Documenta Nepalica

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

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A document releasing Neko Bhoṭenī after fining her for a criminal offence (1951 VS)

ID: Tsum_0001_0019

Edited and translated by Nadine Plachta and Rajendra Shakya
Created: 2018-03-11; Last modified: 2020-07-10
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 with the support of the Nile Labrang, Tsum. The copyright of the facsimile remains with Nadine Plachta. 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 attests the receipt of a fine from Neko Bhoṭenī in reparation for the charge of assaulting and wounding Ñaṃjuma Bhoṭenī, who was compensated with a small sum out of the fined amount.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

[Unknown seal]

1स्वस्तिश्री१८सैय़कालोकाभारकाठेकदरकस्यनेकोभोटेनी
2लेञंजुमभोटेनीलाईसुकौछिंमुडमाकुठपिठगरिरागत्‌पे
3भाईरघैतेपरेकोडंडराघपोसैनीकागरिरुपैञ२२||वु
4झिञंजुमलाई२||घपुसैउनीराडंडरुपैञ२०वुझिनेगे
5भोठेनीलाईफराकतिगरिदिञ्युँसम्वत्‌५१साल्‌वैसष
6वदि३०रोज१सुभ्म्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Śrī

[Unknown seal]

Hail! A document [issued] by the lokābhāra ṭhekadāra of ŚrīAṭhāra Saya [Kholā]

As a …1 of punishment to Neko Bhoṭenī for physically assaulting Ñaṃjuma Bhoṭenī at Sukauchiṃ Moḍa and rendering her bloody, [we] have received 22 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās [from Neko], handed over 2 mohararupaiyā̃s 2 sukās to Ñaṃjuma as …2 [compensation,] and having received [the remainder,] 20 mohararupaiyā̃s, executed a certificate of release for Neko Bhoṭenī3 .

Sunday, the 30th of dark fortnight of Vaiśākha in the [Vikrama] era year [19]51 (1894 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

The document was probably written by a scribe from the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region, as many words appear in colloquial form.

Notes

1. Unclear in the original. [⇑]

2. Unclear in the original. [⇑]

3. Her name is given as Nege Bhoṭenī in the original. It is clear from the context that the scribe was referring to the offender mentioned earlier under the name Neko Bhoṭenī. [⇑]

Word	Notes
lokābhāra	[S.] n. "a system under which the local community undertook liability for payment of the stipulated revenue through a representative designated for that purpose" (M.C. Regmi 1978: 162)
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.
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	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.
ṭhekadāra	var. ṭhekaḍāra, ṭhekādār, ṭhikidār, ṭhekdār; n. contractor. 1) person who holds a ṭheka for the collection of taxes (M.C. Regmi 1988: 270). 2) farmer who rents his land.