Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal

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A copy of a purjī from C-in-C General Deva Śamśera to the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā re the Baḍādasaĩ rituals at the Pāñcāyana temple (VS 1955)

ID: K_0614_0029

Edited by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya
Created: 2020-09-23; Last modified: 2020-05-03
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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, 2021. 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

Through the purjī, of which this is a copy, C-in-C General Deva Samsera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura endorses the regular budget for the rituals performed during the autumnal Dasaĩ festival in the year VS 1955 (1898 CE) at the Pāñcāyana temple, in line with outlays of the previous year. It directs the officers of the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā to release funds for the projected expenses of 26.2.0.1 rupees in cash and 1 pāthī, 1 mānā in kind, as itemized in the appended details (tapasila) of revenue from the Jaṅgānandaprakāśeśvara Sadābartā Guṭhī.

Diplomatic edition

[56v-part1]

189

1श्रीजगनन्दप्रकासेश्वर
2४

1श्रीइस्तदेवता
2३

1श्वर्गेवासीश्री३महाराज
2जङ्‌गवाहादुरराणा
3२

[?]

1स्वस्तिश्रीमद्राजकुमारकुमारा∙ज्मजश्रीकम्यांदरईनचीफ्‌जनरलदेवस्मसेरजङ्गराणावहादुरकस्य∙
2¯ ¯१¯तर्फगुठीषर्चअडाकाहाकीम्‌कारीन्दाकेपुर्जीउप्रान्त¯ ¯२¯वाटस्थापनागरीवक्स्याकापां
3चाये़णमा¯ ¯३¯कास्थापनमावडादसैकामामलीपुजागर्नालाईसावीक्‌मा∙¯ ¯४¯का∙
4सदावर्तगुठीवाटषर्चगरीगुठीषर्चअडाकानाऊमासनदभैकामचलाईआय़ाकोहुं
5नालेरगुठीगुठीकादानपत्रसीलापत्रतावापत्रमानभय़ाकासावीक्‌मा∙सनदपुर्जी
6भैआय़ाकोकामजोछसावीक्‌वमोजीम्‌कोवषत्‌वषत्‌मासनदगरीदीनुभंन्या
7य़सअडाकानाऊमाभयाका∙१२नंम्वरकासव़ालमुतावीक्‌सावीक्‌५४सालवमोजी
8म्‌∙षर्चभय़ाकोनगदीमोहर्रू२६॥∙।जीन्सी।१।१कोतपसीलमाअंनाजीदरदाम्‌ता
9कीय़ाकोछतापनीज्मामानवढाईतीम्रानाऊमाभयाकासव़ालसनदकोरीतपुर्‍या
10ईसाछीराषीषरीदगरीनीजगुठीकास्याहामाषर्चलेषीय़ही५५सालकावडादसै
11कोमामलीपुजाचलाऊनुवहीवुझदासाछीकोरलीन्यादीन्याकोस्हीछापपर्‍याका[?]हा
12वमोजीम्‌मोजराहोलाभंन्यागुठीषर्चअडाका∙हाकीम्‌∙कानाऊमा∙सनदगरीवक्स
13नु∙पर्नेठहराञ्युंजोमर्जीभनी¯ ¯ ¯तर्फगुठीवंन्दोवस्त∙अडाकासीमुषीय़ाभक्तमा
14नजोसीलेहाम्राहजुरमावीन्तीपार्दाजाहेरभयोतसर्थसोठहराय़ाकोमाहामीवा
15टपनीमुनासीवठहराईसदरगरीवक्स्याकोछसोवमोजीम्‌गर्न्याकामगर————

[56v-part2]

16तपसील्‌

[table1-part1]

1	नगदीज्मामोहर्रू				२६॥∙।
2	पैसा१६गंदीरू११॥///॥।२केद्र२५गंदीलेमोहर्रू			७॥∙।
3	जौपाथी१रफलफुलस्मेत्‌के		॥।∙॥
4	व्राह्मनलाईधोतीऊपर्नाकेनैनकीलाट्‌गज९के		२॥//॥।
5	अैनावट्टाधागोपोटेचुराके		///॥।
6	घटसस्थापनागर्नाके		॥∙
7	वीसरजनपुजाके	।∙
8	नीसानपुजाके	।
9	————————————————————————
10	रेषीपीथोचाव़लमाना२के		//॥
11	वतीधुपके		/
12	वतीघ्युके		१///
13	तेलकुर्वा१के		१
14	माटाकागाग्रोके		/॥।
15	गणेसकेलालवस्त्रवावट्‌		/।∙
16	सेतोवस्त्रगज॥के		//
17	तोरनकाकपडापाऊ॥के		//
18	घडाकेरदीय़ोकलसके		२॥।//॥।२
19	नरीव़लपगरीजोर१के		॥।
20	सुपारीके		ऽ॥
21	पंचरत्नके		ऽ।
22	गोकुलधुपके		//
23	वतीधागोके		।∙॥।
24	अक्षेताफचाव़लपाथी१के		॥/
25	————————————————————————
26	रांगावोकाकेमोहरु			१९
27	मौलामाहानाके		१२॥

[57r]

1५७

[table1-part2]

28	रांगा१के	१०
29	वोका१के	२॥
30	———————————————
31	पुजाकावोका२के		५
32	कुविंदो४के		॥
33	षर्रूव़ागज३के		१
34	————————————————————————

[table2]

1	जीन्सी		।१।१
2	फचाव़ल	।∙।४
3	धान्‌	।∙।५
4	————————————————————————

17ईतीसंम्वत१९५५सालमीतीदुआश्वीणवदी रोज श्भ्म्‌————

Synopsis

The purjī of which this is a copy was issued by C-in-C General Deva Samsera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura and is addressed to the chief officer (hākima) and clerks (kārindā) of the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā under Śrī 3 Sarkāra 1 .

