Documenta Nepalica

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

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A bakapatra supplied by Ṭīkārāma Nyaupānyā re Mahanta Chatranātha's abbatial succession in Rānagāũ (VS 1964)

ID: K_0469_0042

Edited and translated by Christof Zotter
Created: 2018-06-26; Last modified: 2019-01-22
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, 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

Abstract

In this statement, made in front of Lieutenant Colonel Vīra Bahādūra Basynāt Chetrī of the Salyan dictrict office (gauḍā), the kharidāra Ṭīkārāma Nyaupānyā answers questions regarding the abbotship of Mahanta Chetranātha in Rānagāũ, Salyan.

Diplomatic edition

[1r-part1]

श्री

[seal]

1दःलेकःवीर
2वहादूरवस्न्या
3त्‌क्षत्री¯ ¯

1जील्लैसल्ल्यानामौजेरानागाउकामहंत
2छेत्रनाथपरलोकभय़ाकाहुनाले•महं
3त्याईमामेरोहक्‌होमंन्यालोकनाथ•
4कावींतीपत्रमालेषीय़ाकासाछीष•टी
5कारांन्यौपान्यालेसल्ल्याना•गौराकाले•
6कर्णैल•वीरवहादुरवस्न्यात्‌छेत्रीकासा
7मान्येमा•धर्मसम्‌झिवकेकोवकपत्र¯¯¯
8¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[table1-part1]

1	सव़ालमामुली¯¯¯¯¯¯¯१	जवाफ्‌मेरोनाऊटीकारांवावुकोना ऊजोगदत्त•जातन्यौपान्याव्राह्म ण•घरसल्ल्यांसेजव़ाल्‌टाकुरामाछ पेसाषेतीगर्छुउमेरवर्ष५१कोभञाँ नीजहरुसंगलीनुदीनुझझैगडाके हीछैन¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ाल•रानगाऊकामहंत•छेत्र नाथलाईचीनेकाछौकीहाल्‌ काहाछन्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जव़ाफ्‌चीनेकोछुजीवितछैनन्‌प्रलो कभय़ाकोये़ही६४साल्‌काजेष्ठमै न्हामाहो¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ाल•नीजछत्रनाथकाचेला छंछैनन्‌•भय़ाकोहो¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जवाफ्‌नीजछत्रनाथकाचेलालो कनाथछन्¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ालनीजलोकनाथकतीवर्ष काऊमेर•कैलेकेवेहोरा•संगचेलो भय़ाकाहुं¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जवाफ्‌नीजलोकनाथवर्ष१३का भय़ा•नीजमहंतछत्रनाथ•लेनी जलोकनाथलाई६।७वर्षभय़ो• दांचौघाेरास्थानमात्त्यागचु काईचेलोगराय़ाकाहुन्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ाल•नीजमहंतछत्रनाथलेअ रुलाईचेलातुल्य़ाकाछन्‌की• भंय़ासोमहंत्याईकोहककस्कोहो	जवाफ्‌•नीजमहंतकाचेलाअ रुछैनन्‌•नीजलोकनाथ•मात्र •चेलाहुन्‌नीजमहंतछेत्रनाथ• सोर्गेहुन्यावषत्‌मा•नीजलो कनाथ•लाईपाषुरामासमाती• पीठीञामाधापलगाईय़ोमठ्‌ गद्दीतेरोभय़ोभनी•अषतीय़ा रदीय़ाकाहुनाले•सोमठगद्दी‌ कामहंत्याईकोनीजलोकना थकोहक्‌हो¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[1r-part2]

[table]

