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

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A purjī from C-in-C General Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā re bidding farewell to ascetics after Śivarātrī (VS 1962)

ID: K_0230_0035

Edited and translated by Rajan Khatiwoda, Christof Zotter
Created: 2017-08-25; Last modified: 2021-08-11
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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, 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 note (purjī) from Commander-in-Chief Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura to the chief and staff of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā under His Majesty (Śrī 5 Sarkāra) directs the addressees to make necessary arrangements for taking leave of ascetics and other pilgrims who visited the Paśupatinātha temple during Śivarātrī in VS 1962.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री\

1श्री५सर्कार
2१

[Seal of Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura]

1श्रीकम्यांडर‌इनचिफजनरलभिम
2सम्सेरजङ्गराणावहादुरवाट

1 ¯ ¯१ ¯तर्फगुठीवंदोवस्त‌अडाकाहाकिम्‌कारींदालेपुर्जिहेरी•शिवरात्रीकामेलालाइनेपाल्‌आय़ाका
2फकिरफकेडादेसीपरदेसीमानीस्‌हरूलाइसिवरात्रीपछीफागुणसुदी२रोजकादिनसम्ममाफर्का
3इपठाउनुपर्न्येहुनालेअषडाअषडाकामहंतहरूलाइस्मेत्‌उर्दिदीनुविदालाइपनीवेलैमावंदोव
4स्तमिलाइदुरुस्तगरीराषीसोफागुणसुदी२रोजकादिनविदाइगराउनल्याइफर्काइपठाउनेकाम
5गर•इतीसम्वत्‌१९६२सालमितीफागुणगते४रोज•५शुभम्¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[Unknown seal]

Translation

Śrī

Śrī 5 Sarkāra – 1

[Seal of Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura]

From the venerable Commander-in-Chief General Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura

Since ascetics1 and (other) persons, [both] native [and] foreign, 2 who have come to Nepāl 3 for the Śivarātri festival are to be sent back after Śivarātrī by the 2nd of the bright fortnight of Phālguṇa, the chief officer (hākima) and the clerks (kārindā) of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā under His Majesty (Śrī 5 Sarkāra), having read [this] purjī, shall send a [corresponding] notice to the akhāḍās and the abbots (mahanta) of the akhāḍās. Make timely arrangements, doing what is appropriate for the leave-taking, and having assembled [the pilgrims] to have them take their leave on the 2nd of the bright fortnight of Phālguṇa, send [them] back.

Thursday, the 4th solar day (gate) of Phālguṇa in the [Vikrama] year era 1962 (1906 CE). Auspiciousness.

[Unknown seal]

Commentary

Śivarātrī or Mahāśivarātrī on the 14th day of the dark fortnight of Phālguna4 is one the most important Hindu festivals, especially for śaivas. At the Paśupatinātha temple in Deopatan, the national sanctuary of Nepal since the time of the Malla kings, huge crowds of pilgrims and ascetics gather on this annual occasion. The Guṭhī Saṃsthāna keeps numerous other records relating to the treatment of ascetics during the Śivarātrī festival of VS 1962 (and not just at Paśupatinātha): sanadas and purjīs regarding the contribution of alms and food (haṇḍī or sadābarta),5 the supply of firewood6 and gā̃jā 7 , the repairing of resting places,8 the organization of banquets (bhaṇḍārā)9 etc.

The present document has to do with to the final phase of this administrative "labour peak". Three days after the actual festival, the visitors receive a boon and are sent away.

In later times, the distribution of firewood, food, etc. was done by the clerks of the successor organization of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā, the Guṭhī Saṃsthāna, and in order to participation in the official farewell at Kālamocanaghāṭa one needed a special ticket (Michaels 1994: 272f. and Michaels 2008: 37).10

Notes

1. The document uses the words phakira (fr. A. faqīr, lit. "beggar") and phakeḍā (for phakaḍā, fr. H. phakkaḍa, carefree, uninhibited), both—often, as here, in combination—used as generic terms for ascetics of differerent orders. In more detailed instructions about how ascetics should be dealt with during the festival of Śivarātri at the Paśupatinātha temple (cf. Commentary) it is the saṃnyāsī, vairagī, udāsī and nātha orders that are typically mentioned (Michaels 1994: 368). [⇑]

2. desī ... mānīsharū could be also translated as "people of the plains" (see Turner 1931: s.v. desi), i.e. the southern parts of the kingdom. On the importance of foreign (predominantly Indian) visitors of the Śivarātrī festival at Paśupatinātha, see Michaels 1994: 275f. [⇑]

3. Here nepāl is used in the older sense of the word referring to the Kathmandu Valley. [⇑]

4. On a smaller scale, Śivarātrī is celebrated on every 14th day of the dark fortnight of a lunar month. [⇑]

5. See e.g. K_0668_0013, K_0668_0014, K_0668_0018, K_0668_0019 and K_0668_0020 (all dated Thursday, Māgha gate 12, VS 1962). [⇑]

