Documenta Nepalica

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

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A copy of a purjī from Bhīma Śamśera to Subbā Siddhivīra ordering the purchase of cannabis for the ascetics at Kālamocanaghāṭa (VS 1958)

ID: K_0642_0025

Edited and translated by Christof Zotter
Created: 2024-06-17; Last modified: 2024-09-29
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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, 2024. 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

In this purjī Commander-in-Chief General Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā instructs Subbā Siddhivīra to purchase 20 kampanī rupaiyā̃s of good-quality cannabis for the ascetics of the four akhāḍās at the Kālamocanaghāṭa and enter the expenses on the account of the Hetauda pauvāguṭhī.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

1श्री३सर्कार•

1⟪23⟫

1२४नं

1स्वस्तिश्री•मद्राजकुमारकुमारात्मज•श्रीकम्यांडरइनची•फ्‌जनरल्‌भीम्सम्सेरःजङ्गराणावाहादुर•कस्य•
2सुव्वासीधीवीर•केपुर्जीउप्रान्त•काल्‌मोचन्‌•४अषडा•कासाधुसंतलाइषुव़ाउन्दानीमीत्त•हेटौडापौव़गुठी
3काआम्दानीमध्येकम्पनीरू२०कोअसल्‌•कीफायतसाथ्‌वालचरीगाजाषरीदगरी¯ ¯ १ ¯ ¯तर्फगुठी•
4वन्दोवस्तअडामापुग्ने गरीपठाइदीनुसोपठाउदालाग्‍याकापुलीन्दामहसुल्‌रमोल्‌ कंपनीरू•२०स्मेत•
5सोहीहेटौडापौव़ागुठीकास्या⟪हा⟫माषर्चलेषनु•रवहीवुझाउदामोजराहोलाइतीसम्वत१९५८साल्‌मी[...]
6कार्तींकवदी९रोज३शुभम्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

[Invocatio:]

Śrī

[In the space above the main text:]

Śrī 3 Sarkāra

[In the left margin:]

no. 241

Hail! [This is] a purjī of the venerable Commander-in-Chief General Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā (text: Bhīm Samsera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bāhādura), a venerable prince born of a prince, to Subbā Siddhivīra (text: Sīdhīvīra).

Uprānta: In order to supply the ascetics (sādhu santa) of the 4 akhāḍās at Kālamocana[ghāṭa] (text: Kālmocan),2 purchase with [an eye to] frugality, using 20 kampanī ru[paiyā̃]s of the Hetauda pauvāguṭhī's revenue, good-quality (asal)3 cannabis (gājā for gā̃jā) [and] send it to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā under [Śrī 3 Sarkāra]4 . Write the packaging fees (pulīndā mahasula) incurred when sending it together with the cost of 20 kampanī ru[paiyā̃]s as expenditures in the account-book (syāhā) of that same Hetauda pauvāguṭhī, and when accounts are cleared it will be deducted.

Tuesday, the 9th of the dark fortnight of Kārti[ka] in the [Vikrama] era year 1958 (1901 CE).5 Auspiciousness.

Commentary

Two weeks before the present document, Bhīma Śamśera had already ordered cannabis for the Kālamocanaghāṭa akhāḍās from different regions in West Nepal (K_0642_0024). For documents relating to the akhāḍās' cannabis supply for the following year, see K_0655_0026 and K_0655_0030. For a later example from VS 1968, see K_0382_0039.