	सव़ाल•महंत्याईहुंदा•सावीक्‌ दरसावीक्‌मा•केकेक्सोगरिआ य़ाकोछ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जवाफ्‌•नीजछत्रनाथकागुरु महंतहीरानाथसोर्ग्‍येहुदा•सा वीक्‌चलीआय़ावमोजींनीजही रानाथले•आफ्नाचेला•छत्रना थलाईमठ्‌कोअषतीय़ारिदीसो र्गे•हुदा•गुरुहीरानाथकोकाज कृय़ागरिसकेपछीसावीक्‌वमो जींसोसल्ल्यानागौड•काले• कर्णैलरणवीक्रंवाहादुरराणासँ गआईमेरागुरुमहंतहीरानाथले• सोमठ्‌को•अषतीय़ारिमलाई वक्सेकोछ•सावीक्‌दरसावीक्‌मा गुरुमहंतसोर्गेभय़ापछीचेला लेये़सगौडामाआईजाहेरगर्दागौ राकाभारदारले•गद्दीमावसाई आय़ाकोछमेरागुरुमहंतहीरा नाथसोर्गेहुनुभय़ोसोमठ्‌मा गद्दीवसाईपाऊन्याहुं•भनी•गौ डामावींतीपत्रदीदा•सावीक्‌चलीआय़ावमोजींनीजले•⟪टीकरांस्ही⟫⟪क•⟫⟪सही⟫रणवीक्रंरा णावहादुरवाटभनी•६२साल्‌काभाद्रमैन्हामा•१पट्टीसीपाहीवाजा गाजास्मेत्‌ली•सोरानागाऊमठ्‌माआफैगै•नीज•महंतछत्रनाथलाई गद्दीवसाईसर्कारमाजहेरगर्न्याकाहुन्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ाल•महंतहीरानाथकागुरु• महंतषीमानाथका•परलोकहुदा• कसोभय़ाकोहो•¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जवाफ्‌•नीजषीमानाथपरलोक्‌हु दाभनी•महंतहीरानाथलेगौरा माजाहेरगरि•गौराकाचीफ्‌क र्णैललोकवाहादुरथापाछेत्री• ले१पट्टीसीपाहीवाजागाजास्मेत्‌ लीआफैरानागाऊमाठ्‌मागैनीज महंतहीरानाथलाईगद्दीवसाय़ा काहुन्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ालछत्रनाथमहंतपरलोक्‌ हुन्यावषत्‌मा•सोमठ्‌कोकांतीमी लेगर्नुभनी•महंतछत्रनाथलेमला ईअषतीय़ारदीय़ाकाछंभनीदे वीनाथलेऊजुरगरेकाछंनीज देवीनाथलाईअषतीय़ारदीय़ा कोपनीथाहाछकी¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जवाफ्‌•नीजदेवीनाथलाईम ठकोअषतीय़ारदीय़ाकोमला ईथाहाछैन¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
	सव़ालनीजछत्रनाथका मठ्‌कोआम्दानीकतीछ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯	जव़ाफ्‌आम्दानीषर्चमहंतैवा टहुनेहुनालेथाहाछैन¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[1r-part3]

[table]

सव़ालय़ोमाथीलेषीय़ाकोदुरु
स्तसाँचोहोकी¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

जवाफ्‌•य़ोमाथीलेषीय़ाकोदु
रुस्तसाँचोहोझुट्टालेषीदीय़ाको
ठहर्‍योभनेऐनवमोजींवुझाऊला

9ष•टीकारामजोतीसन्यौपान्या¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ \
10ईतीसम्वत्‌•१९६४साल्‌श्रावण१०गतेवार५शुभ्म्‌¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

1सहीटीका
2रांसल्ल्यांसे
3जवाल्‌टाकुरा

1दः
2ले•कसही

Translation

[1r-part1]

Śrī

[seal]

[signature of] Da.1 L[ieutenant] C[olonel] Vīra Bahādūra Basynāt Kṣatrī - - -

Testimony (bakapatra) given, keeping the dharma in mind, in front of L[ieutenant] Colonel Vīra Bahādura Basynāta Chetrī of the Salyan dictrict office (gauḍā) by the kharidāra Ṭīkārāṃ Nyaupānyā, a witness mentioned (lekhīyāko) in the petition (bintīpatra) from Lokanātha which states "inasmuch as Chetranātha 2 , the abbot (mahanta) of Rānāgāũ maujā, Salyan district (jillā), has passed away, the right to the abbotship is [now] mine."3

