Documenta Nepalica

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

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A rukkā from King Surendra to the chief officer of the Kausī Tosākhānā containing new regulations for the Daitya and Kumāra dances at the Taleju temple (VS 1933)

ID: DNA_0012_0056

Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Bal Gopal Shrestha and Ramhari Timalsina
Created: 2016-06-27; Last modified: 2024-03-18
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, 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

Abstract

This rukkā, issued by the king and addressed to the chief officer of the Kausī Tosākhānā, introduces new guidelines for the Daitya and Kumāra dances performed at the Taleju temple of Kathmandu. It approves a directive from the prime minister. Having determined that both the funding mechanism and the practice of replacing dancers with new performers every 12 years in accordance with an earlier lālamohara issued in VS 1832 (1775 CE) had become dysfunctional, the latter had ordered that instead of providing the necessary materials directly a stipulated sum was to be supplied every year through the Kausī Tosākhānā for their purchase. In addition, certain government officials would be required to contribute a cash sum, and certain localities in Kathmandu to provide dress and ornaments for the dances. The term of duty for the two dancers embodying the deities is reduced from 12 to 5 years each.

Diplomatic edition

[1r-part1]

1श्री\

1श्रीदुर्गा

1श्रीतलेज्यू
2१

1श्रीमदतिप्रचण्डभूजद
2ण्डेत्यादीश्रीश्रीश्रीमहा
3[?]वहा[?]सि
4येस[?]ईथोङ्‌लि
5ङ्‌पिम्माकोकाङ्‌
6वाङ्‌स्यान्‌प्राइम्‌मि
7निष्टरयाण्डकम्यां
8डरइनचिफ्‌¯¯¯
9२

[royal seal]

1स्वस्तिश्रीमन्महाराजाधिराजकस्यरूक्का¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
2आगेकौसितोसाषानाकासालवसालकाहाकिंमप्रतिदर्वारका
3¯ ¯ १¯मादैत्येकुमारभैनाचनुपर्न्यानाचकेचाहिन्याजिन्सिसराजाम्‌
4हिटीचोकभंसारजगाजगावाटदिनुकाजिभारादारअर्जवेगीस्मे[?]
5गरीसोनाचलाउदामोर्रु२५दिनुगहनापोसाकतपसिलकाटोलटो
6लवाटदिनुभंन्न्या१८३२सालश्राव़नसुदि१४रोज५मालालमो
7होरस्मेतभयामाअमानतरकंठाउठाउकाअडासवैपछीठेक्काहु
8नजादासोकुमारदैत्येभैनाचन्याहरुकेभयाकालालमोहोर२
9मालेषियावमोजिंकेहिनपाउनाले१२।१२वर्षमापालोपाउनु
10पर्न्यामाअरुलेकवोलनगर्दा२०।२५वर्षसम्मपुरानिञालेपा
11लोपनिपायाकोरहेनछरहामिवाटसोलालमोहोरहेरीवक
12सिअघीभयाकोदैत्येनाचको१कुंमारनाचको१ज्मालालमो
13होर२मध्येकुमारनाचकालालमोहोरवमोजिंकाजिन्सिको
14तपसिलकाद्रलेआजकालकाभाउविक्रीलेनगदकस्दाचाहिन्ये
15मोहोरु८५/।।।३हामिवाटथामिवक्स्याकोछअवउप्रान्तसा
16लवसालसोमोहोरु८५/।।।३कौसितोसाषानावाटदिनुग
17हनाकपडासोहितपसिलकाटोलटोलवाटउठाइवनाइदिनु
18नीजदैत्येकुमारभैनाचन्याहरुलेपनिअघी१२।१२वर्षमापा
19लोपाउन्यारितरहेछअवउप्रांन्त५।५वर्षकोपालोगराइदीनु
20सोहिअघीकालालमोहोर्रअघीदेषिगरीआयावमोजिं
21नाचपुजाचलाइषानुभंन्न्याव्येहोराकोतेसअदालतमार्फ
22तलालमोहोरगराइदीन्याकामगरभंन्न्या३३सालश्राव़[?]
23सुदि३रोज२मा¯ ¯ २¯वाटहुकुंकोपुर्जिगरीवकस्याकोव्ये
24होराविस्तारअदालतइटाचपलिकाहाकिंसुव्वारामप्रसाद
25षन्यालले¯ ¯ २¯काश्रीमद्राजकुमारकुमारात्मजश्रीकम्यां
26डरइनचिफजनरलरणउद्दिपसिंहकुव़रराणाकेसियेसआ

[1r-part2]