6. See e.g. K_0668_0016 and K_0668_0017 (both dated Thursday, Māgha gate 12). [⇑]

7. See e.g. K_0668_0032 (Phālguna gate ?). According to K_0668_0006 and K_0668_0010 (both dated Thursday, Māgha gate 12, VS 1962) beaten rice (ciurā), tobacco (tamākhu, surtī) etc. had also to be provided to the ascetics. [⇑]

8. Cf. K_0668_0036 (Tuesday, Phālguna gate 30). [⇑]

9. See e.g. K_0668_0034 (Friday, Phālguna gate 12) regarding the feeding of one hundred ascetics (sādhu saṃta mahaṃta phakīra phakeraharu) at the Śaṅkhamūla Akhāḍā. [⇑]

10. For an edition of such a bidāīpatra, see Michaels 1994: 371f.). [⇑]

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).
bhaṇḍārā	n. a meal provided for ascetics.
gā̃jā	[gañjā-] var. gāṃjā; hemp (Cannabis sattiva L.).
Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā	var. Guṭhī 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).
hākima	[H. fr. A.] var. hākim, hākīm; n. chief of an administrative unit, government office or court (Adhikari 1984: 349; Kumar 1967: 165; Michael 2012: 131; M.C. Regmi 2002: 299).
haṇḍī	[H.] var. haṇḍi; 1) n. an earthen pot. 2) an earthen pot to give alms mainly regularly by the government or other institution to ascetics, students, poor people etc. 3) alms regularly given by the government or another institution to ascetics, student etc., consisting of a “quantity of rice, lentils, vegetables, spices, salt, etc., given as a dole for a full meal.“ (M.C. Regmi 1978: 859)
kārindā	[fr. P. kāranda] var. kārīṃdā, kārīndā; n. clerk or low-ranking official.
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.
nātha	[S.] n. a follower of the tradition of Gorakhanātha. See also jogī.
phakaḍā	[fr. H. phakkaḍa] var. phakeḍā; n. ascetic, jogī (denoting his carefree, uninhibited lifestyle).
phakira	[fr. A. faqīr] var. phakīra; phakīḍa; phakiraphageḍā; phakiraphakaḍa; n. lit. "beggar"; an ascetic, specifically a Muslim one. In the Mulukī Ain, however, the term is used (as bheṣadhārī) to refer to ascetics in general, also including Śaiva jogīs and sannyāsīs (Bouillier 1976 and 1985: 201; see also Clark 2006: 19n.).
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.
sadābarta	[S. sadāvrata] var. sadāvartta, sadāvarta, sadābartta; n. 1) regular distribution of alms or food to mendicants, guests, pilgrims or the poor (cp. Adhikari 1984: 356). 2) a kitchen where raw or cooked food is supplied to these groups (cp. M.C. Regmi 1978b: 864). 3) a charitable foundation for the provision of food to poor, mendicants and pilgrims (cp. M.C. Regmi 2002: 302).
śaiva	[S.]. n. a devotee of Śiva.
saṃnyāsī / sannyāsī	[fr. S. saṃnyāsin-] var. saṃnyāsi; n. renouncer, specif. a member of the Daśanāmī order.
sanada	var. sanad; n. a regulation, order, decree or certificate of appointment, esp. from the prime minister (prāimaminisṭara yaṇḍa kamyāṇḍara ina cipha) or the commander-in-chief general (kamyāṇḍara ina cipha janarala); "government orders" (Karmacharya 2001: 327).
śivarātri	[S.] var. śivarātrī; also mahāśivarātri; n. lit. "Śiva's night", festival in honour of Śiva celebrated in the night of the 14th of the dark fortnight, on a bigger scale (then called mahāśivarātri) in the night of the 14th of the dark fortnight of the month of Phālguna.
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 5 sarkāra	lit. "five-times venerable ruler"; commonly used to refer to the Śāha king (cp. Whelpton 2005: 266) and often indistinctively to his government (Lecomte-Tilouine 2015).
udāsī	[S. udāsin-, lit. "one who is detached, indifferent"] var. udāsi; n. 1) ascetic affiliated to the Sikh tradition. 2) a category of ascetics, possibly, belonging to a Shaiva sect.
vairāgī	[S. vairāgin] var. vairāgi, bairāgi, bairāgī; n. someone who is free from the worldly desires; an ascetic; specif. a Vaiṣṇava ascetic (of the rāmānandī sampradāya)

Bibliography

Michaels, Axel. 1994. Die Reisen der Götter. Der nepalische Paśupatinātha-Tempel und sein rituelles Umfeld. Bonn: VGH Wissenschaftsverlag.
Michaels, Axel. 2008. Śiva in trouble. Festivals and rituals at the Paśupatinātha Temple of Deopatan (Nepal). . South Asia research. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Turner, R. L. 1931. A Comparative and Etymological Dictionary of the Nepali Language. London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner.