A copy of an executive order presumably from King Gīrvāṇa granting Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā the right to retain overseership of the Luthāma Guṭha and its land endowments (VS 1860)
ID: E_2253_0015C
Edited and
translated by Manik Bajracharya
in collaboration with
Yogesh Budathoki
Created: 2020-08-20;
Last modified: 2021-04-19
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.
Abstract
The executive order of presumably King Gīrvāṇa, of which this is a copy, empowers Rāmananda Bā̃ḍā of Patan to exercise overseership of the Luthāma Guṭha and its endowments, consisting of sixty-nine ropanīs of land.
Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1[?]1स्वस्तिश्री[?]लिखापत्रम्1स्वस्तिश्रीमन्महाराजाधिराजकस्यरुक्का¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯2आगेपाटनका•ओकुवाहालटोलको•महावुद्धघरको•रामानंदवांडाके•तेरापुरू
3षाजीवराजवांडाले¯¯१¯¯कोरथमहा•सुनकोविमानचढाउंदा•गूठराख्याको•का
4मचलाई•वाकिरह्याकाद्रव्यले•पछिगूठकाखेतवढाउदै•ख⟪रा⟫ख्याका•गूठको•खे
5तकोचलनपनि•तिमिहेरूले•गरिआयाकोरहेछ•विमानविग्रदापनि•अद्या
6वधि•तिमिहेरूलेवनाउंदैरह्याछौ•हाम्रोराज्यभयापछिपनि•दुईतिनवर्ष•
7गूठकोभोग्यगर्याछौ•हिजोदेशघेरापार्दा•गूठचढायाकापत्र•भद्गाउंमा
8लुकाउनलैजांदा•भोट्यालेखोसिलियाछन्तपनि•चौविशहजारका•जा
9नुकाले•जान्यैकोरहेछ•पछिइजारापर्दा•खेतछोडिछस्तपनि•गरिआया
10कोकाम•छाडिनछस्पछिइजारामाफ्गरिदियापछिपनि•विग्र्याकोतै
11लेवनाउनुपर्दोरहेछ•तेरापुरूषालेराख्याकोगूठ•तैलेवेहार्नपायाकोर
12हेनछ•त्योविमानविग्रदा•टुट्ता•परापूर्वकारीतले•वनाउनुसजनुटहल
13नघटाई•तेरापुरूषालेराष्याकोतपसीलवमोजीमकोगूठ•तेरासंतानलाईनखो
14स्नु•गरिवक्स्यौँ•परापूर्वकारीतले•परापूर्वदेखिगरिआयाको•टहल्नघटाई•गू
15ठजानि•खातिर्जामासितभोग्यगरशुभम्¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
16तपसील
[table1]
| ङखुरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | भिलुपारोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | ङषुवंगरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯१ | |
| पाकोरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | सिलापाकोरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६। | रानिवुरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯१।।। | |
| टदंहंरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | रानिवुरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯७ | घ्योपीरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯३ | |
| पतिपारोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | कुसुंतिरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯८ | तेपनारोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯५ | |
| वुगमतीरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯६ | थंछेरोपनी¯¯¯¯¯¯१ | जम्मारोपनीठिक¯¯¯¯¯¯६९ |
22इतिसंवत्१८६०मितिसाल•भाद्रवदि७रो३शुभम्¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯1ताहांपछि•अंवलिश्रीशंखधरसुवेदार•छेउ•वहालिमाग्नजांदां•पाटन्याभलाम
2नुष्यराषि•त्योगूठकस्कोहो•विचारगरि•लेखिपठाव़भनि•लेखिपठायाकाकागत
3कोनकल्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
Translation
[1r]
Śrī Matsyendra[nātha] - 1
...1 written letter.