27[...]काहजुरमाविंतिपार्दारनीजहरुवाटपनिहाम्राहजुरमाविं
28तिपारीजाहेरगरायाकामासोहि¯ ¯१¯मादैत्येकुमारभैना
29चन्याकेदैत्येनाचको१कुमारनाचको१ज्मालालमोहोर२मध्ये
30कुमारनाचकालालमोहोरवमोजिंजिन्सिकोतपसिलका[...]
31रलेआजकालकाभाउवीक्रीलेनगदकस्दाचाहिन्यामोहो[...]
32८५/।।।३हामिवाटथामिवकस्याकोसोमोहोरु८५/।।।३कौ
33सितोसाषानावाटअवउप्रांतसालवसालवसालदिनुगह
34नाकपडासोहितपसिलकाटोलटोलवाटउठाइवनाइदीनूनी
35जदैत्येकुमारभैनाचन्याहरुलेपनिअघी१२।१२वर्षमापालो
36पाउन्यारीतरहेछअवउप्रांन्त५।५वर्षकोपालोगराइदिनू
37सोहिअघीकालालमोहोर्रअघीदेषिगरीआयावमोजिंम
38नाचपुजाचलाइदीनुभंन्न्याव्येहोराकोतिम्रानाउमारतप
39सिलवमोजिंकोदस्तुरसालवसालकौसितोसाषानावा
40टलिनु५।५वर्षकोपालोगरीअघीदेषिगरीआयावमो
41जिंरअघीकालालमोहोरवमोजीमनाचपुजाचलाइषा
42नुभंन्न्यानीज¯ ¯१¯मादैत्येकुमारभैनाचन्यासालवसा
43लकानाचकीहरुकाकानाउमालालमोहोरगरीवक्स्यौं
44तपसिल

[table1]

1	नाचसांगेगर्दामाचाहिन्यासराजामकेमोरु		१८।•।।।२
2	स्यावजिमुरी१केद्रपाथी५ताके	४
3	चिउरापाथी१२के	४
4	तेलमाना९के	२।•
5	भटमासमाना६के	।•
6	सुपारिगोटा४०के	//
7	गोकुलधुपतोला२के	ऽ।२
8	हिंतोला१।।•के	/
9	जीरातोला२४के	।•
10	नुनमाना६के	।।।•
11	कपराहात३के	।।•
12	माछासेर२के	१
13	भैसिकोमासुधार्नि८केद्रधार्नि१के।//ले	३
14	वोको१के	१।।
15	अदुव़ासेर१।।•के	/।।
16	पातके	।।•
17	¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[table2]

1	नाचआरंभेकेचाहिन्यासराजामकेमोरु			२०
2	भैसिकामासुधार्नि१५केद्रधार्नि१के।//ले		५।।//
3	अदुवासेर३के		///
4	वोके३के		४।।•
5	पातके		।।
6	स्यावजीपाथी१६केद्रपाथी५ले		३///२
7	चिउरापाथी८के		२।।//२
8	तेलमाना६के		१।।•
9	भट्टमासमाना६के		।•
10	सुपारि४०केरु		//
11	गोकुलधुपतोला	२के	ऽ।२
12	हिंतोला	१के	ऽ।।२
13	जीरातोला	१६के	//।।
14	नुनमाना४के		।।•
15	कपराहात३के		।।•
16	सुकेकोमाछासेर२के		१
17	¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[1r-part3]

[table3]

1	मुहासिलकेरपुलुछेस्मेतकेचाहिन्यातपसिलका सरजामकोमोहोरु		२१/।१
2	स्यावजिपाथी१२के	२।//२
3	चिउरापाथी६के	२
4	तेलमाना७के	१।।।•
5	भटमासमाना४के	//।।२
6	सुपारीगोटा२०के	/
7	गोकुलधुपतोला१के	ऽ३
8	हिंतोला।।के	ऽ।१
9	जीरातोला८के	/।१
10	नुनमाना२के	।•
11	कपराहात१।।•के	।•
12	सुकेकोमाछासेर१के	।।•
13	मासुधार्नि८केद्रधार्नि१के।//ले	३
14	वोके१के	१।।
15	अदुव़ासेर१के	/
16	पातके	।•
17	जीगोटा१के	//।।२
18	अर्घ१के	//।।२
19	कासाकोवटुको३के	।•
20	मांद्रो४के	//।।२
21	हासकाफुल८के	।•
22	अदुव़ातोला८के	ऽ।२
23	वोके१के	१।।•
24	चाव़लपांथी८के	२।।।•
25	चिउरापाथी४के	१।/१
26	भटमासमाना२के	//।।२
27	कोदोमाना१के	ऽ२
28	सेतोमासमाना२के	/।।
29	तीलकोतेलमाना३के	।।।•
30	तोरीकोतेलमाना३के	।।।•
31	लाव़ामाना२के	ऽ।२
32	अछेताकेचाव़लपाथी१के	//।।२
33	सेतोचाव़लपाथी१।।के	///।।।३
34	¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

[table4]

नगदीमोहोरु

२५

[table5]

1	सर्कारवाटवाहेकअरुटोलटोलमाउठाउनुपर्ने गहनाकपडा
2	असंटोल्यासितचाली	१
3	कर्मिनाइकेसगवाही	१
4	टेवाहालमाचालसितपोको	१
5	भेलाछीकामुसलहरुसगलहगारमटु क	१
6	¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

45इतीसम्वत१९३३सालआश्वीनवदी९रोज३शुभ्म्

[1v-part1]

