Documenta Nepalica

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

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A list of expenditures for sacrificial animals for Dasaĩ (VS 1962)

ID: E_2766_0062

Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Rajan Khatiwoda
Created: 2017-08-09; Last modified: 2019-07-05
For the metadata of the document, click here

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

Abstract

This list records expenditures on sacrificial animals that were needed for the Baḍādasaĩ rituals in VS 1962 (1905 CE) at different places in Kathmandu, including deities’ seats (pīṭha), the Śrīnātha and Rājadala Kampus, the Taleju temple and the dasaĩghara. Among the animals were he-buffaloes and he-goats, including ones sacrificed at the sacrificial posts (maulo) at the Mūlacoka of the royal palace.

Diplomatic edition

[table1]

1	६२सालका•वडा•दसैंमाषरीदभय़ाकारागावोका•केमोहर्रू					४९५२।४८
2	पीठ्‌पीठ्‌र•अस्तवलषाना•हातीसार•धुनीव्यासी[...]गी•लीन•जाना•के⟪रहीनके⟫स्मेत				१०३०।८८
3	रागा३८के			८५४
4	२२दर्को	गोटा२५के	५५०
5	१८दर्को	ऐं६के	१०८
6	३०दर्को	ऐं५के	१५०
7	३५दर्को	ऐं१के	३५गो•
8	११दर्को	ऐं१के	११
9	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
10	वोका६६केदर२।६८ले			१७६।८८
11	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
12	श्रीनाथश्रीराजदलकंपुके				११०१।२०
13	रागागोटा६६केदर११ले			७२६
14	वोकागोटा१४०केदर•२।६८ले			३७५।२०
15	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
16	तलेज्यूकोपुजाके				४४९।८४
17	चोषारागा	९केदर•३७ले		३३३
18	वोकागोटा	४२ के		११६।८४
19	कागेअष्टमीमाचीन्होलागेको४केदर ३।७५ले		१५
20	२।६८दर्को२के		५।३६
21	ठेकदारमार्फतकोगोटा•३६•केदर•२।६८ ले		९६।४८
22	मुलचोकदसैंघरमापुजाके				१०१।३३
23	कागेअष्टमीमाचीन्होलागेकावोका२के			१८।२५
24	१के	७१के	११।२५
25	रोजीन्दार•अष्टमीनौव़मीभद्रकालीचलाउदाफुल पातीभीत्रदाकोविसर्जन्‌केस्मेत्‌वोका३१केदर२।६८ले			८३।८
26	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
27	मुलचोक•मौलामामारहान्नाके•				२२१६।१६
28	तीनचौउन्नके•रागो•गोठा१६२केदर११ले			१७८२
29	वोकागोठा•१६२केदर•२।६८ले			४३४।१६
30	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
31	मरेकोरागावोकागोटा•७के				४६।११
32	रागो२के११ले			२२
33	वोका•गोटा•५के			२४।११
34	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
35	घासपरालमोल•मोहरू				६।९६
36	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯

[table]

1	पेस्की•सापटी•गया़को•मोहर्रु			२५७३।१९
2	रागो•वोकाको•मोलभर्नादिनुपर्न्या•मोहर्रु			२३७९।२९
3	तेमध्ये•वजार•षरीदीवोकाकोनोक्सानी•वोकाको ठेकदार•वाट⟪कट्टी⟫गरीलीनेमोरू			३६९।२३।२
4	जीतनारां•वाटलीने		१७०।६१
5	कृष्णगोपाल•संग•		५८।७५
6	पृथीमान्‌संग		१३४।२८
7	जुजुरत्नसंग•		५।५९।२
8	¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯¯¯
9	वाकीदीनुपर्न्ये•मोहर्रु			२०१०।५।२
10	रागाकोमोल•दीनुपर्न्ये		१९६३
11	वोकाकोमोल्‌•ऐं		१४।३३।२
12	कागेअष्टमीकादीनषरीदभयाको•वोका८कोवाकी	५
13	ठेकदार•कोवोकाको•वाकीमोहरू३९४।६५मध्येकौ सीतर्फगय़ाको•वोका६को•१६।८षरीदीवोकाकोमोल्‌• मावढीगयाको•कट्टी•३६९।२३।२ज्मामोरु३८५।३१।२ कट्टीगरी•वाकी	९।३३।२
14	¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯	¯¯¯¯
15	मरुव़ारागा•वोकाको		३२।७२
16			२०१०।५।२
17	ठेक्‌दार•मार्फतकावोका•४४१मध्ये•कौसीतर्फ•वाटमोल्‌भर्ना•हुने वोकागोटा६केमोरू		१६।८
18			२०२६।१३।२

Translation

[1r]

[table]

