Documenta Nepalica

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

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A copy of a rukkā from King Rājendra granting land to Harṣanārāna for his service in the Tripureśvara temple's garden in Kathmandu (VS 1898)

ID: K_0008_0036B

Edited and translated by Marija Grujovska
Created: 2025-03-24; Last modified: 2025-12-08
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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, 2025. 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 rukkā responds to a petition submitted by Harṣanārāna regarding unequal remuneration (jāgīra) to the two chief overseers of the Tripureśvara temple's garden. Acknowledging the petition, the king grants specified plots of land as remuneration and exempts him from compulsory labour and certain taxes.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्रीदुर्गाज्यू\ श्रीत्रिपुरेश्वर

1११९नं
2४४नं
2रु
3भंन्नेस्हीनौपुर्ण

1स्वस्तिश्रीमनमाहाराजाधिराजकस्यरुक्का•¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯---
2आगे•सहरकाठमादौ•गोफले•टोल्को•हर्षनारान्‌के•---कावगैचाका•नाईक्या•
3दुईमध्ये•येक•जनालाई•षानगीषेत१।येक•जनालाईरुपैया•२५षानगीभयाको•
4छकसैलाईषेतकसैलाई•रुपैञाहुंदावरोवर•भयेन•भनि•तैले•हाम्राहरुरमा
5विंन्तिगर्न•आऊदा•जाहेरभयो•अवऊप्रान्त•तलाईपनि•तपसील•वमोजीम•ज्मा•
6षेत जगीरगरी•वगैचाकाटहलमा•रहनज्याल•अन्यत्रको•झारावेटवेगार•
7ऊघाऊनी•पघाव़निमाफगरी•वक्स्यौं•वगैचामा•विरुव़ालगाईगुलजारगर्नु•ता•
8हाका•विरुव़ा•फलफुल•अन्त•कसै•लाईनदीनुआफ्ना•षातिरज्मासंग•जागीर•
9जानीभोग्यगर
10तपसील

[table1]

1	वल्मवुवोसीको•जगीरपट्टी		।६४
2	फेष•वदलसीराना	।८
3	ऐ•सपसीं	।८

1स्हीडिडिप्‌वहादुर

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]

[1v]

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]

1स्हीडिडिप्‌वहादुर

1 ॥११८॥

[table2]

4	ऐ•भागीसीं•	।८
5	ऐ•वाकाचोचामुराना	।२०
6	ऐऐ[?]हन्या•षडका	।२०
7	——---	——---	——---
8	पाटनसंषमुगलकीतीसी		।२०
9	काठमाडौवागमतिकापुलमनिकिसनलेविह्रायाको		।२०
10	——---	——---	——---

11ईति•संम्वत•१८९८सालमीतीमार्गशुदी५रोज•७शुभ्——

Translation

[1r]

[In the space above the main text:]

Glorious Durgā

Glorious Tripureśvara

[In the left margin:]

No. 1191

No. 442

Attested (ru[ju])

The one who said: Signature nau[sindā]Purṇa

[In the main text:]

Hail! [This is] an executive order (rukkā) of the supreme king of great kings.3

Āge: To Harṣanārāna of Gophale Ṭola [in] the city of Kathmandu

[The following] has come to our notice when you came to petition us, stating: "Among the two chief [overseers] of --- (i.e. the glorious Tripureśvara)'s4 garden, one is granted one kheta, [and] the other 25 rupees as an emolument (khānagī). Since one receives land (text: kheta) and the other cash (text: rupaiñā), it is not equal."

From now on (avauprānta), we grant you a total of [1.04]5 kheta as remuneration (jāgīra) as well, detailed in the particulars (tapasīla) [below], [and] exempt you from jhārā, beṭha, begāra corvée elsewhere and from homestead taxes (ughāunī paghāunī), for as long as you remain in the service of the garden. Plant seedlings in the garden and make it thrive. Do not give seedlings and fruit from there to anybody elsewhere. Mindful of your duty, consider [the kheta] your remuneration and enjoy [its fruits].

Particulars

[table]

1	[In] Valmavu beyond the jāgīra [land] of the [following] lumberers (vosīs)6		\|64 [muris]
2	[In] Phekha [beyond the jāgīra land of] Vadala Siṃ Rānā	\|8 [muris]
3	di[tto] [beyond the jāgīra land of] Sapa Sīṃ	\|8 [muris]

Signature: Ḍi[ṭṭhā]Ḍip Bahādura7

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]

[1v]

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]

Signature: Ḍi[ṭṭhā] Ḍip Bahādura

[In the upper left margin:] [p.] 118

[table]

4	di[tto] [beyond the jāgīra land of] Bhāgī Sīṃ	\|8 [muris]
5	[di]tto, [in] Vākāco [beyond the jāgīra land of] Cāmu Rānā	\|20 [muris]
6	[di]tto [di]tto [beyond the jāgīra land of] [?]hanyā8 Khaḍkā	\|20 [muris]
7	---	---	---
8	[In] Pāṭana, Saṃkhamugala9 [beyond the jāgīra land of] ?Kītī Sī10		\|20 [muris]
9	[In] Kāṭhamāḍau, [near] the Vāgamati bridge [beyond] the [land] cultivated by Mani Kisana		\|20 [muris]
10	---	---	---

Saturday, the 5th day of the bright fortnight of Mārga in the [Vikrama] era year 1898 (1842 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

The document in question very likely pertains to the garden currently situated adjacent to the courtyard of the Tripureśvara temple. It was formally dedicated to the temple in Āśvina VS 1877 (1821 CE) (K_0132_0024). The appointment of a caretaker for the garden is recorded in K_0019_0019A, suggesting an organized structure for its upkeep and oversight. Further evidence of such structure and the scale of it is found in the document K_0014_0005B, which records the appointment of 34 individuals from Kathmandu and Patan assigned to work in the garden.