1२९

1२८८

1मार्फत्‌श्रीश्रीश्रीमहाराजजङ्गबाहादूरराणा
2जि.सि.बि.थोङ्‌लिन्‌.पिम्मा.कोकाङ्‌वाङ्‌स्यान्‌
3प्राइंमिनिष्टरयांण्डकम्याण्डरइंचिफ्‌
4मार्फत्‌श्रीकम्याण्डरइंचिफ्‌जनरलरणोद्दीप
5सींहकवरराणा

1मार्फत्‌गुरु[...]षजांचिवाम[...]वपंण्डित्‌ज्यू

[1v-part2]

1मार्फत्‌सुव्वारामप्रसादषन्याल्‌

Translation

[1r-part1]

Śrī

Śrī Durgā

Śrī Talejyū – 1

He who is very mighty, has arms like a staff etc., the thrice venerable great king, Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, GCSI, thoṅ-līṅ-pim-mā-ko-kāṅ-vāṅ-syān Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief – 2

[royal seal]

Hail! [This is] an executive order (rukkā) of the supreme king of great kings.1

Āge: To each year's chief officer (hākima) of the Kausī Tosākhānā

A lālamohara was [issued] on Thursday, the 14th of the bright fortnight of the month of Śrāvaṇa of the [Vikrama era] year 1832 (1775 CE), stating: "The Hiṭīcoka Bhansāra is to supply from different places the material provisions (jinsī sarājām) needed for the dances which Daitya and Kumāra are supposed to be present for to dance at the palace’s [Śrī Talejyū]2 [temple]. Ministers (kājī), courtiers (bhārādāra) and arjabegīs together are to provide 25 mohararupaiyā̃s in (lit. "using") gold. Ornaments and dresses are to be given by individual city quarters (ṭola) [as specified in] the particulars (tapasila)." For all that, thereafter the budgeted items (rakama) that were directly collected (amānata) [by] the various local government offices all [began to] be [collected] under contract (ṭhekkā) and because of that those who danced when Daitya and Kumāra were present [in them] received nothing of what was written in 2 lālamoharas [issued] for these dancers. Thus of those who should have taken their turn after 12 years none assented [to do so], so that for up to 20 or 25 years former [replacements] did not take their turn. We have inspected these lālamoharas and [herewith] settle on 85 mohararupaiyā̃s, 1 [sukā], 3 [ānās], 3 [paisās] as [what is] needed [in terms of] current selling prices—after lowering cash [costs] (i.e. getting discounts?)—for the material provisions at the rates (drale for darale) given in the lists of materials according to the lālamohara relating to the Kumāra dance, [1 of] the 2 lālamoharas that previously appeared, [namely] 1 for the Daitya dance [and] 1 for the Kumāra dance. From now on each year this 85 mohararupaiyā̃s, 1 [sukā], 3 [ānās], 3 [paisās] is to be provided by the Kausī Tosākhānā. The ornaments and dress are to be obtained from [or] made [in] the different city quarters listed in the same particulars. It appears that there has previously been the custom of said Daitya and Kumāra dancers serving for terms of 12 years each. From now on set a term of 5 years each.3 It came to the notice of General Raṇa Uddīpa Siṃha Kuvara Rāṇā, KCSI, the venerable Commander-in-Chief of [Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief]4 when a petition was made by the chief of the Iṭācapalī court (adālata), Subbā Rāmaprasāda Khanyāla, outlining what was detailed in a purjī containing an order (hukuṃ) from [Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, Prime Minister and Commander-in-Chief]5 [issued] on Monday, the 3rd of the bright fortnight of the month of Śrāvaṇa of the year [19]33, stating: "Execute the task of having a lālamohora issued through this adālata that specifies: 'Use (lit. "eat") [these sums for] performing the worship and dances in accordance with these earlier lālamoharas and according to what has been performed from earlier times on,'"

[1r-part2]

and as soon as it was brought to our notice through the [aforementioned] persons, who also made a petition in our presence, we have issued a lālamohara addressed to you (i.e. the chief of the Kausī Tosākhānā), detailing as follows: "We have settled on 85 mohararupaiyā̃s, 1 [sukā], 3 [ānās], 3 [paisās] as [what is] needed [in terms of] current selling prices—after lowering cash [costs]—for the material provisions at the rates given in the lists of materials according to the lālamohara relating to the Kumāra dance, [1] of the 2 lālamoharas relating to the dancers when Daitya and Kumāra are present [in them] at the [Talejyū]6 [temple], [namely] 1 for the Daitya dance [and] 1 for the Kumāra dance. From now on every year this 85 mohararupaiyā̃s, 1 [sukā], 3 [ānās], 3 [paisās] are to be provided by the Kausī Tosākhānā"; and [a lālamohara] addressed to the said Daitya and Kumāra dancers at the [Talejyū]7 [temple], stating: "The ornaments and dress are to be obtained from [or] made [in] the different city quarters listed in the same particulars. It appears that there has previously been the custom of said Daitya and Kumāra dancers serving for terms of 12 years each. From now on set a term of 5 years each. Take the customary sums (dastura) according to the particulars (tapasila) every year from the Kausī Tosākhānā. Setting a period of service of 5 years each, expend [these sums for] performing the worship and dance in accordance with what has been performed from earlier times on and according to the earlier lālamoharas."