It quotes a petition made by Mukhiyā Bhaktamāna Josī from the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā under Śrī 3 Sarkāra to issue a purjī in the name of the chief officer of the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā. This petition refers 1) to the fact that in order to perform the customary Baḍā Dasaĩ worship at the site of the śrī iṣṭadevatā in the Pāñcāyana temple that was erected by Śrī 3 Mahārāja Jaṅga Bāhādura Rāṇā the rituals were traditionally being performed with expenses met by the Śrī Jaṅgānandaprakāśeśvara Sadābarta Guṭhī and 2) to the existence of directive (savāla) no. 12 to their office (i.e. the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā) obliging them to have sanadas issued whenever tasks came up for which sanadapurjīs were called for as authorization because no deeds of gift (dānapatra), stone deeds (śilāpatra) or copperplate deeds (tāmāpatra) existed. The petition further determined that the purjī should order the chief of the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā to release the necessary funds on the basis of the costs incurred in the year [19]54 and as projected in the details (tapasila) appended, namely 26.2.0.1 mohararūpaiyā̃s in cash and 1 pāthī, 1 mānā in kind. In case the costs exceed the previous outlay, a reimbursement is promised on the basis of the receipts signed by a witness and by the traders involved in the transactions.

In its concluding lines, the sanadapurjī endorses this petition and orders the addressee to act accordingly.

Details:

The overall cash sum (nagada) of 26.2.0.1 morus is broken down into 7.2.0.1 morus for pūjā material and 19 morus for sacrificial animals, both being itemized more specifically.2 The two items in the provisions in kind (jinsī) are husked and unhusked rice.

The document is dated the dark fortnight in the second Āśvina of VS 1955 (1898 CE).3

Commentary

The document, relating to provisions for rituals performed during the autumnal Dasaĩ festival at the Pāñcāyana temple at Thāpāthalī, is part of a series of similar documents. It follows earlier documents issued in VS 1951 (K_0379_0073), VS 1953 (K_0625_0006), VS 1954 (K_0640_0019) more or less verbatim. In contrast to these earlier documents it does, however, not address the chief officer of the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā by name, referring only to his office. For more on the temple, its rituals and their administration, see the Commentaries to K_0476_0060 and K_0636_0036.

Notes

1. The honorific reference "śrī 3 sarkāra" was covered by paper when the document was microfilmed. It is, however, visible in the reproduction of K_0614_0028. In contrast to the other three honorific references it is neither numbered in the space above nor at the place in the text below where it should be inserted. In the original it must have been numbered 1. [⇑]

2. The lists are largely congruent with earlier lists, as exemplified in a document from VS 1951 (K_0379_0073). Obvious scribal mistakes have here been corrected on the basis of this earlier account. [⇑]

