Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A copy of a lālamohara from King Gīrvāṇayuddha directing Sarvajita Nāu to provide plants for Dasaĩ rituals (VS 1863)

ID: K_0030_0021F


Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter
Created: 2019-02-25; Last modified: 2023-07-06
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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, 2019. 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 copy of a lālamohara from the king, who according to the date must have been Gīrvāṇayuddha, allocates land to Sarvajīta Nāu and orders him to provide his services in supplying plants needed for rituals on the occasion of the two Dasaĩs at Gorkha.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1१७८­

1भाद्र­सुडी­५­रोज­४­मा­
2आगे­सर्वजीत­नाउके­•गोर्षाको­कीडी­षोलाको­जैराम्या­तुल्या­कुभा
3ल­वस्याका­जगा­•२­दसैमा­चाहीन्या­सर्व­औषडी­फुल­लाउन्या­नीमी
4त्त­•कुलचन्द्र­साहले­•षाय़ा­वमोजिं­•राषि­वक्स्यौ­•आफ्ना­षातीर
5ज्मासीत्त­•२­दसैको­टहलमा­रुजु­रही­•भोग्‍ये­गर­ईती­सम्वट्‌­मीती­स
6डर­— — — — — — —१

[Unknown seal]

Translation

[1r]

1781

On Wednesday, the 5th of the bright lunar fortnight of the month of Bhādra [in the Vikrama era year 1863 (1806 CE)]2

Āge: To Sarvajīta Nāu

We allocate [to you] a piece of land at Gorkhā's Kiḍī Kholā—[whereon at present] Jairāmyā [and] Tulyā Kubhāla3 reside—for the purpose of bringing the sarvauṣadhi [and] flowers4 needed during the 2 Dasaĩs,5 according to what has been enjoyed by Kulacandra Sāha. Be present for the services [entrusted to you] during the 2 Dasaĩs, conscious of your duties, and enjoy [the attendant fruits].

The date is confirmed.


Commentary

The scribe uses -ḍa instead of -da and -dha in all instances, except for in the word dasai. This ideosyncratic rendering of retroflex for dental consonants also applies to the spelling samvaṭ.

Though the document does not explictly say so, it in all likelihood pertains to material provisions for the Dasaĩ rituals performed at Gorkha Palace. The document is very terse, but it seems likely that the land allocated to the addressee was meant to be a place of residence for him, thereby implying that the other persons mentioned, Jairāmyā and Tulyā Kubhāla, had not only been the previous landholders but had also been in charge of providing the plants.

It would facilitate the comprehension of the document to learn more about what is meant by the phrase "according to what has been enjoyed by Kulacandra Sāha". Kulacandra Śāha was the son of King Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa's brother Dalamardana Śāha. He is known to have held a seven-year ijārā contract for the cultivation of land in Rautahat up to VS 1862 (1805 CE, Regmi 1988), the year preceding the issue of the present document. According to B. Acharya, in the same year, in March 1805, Bhīmasena Thāpā, "with the aim of taking over his house at Indrachok" (Acharya 1972: 162) blinded Kulacandra by pouring poison into his eyes.6 The boy, at that time 10 years old, was imprisoned. Did this deprivation of liberty and property also include rights Kulacandra held over land in Gorkha?

Notes

1. This number refers to the position of the document in an assemblage of lālamohara texts copied from the Jaisīkoṭhā. The bound material, microfilmed sequentially from K_0028_0032 (front cover and index) up to K_0031_0014, covers the main bodies (i.e. excluding the initial and final formalities) of 303 royal documents from the period VS 1847–1864. The lālamoharas concern affairs relating to different guṭhīs. [⇑]

2. The year is given at the beginning of the document, having been copied at the top of the verso of the previous page of the ledger (cf. K_0030_0021A). All seven document copies microfilmed under NGMPP K 30/21 are dated to the month of Bhādra. Thus the reigning king in whose name the original lālamohara was issued must have been Gīrvāṇayuddha. [⇑]

3. Though on the basis of script, the names of the landholders are comparatively, if not absolutely, certain, it is unclear whether one or two persons are referred to. Here it is assumed that "Kubhāla" is a last name, maybe indicating that the persons in question belonged to the community of potters (kumāle or kumhāla), while Jairāmyā and Tulyā were the first names of two separate persons. [⇑]

4. Alternatively, the phrase sarva auṣaḍi phula could also be translated as "the flowers that constitute the sarvauṣadhi". But as herbs and flowers are often distinct items in rituals, it is assumed that the phrase is an enumeration of two separate entities. [⇑]

5. The two Dasaĩs are the Baḍā Dasaĩ in autumn and the Caite Dasaĩ in spring. [⇑]

6. According to H.A. Oldfield who met Kulacandra as an old man in February 1854 the blinding was done by King Raṇabahādura "in order to disqualify him from the throne" (Oldfield 1880, 1: 267). [⇑]