Particulars (tapasila)8

[table1]

For the materials needed when performing the ritual conclusion (sāṅge) of the dance morus		18, 1 [sukā], 3 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
For 1 murī of puffed rice (at the rate of 5 pāthīs)9	4 [morus]
For 12 pāthīs of beaten rice	4 [morus]
For 9 mānās of oil	2 [morus],1 [sukā]
For 6 mānās of soya beans	1 [sukā]
For 40 areca nuts	2 [ānās]
For 2 tolās of gokuladhūpa	0 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 2 [paisās]
For 1.5 tolās10 of asafoetida (hing)	1 [ānā]
For 24 tolās of cumin	1 [sukā]
For 6 mānās of salt	3 [sukās]
For 3 hātas of cloth	2 [sukās]
For 2 seras of fish	1 [moru]
For 8 dhārnīs of buffalo meat ( at 1 [sukā] 2 [ānās] per dhārnī)	3 [morus]
For 1 he-goat	1 [moru], 2 [sukās]
For 1 sera, 2 pāus of ginger	1 [sukā], 2 [ānās]11
For leaves	2 [sukās]

[table2]

For materials needed at the beginning of the dance, morus		20
For 15 dhārnīs of buffalo meat (at 1 [sukā], 2 [ānās] per dhārnī)	5 [morus], 2 [sukās], 2 [ānās]
For 3 seras of ginger	3 [ānās]
For 3 he-goats	4 [morus], 2 [sukās]
For leaves	2 [sukās]
For 16 pāthīs of puffed rice (at the rate of 5 pāthis)	3 [morus], 3 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
For 8 mānās of beaten rice	2 [morus], 2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
For 6 mānās of oil	1 [moru], 2 [sukās]
For 6 mānās of soya beans	1 [sukā]
For 40 areca nuts	2 [ānās]
For 2 tolās of gokuladhūpa	0 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 2 [paisās]
For 1 tolā of asafoetida (hing)	0 [sukā], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
For 16 tolās of cumin	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās]
For 4 mānās of salt	2 [sukās]
For 3 hātas of cloth	2 [sukās]
For 2 seras of dried fish	1 [moru]

[1r-part3]

[table3]

1	For materials necessary for the muhāsila12 and in connection with a house [made] of bamboo (New. puluche)		21 [morus], 1 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 1 [paisā]
	For 12 pāthīs of puffed rice	2 [morus], 1[sukā], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 6 pāthīs of beaten rice	2 [morus]
	For 7 mānās of oil	1 [moru], 3 [sukās]
	For 4 mānās of soya beans	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 20 areca nuts	1 [ānā]
	For 1 tolā of gokuladhūpa	0 [ānā], 3 [paisās]
	For 0 tolā, 2 pāus of asafoetida	0 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 1 [paisā]
	For 8 tolās of cumin	1 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 1 [paisā]
	For 2 mānās of salt	1 [sukā]
	For 1 hāta of cloth	1 [sukā]
	For 1 sera of dried fish	2 [sukās]
	For 8 dhārnīs of meat (at 1 [sukā], 2 [ānās] per 1 dhārnī)	3 [morus]
	For 1 goat	1 [moru], 2 [sukās]
	For 1 sera of ginger	1 [ānā]
	For leaves	1 [sukā]
	For 1 ?13	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 1 argha [vessel]	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 3 bronze bowls (baṭuko)	1 [sukā]
	For 4 large bamboo mats (māndro)	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 8 duck eggs	1 [sukā]
	For 8 tolās of ginger	0 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 2 [paisās]
	For 1 goat	1 [moru], 2 [sukās]
	For 8 pāthīs of husked rice	2 [morus], 3 [sukās]
	For 4 pāthīs of beaten rice	1 [moru], 1 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 1 [paisā]
	For 2 mānās of soya beans	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 1 mānā of millet	0 [ānā], 2 [paisās]
	For 2 mānās of white beans	1 [sukā], 2 [ānās]
	For 3 mānās of sesame oil	3 [sukās]
	For 3 mānās of mustard oil	3 [sukās]
	For 2 mānās of puffed rice	0 [sukā], 1 [ānā], 2 [paisās]
	For 1 pāthī of rice for achetā	2 [sukās], 2 [ānās], 2 [paisās]
	For 1.2 pāthīs white rice	3 [sukās], 3 [ānās], 3 [paisās]

[table4]

cash, mohorū

[table5]

	Ornaments and dress to be funded by individual quarters (ṭola) besides [what has been funded] by the government
	From (lit. "with") those of Asan Ṭola a cālī (?)	1
	From the headman (naīke) of the Karmīs a bracelet (New. bāhī)	1
	From the cāla (?) [at] Ṭe Bāhāla, a bundle (poko)14	1
	From the Muslims (musala for musalamāna?)15 of Bhelachī the lahãgā and the crown (maṭuka for New. matuka)	1

On Tuesday, the 9th of the bright fortnight of Āśvina of the [Vikrama era] year 1933 (1876 CE). Auspiciousness.

