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A copy of a loan agreement entered into by four brothers from Navalapura for borrowing 42 mohararupaiyās from a creditor in Patan (VS 1959)

ID: K_0210_0066


Edited and translated by Manik Bajracharya in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2018-08-09; Last modified: 2020-06-25
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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, 2020. 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 is a copy of a bond entered into by a debtor, Kṛṣṇa Vīra Rānā of Navalapura, for borrowing 42 mohararupaiyās from a creditor named Annapūrṇā Brāhmaṇī of Patan. The debtor makes a commitment that he or one of his three brothers will serve the creditor until the debt is repaid.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

श्री­\

1साछी­
2पाटं­झतापोल­वस्न्या­वंसीलाल्‌­जोसी­¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१­
3पाटंका­अम्वलमध्ये­षल्वीटार­वस्न्या­कासीनाथ­लामीछाने­१­
4लेषक­भादगाउ­दूनाचो­टोल­वस्ने­हर्क­कुमार­कायेस्थ­१­

1स्वस्ति­श्री­सम्वत­१९५९­साल्­मीति­वैसाष­वदी­३­रोज­६­मा­तद्दीने­ली
2षीतम­धनीक­नाम­सहर­पाटंका­अम्वल­मध्ये­वैलाछे­तोल­वस्न्या­अंन्नपु
3र्णा­व्राह्मणी­धन­वेहोरीणीक­नाम­नवलपुरका­अम्वल­मध्ये­वीमी
4रे­गाउ­
वस्न्या­श्रीभैरवनाथ­पल्टं­८­प•­सी•­कृस्न­वीर­राना­गतलीह
5ल­चादीका­सीका­•मोहरूपैञा­४२­अछेरेपी­वयालीस­रूपैञा­क
6र्जा­लीया­सो­रूपैञां­लीयाको­व़ावत­मेरा­माहीला­भाइको­वीहा­
7गर्नाके­लीयाको­हो­सो­रूपैञा­मध्ये­हामी­४­भाइमा­१­भाइ­हामी­रूजु­
8रही­काम­दीउला­साहुले­रूपैञाको­व्याज­नषोजनु­•असामीले­इमा­न
9षोजनु­•सो­रूपैञा­नतिरुंज्याल्‌­•साहुको­काम­४­भाइमा­१­भाइमा­
10१­भाइले­काम­दींउला­भनि­हाम्रा­मनोमान­⟪राजि⟫षुसीले­साहुलाइ­
11त्मसुक­लेषीदीञ्यूं­येस­वातका­साछी­वसी­स्हीछाप­गर्न्या­फट्‌
12केपट्टी­लेषीयाका­छं­मीति­सदर­शुभ्म्­¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

Witnesses:
 Vaṃsīlāl Josī, resident of Jhatāpola in Patan - 1
 Kāsīnātha Lāmichāne, resident of Khalvīṭāra1 in the district (ambala) of Patan - 1
 Scribe Harka Kumāra Kāyestha, resident of Dūnāco Ṭola in Bhaktapur - 1

Hail! Likhitama: Friday, the 3rd of the dark fortnight of Vaiśākha in the [Vikrama] era year 1959 (1902 CE). On this day, [I] the debtor named Kṛṣṇa Vīra Rānā, a soldier (sipāhī)2 in the 8th squad (paṭṭī)3 of the Bhairavanātha Palṭana, and a resident of Vīmīre Gāu within [the confines of] the district of Navalapura, have taken a loan of 42 mohararupaiyās, in words forty-two, of current legal currency (gatalīhala) [from] the creditor named Annapurṇā Brāhmaṇī, a resident of Vailāche Ṭola within [the confines of] the district of Patan. I have taken this loan for [covering the cost of] my second brother's marriage. For this money, 1 [or the other] of us 4 brothers will remain present and work [for you]. The creditor shall not ask for interest on the [principal] sum. The debtor shall not ask back the value of daily work (nimeka). We have willingly drawn up this loan agreement (tamasuka), declaring that 1 [or the other] of us 4 brothers will work for the creditor until the [principal] amount is repaid. [The names of] the people who have signed standing witness to this deed are written in the margin. The date is valid. Auspiciousness.


Commentary

This document is a loan agreement between the debtor Kṛṣṇa Vīra Rānā and the creditor Annapurṇā Brāhmaṇī. The debtor is a resident of Bimire which currently lies in Nawalpur municipality of Sindhupalchok district. The creditor, as the name suggests, is a Brahmin woman. Her place of residence, spelled Vailāche Ṭola, is probably Bhelāchẽ, a locality to the north-east of Patan Darbar Square. Kṛṣṇa Vīra, who apparently was the eldest of four brothers, borrowed 42 mohararupaiyās in order to cover the cost of his second brother's marriage. To repay the loan, he agrees that one or the other of the brothers will serve the creditor. The deed thus clearly contain a usufructuary pledge of bonded servitude, even if no word such as dhito, bādhā or bandhaka that denotes a pledge or a bondservant is found in it. Nor does it mention the names of the debtor's other brothers. The Mulukī Ain of 1854 (Ain-54 § 82.10) has a rule regarding working for a creditor by rotation: that only a designated bond servant can be compelled to work, but if that person dies, the creditor cannot force subsitutes to work for him.


Notes

1. The reading of this name is unclear in the original. []

2. Abbreviated as in the original. []

3. Abbreviated as pa in the original. []