Documenta Nepalica

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

Version with DOI and citation guidelines

An istihāra to the nation regarding the use of traps (VS 1988)

ID: L_0923_0005

Edited and translated by Rajendra Shakya in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya and Nadine Plachta
Created: 2018-10-11; Last modified: 2020-01-22
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, 2020. 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 istihāra announces a new law that restricts the use of traps against animals. It intends to control the haphazard use of traps, allowing them only for the protection of crops and prohibiting their use for killing animals or capturing them for trading purposes.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

[Seal of Bhīma Śamśera]

[Seal of Juddha Śamśera]

[Unknown Seal]

1इस्तिहार¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
2आगेगोरखाराजभरमुलुककारैतीदुनिञागै
3र्‍‍हकेआफ्नाबालीकाबचाउकाखा[?][...]जालरा
4खनेहरुलेपासगराईराखनुपर्छपासनलीजाल
5थापीजनावरहरुकोशिकारखेल्न[?][?]
6गर्नसमेतहुँदैनगरेयोसजायहुँन्छभन्ने[...]
7राकोतपसिलकोऐनजारीभएकोसवैलाईथाहा
8हवस्भन्नानिमित्तयोइस्तिहारजारीगरीवक्से
9कोछसोऐनवमोजिमगर्नेकामगर¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
10तपसील
11चौपायाको
12३२नं.॥॥अबउप्रान्तआफ्नाबालीकावचाउकाखातिरजालराखनेहरुलेगौंडागो
13श्वाराभएकाजिल्लामागौंडागोश्वारामारसोनभएकाजिल्लामानजिककोअदालतअमिनीमा
14गैपासगराइराखनुपर्छपासगराउनेहरुलेपनीआफ्नाबालीकाबचाउलाईमात्रबालीका
15छेउमाजालथापनहुन्छपासगराइबानगराईबन्दभएकाबानभएकाजङ्गहरुमाजाल
16थापीजनावरहरुकोशिकारखेल्नमार्नउद्योगगर्नसमेतहुँदैनकसैलेगरेकोभएजालजफत
18गरीजनावरमरीश[?]कोभएऐनलेहुनेसजायमाफीजनावर१०रुपैञाकादर्लेथपरउद्योग
19सम्मगरेकोजनावरमरीशकेकोनभएपटक१को१०रुपैञाकादर्लेजरीवानागर्नुलेखिए
20वमोजिमजालपासगराउनेहरुलेऐलेसम्मराखेकाजालकोयोऐनजारीभएका३महिनाभित्रर
21योऐनजारीभएपछीराखनमन्सुवाहुनेलेपैलेनैअड्डामागैपासगराइराखनुपर्छसोबमो
22जिमपासगराईराखनुपर्नेमापासनगराईराखेकोभएजालजफतगरीजालैपिछे१रुपै
23ञाकादर्लेजरीवानापनीगर्नु
24इतिसंवत्१९८८सालपौष६गतेरोज२शुभम्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

Istihāra

Āge : To all of the subjects throughout the nation of the Gorkha Kingdom

Those who lay traps (lit. "nets") for the protection of their crops need to get them approved [by the concerned authority]. The laying of traps without [prior] approval and the hunting [or] killing of animals, [and] also trade in [trapped] animals, are prohibited. We have issued this istihāra so that all will know about the enactment of the law (ain), [as described] in the tapasila, which details the punishment if [any such acts are] carried out. Act in accordance with that law.

Tapasila

On four-footed beasts

No. 32: From now onwards, those who lay traps for the protection of their crops need before doing so to get approval from gauḍā or gośvārā in the districts where gauḍās/gośvārās are present, and in districts where they are not, to go to an adālata or aminī. Also, those who do get approval shall lay traps next to crops for the sole protection of the crops. It is also prohibited to lay traps in the forests, whether closed or not [to the public], [and no matter whether] with or without approval, and to hunt or kill animals, and also to engage in trade [of trapped animals]. If anyone does [so], the trap shall be confiscated and, if the animal has already died, then along with the punishment prescribed by the law, an additional 10 rupees fine per animal shall be levied. If the animal is traded and has not died, then 10 rupees fine per trade shall be levied.

In accordance with what has been written [in the law], the persons who [seek] approval for laying traps that have [already] been laid need to get approval within 3 months of the enactemt of this law, while persons who wish to get approval after the law has come into force shall need to go to an office (aḍḍā) first and get approval before doing so. If traps are laid without getting approval in accordance with this [law,] which makes it compulsory to get approval, then the traps shall be confiscated and 1 rupee shall be fined for every trap.

Monday, the 6th solar day (gate) of Pauṣa in the [Vikrama] era year 1988 (1931 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

The date of this istihāra confirms that it was issued during the reign of Rāṇā prime minister Bhīma Śamśera, but it bears the seal of Juddha Śamśera, who was then the commander-in-chief. Although the seal is not clear, it resembles the seal of Juddha Śamśera clearly imprinted on another istihāra (L_0922_0008) issued about four months before this one. This note of the government was issued to let ‘all countrymen’ know about a new law that prohibited laying traps and snares in order to kill animals or catch them for trade. It was meant for the whole ‘Gorkha Kingdom’, that is, the whole of Nepal. Hence, this istihāra from Samdo (Gorkha district) is probably just one of many copies sent to all state offices throughout the country.