[1v-part1]

28816

Through (mārphat) Thrice venerable great king Jaṅga Bāhādūra Rāṇā, GCB, thoṅ-līṅ-pim-mā-ko-kāṅ-vāṅ-syān prime minister and commander-in-chief

Through the venerable commander-in-chief general Raṇoddīpa Sīṃha Kavara Rāṇā

Through royal priest (gurupurohita) and treasurer (khajāncī) Vāma[de]va Paṇḍitjyu

[1v-part2]

Through Subbā Rāmaprasāda Khanyāl

Commentary

The document authorizes new funding regulations for the material provisions necessary for the Daitya and Kumāra dances. These dances were parts of the rituals performed during the Dasaĩ festival in Kathmandu (see Hoek and Shrestha 1992, Hoek 2014: 110–115 and colour illustrations 31, 32). The two deities present in the human dancers acted as the guardians of the royal goddess during her movements throughout the Dasaĩ rituals. The dancer of Kumāra was chosen among boys from the Tulādhara families of Āsan, and the Daitya among Śākya boys from Om Bahāla, representing Upper (Thane) and Lower (Kvane) Kathmandu respectively (Hoek and Shrestha 1992: 196).

Apparently, the present lālamohara was issued as the final approval granted during a long process involving different state officials. The problem dealt with in the document as having triggered a controversy was that among those eligible to take turns in the dance performance no one was ready to do so, because the traditional provisions that were specifically guaranteed through a lālamohara issued in VS 1832 (1775 CE, that is, under King Pratāpa Siṃha)17 had not been granted to the dancers. In consequence, the same dancers had remained in place for 20 to 25 years instead of being routinely replaced after 12 years. As the reason for the interruption in the regular provisioning, it is stated that the funds, which had originally been raised under the amānata system (i.e. directly collected by the state) and chanelled through the customs office (bhansāra) at Hiṭīcoka, were reassigned to be raised under the ṭhekkā system (i.e. by contractors). All this led to an investigation of the process, and a revision of the regulations laid down in the original lālamohara.

The description of the state of affairs and the administrative steps taken takes the form of a long chain of nested quotations, at the end of which Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā finally issues a written order (hukuṃko purjī) that describes the problem at hand, its causes and the steps being ordered to resolve it. This purjī together with an attendant order to issue a lālamohara was sent to the chief of the Iṭācapalī court. The head of the court made petition (bintī) to Raṇa Uddīpa Siṃha Kũvara Rāṇā, at the time the commander-in-chief general and second most powerful man after Jaṅga Bahādura, and then the king was informed, who issued new lālamoharas regulating the sponsorship of the dances, one to the dancers and one (the present one) to the chief of the Kausī Tosākhānā.

Interestingly, the people quoted as having been involved in this administrative process, namely the two top-ranking Rāṇās, and the chief of the Iṭācapalī court, Subbā Rāmaprasāda Khanyāla, are the same ones who signed the document as mārphat. The treasurer (khajāncī) Vāmadeva Paṇḍita also signed, possibly in his function as head of the Kausī Tosākhānā.

The new regulations for the dances involved some fundamental changes, apart from solving the impending problem of having no candidates ready to perform. Whereas formerly, it seems, the dancers were directly granted the material provisions needed (as attested to in other documents issued under Pratāpa Siṃha, such as DNA_0012_0048 or DNA_0012_0051), according to the new regulations material provisions were budgeted as cash items according to the prices current at the time of issue, with no promise of a possible future adjustment of rates according to current prices. The Kausī Tosākhānā was put in charge of disbursing these sums. Moreover, the term of office of the dancers was reduced from 12 to 5 years.

The tapasila of the document is in places unintelligible. First of all, the arithmetic operations involved are hard to reconstruct (see notes on translation). Secondly, items are often quoted by their Newari names, which were probably copied from earlier lists. This may have led to misspellings that cannot be corrected without corroborating evidence from either parallels in other documents or observational data.

Notes

1. From the date of the document, the issuing king must have been Surendra (r. 1847–1881 CE). [⇑]

2. Inserted from the space numbered 1 above. [⇑]

3. What is written up to this point has probably been part of the hukumko purjī of Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā to the Īṭācapalī court reported as ordering the issue of the present lālamohara. [⇑]

4. Inserted from the marginal note on the left. The praśasti has been left out for the sake of readability. [⇑]

5. Inserted from the marginal note on the left numbered 2. [⇑]

6. Inserted from the space numbered 1 above. [⇑]

7. Inserted from the space numbered 1 above. [⇑]

8. The figures do not appear to add up. In the overall calculation, as interpreted here, the 18 morus, 1 sukā, 3 ānās, 2 paisās for the concluding ritual, 20 morus for the beginning one, 21 morus, 1 sukā, 1 ānā, 1 paisā for further items together with 25 morus in cash only amount to 84 morus, 3 sukās, 0 ānās, 3 paisās, i.e. fall 2 sukās, 3 ānās short of the 85 morus, 1 sukā, 3 ānās, 3 paisās specified in the text above. The calculation is complicated by the fact that the system of notation seems to undergo change within the document. In other documents, sums are usually represented in four numerical fractions, with the rupaiyās represented by numbers; the sukās by one to three daṇḍas or the avagraha sign representing zero; the ānās by one to three diagonal slashes, sometimes as a loop with two or three jags; the paisās again by daṇḍas. In the present case, however, the sequence alternates between daṇḍas before diagonal dashes or the other way around, but it remains unclear whether the sequence of sukā before ānā is inverted too. [⇑]

