Documenta Nepalica

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

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A sales deed of a slave in Tusara, Pyuthana area (VS 1975)

ID: K_0282_0020

Edited and translated by Axel Michaels in collaboration with Manik Bajracharya, Rajan Khatiwoda and Raju Rimal
Created: 2017-03-04; Last modified: 2018-06-19
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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, 2017. 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 document deals with the sale of a 19-years-old slave girl named Himī of Pyuthana for rupees 418.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

श्री\

न४७

१९९नं

[Signature of Budhirām]

[Signature of Bumāṃ Pādhye]

[Signature of Dhanu Khatrī Chetrī]

[Signature of Himārām Pādhye]

1साछि
2तुसारवश्नेवुमांपाध्ये१
3ऐंवश्नेहिमाराम्‌पाध्ये१
4वाडिकोट्वेव़रेवश्नेधनुषत्रीछेत्री१

1ल्येषितम्‌प्युठानावाडिको⟪ट्⟫वेव़रेवश्नेवुधिराम्‌वा
2हुंमआगेमेराघरकिकरीय़हिमीकमारीवर्ष१
3९किकोमोलपट्टक्‌गौराईसमेत्‌मोहोरू४१८
4चारसय़अठारमाप्युठानातुसारावश्नेविदुगिरिलाई
5दिय़ाअजदेषीलीनेकोजिउपाकोवेच्‌नेकोथै
6लिपाकोआजअहिले⟪को⟫षुंषतावेच्‌नेकोआजदेषि
7पछिषुंषतालिभनिकसैलेकरनलामेरामोमा
8नषुसीराजिलेमोहोरू४१८चारसय़अठार
9कोपरम्‌भट्टिकोकागजलेषिप्युठानातुसारावश्ने
10विदु⟪गि⟫रिलाईदीञ्याय़ोपरम्‌भट्टिकागजलेषेको
11प्युठानातुसारावश्नेविदुगिरीकाघरमालेषेकोहो
12लेष्‌नेमानिस्‌प्युठानावाडिकोट्वेव़रेवश्नेवुद्धि
13राम्‌वाहुंय़ोपरम्‌भट्टिकासाछिकिनारालेसहिछा
14प्‌गरेकासदरछंईतिसम्वत्१९७५सालमाघ२२
15गतेवार३सुभ्म्‌¯¯ ¯¯ ¯¯ ¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

No. 47

No. 199

[Signature of Budhirām Bāhuṃ]

[Signature of Bumāṃ Pādhye]

[Signature of Dhanu Khatrī Chetrī]

[Signature of Himārām Pādhye]

Witnesses:

Bumāṃ Pādhye, resident of Tusārā - 1; Himārām Pāḍhye, resident of idem [Tusārā] - 1; Dhanu Khatrī Chetrī, resident of Bevare of Bāḍikoṭ - 1

Written by Budhirām Bāhuṃ, resident of Bevare of Bāḍikoṭ [in] Pyuthana [district]. Āge: I have given to Vidu Giri, resident of Tusārā, a domestic servant (kariyā) from my house, the female slave Himī, aged 19, at a price of mohara rūpaiyā 418, [in words] four hundred eighteen, including the earnest money (gaurāī). From today onwards, the taker owns the body [of the slave and] the seller owns the money (thailī). Today the current deficiencies [of the slave] belong to the seller. After today nobody should force [the seller] to take the responsibilities of her deficiencies. I have happily and of my own will written [this] document, a deed of sale for a slave (parambhaṭṭi) [priced] at mohara rupaiyā 418, [in words] four hundred eighteen, and handed it over to Vidu Giri, resident of Tusārā, Pyuthana. This document [containing] the parambhaṭṭi was written in the house of Vidu Giri, resident of Tusārā, Pyuthana. The scribe is Budhirām Bāhuṃ, resident of Bevare of Bāḍikoṭ, Pyuthana. The signatures and stamps of the witnesses of this parambhaṭṭi in the margin are valid.

Tuesday, the 22nd solar day (gate) of Māgha in the [Vikrama] era year 1975 (1919 CE). Auspiciousness.

Word	Notes
āge	[fr. S. agre] adv. lit. "henceforeward" (Riccardi 1976: 150 n. 6), especially used in administrative and legal documents to mark the beginning of a text or paragraph. In its function it is similar to uprānta.
gaurāi	var. gaurāñi, gaurāñī; n. an earnest payment, often used in the phrase gaurāñi bainā (e.g. MA-54 2.14-15) .
kariyā	var. kariya; n. a slave working in house, a servant
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.
paramabhaṭṭā	[fr. S.] var. parampaṭṭā, paramabhaṭṭa, parambhaṭṭa, parambhaṭṭi, paraṃbhātā, parāṃbhaṭṭa, pārabhātā; n. a deed, prepared by the seller, formalizing the sale of a slave.