It is interesting that the state was so concerned about the welfare of the animals that it enforced a new law that prohibited the haphazard installation of traps with the intension of killing or catching them, whether for trade or other purposes than the protection of crops.

What prompted the state to enforce such a law is unclear. Interestingly, the Tsum valley, also from the same Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region, had been observing, among other social rules, that of not laying traps since 1977 VS (1920 CE), the time of Ḍukpā Lāmā Serāpha Dorje, locally revered as an incarnation of the great bodhisattva Karuṇāmaya. This lama may have been a source of inspiration for this stricture. On the other hand, the country had already seen some progressive acts on the part of the state, as, for instance, the emancipation of slaves and abolition of slavery in 1925, which was carried out by Rāṇā prime minister Candra Śamśera, Bhīma Śamśera's predecessor. At the very beginning of the ‘appeal’ Candra Śamśera made to the people for the abolition of slavery, he states that “the world progresses and with it there is change, not only in our mode of living, in our relations with our neighbours, in our methods of administration and many thing besides but our domestic arrangements too” (Rana 1925: 1). This suggests that the state had some sense of the importance to move in tandem with the rest of the world, and may have been a consideration when issuing this istihāra.

Another reason for the state’s concern for the protection of animals may have been royal hunting privileges. Three years after the enactment of this law, Prime Minister Juddha Śamśera, whose seal is seen in the document, was on his annual winter hunting trip in the far- west of Nepal when the great earthquake of 1934 struck (Sever 2014: 351). The Rāṇās also organized hunting trips exclusively for foreign dignitaries. Juddha Śamśera, who was commander-in-chief at the time, had personally made all arrangements for the hunting trip of the Prince of Wales in 1921 (Sever 2014: 348).

Notes

Glossary

Word	Notes
adālata	[fr. A.] n. a court of justice. According to K.K. Adhikari (1984: 301), adālatas were superordinate to ṭhānās and amālas. There were two categories of adālatas: 1) gaũḍā-adālatas which were situated in the frontier areas, Dhankuta in the east and Palpa and Doti in the west. 2) jillā-adālata which were located in the various administrative regions. In the Mulukī Ain, adālatas, ṭhānās and amālas were the central institutions for judicial administration (see, for example, MA-KM 1854 1.5, 19 and 21).
aḍḍā	var. aḍā; n. an office, post or station where state functionaries carry out their duties.
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.
ain	var. āin, aina; n. 1) laws, statutes, rules, regulations enacted by authority 2) law-code of Nepal, first promulgated in 1854 during the rule of Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā and amended several times before it was completely revised in VS 2022. The revised law-code was renamed as Mulukī Ain.
aminī	[fr. A.] var. amīnī, amini; n. Rana period administrative office in the Tarai districts also functioning as courts of first instance (Adhikari 1984: 344; Kumar 1967: 164; Sever 1993: 477).
gaũḍā / gauḍā	var. gaurā; n. 1) a fortification, fortress (see Parājulī et al. 2052: s.v. gaũḍā and gauḍā); 2) certain districts were known as gauḍā, according to Adhikari (describing the situation after 1850): Doti, Salyan, and Palpa in the West and Dhankuta in the east (Adhikari 1979: 16); 3) a district office for maintaining law and order (cf. Karmacharya 2001: 91) established in the districts known as gauḍā. According to Adhikari this judicial offices were placed under responsible military officials—at first under kājīs or sardāras, and later on, under generals (janarala) and colonels (karṇela). In the Ain the chief officer of a gauḍā is referred to as hākima or mālika. Gauḍās decided original cases and served as appellate courts. They had jurisdiction regarding pañcakhata cases but could order a death sentence only after receiving a lālamohara from the kausala (Adhikari 1979: 16). The other levels of courts in the disctricts besides gauḍās or gaũḍā adālatas (cf. Adhikari 1984: 310) were: adālata (sometimes also called aḍḍās) and amāla (Adhikari 1979: 14). According to Kumar there were three "first courts of appeal" known as gauḍās covering twelve lower courts after the reorganisiation of the country's judiciary by Vīra Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā in 1887: I. Palpa gauḍā (covering 1. Salyan, 2. Piuthan, 3. Pokhara, 4. Doti, 6. Bhagwanpur, 6. Taulihawa), II. Doti gauḍā (covering 7. Jumla, 8. Dailekh, 9. Banke, 10. Kanchanpur), III. Dhankuta gauḍā (covering 11. Morang, 12. Saptari) (Kumar 1967: 129f.).
gosvārā	[fr. A. gośavārā] var. gośvārā; n. 1) belonging to a single group or being an integral part of, common to several, joint. 2) chief, main, of the first level (gosvārā hulāka, gosvārā lagata, etc.). 3) an administrative office of a baḍāhākima that looks after the security affairs of the whole district during olden times (Parājulī 2010: 339).
istihāra / iśtihāra	[fr. A.] n. official note by the government to the public.
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.

Bibliography

Rana, Chandra Shum Shere Jung Bahadur. 1925. Maharaja Chandra Shum Shere Jung Bahadur Rana's Appeal to the people of Nepal for the Emancipation of Slaves and Abolition of Slavery in the country. Kathmandu: Suba Rama Mani.