For he-buffaloes and he-goats that were bought on [the occasion of] the Baḍādasaĩ festival of the [Vikrama era] year [19]62 (1905 CE) moha[ra]ru[paiyā̃]s					4952.48
For taking [animals to] the different deities' seats (pīṭhas) and the royal horse stables (astabalakhānā), elephant stables (hāttīsāra), dhunīvyāsī ...1 and also [for them] to be kept [there]				1030.88
For 38 he-buffaloes			854
At the rate of 22 [morus]	for 25 head	550
At the rate of 18 [morus]	for 6 idem	108
At the rate of 30 [morus]	for 5 idem	150
At the rate of 35 [morus]	for 1	35
At the rate of 11 [morus]	for 1	11
---	---	---	---
For 66 he-goats at a rate of 2.68 [morus each]			176.88
---	---	---	---
For the Śrīnātha and Śrīrājadala Kampus2				1101.20
For 66 head of he-buffaloes at a rate of 11 [morus each]			726
For 140 head of he-goats at a rate of 2.68 [morus each]			375.20
---	---	---	---	---
For the worship (pūjā) of Talejyū				449.84
For he-buffaloes without defects (cokho)3	for 9 at a rate of 37 [morus each]		333
For he-goats	42 head		116.84
For 4 [goats] marked on Kāge Aṣṭamī4 , at a rate of 3.75 [morus each]		15
For 2 [goats] at a rate of 2.68 [morus each]		5.36
For 36 head [of goats procured] through ṭhekadāras, at a rate of 2.68 [morus each]		96.48
For worship at the Mūlacoka dasaĩghara 5				101.33
For 2 he-goats selected on Kāge Aṣṭamī			18.25
For 1	7; for 1	11.25
For 31 he-goats [needed] when performing the [rites conducted] daily [over the days of Dasaĩ] and [those conducted especially] on the eighth [and] ninth [of the bright lunar fortnight of Āśvina], the Bhadrakālī [worship in the night of the seventh], and when introducing the phūlapātī [into the dasaĩghara on the seventh] together with [its] dismissal [on the tenth], at a rate of 2.68 [moru each]			83.8
---	---	---	---	---
For slaughter at the sacrificial posts (maulā) of the Mūlacoka				2216.16
For 162 head of he-buffaloes for [sacrificing] three [groups of] fifty-four [animals],6 at a rate of 11 [morus each]			1782
For 162 head of he-goats, at a rate of 2.68 [morus each]			434.16
---	---	---	---	---
For 7 he-buffaloes and he-goats that died [following the transaction?]				46.11
For 2 he-buffaloes, at [a rate of] 11 [morus each]			22
For 5 head of he-goats			24.11
---	---	---	---
The cost of grass and rice straw, moharūs				6.96
---	---	---	---

[table]

moharrus that were expended (lit. "went") as advance loans [to suppliers]			2573.19
moharrus that have to be given [later] to cover the [total] cost of the he-buffaloes and he-goats			2379.29
among these [latter], the deductions [for] defective he-goats bought from the market from [the sum owed to] the contractors, moharrus			369.23.2
Taken from Jītanārāṃ		170.61
From Kṛṣṇagopāla		58.75
From Pṛthīmān		134.28
From Jujuratna		5.59.2
---	---	---	---
moharrus remaining to be given			2010.[0]5.2
[Unpaid] sum for he-buffaloes [still] to be given		1963
[Unpaid] sum for he-goats [still] to be given		14.33.2
[Sum] remaining [to be given] for 87 he-goats bought on the day of Kāge Aṣṭamī	5
From the 394.65 moru remaining [to be given] for contractors' he-goats, a deduction of 16.[0]8 for 6 he-goats that went to the treasury (kausī), the [above-mentioned] deduction of 369.23.2 for an excess [of money] spent on the cost of purchased he-goats – altogether a deduction of morus 385.31.2, remaining	9.33.2
for dying he-buffaloes and he-goats8		32.72
		2010.[0]5.2
Among the 441 he-goats [procured] through the contractors, for the 6 head of he-goats whose cost is to be covered by the [state] treasury 9		16.[0]8
		2026.13.2

