Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A copy of a lālamohara from King Rājendra appointing Hutadhvaja Sāhi to manage the Dasaĩ worship at Arghā (VS 1877)

ID: K_0020_0031B


Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter
Created: 2022-11-29; Last modified: 2023-01-23
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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, 2023. 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

The lālamohara from King Rājendra of which this is a copy appoints Hutadhvaja Sāhi to follow Devārā Rāja in managing the Dasaĩ worship at Arghā.



Diplomatic edition

[1v]

1⟪हेर्ने­नौ­
2प्रेमलाल­
3हेर्ने­नौ­प्रे
4मलाल­
5भंन्ने­नौ­
6पुर्ण­⟫

⟪1पो­नं­३५०­
2पा­नं­२६­
3सि­नं­५०८­⟫

1⟪नं–­५०८­⟫

1आगे­हुतध्वज­साहिके­अर्घाका­[?]⟪डसैलाई⟫­गुठ­रह्याका­षेत­२|­गुठीयार­देवारा­राजका­नाम
2मा­भयाको­मोहर­हानी­तोलाई­वक्स्यौं­आफ्‌ना­षातिरज्मासंग­∙अघि∙देखि­लाई
3आया­वमोजिंको­सराजाम­पुर्‍याई­सालवसाल­दसै­गर्न्या­कां­गर­ईति­संम्वत­१८७७­सा
4ल­मीति­पौष­वडी­५­रोज­२­शुभ्म्­¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

[In the left margin:]

The one who watched [was] Nau[sindā]Premalāla1

The one who said [was] Nau[sindā] Purṇa

[Above the main text:]

Bundle (po. for pokā)2

pā no. 26

si no. 508

no. 5083

[Main text:]

Āge: To Hutadhvaja Sāhi

We annul the mohara that was issued in the name of the guṭhiyāraDevārā Rāja4 [for] the 2 khetas that constitute the guṭha [land] for the Dasaĩ at Arghā and grant it to you. Being conscious of your duties, provide the accessories (sarjāma) in accordance with what has traditionally been provided before and carry out the task of performing the Dasaĩ [rituals] every year.

Monday, the 5th of the dark fortnight of Pauṣa in the [Vikrama] era year 1877 (1820 CE).5 Auspiciousness.


Commentary

The document concerns the management of the Dasaĩ rituals performed at Arghākoṭa in 1877. At that time, Hutadhvaja Sāhi, the addressee of the present document, was the local administrator (āmālī) of Arghā. His name is quoted with that title in a birtā grant to Brahmins dated Sunday, the 1st of the bright fortnight of Phālguna (DNA_0014_0074). There Amālī Hutadhvaja Sāhi heads the list of names of locals from Arghā who are involved in fixing the boundaries of landed property lying in that administrative unit (ambala). Three years after the present appointment, the management of the guṭhi lands dedicated to supporting the Dasaĩ rituals shifted from Hutadhvaja Sāhi to Bhīmasena Mājhī and Punai Jaisī, following complaints filed against him (K_0003_0036C).

For more on related documents and the conflicts over the performance of Dasaĩ at Arghā, see K_0031_0019C.

Notes

1. For these marginal notes added by the clerks involved in copying the documents or in checking whether copies were true to the originals, see note 3 in K_0016_0028B. [⇑]

2. This and the following two numbers added by the same scribe who copied the text probably refer to the archival number of the original document copied. While po probably stands for pokā, "bundle", it is unclear what pā and si stand for. [⇑]

3. It is unclear what this number, added by a later hand, refers to. [⇑]

4. The reading of the name is doubtful. [⇑]

5. The date corresponds to 25 December 1820. At that time the reigning king in whose name the original lālamohara must have been issued was Rājendra. [⇑]