9. The ratio here remains unclear to us. Does it refer to the amount of rice in proportion to the amount of puffed rice made from it? If so, it would mean that 5 pāthīs of rice are used to prepare 1 murī of puffed rice. [⇑]

10. Assuming that here, as in the other numbers, a system is used in which every measurement unit is broken down into quarters (i.e. each stroke representing ¼ of a unit) the weight would be 1½ tolās, i.e. 1 tolā and 5 māsās. [⇑]

11. So far sukās have been represented by daṇḍas and ānās by diagonal slashes. Here, and in other cases further below, this seems to be inverted. [⇑]

12. The meaning of this word, which could also read as mula°, suhā°, or sulasila, remains unclear. Like the following puluche, it could be a Newari word. [⇑]

13. Due to a buckling in the paper the word(s) written in this place cannot be deciphered with certainty. It may read jī goṭā or jīgoḍā or even trīgoṭā/trīgoḍā, none of which makes sense. From the fact that arhga and other vessels follow, one could suspect that it denotes some implement. [⇑]

14. If cāla is a misspelling of chāla, one of whose meanings is jute, it could denote material used for the dancers’ garments. Thus the entry could read: "From the jute [at/provided by] Ṭe Bāhāla, a bundle [of it]". [⇑]

15. Though it is not absolutely sure whether this word really denotes Muslims, this interpretation is not too unlikely. In other cases, too, Muslim communities are known to have been bound to contribute to Hindu rituals (see e.g. Gaborieau 1996: 151–152). [⇑]

16. This number, added by a later hand, represents the registration number given by the National Archives, a previous number, 29, seemingly having been erased. [⇑]

17. Lālamoharas issued under King Pratāpa Siṃha, "charging their communities with the responsibility for the Daitya and Kumār dances along with an appropriate royal compensation and remuneration" (Hoek and Shrestha 1992: 196) are still extant, or at least were so in the early 1990s, being kept by the main Śākya and Tuladhāra elders (New. mū nāyo). Pratāpa Siṃha is remembered for having revived the dances, which date back to the Malla period but had been discontinued under his father Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa (ibid.: 217). [⇑]

