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A purjī from the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā to the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā ordering the disbursement of funds for installing a new Kumārī (VS 1980)

ID: K_0214_0046


Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2018-10-20; Last modified: 2019-06-04
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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, 2019. 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 CCby-SA.

Abstract

In this purjī, the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā lays out the procedure to be followed to satisfy the claim of the pūjārī Vimalāramaṇa Rājopādhyā to material provisions for installing a new Kumārī in time to worship during Baḍādasaĩ at the Patan Taleju temple and orders the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā to disburse Rs. 20 for what is needed in the attendant feast.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1⟪12a­⟫

1श्री­५­सर्कारतर्फ­गुठी­वंडोवस्तवाट­      ऐं­गुठी­षर्च­अडाके­


2पुर्जी­•


3ऊप्रांत­•पाटं­श्री­तलेज्युमा­वडाडसैको­पुजामा­र­अरु­पर्व­पर्वमा­स्मेट्‌­पुजा­गर्नुपर्ने­श्री­कुमारी­७६­साल्मा­षु
4न्‌­भै­फेर्डा­गुल्वन्डको­लहंगा­१­वापत्ता­तीन्‌­षाप्‌को­चोलो­१­लाल­कपडाको­पछ्यौरा­१­स्मेट्‌को­
5कौसी­तोसाषानावाट­मोरु­९।२५­भोजको­चाहीने­ठेकडारवाट­मोरु­२०।­स्मेट्‌­ज्मा­मोरु­२९।२५­ष
6र्च­गरी­स्थापना­भयेको­⟪श्री­कुमारीको­⟫मा­हाल­डाट्‌­झरी­षुन्‌­भयाकोले­यो­८०­साल्को­वडाडसैलाई­अर्को­नञा­कुमा
7री­स्थापना­गर्नु­पर्न­भयेकोले­जाहेर­गरेको­छु­•सावीक्‌­वमोजीं­पाऊ­भंने­स्मेट्‌­वेहोराको­पुजारी­विमला
8रमण­राजोपाध्याको­
जाहेरी­डर्षाष्‌­यस्‌­अडामा­डीयेकोले­वुझडा­डर्षाष्‌का­वेहोरावाट­मोरु­२०।­भो
9जलाई­ठेकडारवाट­पाऊने­भंने­लेषीयाको­ठानेर­७७­साल्‌­वैसाष­१­गते­देषी­नेपाल­४­भंज्यां­
10भीत्रका­गुठी­ज्मै­अमानट्‌­गर्नु­भंने­सवाल्­वमोजीं­⟪सो­गुठीस्मेट्‌को­⟫तेस्‌­अडावाट­अमानट्‌­षर्च­गरी­चलाई­आयेको­सो­च
11लाऊनालाई­ठेक्‌डारवाट­षर्च­लगट्‌­ली­सो­लगट्‌मा­येस्‌­अडाको­र­गुठी­लगट्‌­स्मेट्‌को­छाप­लगाई­सो­ष
12र्चको­लगट्‌­तेस्‌­अडामा­सावीकै­पाला­चलां­भयेको­वुझीनाले­षर्चको­कां­हुदा­तेस्‌­अडालाई­कौ
13सीवाट­पाऊने­मोरु­९।२५­को­हकमा­सोही­कौसी­तोसाषानालाई­लेषी­ठेकडारवाट­पाऊने­भनी­
14लेषीयाको­मोरु­२०।­को­हकमा­तेस्‌­अडालाई­लेषने­कां­भयेको­छ­तसर्थ­माठी­लेषीयाको­वे
15होरा­⟪वुझी­⟫वुपीमाथी­सो­कुमारी­फेर्दा­भोजके­मोरु­२०।­वीस­रुपैञा­डीनुपर्ने­लगट्‌का­भयेको­रहेछ­र­ऐं­स
16वाल्कोल्ले­डीन­हुने­भये­तेस्‌­अडालाई­भयेका­सव़ाल­वमोजींको­रीट्‌­पुर्याई­जो­गर्नु­पर्छ­गरी­⟪नीज­पुजारी­षर्च­हस्ते­षर्च­डीने­लेषी­⟫दीने­कां­
17गर­•सं­८०­साल्‌­आश्वीं­गते­      रोज्‌­शुभ्म्­¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

12a1

From the Guṭhī Bandobasta [Aḍḍā] under Śrī 5 Sarkāra to the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā under the same

