Documenta Nepalica

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

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A public notice from the Guṭhī Bandobasta to the locals of Tulāche re the seizure of property belonging to the priest Jogabāhādura (VS 1977)

ID: K_0262_0061

Edited and translated by Ramhari Timalsina
Created: ; Last modified: 2020-03-22
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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, 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

A statue of Tripurasundarī having been stolen from her temple in Bhaktapur, this purjī from the Guṭhī Bandobasta is a notice to the local gentry and neighbours of the priest Jogabāhādura to help officials deputed to confiscate property belonging to the priest, who refused to compensate for the theft of the image.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री•\

1⟪६२⟫

1⟪नं३८२८ ⟫

[seal with the legend: श्री५गुठी वंदोवस्तअडा१९७७]

1श्री५सर्कारतर्फगुठीवंदोवस्तअडा•
2वाट•
3भाद्‌गाउतुलाछेटोलवस्नेभलादमीछीमेकीस्मेतगैह्रकेपुर्जीउप्रांत७६सालमाचोरीभय़ाकोत्रीपुरसुंद
4रीदेवी•चोरीभय़ाकोलेसर्कारतर्फवाटमोरु२५८।८७लगाईवनाईतय़ारगरी•पुजाहारीजोगवाहादुरजे
5हेरवालादुर्गाचरंकर्माचार्ज्येलेवुझीलगेकोसोत्रीपुरसुंदरी•देवीकोसुंकोमोलंवाकोमुर्तीचोरीभ
6य़ाकोजाहेरीआय़ाकोभै•१छापे•वमोजींसोचोरीभय़ाकोमुर्तीजीम्मालीनेवाटभर्नारषाउनुपर्नेभय़ा
7कोर•सोचोरीभय़ाकोमुर्तीनीजपुजाहारीजोगवाहादुरलेमैलेजीम्मागरीलगेकोरमैलेपुजाग
8रीआय़ाकोहोतपनी•देवालयेमालाईराषेकोसाचोवीगारीचोरीभय़ाकोहुनालेमैलेघरघराना
9वाट•तीर्नसकतीनभनीभर्नाराषनमंजुरनगरेकोहुनालेसोचोरीभय़ाकोसुंकोमोलंवाभय़ाकोमुर्तीको
10वीगोनीजजोगवाहादुरकाजायेजातवाटउपरगर्नुपर्दापुर्जीगरीजायेजातगर्नालाईयेसअडाकाका
11रींदा•नौ•हरीनारांरसीपाहीहरूस्मेतलाईषताईपठाईदीय़ाकोछसोजायेजातगर्नलाईआउदाधंमा
12ललुकाउलदवाउननहुनेगरीनीजजोगवाहादुरकोघरधंमालश्रीसंपती•जायेजातदेषाईतीमीहरु
13 स्मेतवसीजायेजाततायेदातगरीस्हीछापस्मेतगरीदिनेस्मेतकांगरईतीसंवत१९७७सालफागुं
14गतेरोज•शुभ्म् ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[seal with the legend: श्री जनकलाल]

[seal with the legend: श्री हरिवहादुर]

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

No. 281

[seal with the legend: śrī 5 guṭhī baṃdovasta aḍā 1977]

A purjī from the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā of Śrī 5 Sarkāra to all the local gentry and neighbours of Jogabāhādura, residents of Tulāche Ṭola in Bhādagāu

Uprānta: When a statue of glorious Tripurasundarī was stolen in the [Vikrama] era year [19]76, the government made a replica, spending 258 morus 87 paisās, and the priest (pūjāhārī) Jogabāhādura and the informant2 Durgācaraṃ Karmācārjye received and took it away. It turns out that the [new] gilded statue of the goddess Tripurasundarī was stolen, and according to an eka-chāpe 3 [order] the persons who had responsibility [for taking care of] the stolen statue are obliged to make restitution. However, the priest Jogabāhādura has refused to do so, arguing: “Even if I had responsibility for the stolen statue and had been worshipping it, it was stolen after the lock (lit. key) of the temple was broken, so that I am not obliged to (lit. I cannot) pay compensation from my household property.” Since he refuses to make restitution, a purjī has been issued to confiscate property from the said Jogabāhādura as compensation for the stolen gilded statue. Nine clerks, Harīnārāṃ from our office and [some] soldiers have been appointed to the task and are being sent. When they arrive for the confiscation, you people perform the job of showing them the priest’s household property in such a way that he is not able to hide or conceal it from them and of putting your signatures [to the relevant documents] as the confiscation process is being carried out.

On ...4 the ...5 day of the Phāguṃ in the [Vikrama] era year 1977 (1921 CE). Auspiciousness.