Notes

1. Concerning these two registration numbers, see K_0642_0024 notes 1 and 2. [⇑]

2. These four so-called "wrestling grounds" (akhāḍās) at Kālamocanaghāṭa are related to four different ascetic traditions, namely the Śaiva Daśanāmīs and Nāthas, the Vaiṣṇava Vairāgīs and the Sikh-affiliated Udāsīs (see also K_0395_0065 esp. n. 5). [⇑]

3. The meaning of vālacarī (for bālacarī or balacarī?), which is present in the text edited here but absent in similar documents (for references see Commentary), remains unclear in the present context. [⇑]

4. Inserted from the space above the main text.. [⇑]

5. The date corresponds to 5 November 1901. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
akhāḍā	[fr. S. akṣavāṭa-] var. akhaḍā. n. lit. "wrestling ground", military station of ascetics; organised group of fighting ascetics. akhāḍās are found e.g. in the traditions of the Śaiva Daśanāmī, the Vaiṣṇava Vairāgī and the Sikh affiliated Udāsī (Clark 2012).
daśanāmī	[S.] n. an order of Śaiva ascetics said to be founded by Śaṅkarācharya.
gā̃jā	[gañjā-] var. gāṃjā, gājā; dried buds of the female hemp plant (Cannabis sattiva L., Cannabis indica Lam.); Marijuana.
Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā	var. Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍā, Guṭhi Bandobasta Aḍā; n. "Guthi Administration Office", office responsible for the management of guṭhīs; established under Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā in 1852-1853 as replacement of the former Guṭhī Kacaharī. Its foundation marks the change from the guṭhīyāri system of the guṭhī management to the contractor based system; remained the central office to coordinate all offices subsequently established for handling different aspects of guṭhī management, including the Guṭhī Kharca Aḍḍā and others. Separate Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍās managed the śrī 5 sarkāra guṭhīs and the śrī 3 sarkāra guṭhīs (cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 713-715).
kampanī rupaiyā	[kampanī + rupaiyā] var. kaṃpanī rupaiyā; abbr. as kampanī ru, kamru, kaṃru etc.; n. a currency introduced by the East India Company in India.
nātha	[S.] n. a follower of the tradition of Gorakhanātha. See also jogī.
pauvāguṭhī	[pauvā + guṭhī] n. a a socio-religious organization (guṭhī) that manages and finances a pauvā and the services related to it.
purjī	[fr. P. purja] var. purji, pūrjī; n. 1) slip of paper, note. 2) formal letter written by a government institution or an official to another institution or to a person.
sādhu santa	[sādhu + santa] n. generic term for holy men, ascetics.
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.
śrī 3 sarkāra	lit. "three-times venerable ruler"; title used by the Rāṇā prime ministers (cp. Whelpton 2005: 266).
subbā	var. subā; n. 1) governor or chief administrative officer of a province or district (cf. Kumar 1967: 168; Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 185; M.R. Pant 2002: 135; M.C. Regmi 1999: 137; M.C. Regmi 2002: 303). 2) civil officer ranking higher than a mukhiyā, but lower than a sardāra (Stiller 1981: 382). According to Edwards subbās were stationed at Gorkha (cf. also Michael 2012: 134) and Chitwan, “with five others being administrators in the Terai” (Edwards 1975: 106). Edwards further mentions that “men of subba rank were also assigned in the capital to the Kumari Chowk, and Kat Bhandar offices, where they were the deputies of the kaji and kapardar in charge” (ibid.). 3) headmen of the Limbu community in the far-eastern hill regions (M.C. Regmi 1978: 229; cf. also 1978: 865).
syāhā	n. account book. Cash book (Adhikari 1984: 357); to what stage of account keeping it exactly refers remains uncleac.
udāsī	[S. udāsin-, lit. "one who is detached, indifferent"] var. udāsi; n. 1) ascetic affiliated to the Sikh tradition.
uprānta	var. uprāṃta, ūprāṃnta, ūprā̃nta, prāṃta; also yathocita uprānta; conj. after that, besides, in addition to, hereafter. In earlier prose and official documents, this word marked the beginning of a text or paragraph. It has no equivalent in English (Clark 1989: 231). In some (mostly Rāṇā period?) documents, it takes the form of yathocita uprānta.
vairāgī / bairāgī	[S. vairāgin] var. bairagi; a vaiṣṇava ascetic, religious devotee (cf. Turner 1931: s.v. bairagi); specific. a member of the Rāmānandī order