[table]

	Question: general [introduction]	Answer: My name [is] Ṭīkārāṃ; [my] father's name [is] Jogadatta. Caste (jāta): Nyaupānyā Brahman. [My] home is in Sejavāl Ṭākurā, Salyan. Profession: I do farming. Age: 51 years old. I have no business dealings4 [or] any dispute with the said people.5
	Question: You know Mahanta Chetranātha of Rānāgāũ, or not? Where is [he] at present?	Answer: I know [him]. [He] is not alive [anymore]. [He] passed away in the month of Jyeṣṭha of this year, [VS 19]64.
	Question: Is there a disciple of the said late Mahanta Chetranātha, or not—[someone who] became one?	Answer: There is a disciple of the said Mahanta Chetranātha: Lokanātha.
	Question: How old is the said Lokanātha? When [and] in what manner did [he] become a disciple?	Answer: The said Lokanātha is 13 years old. The said Mahanta Chetranātha made the said Lokanātha [his] disciple 6 or 7 years ago at Ratannātha's site in Dang Caugherā, 6 after [the latter] had conclusively left [his parents].7
	Question: With regard to [the question] whether or not the said Mahanta Chetranātha made anyone else a disciple, who has the right to the abbotship?	Answer: There are no other disciples of the said mahanta. The said Lokanātha is the only disciple. When the said Mahanta Chetranātha was about to die, [he] seized Lokanātha's upper arm, slapped [his] back, said: "This monasterial throne is yours" [and] assigned [to him] authority; so the right to the abbotship is the said Lokanātha's.

[1r-part2]

[table]

	Question: What all is traditionally done [and] how [is it done] in the customary practice when one accedes to the abbotship (mahantyāñī hundā)?	Answer: When the said Chetranātha's guru, Mahanta Hīrānatha, [was about to] pass away, the said Hīrānātha—according to the customary practice—assigned his own disciple Chetranātha authority over the maṭha, [and] after [the disciple] had performed the kājakṛyā8 of [his] late guru Hīrānātha, he came—according to the custom—to L[ieutenant] Colonel Ranavīkraṃ Bāhādura Rāṇā of the Salyan district office and submitted a petition to the gauḍā which states: "My guru Mahanta Hīrānātha granted me authority over the maṭha. In the customary practice, after a guru mahanta passes away, the disciple comes to this gauḍā and informs [it, and] the bhārādāra of the gauḍā installs [the appointee] on the throne. My guru Mahanta Hīrānātha passed away. May I be allowed to be installed on the throne in this maṭha." According to the customary practice, the said L[ieutenant] C[olonel] 9 Ranavīkraṃ Rāṇā Bāhādura took a group (paṭṭī) of soldiers [who came] singing and playing instruments (bājāgājā), went himself to the Rānāgāũ maṭha, installed the said Chetranātha on the throne [and] informed the government in the month of Bhādra of the [Vikrāma era] year [19]62.
	Question: What happened when Mahanta Hīrānātha's guru, Mahanta Khīmānātha, passed away?	Answer: When Mahanta Hīrānātha informed the district office that the said Khīmānātha had passed away, the head of the district office, Colonel Lokabāhādūra Thāpā Chetrī, took a group (paṭṭī) of soldiers [who came] singing and playing instruments (bājāgājā), went himself to the Rānāgāũ maṭha [and] installed the said Hīrānātha on the throne.
	Question: Devīnātha has submitted a complaint, saying: "When Chetranātha Mahanta was passing away, the said Chetranātha gave me the authority, saying, 'You do the work of [overseeing] the maṭha'."10 Do [you] also know or not whether [Chetranātha] gave authority to the said Devīnātha?	Answer: I do not know whether [he] gave authority over the maṭha to the said Devīnātha.
	Question: How much is the revenue of the said Mahanta Chetranātha's maṭha?	Answer: Since the revenue and the expenses are [controlled] by the mahanta, I do not know [how much].