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).
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.
akṣatā / achetā / acheto	[fr. S. akṣata] var. akṣetā; n. unbroken rice grains used in rituals, prepared from husked rice (cāmala).
amānata	[fr. A.] n. 1) managment or revenue collection by a government office, or by an agency empowered by the government (M.C. Regmi 1978: 853; cf.: M.C. Regmi 1978: 225 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 161 ; Adhikari 1984: 344; Michael 2012: 129). 2) a system under which revenue was collected, or sources of revenue exploited, on government account by salaried employees (M.C. Regmi 1988: 265).
ānā	[fr. S. āṇvaka- ?] n. 1) monetary unit worth one sixteenth of a rupee with four ānā*s constituting one sukā, equivalent to one ganḍā; in documents usually represented by one to three diagonal dashes, sometimes as a loop with two or three jags. 2) sixteenth part of land, property etc. (cf. Parājulī et al 1995: s.v. ānā).
arghā	[S. arghya] var. argha; n. oblation of milk, yoghurt, barley, dūbo gras and other ingredients mixed with water in a small boat-shaped spouted vessel used in Hindu rituals.
arjabegī	n. a government officer; “under the Moghal government, this was an officer appointed to receive and present petitions. In the 1840s in Nepal, an arzabegi was attached to the Adalat (court); later we find him as the superintendent of the jail. He has also been referred to as the person who announced to a condemned man his sentence and who presided over the execution.“ (Edwards 1975: 108)
bhansāra	[fr. S. bhāṇḍaśālā] var. bhaṃsāra; n. 1) office for collecting custom duties; 2) „customs duties“ (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93 ).
bhāradāra / bhārādāra	n. lit. "burden bearer"; a generic term for high-level functionaries (M.R. Pant 2002: 131); courtiers (cf. Adhikari 1984: 346; cf.: Kumar 1967: 164 ; Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 183 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 854 ; M.C. Regmi 1999: 136; M.C. Regmi 2002: 297; M.C. Regmi 1978: 225; Whelpton 2005: 25). According to Michael 2012: 130 the term denotes "top ranking posts such as chautariya, kaji, sardar, khardar, karpardar and khanjanchi". See also bhāibhārādāra.
dasaĩ / daśaĩ	[fr. S. daśāha] var. dasai; n. festival to worship the goddess Durgā as slayer of the buffalo demon, held over the bright half of the autumn month of Āśvina (baḍā dasaĩ) and, on a smaller scale, over the bright half of the spring month of Caitra (caite dasaĩ).
dastura	[fr. P. dastūr] n. 1) customary fee. 2) custom, tradition, rule. See also daidastura.
dhārnī	[fr. Skt. dhāraṇī] var. dhārni; n. measure of weight equal to 12 pāus, “equivalent to 2.393 kg“ (cf. M.R. Pant 2002: 132 ).
GCSI	title of member of the first class (Honorary Knight Grand Commander) of the "Most Exalted Order of the Star of India", an order founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. Other classes are: KCSI and CSI.
gokuladhūpa	[fr. S. gugguladhūpa] var. gokuladhupa, guguladhupa; n. bdellium incense, resin from the Indian bdellium-tree (Commiphora wightii [Arn.] Bhandari).
hākima	[H. fr. A.] var. hākim, hākīm; n. chief of an administrative unit, government office or court (Adhikari 1984: 349; Kumar 1967: 165; Michael 2012: 131; M.C. Regmi 2002: 299).
hāta	n. measurement of length equal to 24 aṅgulas or half a gaja.
hiṭīcoka bhansāra	office for collecting levies, which must have been located in the Hiṭīcoka of Kathmandu, a quadrangle of Hanumānḍhokā palace that has nowadays dissappeared.
iṭācapalī	var. iṭācapali, īṭācapalī; n. one of the four central courts (cāra adālata) located in Kathmandu, others being Koṭiliṅga, Ṭaksāra, and Dhanasāra. Their jurisdictions are not clear, and they performed some executive functions as well (M.C. Regmi 2002: 300).
kājī	var. kāji; n. “an officer of ministerial rank superintending civil and military affairs“ (M.R. Pant 2002: 133; cp. Edwards 1975: 105).
karmī	var. karmi; n. artisan working with wood, stone or metal.
kausī tosākhānā	n. central state treasury which served several additional functions like the expenses and storage of goods for the royal palace and the appointment of subbās in the Tarai (cf. Edwards 1975: 111). DNA_0011_0035 suggests that even though the Kausī and the Tosākhānā formed one administrative unit headed by the khajāñcī, to a certain extent both were treated as distinct entities.
KCSI	title of member of the second class (Honorary Knight Commander) of the "Most Exalted Order of the Star of India", an order founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. Other classes are: GCSI and CSI.
khajāncī	[fr. P. khajānacī] var. khajaṃci; n. 1) treasurer. 2) chief royal treasurer and hākima of the kausī tosākhānā.
lahãgā	n. women's lower garment, long skirt worn by women or as part of traditional dance outfits.
lālamohara	var. lālmohara, lālamohar, lālmohora; abbreviated mohara; n. royal document bearing the red seal.
mānā	n. a volumetric unit equivalent to 0.568 litres, or 1/8 of a pāthi.
mārphat / mārphata	var. marphaṭ, mārphaṭa; "through (the person of)" (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93).
māsā	var. māśā; n. a measure of weight, equaling 1/10th or 1/12th of a tolā according to Rāma Śāha's edict (MA-KM 2022: 695) or 1/12th of a tolā in other sources (McGregor 1993 sv. māśā).
mohararupaiyā̃	var. mohararupaiyām, mohararūpaiyā, moharaṭaṃkā (New.); often abbreviated as moru, morū, moharu, moharū, moharru, mohorru; n. monetary unit based on and equivalent to two eight-anna silver coins (moharas); in calculations usually broken down into four sukās, 16 ānās or 64 paisās (cf. Pant and Pierce 1989: 93) or 256 dāmas; the exchange ratio with paisās was calculated differently at different times and in different parts of the kingdom, depending on the relative values of silver and copper, ranging between 52 and 80 paisās (Regmi 1982: 73). In documents sums are represented in four numerical fractions, with the rupaiyā represented by numbers; the sukās by one to three daṇḍas or the avagraha sign representing zero; the ānās by one to three diagonal dashes, sometimes as a loop with two or three jags; the paisās again by daṇḍas or numbers; the dāmas by numbers or horizontal dashes.