[seal with the legend: śrī Janakalāla]

[seal with the legend: śrī Haribahādura]

Commentary

A statue of Tripurasundarī was stolen from the temple of the goddess in Bhaktapur in 1920 (VS 1976). The government had made a replica spending 258 morus 87 paisās, and the priests (pūjāhārī) Jogabāhādura and Durgācaraṃ Karmācārjye had received and taken it away (K_0262_0061). The statue was again stolen in the night of the 28th day of Pauṣa in the Vikrama era year 1977 (1921 CE) (K_0262_0055). Fifteen documents preserved in the Guṭhī Saṃsthāna numbered from K_0262_0051 to K_0262_0065 are related to the second theft. These documents were issued by the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā, Aḍḍā Jā̃ca Śrestā Phā̃ṭa, Guṭhī Jā̃ca Aḍḍā, Choṭī Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā or Choṭī Jaṅgī Kotavālī of Bhaktapur; or else addressed to the offices. The temple priest Durgācarṇa Karmācārjye first reported the theft to the authority (K_0262_0061). Jogabāhādura Karmācārje, the other priest of the temple, submitted a written statement regarding the theft (K_0262_0055) to the Choṭī Jaṅgī Kotavālī of Bhaktapur on the 3rd of Māgha. On the 16th day of the same month the Aḍā Jāca Śreṣtā Phāṭa wrote a letter to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā ordering it, as part of an investigation, to find out where security broke down and get restitution of the stolen statue within 15 days (K_0262_0051). Meanwhile a 1-chāpe was issued, probably by Prime Minister Candra Śamśera, urging the related offices to investigate the matter quickly. On the same day, the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā sent a purjī to the Choṭī Jaṅgī Koṭavālī of Bhaktapur to have the latter bring in the priests Jogabāhādura Karmācārye and Durgācarṇa Karmācārye for questioning, both of whom had been charged with taking care of the statue (K_0262_0052). Durgācarṇa Karmācārye was detained, and on the 20th of Māgha the Choṭī Jaṅgī Kotavālī sent the priest on to the Guṭhī Bandobasta and requested written acknowledgement of having received him (K_0262_0054). On the 26th of Māgha, Jogabāhādura Karmācārjye refused to make restitution and was taken back into custody by the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā (K_0262_0056). Some time later the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā put a query to the Devānī Phā̃ṭa concerning the confiscation of private property belonging to the priest in compensation for the loss (K_0262_0057). In the month of Phāguna of the same year the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā ordered the Jaṅgī Kotavālī of Bhaktapur to carry out the confiscation (K_0262_0059). Parallel to this, it issued a notice to the local gentry and neighbours of the priest Jogabāhādura to help officials deputed to confiscate the property (K_0262_0061). The articles collected were stored at the Choṭī Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā in Bhaktapur. In Caitra of the same year the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā sent a purji to that office ordering it to send the confiscated articles to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā (K_0262_0064) to be auctioned off.

Notes

1. These numerals by a second hand were probably added when documents were either sorted or, more likely, when they were microfilmed. [⇑]

2. Durgācaraṃ Karmācārjye was apparently the person who informed authorities of the second theft of the statue. [⇑]

3. The document was probably issued by Prime Minister Candra Śamśera. [⇑]

4. The space for the day of the week has been left blank in the original. [⇑]

5. The space for the day of the month has been left blank in the original. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
Aḍḍā Jā̃ca Śrestā Phā̃ṭa	var. Aḍā Jāca Śrestā Phāṭa, Aḍḍā Jā̃ca, Aḍā Jāca Śrestā; n. an office set up for inspection purpose. It inspected all government officers in the valley and sent its report to the Commander-in-Chief (Agrawal 1976: 61)
Choṭī Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā	n. regional office responsible for managing the expenses of the guṭhīs working under the head of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā.
Choṭī Jaṅgī Kotavālī	var. Choṭī Jaṅgī Koṭavālī, Choṭī Jaṅgī Koṭvālī; n. regional army station.
Devānī Phā̃ṭa	var. devānī phāṭ, divānī phāṭ, dīvānī phāṭā, dīvānī phā̃ṭā; n. division or section of a civil court.
eka-chāpe	n. lit. "single stampded"; a letter with the seal or signature of the Prime Minister.
Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā	var. Guṭhī 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 Jā̃ca Aḍḍā	n. an institution serving an oversight function within the state’s supervision of local guṭhī management, for example in matters relating to tender arrangements.
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.
paisā	n. 1) money. 2) in the early Śāha period: monetary unit, one-fourth of an ānā, consisting of four dāmas with 64 paisās in 1 rūpaiyā̃. 3) in the Rāṇā period: monetary unit with 100 paisās in 1 rūpaiyā̃.
pūjārī / pūjāhārī	var. pujārī, pujāhārī; n. person formally appointed to conduct the worship (pūjā) of a deity and therewith earning one's livelyhood, temple priest.
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.
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 5 sarkāra	lit. "five-times venerable ruler"; commonly used to refer to the Śāha king (cp. Whelpton 2005: 266) and often indistinctively to his government (Lecomte-Tilouine 2015).
uprānta	var. uprāṃta, ūprāṃnta, ūprā̃nta, prāṃta; also yathocita uprānta; conj. after that, besides, in addition to, hereafter. In earlier prose and official documents, this word marked the beginning of a text or paragraph. It has no equivalent in English (Clark 1989: 231). In some (mostly Rāṇā period?) documents, it takes the form of yathocita uprānta.