Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
Version with DOI and citation guidelines Editorial Principles

A copy of a rukkā from King Gīrvāṇayuddha confirming Saṃkaradatta Vajhā's appointment to the office of priest (VS 1860)

ID: K_0090_0049


Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter
Created: 2019-03-22; Last modified: 2021-08-11
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, 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 CCby-SA.

Abstract

This copy of an executive order (rukkā) from the king, who according to the date must have been Gīrvāṇayuddha, confirms the appointment of Saṃkaradatta Vajhā from Thimi to the office of temple priest serving 50 households. Including the hereditary right to enjoy the surplus revenue from 2 ropanīs of land, these privileges were granted to him as part of a ritual fee (dakṣiṇā) for having performed the puraścaraṇa of the mahāsahasracaṇḍī at the time of the Chinese invasion.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1सकल­वमोजीं­नकल­दुरुस्त­छ­भनी­
2सहीछाप्‌­गर्ने­मदनलाल­झा­थीमी­
3व्रह्मननी­¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

⟪1सही­म
2दन्‌ला
3ल्‌­झा­⟫

1[...]हादेवज्यु­

1श्री­५­वुवाज्यू­५­

[Unknown seal]

1स्वस्ति­श्री•मन्महाराजाधीराजकस्य­रुक्का­¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
2आगे­थीमिका­संकरदत्त­व़झाके­•चीनीञा­आऊदामा­•महासहश्रचंडी­पुरश्चर्ण­२­लाष­
3गर्‍याको­दछिणमध्ये­ताहाको­व़कुली­जजमानि­ठकाली­भो­घर­पुवा[?]­५०­को­
4प्रोहिताई­¯ ¯ ¯को­पुजाको­षेत­रोपनी­२­तस्को­•महसुल­२०­रुपैञा•स्मेत्‌­मारी­[?]
5टी­श्री­¯ ¯ ¯वाट्‌­संकल्प­गरीवक्सन­भय़ाको­रहेछ­अंतरमा­ताहाको­अम्वालीले­कचव
6च­गरी­खोसीदीय़ाको­रहेछ­आज­हामीले­[?]ताहा­देवलको­नीत्यपुजाका­षेत­रोपनी­२­वतुली­
7अचारको­पैदावारका­आधा­लिने­अघीका­रीत­वमोजीं­•थामी­फोईवक्स्यौं­आफ्ना­खातिर्ज्मासीत­
8हीजोका­चलन­वमोजीं­ज्मा­पैदावार­हुंछ­सो­ली­अपना­वषरा­तानी­संतानसम­भोग्य­गर­
9•ईती­संवत्‌­१८६०­साल­•मीती­माघ­सुदी­१२­रोज­२­सुंभ­¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

[Marginal note:]

Attesting that the copy is true to the original: Madanalāla Jhā, Thīmī, Brahmananī

Signature: Madanlal Jhā1

[In the space:]

[Gālama]hādevajyu2

Fivefold venerable father – 53

[Unknown seal]

[Main text:]

Hail! [This is] an executive order (rukkā) of the supreme king of great kings.4

Āge: To Saṃkaradatta Vajhā from Thīmi

It appears that [my] [fivefold venerable father]5 made a ritual commitment (saṃkalpa) [to grant], among the priestly fees (dakṣiṇā) for performing 2 hundred thousand puraścaraṇas of the mahāsahasracaṇḍī when the Chinese came, the priesthood (jajamānī) of the south-eastern sector (?) 6 of the above-mentioned place and the office of priest (purohityāī̃) serving 50 bho(?)7 households of thakālīs,8 [and] a field [measuring] 2 ropanīs linked to the worship (pūjā) of Śrī [Gālamahādeva],9 its mahasūla tax of 20 rupees being exempted. It [further] appears that in the interim the amāli there (i.e. in Thimi) quarelled and seized it. Today we release [from his control] the field measuring 2 ropanīs for [financing] the regular worship at the temple there, while maintaining, in accordance with the earlier custom, that of taking half of its produce of radish (vatulī for bāṭulo?) 10 relish (acāra). Being mindful of your duties, take what is all the produce [granted to you] according to the custom of yesteryear, conceiving it as your share, and enjoy it down to [your] descendants.11

Sunday, the 12th of the bright fortnight of Māgha in the [Vikrama] era year 1860 (1804 CE). Auspiciousness.


Commentary

The problematic readings in the present document have been checked against and, when necessary, conjectured on the basis of a copy of the same document (K_0001_0039C) and the copy of a follow-up lālamohara, issued in VS 1887 (1830 CE, K_0003_0017A). Moreover, there is a tabular account related to the worship of Śrī Gālamahādeva in which the present document is quoted in part (K_0495_0003). Some problematic readings, words and phrases remain unresolved, however.

