Documenta Nepalica

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

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A document recording a loan taken by Vīkmāṃ Bhoṭe from Kulmāna Giri, with a son pledged as security (VS 1956)

ID: K_0348_0040

Edited and translated by Manik Bajracharya in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2017-08-07; Last modified: 2018-11-26
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, 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 is a loan agreement drawn up by Vīkmāṃ Bhoṭe for borrowing 37 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās from Kulmān Giri. A son of the debtor, Kamāne Bhoṭe, is promised as a bond servant till the debt is repaid.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

⟪1१⟫

⟪1४४⟫

[fingerprint of Vīkmāṃ Bhoṭe]

[fingerprint of Kālu Āle Magara]

[fingerprint of Haṃpu Āle Magara]

[signature of Jīvarāja Pādhyā]

1साछी
2रानाथोक्‌वस्न्याकालुआलेमगर¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१
3ऐं¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯वस्न्याहंपुआलेमगर¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१
4लेषकसाछीनेपालवानेश्वरवस्न्याजीवराज
5पाध्या¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१

1लीषीतम्‌धनीकनाम•सागाचोक्‌मध्ये•छोटेडाडावस्न्यापी
2रमहंतकुल्मान्‌गीरी•धनवेहोरीनीकनाम•सागाचोक्‌मध्ये
3षाल्साडढुवाडाडाछापटारवस्न्यावीक्मांभोटेगतलीह
4ल्‌चादीकामोरूपैञा३७॥अक्षरेपिसाढेसैतीस्‌क
5र्जालीञावापत्‌घरषर्चगर्नाकेकर्जालीय़ाकोहुंय
6सरूपैञा•मामेराकांछीस्वाश्नीपट्टीकोजेठोछो•रो
7कमानेभोटेभोगवाधालेषीदिञामाथीलेषीय़ाको
8साव़ामोहरू३७॥चुक्तीनहुंज्याल्‌साहुलेनीज•छोरो
9कमानेभोटे•लाई•घरमाराषीभोगचलन्‌गर्नु•मै
10लेनीजछोरोकोनीमेक्‌नषोजनु•साहुवाटरूपै
11ञाकोव्याजनषोजनु•नीज•कमानेभागीनसीसा
12हुकोकामहर्जागराय़ोवाअरूकौनैवेहोरालेसाहुकोभोग
13हुनपाये़नभने•हर्जाभय़ाकादीनकोऐनवमोजीम्‌•
14नीमेकस्मेत्‌वुझाई•नीजकावदलामेरैज्यूभोगवाधा
15भैवसुला•वेउजुरभनीमेरामनोमान्‌षुसीराजीसग
16कीनाराकासाछीसदरगरी•भोगवाधाकोकागजले
17षीनीजसाहुलाईदीञा•इतीसंवत्‌१९५६साल•मिती
18फागुनसुदी६रोज५शुभ्म्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

442

[fingerprint of Vīkmāṃ Bhoṭe]

[fingerprint of Kālu Āle Magara]

[fingerprint of Haṃpu Āle Magara]

[signature of Jīvarāja Pādhyā]

Witnesses:

Kālu Āle Magara, resident of Rānāthok – 1

Haṃpu Āle Magara, resident of the same – 1

Scriber [and] witness Jīvarāja Pādhyā, resident of Bāneśvara, Nepāla (i.e., Kathmandu) – 1

Likhitam: [I], the debtor (dhana behorinika) named Vīkmāṃ Bhoṭe, a resident of Khālsā, Ḍaḍhuvā Ḍāḍā, Chāpaṭāra within [the confines of] Sāgācoka, have taken a loan of 37 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās of current legal currency (gatalīhal) [from] the creditor (dhanika) named Pīra MahantaKulmān Giri, a resident of Choṭe Ḍāḍā within [the confines of] Sāgācoka. I have taken this loan in order to cover household expenses. For this money, I have written down Kamāne Bhoṭe, the eldest son of my youngest wife, as a bond servant (bhoga bā̃dhā). The creditor should make use (bhogacalana) of [my] son Kamāne Bhoṭe, keeping him at his house until the aforementioned principal of 37 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās has been paid in full. I will not ask back the value of [Kamāne Bhoṭe's] daily work (nimeka). The creditor shall not ask for interest on the [principal] sum. If the aforementioned Kamāne causes loss to the work of the creditor by running away, or if for any reason the creditor becomes unable to enjoy [Kamāne's labour], I will pay the nimeka for the days that have been lost (harjā), in accordance with the law (ain), and I myself will remain as bond servant in place of the aforementioned [Kamāne]. I will not file any complaint. I have willingly written this deed of debt bondage (bhogabā̃dhāko kāgaja), declaring the witnesses [mentioned] in the margin as valid, and handed it over to the aforementioned creditor.

Thursday, the 6th of the bright fortnight of Phālguna in the [Vikrama] era year 1956 (1900 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

This document, written in 1900 CE, is a classical example of debt bondage. What makes this document more interesting is the follow-up document to it, K_0348_0039. This latter document, written six years later, mentions that the bond servant, Kamāne Bhoṭe, was recaptured after he ran away for two and a half years. He is obliged to enter into renewed bondage, with a fine added to the principal. Kamāne is mentioned in K_0348_0039 as being 18 years old. Therefore, he must have been of 12 years of age when the current document was written.

Sā̃gācoka, the place of residence of the issuer of this document is a village in Cautārā Sā̃gācokagaḍhī Municipality of Sindhupalchok District, east of the Kathmandu Valley.

Notes

1. A number of unknown meaning added by a second hand. [⇑]

2. A number of unknown meaning added by a second hand. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
ain	var. āin, aina; n. 1) laws, statutes, rules, regulations enacted by authority 2) law-code of Nepal, first promulgated in 1854 during the rule of Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā and amended several times before it was completely revised in VS 2022. The revised law-code was renamed as Mulukī Ain.
lihalagata	var. gatalīhal, gatalihala, gataliha; adj. 1) current legal currency. 2) legally borrowed (money) with a written agreement (cf. NBŚ s.v. lihala).
likhitam	[S.] var. likhitama, likhītama, likhita; 1) adj. written. 2) n. a written document (as evidence).
mahanta	[S.] var. mahaṃta; n. the temporal and spiritual head of a centre (āśrama, maṭha, sthāna, akhāḍā) or wandering group (khālsā) of an ascetic order (cf. Burghart 1976: 100); an abbot.
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.
nimeka	var. nimyāka, nimek; n. 1) value of the labour of a slave or peon. 2) compensation (cf. RRS 39: 321, MA 1854/80 §1).
pīra	[P.] n. 1) a venerable old man, a spiritual guide. 2) a Muslim saint. 3) (esp. in the Nātha tradition) used as title for the head of important maṭha (Bouillier 2017: 60 and passim).
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.
sukā	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.