Purjī

Uprānta: "When the Śrī Kumārī to be worshipped during the pūjā [on the occasion] of Baḍādasaĩ at the Pāṭaṃ Śrī Talejyū [temple] and during other festivals was replaced in the year [VS 19]76 after blood had appeared, the installation ritual was [performed] at a total cost of 29.25 mohararūpaiyā̃s—9.25 morus from the Kausī Tosākhānā for 1 lower garment (lahãgā) of gulbanda2 fabric, 1 three-layered blouse (colo) [made of] bāpatā fabric, 1 headscarf (pachyaurā) of red fabric; together with 20 morus from contractors (ṭhekadāra), which [sum was] needed for the feast. Blood appeared when recently Śrī Kumārī's tooth fell out, [and so] another new Kumārī has to be installed for the Baḍādasaĩ of this year, [VS 19]80, wherefore I [now] inform [you of this]. [I request that I] may receive [the necessary funds] in accordance to what is usual." — The pujārīVimalāramaṇa Rājopādhyā has submitted an application (ḍarṣāṣ for darkhāsta) for approval at our (lit. "this") office (i.e. the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍa) with the details quoted; [and] when [the application] was being gone over (lit. "understood"), it was determined from the details of the application that 20 morus for the feast are to be received from contractors (ṭhekadāra), [but] according to the administrative regulation (savāla) stating that from the 1st solar day (gate) of the year [VS 19]77 all guṭhīs within the four mountain passes of Nepāla are to follow the amānata-system, covering amānata[-related] expenses through your (lit. "that") office (i.e. the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā) has come to be the procedure now in place including for that guṭhī. In order to carry out the procedure, a list has been received from the [former] contractors and been certified by our office and the Guṭhī Lagata [Jā̃ca Aḍḍā], [and] as that list of expenses has been acknowledged as being the usual practice (pālā-calāṃ) in your office, the task [of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā] is to write to the Kausī Tosākhānā in the case of the claim (haka) to 9.25 morus to be received from the treasury, and to your office in the case of the claim to the 20 morus that have been recorded as having [formerly] been received from contractors.

Since, therefore, in cognizance of the details written above, the 20—[in words], twenty—morus that need to be spent for the feast when this Kumārī is replaced are [properly] registered and to be provided under the law and administrative regulations (ain-savāla), perform the task of writing [down] the expense and putting [the money] into the hands of the said pujārī, [thus] doing what needs to be done to advance a custom that accords with the savālas [valid] for your office.

... day3 , the ...4 solar day (gate) of Āśvina of the [Vikrama] era year [19]80 (1923 CE). Auspiciousness.


Commentary

The scribe of this document, who also seems to have written the related document K_0214_0045, uses the same akṣara (most closely resembling a ḍa) to represent the unanspirated soft stop of both the dentals and retroflexes. For dental -ta, too, at times the -ṭa is used (e.g. in smeṭ, amānaṭ, lagaṭ or rīṭ).

This document is part of a batch of four documents, including the application (darkhāsta) to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā submitted by Vimalāramaṇa Rājopādhyā (K_0214_0044), the documents sent from that office to the Kausī Tosākhānā (K_0214_0045, K_0214_0047) and the present one to the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā. In supporting the claim of the priest for funds to be disbursed for the feast held on the occasion of the installation of a new Kumārī at Patan, the present document explains that since the last occasion for this installation ritual in VS 1976 there had been a change in administrative practice. While back then contractors (ṭhekadāra)—probably persons who held ṭheka contracts for taxes collected from the guṭhī lands in question—were responsible for providing the sum of 20 morus, from the beginning of the year VS 1977 all guṭhīs within the Kathmandu Valley started operating the amānata-system, under which funds were directly provided by state offices. Thus the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā had taken over the responsibility in question and was now ordered to disburse the funds.

For further thoughts on the case at hand, see the Commentaries to K_0214_0044 and K_0214_0045.


Notes

1. This Arabic numeral by a second hand was probably added when documents were either sorted or, more likely, when they were microfilmed. The count starts with 1 in the document microfilmed as NGMPP K 214/34 and continues up to 140 in K 215/85. The documents in this series stem from the period between VS 1977 and 1981, and are all either issued by the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā or are addressed to this office; all bear the same shelf mark (Po. 2 Ka. Ko. Gu.). This shelf mark is, however, not exclusive to the batch, but extends from K 214/9 up to K 216/88. The documents counted are neither bound together nor do they have to do with some common topic. []

2. Like the following bapatā, gulbanda seems to refer to the fabric the garment is made of. In Hindi, gulabadana denotes a type of silken cloth that is described as being striped (Varmā VS 2054: s.v. : "eka prakāra kā dhārīdāra reśamī kapaṛā") or rose-coloured (Sharma and Vermeer 1987: s.v.: "rosenfarbiges Seidentuch"). []

3. The place in which to insert the number indicating the weekday has been left blank. []

4. The place in which to insert the day of the month according to the solar calendar has been left blank. []