Another, still later document refers to the endowment dealt with in the present document. In VS 2001 (1944 CE) an executive order by Prime Minister Juddha Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā and Commander-in-Chief General Padma Śamśera was issued to the priest (pūjāhārī) Madanalāla Jhā, a resident of Brahmananī in Thimi, to reconfirm his right to exercise priestly duties at the Gālamahādeva temple (K_0133_0013). This Madanalāla Jhā, entitled to manage the endowment as a chuṭaguṭhī, must have been the same person who, in the present document, certified that the copy is true to the original (see marginal note above). Probably, then, the copy was made in the same context in or around 1944.

The ritual service Śaṅkaradatta Vajhā was rewarded for is described as "2 hundred thousand puraścaraṇas of the mahāsahasracaṇḍī". Puraścaraṇa, literally a "preliminary procedure," is generally understood as a practice for making a mantra effective (Bühnemann 1992). Unlike what one might expect given its literal sense, puraścaraṇa can refer, too, to larger ritual complexes. In the Śivapurāṇa the initiation into a mantra is called puraścaraṇa and comprises "the entire procedure, from the time one approaches a teacher up to the acquisition and recitation of the mantra" (Rocher 1991: 183). The Puraścaryārṇava, ascribed to King Pratāpa Siṃha (Jha 2009), sets great store by this practice, dedicating the entire 7th chapter to the general procedure of puraścaraṇa. It cites various sources to the effect that it is meant to produce the siddhi12 of any mantra, and that thus one should perform it at the beginning of any mantra practice.13 The puraścaraṇa there generally consists of various parts—aṅgas, listed between five and ten in number—including rites such as the repetition of the mantra (japa), fire sacrifice (homa) and the feeding of Brahmins.

In the 12th chapter of the Puraścaryārṇava (pp. 1169–1199), among the applications for such longer mantras as the thousand names hymns (sahasranāmastava), are treated special applications of the Caṇḍī (i.e. the recitational form of the Devīmāhātmya); among these are the "hundred[fold recitation of the] Caṇḍī" (śatacaṇḍī) and a thousand[fold recitation of the] Caṇḍī" (sahasracaṇḍī). Puraścaraṇa is to be done at the beginning. Furthermore, girls are to be worshipped and fed, and the Caṇḍī is to be repeated a hundred or thousand times over several days, the difference between the two forms being the employment of a smaller versus a larger number of Brahmins, in the case of the sahasracaṇḍī one hundred. What the puraścaraṇa of the sahasracaṇḍī looked like concretely, and whether just the puraścaraṇa of the sahasracaṇḍī was repeated two hundred thousand times or also the Caṇḍī itself, how many Brahmins were employed, how long it took and whether it conformed to the procedure set forth in the text is unknown.

The exact historical situation in which the recitation spoken of in the document was performed must have been the Chinese invasion from June to September 1792 that ended at the banks of the Betrāvatī River, only a day's distance from the capital (Stiller 1973: 202–211). This fits textual affirmations that the sahasracaṇḍī should be performed, amongst others, "in case the kingdom falls" or during a "threat from an enemy army".14 That rituals and devotion directed towards the goddess were indeed seen as impacting military success is evident from letters exchanged between Nepalese commanders and the king. After the Chinese invasion ended through a treaty being signed, King Raṇabahādura wrote to some of his military commanders: "When the enemy was only at one day's distance from Kathmandu, we checked him where possible... . By the grace of (the goddess) we faced the enemy by means of strength and tactics and repulsed him, maintaining the country independent as usual" (Regmi 1970: 177).

The practice of performing puraścaraṇa on behalf of the king in times of crisis, and also in conjunction with military action, seems to have been a wide-spread custom in Nepal. The chronicles (vaṃśāvalīs) narrate various instances. The Buddhist chronicle, too, recounts the performance of puraścaraṇa when the Chinese invasion took place, and that it had a direct influence on the following peace treaty with China. According to that text it was Buddhist monks, "the Lākhyā Bāṃḍā of Bhiṃkṣe Bāhāla in Pāṭān" (Nepālikabhūpavaṃśāvalī, Bajracharya and Michaels 2016: 135)15 who performed puraścaraṇa by royal order.