Notes

1. 2. It is unknown what this number refers to. Possibly it was added when the copies were checked for their agreement with the originals. [⇑]

2. This number refers to the place of the document in the government ledger archived as Book no. 4, which according to its front cover is from the Pahāḍa Baṃdobasta Phā̃ṭa and whose entries were microfilmed sequentially by the NGMPP from K_0007_0031 (front cover and index) up to K_0009_0014. [⇑]

3. From the date of the document, the issuing king must have been Rājendra (r. 1816–1846). [⇑]

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

5. In the document, the space where the total amount of land should have been recorded is left blank. However, based on the particulars, and assuming the units refer to muris, the listed plots amount to 104 muris, which corresponds to 1.04 khetas. [⇑]

6. In a description of traditional occupational castes, the Bosīs are identified as lumberers (Regmi M.C. 1984 (No.6): 95). [⇑]

7. This is the signature of the ḍiṭṭhā who probably oversaw the scribes in copying. [⇑]

8. Due to the unclear writing and photo quality the first akṣara of the word is not recognizable. [⇑]

9. Probably Śaṅkhamūla. [⇑]

10. The reading and meaning of these three syllables remain uncertain. Following the pattern of other entries in the particulars, a personal name is expected here. The proposed reading 'Kītī Sī' is conjectural; kītī may be a corrupted form of 'Kīrti, and sī possibly represents the surname 'Sīṃ' [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
āge	[fr. S. agre] adv. lit. "henceforeward" (Riccardi 1976: 150 n. 6), especially used in administrative and legal documents to mark the beginning of a text or paragraph. In its function it is similar to uprānta.
begāra	[fr. P.] var. begārī, bigārī; n. 1) a work exacted with no or meager payment. 2) forced and unpaid labor for purposes such as porterage, construction and digging (cf. R. Shaha 1990/vol.1: 207, M.C. Regmi 1978b: 854; cf.: M.C. Regmi 1999: 136). 3) Requisition of labourers for emergency requirement (M.C. Regmi 1965: 53). 4) compulsory porterage services, usually unpaid (cf. Michael 2012: 130).
beṭha	[fr. S. viṣṭi] var. beṭh, beṭhi; n. usually written together with 'begāra'; compulsory labour; unpaid labour esp. for farms (cf. R. Shaha 1990/vol.1: 207); exaction of unpaid labour on a customary basis in the hill region, usually for agricultural work (cf. M.C. Regmi 1965: 53, Michael 2012: 130).
ḍiṭṭhā	var. ḍīṭṭhā, ḍiṭhā; a civil servant ranking above a mukhiyā and lower than a subbā (cf. Stiller 1981: 379). According to Edwards 1975: 107, ḍiṭṭhās originally had been the judges who presided over the courts in Kathmandu but later could serve in a number of other offices (such as the kausī, the hāttīsāra or the sadara daphtarakhānā; see also Kumar 1967: 165; M.C. Regmi 1978: 226). The Mulukī Ain distinguishes three categories of the ḍiṭṭhās; the jaṅgī kote ḍiṭṭhā (probably, combatant personnel), the lājimā ḍiṭṭhā and the ḍiṭṭhā in charge of Elephant or horse stable or cowshed (MA-54.31.11).
jāgira	var. jāgīra; n. "lands, homesteads, villages and other sources of revenue assigned to government employees as remuneration for their services" (M.C. Regmi 1999: 136).
jhārā	n. forced labor, unpaid work or assistance exacted from the people by the government or a landlord for the cause of the state or public welfare; can also be commuted into cash payment (M.R. Pant 2002: 133; M.C. Regmi 1988: 267).
khānagī / khānkī / khāngī	n. 1) salary, wages, or an annual emolument. 2) emoluments of government employees and functionaries, generally in the form of land assignments (M.C. Regmi 1978: 227; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 860; Adhikari 1984: 351). 3) rents accruing from the lands assigned to jāgiradāras (cf. M.C. Regmi 1965: 18-19).
kheta	[fr. S. kṣetra] var. khet, kheṭ; n. 1) irrigated land in the hill region suitable for the cultivation of rice and wheat. 2) a measure of land in the hill region equal to 25 ropanīs or 100 murīs (ca. 1.25 hectares) (M.C. Regmi 1999: 136-137 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1999: 234 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 162 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 227 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 860 ; M.C. Regmi 1995: 77; Adhikari 1984: 351; M.R. Pant 2002: 133; Whelpton 1991: 284 ).
nausindā	n. a scribe or a clerk of lower rank responsible of translating, registry and accounts; “They were the lowest rank of scribes. There were more personnel in this rank than in any other within the "civilian" hierarchy (and excluding the sipahis). A considerable number of them worked in the offices of registry and accounts. Nausindas registered the papers which came in and left the offices and copied letters and documents.“ (Edwards 1975: 109 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 228 ; Adhikari 1984: 354 ; Kumar 1967: 167 )
ruju	var. rujū; (physically) present, attested (Pant and Pierce 1989: 94; Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 185).
rukkā	[fr. A. ruq'a] n. an executive order, short note, missive from the highest authority. The king, the crown prince, but also queens and the Rāṇā prime ministers issued rukkās.
tapasila	[fr. A.] var. tapasīl, tapasīlā, tapsīl; n. particulars, details; can be a self-sustained document, but is more often appended as a list after the narratio of documents.
ughāunī paghāunī	[ughāunī + paghāunī] var. ūghāūnī paghāūnī; n. 1) homestead taxes. 2) collection of taxes such as sāunephāgu etc. and its submission to the revenue office (cf. Parājulī et al. 1995: s.v. ughāunī).
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.