Commentary

This list comprises the expenditures for altogether 277 he-buffaloes and 448 he-goats procured for the Dasaĩ sacrifices performed in Kathmandu in the year VS 1962. It has two parts: In the first table the cost of the animals needed at the different places is laid out, the total amount of Rs. 4952.48 given in the last column being broken down into a series of subtotals in the previous columns, the amounts in each section of a column summing up to the figure in the adjacent column to the right. Thus the Rs. 1030.88 for sacrifices at the pīṭhas and other places, Rs. 1101.20 for those at the two military units stationed in the capital, Rs. 449.84 for those for the Taleju cult, Rs. 101.33 for those at the dasaĩghara, Rs. 2216.16 for the animals slaughtered at the Mūlacoka, and inclusive of Rs. 46.11 for animals that died and Rs. 6.96 for fodder, make up the total amount of Rs. 4952.48. Each of these subtotals is broken down further into the amounts specified in the preceding columns. The second table contains a calculation of the same sum, Rs. 4952.48, into what had already been paid out and what still had to be. The latter sum, Rs. 2379.29, probably to be disbursed only after the bills were submitted, is lowered by Rs. 369.23.2 for defective goats (noksānī bokā), probably indicating a reduction in the standard price of Rs. 2.68 for goats when they did not measure up to par. Thus only Rs. 2010.05.2 is to be paid out, in later rows of the table broken down into sums for buffaloes and goats, plus Rs. 16.08 from the treasury (kausī), probably the main state treasury (Kausī Tosākhānā).

It is unknown to which state office or agency this calculation was directed or what the exact arrangements of the contracts (ṭheka) involved were. It is unclear, too, whether all animals were procured by contractors (ṭhekadāra), or only the he-goats. The second table mentions that 441 he-goats were bought by contractors, thus 7 less than the 448 tabulated. Is this difference explained by the 5 that died plus two that are listed for Taleju before the 36 bought by contractors? Were more contractors involved than the four persons mentioned in Table 2?

Notes

1. The transcription of dhunīvyāsī is uncertain, and the meaning unclear. After this word (or part of a word), three akṣaras are lost, and a gī concludes the word. Dhunīvyāsī possibly denotes persons residing at sacred fires (dhunī), i.e. ascetics. It is inknown, however, whether certain ascetics or ascetic orders would receive sacrificial animals from state supplies. The last word of the text lacuna could be lāgī, "for". [⇑]

2. These buffaloes and goats would be the ones that were sacrificed at the so-called Kampukot, the military headquarters in the north-western part of the palace area (Hoek 2014: 108). [⇑]

3. The word cokho("unpolluted, stainless, without defects") must here denote a special type of he-buffalo. Given the price of Rs. 37, which is more than three times the price of the cheapest buffaloes listed (Rs. 11), such animals would not only have been free of defects and maybe especially bred, as suggested by the attribute, but much larger and older than the ordinary buffaloes. Hoek (2014: 109) reports that eight buffaloes were sacrificed for Taleju on the occasion of the Kālarātri worship. [⇑]

4. This must be some specific eighth (aṣṭamī) of one of the lunar fortnights preceding the Dasaĩ period, possibly the bright lunar fortnight of Bhādra? According to the current Nepalese almanachs (pañcāṅga), this day is called Kāyāṣṭamī and is marked by the Kāgeśvaramelā. Thus the name Kāge Aṣṭamī could be the result of an amalgamation of these two words. The selection of sacrificial animals well in advance of the Dasaĩ festival seems to have been observed more generally for special animals. Though other evidence of such procedures is unknown for the Taleju temple, for the celebrations at the royal palace at Gorkha the main buffalo (satāra) sacrificed on Mahānavamī and two goats needed for the Bhadrakālī worship in the night of the seventh were selected on the saṅkrānti day of the month of Śrāvaṇa (Bhaṭṭarāī 2054: 34–35). [⇑]

5. The dasaĩghara at the Kathmandu palace was where the Śāha family's worship arena was set up and the phūlapātī brought. It is located on the eastern side of the Mūlacoka. Concerning its construction and further information, see the edition of and the commentary on K_0625_0039. [⇑]

6. At the Mūlacoka these three groups of buffaloes would be sacrificed one each on Mahāṣṭamī, Mahānavamī and the fourteenth lunar day (tithi) of the bright fortnight of Āśvina; cf. E_2779_0005, which lists these sacrificial series for the year VS 1908 (1851 CE) with 52, 57 and 54 buffaloes having been slain on these days; for lists of still earlier years, see E_2776_0001 (VS 1886), E_2767_0049 (VS 1888), E_2775_0040 (VS 1900) and E_2764_0036 / E_2779_0019 (VS 1902). [⇑]

7. The 8 may be an ocular error. The number intended here may have been the 2 goats bought for the dasaĩghara, but the scribe may have seen in the line, which breaks down the total cost of 18.75 morus into 7 and 11.25, the 1 followed by the 7. With 7 and 11.25 morus these two goats were bought at even higher prices than the 4 he-goats at the rate of 3.75 morus selected on the same day for the worship of Taleju. With 11.25 morus the price for the second goat even surpasses the standard price of 11 morus given for the lowest category of buffaloes above. [⇑]