[1r-part3]

[table]

Question: Is what is written above the exact truth, or not?

Answer: What is written above is the exact truth. If it is proven that lies were written, I will pay the price according to the law.

Kha[ridāra] Ṭīkārāma Jotīsa Nyaupānyā - - - 1

signature Ṭīkārāṃ, home [village]: Sejavāl Ṭākurā

signature Da.11 L[ieutenant] C[olonel]

Thursday, the 10th solar day (gate) of Śrāvaṇa in the [Vikrama] era year 1964 (1907 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

This bakapatra was among the documents which were sent from Salyan to Kathmandu in support of a petition from Lokanātha to be recognized as successor to the throne (see K_0469_0033). For an elucidatory statement (kholuvā bayān) supplied by Ṭīkārāma in VS 1964, Bhādra 19 gate, see K_0469_0043.

Notes

1. The meaning of this abbreviation remains unclear. Perhaps it stands for darabāriyā or darabārī, that is, a courtier. [⇑]

2. The name occurs in the document occasionally as Chatranātha but is written as Chetranātha in the translation. [⇑]

3. For this bintīpatra, see K_0469_0033. [⇑]

4. Lit."giving [and] taking ..." (līnudīnu). [⇑]

5. The phrase nījaharusaṃga probably refers to individuals mentioned in the introductory passage of the document (cf. note 6 in K_0469_0041). [⇑]

6. The scribe originally wrote caughorā but he himself crossed out the stroke after gha to change o into e. Other documents report that Chetranātha was residing as head of the monastery (pīra) at Caugherā at that time. For further details, see note 10 in K_0469_0038. [⇑]

7. While the present document only has tyāga cukāī, other witnesses more specifically say: bābu āmābaṭā tyāga cukāī (see K_0469_0038, K_0469_0039, K_0469_0040, K_0469_0044). [⇑]

8. Kājakṛyā (mod. Nep. kājakiriyā) denotes the ritual actions performed for the first thirteen days after a death. [⇑]

9. The abbreviation "ka." is added above the line, and the addition is authenticated by Ṭīkārām with his signature. [⇑]

10. For Devīnātha's petition, see K_0469_0015; for his statement (bayāna), see K_0469_0045. [⇑]

11. Cf. note 2. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
bakapatra	[baka+patra] var. vakapatra; n. testimony, witness statement.
bhāradāra / bhārādāra	var. bhārā n. lit. "burden bearer"; a generic term for high-level functionaries and courtiers.
bintīpatra	[fr. S.] var. bintipatra, biṃtipatra, bīntīpatram; n. formal letter written to an authority; more specifically, a petition or request letter. Cf. bintī.
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.).
jāta	[S.] n. lit. "species"; a caste or ethnic group, see also jāti.
jillā	var. jillai, jīllā; n. a major administrative district.
kharadāra / kharidāra	[fr. P.] var. kharīdāra, ṣaridāra; n. secretary, official scribe, office superintendent (cf. Kumar 1967: 166).
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.
maujā	[fr. A. mauja] var. mauje, maujye; n. 1) unit of land revenue administration in the Tarai (cf. Krauskopff and Deuel Meyer 2000: 184). 2) revenue subdivision constituted by a group of villages in some hill districts and the Kathmandu Valley (cf. Michael 2012: 132).
paṭṭī	[fr. S. patti] n. a squad headed by a subedāra in the Nepalese Army.
pīra	[P.] n. 1) a venerable old man, a spiritual guide. 2) a Muslim saint. 3) (esp. in the Nātha tradition) used as title for the head of important maṭha (Bouillier 2017: 60 and passim).
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.