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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 CCby-SA.

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
2

[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 Nepāl3 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 gā̃jā7 , 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.). []