Documents bear witness to the fact that puraścaraṇa was performed on different occasions in various temples, doubtless each with mantras particular to the deities concerned. For example, in VS 1851 King Raṇabahādura confirmed the earlier Nepalese kings' birtā grant to Kulānanda Bhaṭṭa for performing puraścaraṇa at the Dakṣiṇakālī temple at Pharping on the king's behalf (K_0070_0008B, K_0125_0054). Nīlagrīvānanda Bhāju was rewarded with a birtā grant in the concluding ritual (sāṅge) of the puraścaraṇa performed by him at the Pacalībhairava temple at Teku (DNA_0013_0065). Likewise, in VS 1898 a birtā was granted by King Rājendra, which had been pledged during a similar sāṅge at the Paśupatinātha temple in Deopatan in VS 1891 (K_0009_0006B).

Notes

1. This is the handwritten signature of the person who certified the correctness of the copy. His last name, Jhā, and his residence in Thimi's Brahmananī neighbourhood suggest that he was a descendant of the addressee of the copied document and/or the holder of the original when the copy was made. This is confirmed by a prime ministeral rukkā issued to Madanalāla Jhā in VS 2001 (1944 CE); see the Commentary for more details. [⇑]

2. As the upper margin of the document is glued to the previous document, the text in the first space above is not entirely visible. It likely ended in hādevajyū and must have displayed the name of the deity concerned. The reading has been conjectured on the basis of the related documents (see the Commentary). [⇑]

3. While the text in the space is confirmed by the other copy of the text (K_0001_0039C), the repetition of the number 5 seems gratuitous. [⇑]

4. From the date of issue it can be inferred that the king in whose name the original rukkā was issued must have been King Gīrvāṇayuddha. [⇑]

5. Inserted from the space above. This refers to King Raṇabahādura. [⇑]

6. Here it is assumed that vakuli is meant to render Newari vaṃkuli, "south-eastern direction" (Kölver and Shresthacharya 1994: s.v.) and is an adjective that qualifies jajamānī. [⇑]

7. The meaning of the syllable following the word ṭhakālī, which likely reads bho (also in the parallel documents) is unclear. Maybe it is a scribal mistake for ko. The syllables following ghara, which are absent from the parallel documents and look like puvā..., may represent a further reading mistake for what might have been paccāsa, the numeral for the following number 50. [⇑]

8. It is unclear what thakālī households are meant in this context. It seems unlikely that they would be members of the ethnic group of Thakālīs native to the Kali Gandaki Valley (Whelpton 2005: 266). Are they rather the households of the elders of the Newar community, thus allowing Śaṅkaradatta Vajhā to be granted rights that otherwise would rest with the Newar Rājopādhyāya Brahmins? [⇑]

9. Inserted from the space above. [⇑]

10. The other copy (K_0001_0039C) reads vakulī instead of vatulī here. Neither makes sense in the context of the produce of a field; the text remains unclear. A graphically close possibility would be that the original read bāṭulo acāra in this place. If this indeed was the case bāṭulo mūlā may have been the crop in question. Bāṭulo mūlā is either a kind of turnip (Brassica species) or radish (Raphanus species). It is described as having the form of a turnip (Brassica rapa L.; see Parājuli et al. VS 2067: s.v. bāṭulomūlā: salagamakā ḍhā̃cāko eka jātako mūlā, "a kind of radish shaped like a turnip"). [⇑]

11. The other copy (K_0001_0039C) has santānasmeta, "together with [your] descendants", in this place. [⇑]

12. Siddhi, "success", here means that the person who practises the mantra acquires mastery over it, thus allowing the intended effects of the mantra practice to unfold. [⇑]

13. E.g. "Without puraścaraṇa the siddhi of the mantra does not emerge. At the beginning one should regularly perform the preliminary ritual in accordance with the rules" (puraścaraṇahīnena mantrasiddhir na jāyate | ādau puraskriyāṃ niyamena yathāvidhiḥ; Jha 2009: 412). [⇑]

14. rājyabhraṃśe mahotpāte janamāre mahābhaye | gajamāre 'śvamāre ca paracakrabhaye tathā || ityādivividhe duḥkhe kṣayarogādije bhaye | sahasracaṇḍikāpāṭhaṃ kuryād vā kārayet tathā || "In case the kingdom falls, there is a great calamity, people are killed, great danger looms, elephants are killed, horses are killed or an enemy army threatens—during these and other various forms of distress, in dangers that arise from loss, illness and so on, one should perform, or have performed, a sahasracaṇḍikā recitation (Jha 2009: 1177–1178). [⇑]

15. This must be a reference to the monastery called Bhinchẽ Bāhāḥ, documented as monument LAL2060 by the Nepal Heritage Documentation Project (https://danam.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/report/711b19a4-ec10-11e9-b125-0242ac130002). [⇑]