Edited and
translated by Rajendra Shakya
in collaboration with
Pabitra Bajracharya and Nadine Plachta
Created: 2018-08-16;
Last modified: 2023-01-24
For the metadata of the document, click here
[1r]
1श्री1श्रीराज[1r-part2]
[table]
मोहुडाकिस्तामाघमैन्हा | ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ | |
नगदिमोहर्रुरु¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ | १३७|| | |
नुन्पानि¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ | |८| | |
चुक्तीकिस्ताआश्वीनमैन्हामामोहर्रु¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ | २०९ |
[1r]
Śrī Rāja- 1
[Seal of Dhīra Śamśera]
Hail! A letter from Commanding General of the Eastern Front Dhīra Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā, a prince born of a prince
Āge: To Nimā Taṃbe Ghyāpo, the mukhiyā, and all of the ryots (raitāna) and so forth of the Sāmā Gāũ sector within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region, which has been registered as [my] khānagī of [my] generalship
We have formalized a lokābhāra [lease contract] under the following terms:
"Except for Śrī rāja-aṅka1 , kalyānadhana, dharmādhikārapañcakhata and arrearages (rahatā bahatā)2 , [all other liabilities] – the scheduled sermā, syāphala and sirto [revenue], [and also] registered customary taxes and levies, and daṇḍakuṇḍa, maryo aputālī, cākacakui, along with rakamakalama enjoyed by the amāli, [all of which] have been imposed on each individual locality of the aforementioned Sāmā Gāũ on a yearly basis, shall [now] receive a complete exemption from the first of the bright fortnight of Āśvina in the [Vikrama] era year 1925 (1868 CE) [onwards]. You shall [therefore] submit a total of 346 mohararupaiyā̃s and 2 sukās, which includes the scheduled [tax] of 181 mohararupaiyā̃s and an additional asmānī levy of 165 mohararupaiyā̃s and 2 sukās, along with 8 pāthīs of salt from Dāpcā for [a period of] one year.
"We shall send a dvāre in accordance with your request since you made a supplication to us with the following details:
'If you send a dvāre to look into and adjudicate (lit. take care of) disputes among mukhiyās that arise in our villages and households, and [also] cases concerning other serious issues regarding life and land along with cases involving lawsuits against mukhiyās, then he can also collect due amounts that were not included (lit. registered) in our paṭṭā.'
"Accordingly, all of you shall participate in and assist any work that needs to be carried out. When [there are orders] in writing for certain items, make the purchase at the current rate in the village and dispatch (lit. give) them.
“Inhabit the [surrounding] countryside and keep the ryots well disposed by overseeing affairs, founding settlements and making crops flourish (ābāda guljāra garī). Do not cause injury and oppression. Do not cause suffering by imposing excess levies. Sit together, [you] the mukhiyā and all [the people] from the individual localities, and rule on fines and penalties in accordance with the Ain, depending upon the crimes committed. If any ryot comes to complain that [they] have suffered due to imposition of excess levies, then the dvāre, who has gone [to your village] from here (i.e. the capital) shall punish, in accordance with the Ain, anyone who is proven to have caused injustice.
“The mukhiyās and ryots shall scrupulously collect [revenue] that each of you has promised to submit in accordance with the lease contract, [including] salt from Dāpcā; as mentioned in the details [below], each village's instalment is to be submitted by the mukhiyās to our treasury, and a receipt [for it] obtained. Once the [fiscal] year ends, bring [all] the receipts and kabacas, submit the ledger (vāsila bā̃kī) and leave only after obtaining a phārakhatī. If [any of you] is unable to obtain a phārakhatī due to the non-submission of an instalment, you will have to pay interest on the instalment as well, and the market rate of Asana 3 for the salt from Dāpcā.
“If, when [the contractual amount] is submitted, the combined revenue from fines imposed [on offenders] according to the faults [they] have committed represents a shortfall [in the total amount agreed to be paid in the contract], then everyone, the mukhiyā [and] ryots, must contribute proportionally [to make up for the shortfall] and pay [the amount due] according to the annual contract.
“When dispatching items required by us, do so from the government office (aḍḍā) that was previously used. The price of the items deposited into our [treasury] shall be deducted [from the contractual amount due]. Do not sell elsewhere the wax and musk available in your village. Deposit all available [wax and musk] here [into our treasury] and get the reduction. If they are proven to have been sold elsewhere instead of being delivered to our treasury, then you [all] shall have to pay in accordance with the Ain."
[Tend the land] with content, considering [it] as a lokābhāra [lease contract].
Tapasila of the instalments:
[table]
Muhuḍā4 instalment [for] the month of Māgha | - - - | |
Mohararupaiyā̃s in cash | 137 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās | |
Salt in pāthī | 8 pāthīs | |
Instalment to be cleared in the month of Āśvina | 209 mohararupaiyā̃s |
Sunday, the 3rd of the bright fortnight of Caitra in the [Vikrama] era year 1924 (1868 CE). Auspiciousness.
[Two unknown seals]
This is one in a series of documents that formalize the renewal of the annual lokābhāra contract. Another document (L_0923_0004), issued on the same day as this one, formalizes a similar annual lokābhāra contract for Chāvā Gāũ of Ruibhoṭa within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region. Both mention certain exemptions to come into effect six months after they were issued.
The ranks, functions and jurisdiction of many posts set up in the Rāṇā administration are not always very clear. The posts of mukhiyā, dvāre and amālī, for all their difference, share a function: the collection of revenue. The mukhiyā mentioned in the document was presumably appointed at the local level. There were mukhiyās in the district and central administration as well. Among the three named posts, it is clear from the present document that dvāres ranked above mukhiyās within the local administration, as it states in two instances that (a) the dvāres sent from the centre would address issues arising from any petition is filed against the latter when there are arguments among them or other important work is left unattended; and (b) dvāres would punish any mukhiyā learnt to have acted unjustly to the ryots by imposing excess levies.