Hail! A rukkā of the venerable supreme king of great kings2
Āge: To Rāmānaṃda Bā̃ḍā, a resident of Mahābuddha at Oku Bāhāla Ṭola in Patan. To the guṭha3 established by your ancestor Jīvarāja Bā̃ḍā when he offered a golden vimāna4 to the chariot of 1 (i.e., Matsyendranātha) were added further rice field plots with money left over after it completed its tasks. It is learned that you (i.e., the guṭha members) have been tending to those plots as well. It is also learned that up to the present you have been renovating the vimāna whenever it is damaged. You still enjoyed [the fruits of] the guṭha for two or three years after [the start of] our rule. Earlier5 , during [the Gorkha troops'] blockade of the region6 , when you took to Bhādagāũ, in order to hide them there, the documents relating to the donation of the guṭha, [the documents] were grabbed by Bhoṭyās. However, it is learned that the well-informed among the twenty-four thousand7 [households/people] know [that you are the rightful overseers of the guṭha]. Later, when the ijārā [system] was instituted, you gave up the plots but did not give up the regular duties [of the guṭha]. It is [further] learned that you still had to renovate [the vimāna] whenever it was damaged, even after the ijārā [obligations on the part of the guṭha] had been forgiven, and that you were unable to make use of the guṭha established by your ancestors.
Whenever the vimāna is damaged or breaks, repair and restore it, following [thereby] the traditional customs. We have made arrangements so that the guṭha established by your ancestor [with the endowments] mentioned in the list below [and ever since] provided with undiminished service cannot be taken away from [you and] your descendants. Enjoy [its fruits,] knowing that it is [your] guṭha, [and]—mindful of your duty—not reducing the services that you have long provided to it by traditional custom. Auspiciousness.
The list [of guṭha lands]
[table1]
| Ṅakhu, 6 ropanīs | Bhilupā, 6 ropanīs | Ṅakhuvaṃga, 1 ropanī | |
| Pāko, 6 ropanīs | Silāpāko, 6 ropanīs 1 javā | Rānibu, 1 ropanī 3 javās | |
| Ṭadahaṃ, 6 ropanīs | Rānibu, 7 ropanīs | Ghyopī, 3 ropanīs | |
| Patipā, 6 ropanīs | Kusuṃti, 8 ropanīs | Tepanā, 5 ropanīs | |
| Bu[ṅ]gamatī, 6 ropanīs | Thaṃche, 1 ropanī | A total of exactly 69 ropanīs |
Tuesday, the 7th of the dark fortnight of Bhādra in the [Vikrama] era year 1860 (1803 CE).
Later on, when we went to ask for [a] bahāli8 [document] to the amālī9 , the venerable subedāraŚaṅkhadhara, he wrote to us: "You should write [to me] in consultation with the notables (bhalā manuṣya) of Patan regarding whom the guṭha is under". A copy of the letter he sent [is below].10
Commentary
This document is a copy of an executive order seemingly issued by King Gīrvāṇayuddha to Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā of Oku Bāhāla in Patan. It grants Rāmānanda and his fellow guṭha members the right to retain overseership of the Luthāma Guṭha and its land endowments. It was issued in response to a petition by Rāmānanda and is mentioned in a note appended to document E_2253_0015B. There is a gap of one year between this and the previous document E_2253_0015B, leading one to believe that Rāmānanda had to wait that long to get this rukkā issued.
Rāmānanda apparently did not possess any proof of his right to the Luthāma Guṭha. As the document mentions, this was because his papers were taken by Bhoṭes when he fled to Bhaktapur during attacks by Gorkhali troops in Patan. The king, however, acknowledges his right to the guṭha based on information obtained from the general public. No names of suppliers of such information are mentioned, nor does the document provide any details about the Bhoṭes who took the documents. If the ethnonym Bhoṭe refers to Tibetanid peoples, it is puzzling how they could have overpowered Rāmānanda in Bhaktapur, which was still ruled by a Newar king. One may also assume that the documents were taken while he was on his way to Bhaktapur.
The document lists 14 pieces of plots amounting to 69 ropanīs as the endowment of the guṭha. Although some of the place names cannot be identified, it is likely that all the plots were in or around Lalitpur district. It is interesting to note that Bruce Owens's study during the 1980s found 36 ropanīs of land remaining with the guṭha (see Owens 1989: 274). This was only half of the original amount of land mentioned in the current document. Owens further mentions that the "guṭhiyar complains of having difficulty extracting the guṭhī's share of the proceeds from its tenants" (ibid.).
The document has a note appended at the end which mentions that Amālī Śaṅkhadhara had asked the guṭha members to verify their status through Patan's notables. It is interesting that an amāli could object to a right already granted by the king. Could a local authority overrule the king's order? Or was this merely a bureaucratic formality?
An edition of this document has also been published in Śākya VS 2045: 90-91. According to this edition, the document was attested by Dāmodara and Ambar Sāha.