Documenta Nepalica

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

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A sale deed recording the purchase of a son of a slave in Khairā Gāū, Pyuthana (VS 1966)

ID: K_0282_0008

Edited and translated by Manik Bajracharya in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2017-05-08; Last modified: 2018-11-27
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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, 2018. 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 formalizes the sale of a son of a slave owned by Hīma Lāla Upādhyā of Khairā, Pyuthana, for 172½ mohararupaiyās.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

1⟪नं३३⟫

1⟪२१⟫

1⟪१८४नं⟫

[fingerprint of Hīma Lāla Ūpādhyā]

1साछी

[seal of Gaṇeśa Bāhādura]

1 मुषीय़ागणेशवाहादुरघर्तिछेत्रीषैरा¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१

[seal of Bhīmārjuna Ūpādhyā]

1लेषकडीठ्ठाभीमार्जुनऊपाध्याषैरा¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१

[fingerprint of Guru Prasāda Upādhyā]

1[?]रूप्रसादउपाध्याषैरा¯¯¯¯¯¯१

[seal of Cumāna Sīṃ Vaśnyāt Chetrī]

1मु.चुमानसींवस्न्यात्‌छेत्रीषैरा¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१

1सुवेदारदीनानाथउपाध्याषैरा¯¯¯¯¯¯१

1लिषीतम्‌ प्युठानामध्येषैरागाऊव
2स्नेहीमलालऊपाध्याआगेहामी
3भाईभीन्नहुदामेराअंसवंडामा
4लागेकोजसेकरीय़ाकमाराकोछोरो
5गरीय़ालोकेभंन्या•कमारोज्यू१मेरा
6वीक्रीगर्नाकोमनसुव्वाभय़ाकोहुना•
7लेसोहीषैरागाऊवस्न्यादाजीलो
8कनाथपाध्यासंगमोल•पटक्‌स्मे
9त्‌ज्मामोहरू१७२॥अछेरीपीरुपै
10ञाये़कसौसाढेवहतरमानीजजेठा
11दाजीलोकनाथपाध्यालाई•मा
12थीलेषीय़ाका•रूपैञा•मोमोल्‌पट
13क्‌गरीरूपैञावुझीलीसोलोकेकमा
14रोज्यू१सोपीदीञाये़सकमारालेम
15वीक्रीहुनेहोईन•मअजापत्रहुभ
16न्योभनेमैलेसावीतगरुलासा•वीत
17गर्नसकीनरअजापत्रवीक्रीगरेको
18ठहर्यासोरूपैञातीम्राफिर्तावुझाई
19दिऊलामैलेवीक्रीगरेकोकरीय़ाकमा
20रोलोकेतीमीजेठादाजीलोकनाथ
21पाध्याकोपक्वामोल्‌पटक्‌वमो
22जीम्‌कारूपैञामेरापक्वाभनीनीज
23लोकेकमारोज्यू१वीक्रीगरीलेषीय़ा
24कामोरु१७२॥वुझीलीमेराराजीषुसी
25लेपरमभट्टकोकागजलेषीनीजलो
26कनाथउपाध्यालाईदिञाये़सवेहो
27राकासाछिफट्‌केपट्टीलेषीय़ाकाष
28डाछन्‌•ईतीसम्वत्‌१९६६साल्‌मीती
29श्राव़णसुदि३रोज३श्राव़ण५गते
30शुभ्म्¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

No. 33

No. 184

[Fingerprint of Hīma Lāla Upādhyā]

Witnesses:

[Seal of Gaṇeśa Bāhādura]: MukhiyāGaṇeśa Bāhādura Ghartī Chetrī [of] Khairā

[Seal of Bhīmārjuna Upādhyā]: Scribe ḌiṭṭhāBhīmārjuna Upādhyā [of] Khairā

[Fingerprint of Guru Prasāda Upādhyā]: Guru Prasāda Upādhyā [of] Khairā

[Seal of Cumāna Siṃ Basnyāt Chetrī]: Mu.Cumāna Siṃ Basnyāt Chetrī [of] Khairā

SubedāraDīnānātha Upādhyā [of] Khairā

Written by Hīma Lāla Upādhyā, resident of Khairā Gāū within Pyuthana.

Āge: Since I wish to sell 1 household slave boy (kariyā kamāro) named Loke (son of the male household slave Jase)—[whom I received] among my share of the property when we brothers split up, I have received a total of 172 mohararupaiyās 2 sukās, in words one hundred seventy-two and a half rupees, from [my] elder brother Lokanātha Pādhyā, resident of the same Khairā Gāū, and have handed over the slave Loke—1 person—to him. In case this slave says: "I am not to be sold. I am a free serf (ajāputra)," I will prove [him wrong]. If I cannot do so and if it is determined that a free serf has been sold [by me], I will return your money. [From now on] the household slave Loke I have sold belongs to you, [my] elder brother Lokanātha Pādhyā, and the agreed amount of money belongs to me. After selling the aforementioned slave Loke—1 person—and receiving 172 mohararupaiyās 2 sukās as written [above], I wrote [this] paramabhaṭṭa deed willingly, and handed it over to the aforementioned Lokanātha Upādhyā. The [persons whose names are] written in the margin are standing witness to these particulars.

Tuesday, the 3rd of the bright fortnight of Śrāvaṇa, the 5th solar day (gate) of Śrāvaṇa in the [Vikrama] era year 1966 (1909 CE). Auspiciousness.

Notes

Glossary

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.
ajāputra	n. a freeman (cf. MA 1854/81 §5, 56 §6).
ḍiṭṭhā	var. ḍīṭṭhā, ḍiṭhā; a civil servant ranking above a mukhiyā and lower than a subbā (cf. Stiller 1981: 379). According to Edwards 1975: 107, ḍiṭṭhās originally had been the judges who presided over the courts in Kathmandu but later could serve in a number of other offices (such as the kausī, the hāttīsāra or the sadara daphtarakhānā; see also Kumar 1967: 165; M.C. Regmi 1978: 226). The Mulukī Ain distinguishes three categories of the ḍiṭṭhās; the jaṅgī kote ḍiṭṭhā (probably, combatant personnel), the lājimā ḍiṭṭhā and the ḍiṭṭhā in charge of Elephant or horse stable or cowshed (MA-54.31.11).
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.
śrī	[S.] n. word of blessing, can be used as apprecatio, in which case it means 'good fortune' (Pant and Pierce 1989: 12), can be used as a prefix to names of persons and gods, in which case it means 'venerable' or 'glorious' respectively. The number of śrīs used varies, depending on context.
subedāra	n. commander of a military company (cf. M.C. Regmi 1999: 137) consisting of 100 soldiers (N.R. Pant et al. 1969: 383), often placed in charge of a district (M.R. Pant 2002: 136; M.C. Regmi 1978: 229). According to Stiller (1981: 382), he is [below the subbā] the second highest commissioned officer, and, according to Whelpton (1991: 286), he is immediately senior to the jamadāra.
sukā	var. sukī; n. monetary unit worth one fourth of a rupee, i.e. half of a silver mohara, and comprising four ānās; in documents the second of the four usual monetary fractions of the system based on the rupee, usually represented by either the avagraha-shaped sign for zero or one to three daṇḍas.