8. Are these maruvā-animals the same as those that are referred to in Table 1 above as mareko or are they different? [⇑]

9. The sum added here to compensate for these six goats had previously been deducted from what had to be returned to the ṭhekadāras (see 3 rows further up). It was probably added again later only because the reimbursement came from another financial source. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
astabalakhānā	[fr. A.] n. 1) horse stable. 2) government office managing the royal horse stables with workers called savārīs assigned to it (Edwards 1975: 115).
aṣṭamī	[S.] n. eighth day of a lunar fortnight, one of the parvan days, often connected with the worship of goddesses.
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.
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).
dasaĩghara	var. dasaighara; n. lit. "house for dasaĩ;" ritual arena for worshipping the goddess Durgā on the occasion of dasaĩ, either in a room or building exclusively used for this purpose (see K_0625_0039), or temporarily erected within another building.
hāttīsāra	n. 1) elephant stable; 2) office in charge of the royal elephants.
kālarātri	[S.] n. lit. "the black night"; time of transition between Mahāṣṭamī and Mahānavamī, which occasions special worship and the major Dasaĩ sacrifices.
kampu	[from E.] var. kaṃpu; n. 1) “regular army“ (Adhikari 1984: 351); the Kampu Daphadarakhānā was responsible for dealing with land assignments for the kampu (Whelpton 1991: 283). However, the exact structure of the kampu still remains obscure. 2) one of three categories of army units in the early 19th century, the other two being palṭana and kampanī or company (Hamal 1995: 33). A kampu comprised different palṭanas (M.C. Regmi 1979). According to Hamal (1995: 32), however, in the early 19th century those companies stationed in the Kathmandu Valley and under the command of the general were called kampu, while those outside palṭana.
kausī tosākhānā	n. central state treasury which served several additional functions like the expenses and storage of goods for the royal palace and the appointment of subbās in the Tarai (cf. Edwards 1975: 111). DNA_0011_0035 suggests that even though the Kausī and the Tosākhānā formed one administrative unit headed by the khajāñcī, to a certain extent both were treated as distinct entities.
mahānavamī	[S.] var. mahānaumi; n. ninth lunar day of the month of Āśvina and climactic day of the Dasaĩ festival.
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.
pañcāṅga	[S.] n. lit. "having five limbs"; almanach, calender listing for each solar day the five calendric parameters of lunar day (tithi), weekday (vāra), lunar mansion (nakṣatra), yoga and karaṇa.
phūlapātī	[fr. S. phulla + patra] n. lit. "flowers and leaves", 1) a set of plants worshipped during the Baḍā Dasaĩ festival and introduced into the worship arena on the seventh day of the bright fortnight of Āśvina. 2) the seventh day of the Baḍā Dasaĩ festival; see also patrikā.
pūjā	[S.] var. pujā; n. 1) worship, honour. 2) formal worship ritual of a revered being with offerings.
saṅkrānti	[S.] var. saṃkrāmtī, saṃkrāṃntī; n. 1. passage of the sun into a new zodiacal sign. 2. first day of the solar month.
satāra	var. satār, satāhar; n. lit. "the big one". 1) category of sacrificial buffaloes. Under the provision that the list given in E_2779_0005 provides a grading of bulls according to either size or age, the satāra is the forth and biggest, bigger than kaṭuvā, kāṃjokho, and malauṭo. 2) The biggest buffalo sacrificed during Dasaĩ, symbolizing Mahiṣāsura, the demon enemy of the goddess Durgā (Tingey 1997: 99; Unbescheid 1996: 120–125, passim).
ṭheka	var. thega; n. "generic term used to denote various categories of contractual systems for the collection of taxes" (Michael 2012: 135; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 270).
ṭhekadāra	var. ṭhekaḍāra, ṭhekādār, ṭhikidār, ṭhekdār; n. contractor. 1) person who holds a ṭheka for the collection of taxes (M.C. Regmi 1988: 270). 2) farmer who rents his land.
tithi	[S.] n. lunar day (the increase of the longitudinal angle between the Moon and the Sun by 12°) that lasts between appr. 19 and 26 hours.

Bibliography

Bhaṭṭarāī, Lokaprasāda Śarmā. VS 2054 [1997]. Aitihāsika ra sāmājika sandarbhamā Gorakhādarabārakṣetrako sāṃskṛtika pakṣaḥ: Yasako udbhava ra vikāsa: Samājaśāstrīya-mānavaśastrīya adhyayana. Belajhuṇḍī: Mahendra Saṃskṛta Viśvavidyālaya.
Hoek, Albert W. van den. 2014. Caturmāsa: Celebrations of Death in Kathmandu, Nepal. 2nd slightly revised and updated edition ed. Kathmandu: Vajra Books.