3. VS 1955 featured an intercalary month (ādhikamāsa) in the form of a "second" (here: du[itīya]) month of Āśvina. In the present copy the details for lunar day and weekday have been left out. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
baḍā dasaĩ	var. baḍā dasai; also mahā dasaĩ; n. festival to worship the goddess Durgā as slayer of the buffalo demon, held over the bright half of the autumn month of Āśvina. Cf. dasaĩ / daśaĩ.
dānapatra	[S.] n. deed of gift.
dasaĩ / daśaĩ	[fr. S. daśāha] var. dasai; n. festival to worship the goddess Durgā as slayer of the buffalo demon, held over the bright half of the autumn month of Āśvina (baḍā dasaĩ) and, on a smaller scale, over the bright half of the spring month of Caitra (caite dasaĩ).
guṭha / guṭhi / guṭhī	[fr. S. goṣṭhī] var. guṭh, guthi; n. 1) a socio-religious organization that manages and finances religious and charitable functions, a trust. 2) “endowed lands or other sources of revenue for financing religious and charitable functions“ (M.R. Pant 2002: 132; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 267).
Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā	var. Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍā, Guṭhi Bandobasta Aḍā; n. "Guthi Administration Office", office responsible for the management of guṭhīs; established under Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā in 1852-1853 as replacement of the former Guṭhī Kacaharī. Its foundation marks the change from the guṭhīyāri system of the guṭhī management to the contractor based system; remained the central office to coordinate all offices subsequently established for handling different aspects of guṭhī management, including the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā and others. Separate Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍās managed the śrī 5 sarkāra guṭhīs and the śrī 3 sarkāra guṭhīs (cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 713-715).
Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā	n. office responsible for managing the expenses of the guṭhīs working under the head of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā; two separate Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍās managed the śrī 5 sarkāra guṭhīs and the śrī 3 sarkāra guṭhīs.
hākima	[H. fr. A.] var. hākim, hākīm; n. chief of an administrative unit, government office or court (Adhikari 1984: 349; Kumar 1967: 165; Michael 2012: 131; M.C. Regmi 2002: 299).
iṣṭadevatā	[S.] n. chosen deity, patron deity of a person or group.
jinsī	var. jinīsī, jinīs, jīṃsī; a thing, article, commodity or goods for purchase and sale (Wilson 1855: 240 s.v. Jins). Payment of revenue in kind in contradistinction to that which is paid in cash (nagada).
kārindā	[fr. P. kāranda] var. kārīṃdā, kārīndā; n. clerk or low-ranking official.
mānā	n. a volumetric unit equivalent to 0.568 litres, or 1/8 of a pāthi.
mohararupaiyā̃	var. mohararupaiyām, mohararūpaiyā, moharaṭaṃkā (New.); often abbreviated as moru, morū, moharu, moharū, moharru, mohorru; n. monetary unit based on and equivalent to two eight-anna silver coins (moharas); in calculations usually broken down into four sukās, 16 ānās or 64 paisās (cf. Pant and Pierce 1989: 93) or 256 dāmas; the exchange ratio with paisās was calculated differently at different times and in different parts of the kingdom, depending on the relative values of silver and copper, ranging between 52 and 80 paisās (Regmi 1982: 73). In documents sums are represented in four numerical fractions, with the rupaiyā represented by numbers; the sukās by one to three daṇḍas or the avagraha sign representing zero; the ānās by one to three diagonal dashes, sometimes as a loop with two or three jags; the paisās again by daṇḍas or numbers; the dāmas by numbers or horizontal dashes.
mukhiyā	var. mukhīyā, muṣiyā, muṣīyā; n. a designation for an administrative post used at the local, district and central level. At the local level mukhiyās functioned as village headmen and revenue functionaries (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93; M.R. Pant 2002: 134; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 269). District headmen were also called mukhiyās. In the central administration, mukhiyās were writers who kept accounts or supervised officials of lower ranks (Edwards 1975: 107 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 228 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 862 ; Kumar 1967: 16).
nagada	var. nagat, nakhat; n. an amount to be paid in cash or ready money, applied especially to land revenue in contradistinction to that which is paid in kind (jinsī) (Wilson 1855: 363 s.v. Naḳdī).
pāthī	var. pāthi; n. 1) a volumetric unit equivalent to 4.546 litres comprising of 8 mānās with 20 pāthīs in one muri. 2) a container for grains having a volume of one pāthī.
pūjā	[S.] var. pujā; n. 1) worship, honour. 2) formal worship ritual of a revered being with offerings.
purjī	[fr. P. purja] var. purji, pūrjī; n. 1) slip of paper, note. 2) formal letter written by a government institution or an official to another institution or to a person.
sadābarta	[S. sadāvrata] var. sadāvartta, sadāvarta, sadābartta; n. 1) regular distribution of alms or food to mendicants, guests, pilgrims or the poor (cp. Adhikari 1984: 356). 2) a kitchen where raw or cooked food is supplied to these groups (cp. M.C. Regmi 1978b: 864). 3) a charitable foundation for the provision of food to poor, mendicants and pilgrims (cp. M.C. Regmi 2002: 302).
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).
sanadapurjī	var. sanadapurji; n. a purjī issued to government offices by the prime minister (prāimaminisṭara yaṇḍa kamyāṇḍara ina cipha) or the commander-in-chief general (kamyāṇḍara ina cipha janarala) in the Rāṇā period.
savāla	n. 1) an enquiry. 2) a set of directives issued especially for the administrative purposes. Contrary to a sanada which is applicable to general public, a savāla refers to rules within a particular organization or an administrative unit (see Siṃha 1981 sv svāla. 3) rules and regulations enacted based on an existing law; administrative regulations (Adhikari 1984: 356; Karmacharya 2001: 328).
śilāpatra	var. silāpatra, sīlāpatra; n. stone deed, stone inscription.
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.
śrī 3 mahārājā	var. māhārāja, mahārāja. lit. "thrice venerable great king"; title referring to the Rāṇā prime minister. On August 6 1856, King Surendra, through a lālamohara, conferred upon Jaṅga Bahādura the title of mahārāja of Kaski and Lamjung (cf. Agrawal 1976: 10). The title was subsequently passed on to all Rāṇā prime ministers.
śrī 3 sarkāra	lit. "three-times venerable ruler"; title used by the Rāṇā prime ministers (cp. Whelpton 2005: 266).
tāmāpatra / tāmrapatra	var. tā̃bāpatra, tāvāpatra; n. copperplate deed, copperplate inscription; see also moharatāmrapatra.
tapasila	[fr. A.] var. tapasīl, tapasīlā, tapsīl; n. particulars, details; can be a self-sustained document, but is more often appended as a list after the narratio of documents.