muri / murī	n. 1) also khetamuri; unit of land measurement in the hill region, comprising 1/4 ropanī with 100 muris in 1 kheta. The area varied according to the grade: 1190 sq. ft. for lands of the best grade, and 1339 sq. ft., 1487 sq. ft., and 1785 sq. ft. for lands of inferior grades. 2) volumetric unit comprising 20 pāthis (with 8 mānas to a pāthi), equivalent to 90.919 (M.R. Pant 2002: 134 ) or 87.23 (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93) liters. (M.C. Regmi 1978: 163; M.C. Regmi 1999: 235 ; M.C. Regmi 1978a: 228 ; M.C. Regmi 1978b: 862 ; Adhikari 1984: 354; M.C. Regmi 1988: 269).
nāike	[fr. Skt. nāyaka] var. nā̃īke, nāeka; n. lit. "leader". 1) can refer to a leader of any kind of group, locality, duty etc. 2) headman (similar to pradhāna), especially of a Newar village. 3) leader of a rakam work team..
paisā	n. 1) money. 2) in the early Śāha period: monetary unit, one-fourth of an ānā, consisting of four dāmas with 64 paisās in 1 rūpaiyā̃. 3) in the Rāṇā period: monetary unit with 100 paisās in 1 rūpaiyā̃.
pāthī	var. pāthi; n. 1) a volumetric unit equivalent to 4.546 litres comprising of 8 mānās with 20 pāthīs in one muri. 2) a container for grains having a volume of one pāthī.
pāu	var. pāva; n. 1) measurement of weight, equal to 20 (in some lists between 17 and 19) tolās, 1/4th of a sera, 1/12th of a dhārnī. 2) measurement of length (25cm).
praśasti	[S.] n. poetic eulogy, often functions as intitulatio in documents.
purjī	[fr. P. purja] var. purji, pūrjī; n. 1) slip of paper, note. 2) formal letter written by a government institution or an official to another institution or to a person.
rakama	[fr. A. raqm] n. 1) a stipulated sum. 2) revenue, a revenue item. 3) corvée due to the government from peasants cultivating certain classes of land like raikara, kipaṭa or Rāja Guṭhī land (M.C. Regmi 1999: 235 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 163). 4) land held in return for corvée (Whelpton 1991: 285). 5) compulsory labour obligation commuted to specific services that are rendered on a regular and inheritable basis required for the regular establishments run by the government (cf. M.C. Regmi 1965: 53-54).
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.
sāṅge	var. sāṃge, sāṃgya; n. conclusion of rituals; ritual performed for concluding a ritual complex as e.g. a festival, observance or recital of a text.
sera	n. measure of weight (approx. 933 grams) with one sera comprising 80 tolās
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.
subbā	var. subā; n. 1) governor or chief administrative officer of a province or district (cf. Kumar 1967: 168; Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 185; M.R. Pant 2002: 135; M.C. Regmi 1999: 137; M.C. Regmi 2002: 303). 2) civil officer ranking higher than a mukhiyā, but lower than a sardāra (Stiller 1981: 382). According to Edwards subbās were stationed at Gorkha (cf. also Michael 2012: 134) and Chitwan, “with five others being administrators in the Terai” (Edwards 1975: 106). Edwards further mentions that “men of subba rank were also assigned in the capital to the Kumari Chowk, and Kat Bhandar offices, where they were the deputies of the kaji and kapardar in charge” (ibid.). 3) headmen of the Limbu community in the far-eastern hill regions (M.C. Regmi 1978: 229; cf. also 1978: 865).
sukā	var. sukī; n. monetary unit worth one fourth of a rupee, i.e. half of a silver mohara, and comprising four ānās; in documents the second of the four usual monetary fractions of the system based on the rupee, usually represented by either the avagraha-shaped sign for zero or one to three daṇḍas.
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.
ṭhekkā	n. 1) contract, lease; 2) service done for a fixed period of time; 3) things that are to be given to an office under fixed conditions; cp. ṭheka.
thoṅ-līṅ-pim-mā-ko-kāṅ-vāṅ-syān	title conferred by the Chinese emperors upon the Rāṇās, Jaṅga Bahādura being the first such honoree. According to Landon, the title means: t'ung ling ("commander-in-chief") ping ma (lit. "foot and horse", i.e. "of the whole army") kuo ("truly") kan ("valient") wang ("prince") hsien ["title of"], which he translates as "Truly valient prince, Commander-in-chief of the army" (Landon 1928: 247).
tolā	n. a unit of weight and standard measure for gold and silver comprising of 100 or 96 rati, 10 or 12 māsās and being 1/80th of a sera; the actual weight differed according to place and time, as weight of the Bombay or Sicca Rupee between 11.599–11.642; as standardised in 1833 in British India as 180 troy grains (11.663 8038 grams).
ṭola	[fr. New. tvāḥ/tvāla, Old New. tvāra] n. a quarter of a town or village; a part of a town inhabited by persons often belonging to the same community or caste; the distinguishing feature being a separate shrine of Ganedyaḥ/Gaṇeśa (Pant and Funo 2003).
tulādhara	[S.] n. a Newar Buddhist subcaste of the Urāy.

Bibliography

Gaborieau, Marc. 1996. "Le grand dilemme des musulmans: Comment participer au pouvoir sans le sacraliser?." In: Célébrer le pouvoir: Dasaĩ, une fête royale au Népal, edited by Gisèle Krauskopff and Marie Lecomte-Tilouine, 347–356. Paris: CNRS.
Hoek, A. W. van den, and Bal Gopal Shrestha. 1992. "Guardians of the Royal Goddess: Daitya and Kumar as the Protectors of Taleju Bhavani of Kathmandu." Contributions to Nepalese Studies 19 (1): 191–222.
Hoek, Albert W. van den. 2014. Caturmāsa: Celebrations of Death in Kathmandu, Nepal. 2nd slightly revised and updated edition ed. Kathmandu: Vajra Books.