अडाको१जनाचलाककारींदा•पनीऐल्यै
12भादगाऊमाषटाईपठाई•सुव्वावीष्णुप्रसादसुव्वात्रैलोकश्वर•लालस्मेत्भै•
13¯ ¯३¯छेऊसामेल्भै•निजहीफलेहरुलाईपक्रनपठाई¯ ¯१¯मागराऊनुप
14र्नेकामगराऊनु•लेषीयावमोजीम्नगरी•कामअड्कायौभने•सजायेस्मेत्
15हुनेछभनीषटीजानेकारींदालाईउर्दिसुनाईषटाईपठाऊनु•लेषीयावमो
16जिमगराऊनुभंनेसुव्वावीष्णुप्रसाद•सुव्वात्रैलोकेश्वरलाललाईपनीले
17षीगयाकोछ•इतिसम्वत•१९६२साल•आश्वीन१६गतेरोज१शुभं¯¯¯¯¯¯[seal with the legend: रत्नमान ५५]
Translation
[1r]
Talejyū – 1
Śrī 3 Mahārāja, elder brother1 – 2
Venerable younger brother Major General Yadu Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura – 3
[Unknown signature]2
From the Venerable Commander-in-Chief General Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura:
"Observing [the orders given in this] purjī the chief officer (hākima) and clerks of the Guṭhī Bandobasta [Aḍḍā under] Śrī 5 Sarkāra are to lay hold of the long-time hiphales, sending men to where they are, the current situation having come to [our] notice that, concerning the tasks to be carried out by the hiphales among the [ritual] tasks of the Bhaktapur (text: Bhādagāū) [Talejyū],3 such tasks are likely to be obstructed because the long-time hīphales together with the polāhā have not come [to attend to them]. They should be told [words to this effect]: 'For now you must perform the tasks; after Dasaĩ is over [new] arrangements will be made for you. If you do not perform the tasks, you shall, if ever you sell land, be imprisoned.' Take [them there] and have [them] perform the tasks." [Venerable younger brother Major General Yadu Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura]4 was also written to to have [them] perform the tasks in accordance with [the above-quoted letter, as] ordered and written by [Śrī 3 Mahārāja, the elder brother].5 We have therefore also written to you [in this regard]. Appoint and send a resourceful clerk of this, [your] office to Bhaktapur now, and together with SubbāVīṣṇu Prasāda [and] Subbā Trailokeśvara Lāla [and] in concert with [venerable younger brother Major General Yadu Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura],6 send them to lay hold of these same hiphales, [whom they are to] have perform the tasks which need to be performed at [the Talejyū7 temple]. Tell the [clerk] to be appointed the orders [to be delivered to the hiphales], namely : "If you do not act in accordance with what has been written and obstruct the ritual work, there will even be imprisonment [to pay for it with]." Subbā Vīṣṇu Prasāda [and] Subbā Trailokeśvara Lāla have also been written to to have [the hiphales] act in accordance with what has been written.
Sunday, the 16th solar day (gate) of Āśvina in the [Vikrama] era year 1962.8 Auspiciousness.9
Commentary
In initial positions the scribe uses ū and ī to represent both long and short vowels, except in one instance each.
The document talks about measures to be taken in order to prevent an imminent obstruction of the Dasaĩ rituals performed at the Taleju (text: Talejyū) temple at Bhaktapur caused by the non-attendance of a group of persons needed for carrying out "tasks" (kāma), which here probably refers to ritual duties. As this purjī mentions previous orders having been sent, it seems likely that the problem had been simmering for some time. Given its date, which corresponds to the third day of the Dasaĩ festival, the matter must have become a pressing one at the time of its issue.
As the background to the case is unknown and any corroborative evidence is lacking, one may only speculate about what was going on. First of all, it is not sure what the nature of the group of persons called hiphales/hīphales (once together with polāhā) was, and what their precise duties were. Maybe the hiphales of this document were specialists from the Jyāpu community which R. Levy in his treatment of the Dasaĩ rituals at the Taleju temple describes as the "Hipha: men, the 'receivers of blood'" (Levy 1992: 537). These latter stand at both sides of the gate of the goddess's worship room when the Kālarātri buffalo sacrifice takes place in the night from the eighth to the ninth day of the festival. Jars in their hands, and they themselves, are sprayed with blood in the process (ibid.). According to L. Munaṃkarmī (2002: 42–44) the two persons receiving the blood come from Mūguṭhi and Cauguṭhi Jyāpu families. If the hiphales of the present document are indeed identical with these "Hipha: men," the word polāhā (lit. "burner") may denote a chosen member of the Newar group of untouchable sweepers who, in the same night, comes to the Taleju temple during the cleaning up after the buffalo sacrifices to do something "that facilitates purification" inside the temple—the only occasion an untouchable would ever enter it (Levy 1992: 538). Polāhā may then be a Nepali spelling of the Newari word pvaryā, var. pvaḥ (Kölver and Shresthacarya 1994: s.v.). Alternatively polāhā may denote a member of the Jyāpu community who have to "burn" the corpses of the upper tharas of the Newar communities. In Patan and Sankhu these are known as Gvaṃ, in Bhaktapur as Cyaḥ (see Gutschow and Michaels 2005: 42). But there is no information about them being in charge at the Taleju temple.
But in the absence of further information one cannot be sure whether either of these groups represents the specialists the document talks about, or what the exact reason for their non-cooperation was. Was the quarrel about remuneration, as the promise given to them that "after Dasaĩ is over, there will be [new] arrangements for you" (dasaĩ sakepachī timiharuko baṃdobasta hunyācha, ll. 7–8) seems to suggest? Does the threat of imprisonment in the event of "selling land" (jagā becyāmā timiharu jhelakhānā parnechau, ll. 8–9) hint at the possibility that the specialists did not want to maintain land endowed to them as traditional remuneration? Does the government in promising a new arrangement hold out the prospect of eventually giving in if they go back to work?
Quarrels about ritualists' remuneration—about services provided for what was thought to be inadequate compensation—must have become commonplace in the Rāṇā period, since the state endowments for rituals often stipulate fixed sums without taking into account inflation rates. For a petition by a tenant of guṭhi land that was denied after he threatened to stop tilling the land if he had to provide sacrificial animals at the rates fixed, see K_0187_0080.