Documenta Nepalica

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

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A letter from Jīta Jaṅga that formalizes the annual lokābhāra contract for Ruibhoṭ without a pledge of property as collateral (1936 VS)

ID: L_0922_0002

Edited and translated by Rajendra Shakya in collaboration with Rabi Acharya and Nadine Plachta
Created: 2018-08-19; Last modified: 2023-01-24
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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, 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 letter from Jīta Jaṅga grants the mukhiyā and jimmāvāla of Ruibhoṭ a lokābhāra contract in the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region without any pledge of collateral from them, inasmuch as the pertinent land was located in a remote border region.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

[Seal of Jīta Jaṅga]

1स्वस्तिश्रीमद्राजकुमारकुमारात्मज∙श्रीपूर्वतरफकाकम्यांडिङ्‌जनरलजीतजङ्गवहादुररा
2[?]पत्रम्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
3आगेअठारसयषोलामध्यकुतांभोट्‌‌रुइभोट्‌कामुषियाछिंजुकेजिम्माव़ालमुषि
4[?]लेआफ्नाआफ्नागाउमा∙भयकोमैनकस्तुरिअनेत्रनवेचनुजोभयाकोदाषी
5लगरिठेकमध्येमिन्हालीनुफर्मायसिजीनसिमालझिकाउदागाउकादर∙भाउलेवुझा
6उनुसोमालचलानगर्दाअघिचलिआयाकाअडाअडावाटचलाईदिनुभंन्या∙२२सालदेषीसालव∙
7सालीलोकाभारठेककोजीम्माव़ाल∙मुषियाहरुकानाउमा¯ ¯ ¯साहेववाटपट्टागरिवक्सदा
8दामकामवेमाषगरि∙वुझायाकाछौहाम्रातालुककाजगामातहसिलदारद्वार्‍‍या∙पठाइवक्सदाहामीले
9षानावाटामावोकन्या∙घोडाभरियादिनुपर्दाभीरपहडावाटलडीघोडास्मेत्‌नोकसानभयो∙हामि
10लाईसाह्रैटंटालाग्योभंन्याविंतीपार्दातिमिहरुकातालुक्‌काजगामातहसिल्‌दारप्यादापठाउन्याछै
11नौयकैकीस्ता∙माघमहिनामाचुक्तिगरिवुझाउनुकिस्तानाघ्योभन्यादोचंदावुझाउनुपर्लाभन्या
12दस्कत्‌भैजगावंदोवस्तगरिवक्स्याकोछ∙धनज्मानीदीयाकोछैन∙लोकाभारहुनालेम्यादपनिटासिया
13कोछैन∙हाल३७साल∙कावालीलाईपनिसविक्‌‌वमोजिम∙लोकाभारवंदोवस्तगरि∙सनदपट्टागरिपा
14उभंछन्‌अैनसव़ालमाभन्या∙इजारालोकाभार∙वंदोवस्तगर्दाधनज्मानीलीजगावंदोवस्त∙गर्नुभंन्या
15छ७दीन∙काम्यादनटासिधनज्मावनिनभै∙जगापाउदैन∙भंदा∙लोकाभारका∙जगाहुनालेम्यादटासि[...]
16कोपनीछैन∙आम्दानीघटिवढिहुदादामासाहिफाट्‌लाईलिनुदिनुभंन्याछ∙ज्मानीराष्यापछिज्मानीआ
17नादिनुपर्छअघिनलाग्याकोज्मानीआनाउठाउन्यावितीकैनञारकमलाईलीयोभनिकराउनआउ
18न्याछज्मानीदिलींनभंछं∙अैनसव़ालनमिल्यापनी३७सालका∙वालिलाईजगालोकाभार∙वंदोवस्त[...]
19रिनिजमुषियाजीम्मा∙व़ालहरुकानाउमापट्टागरिवक्सनुनवक्सनुजोमर्जिभनिवंदोवस्तअडावा
20टहाम्राहजुरमारपोट्‌चर्‍हाउदा३६सालमाघसुदि७रोज४मा∙लोकाभारकाजगाहुनाले७दिन्का
21म्यादनटासिधनज्मानीनभै∙साविक्‌वमोजीम∙सनदपट्टापाउभंन्या∙मुद्दारहेछ∙टाढादोसाध[...]
22जगाहुनालेअैनसव़ालवमोजीम्‌∙७दिनकाम्यादटासनुधनज्मानिलीनुपर्दैन∙गाउगाउकामु
23षियाकानाउमार∙जिम्माव़ालकानाउमा∙ठाडैसनदपट्टागरिदिनु∙अैनसव़ालकारित∙नपुर्‍‍याई
24वेज्मानिमाजगादियोभनिपक्राउहुन्याछैन∙वात्‌लाग्‌दैनभनि∙सदरगरिवक्स्यामुतावीक्‌हाम्रा
25षानगीमादरियाको∙अठारसयषोलामध्येकुतांभोट्‌रुइभोट्‌गाउ१कोइस्तकसंवत्‌१९३६
26साल∙आश्वीनवदि१रोजदेषी३७सालभाद्रसुदि१५रोजतकवर्ष१को∙सिवाय¯ ¯ ¯अंककल्यानधन[...]
27र्माधीकार∙पंचषतरहतावहताडडंतागडंता∙रकमिघरकोझारा∙वेदर्तारकमकलमवाहेक्‌व़ाजवीसेर्मासाउ
28न्याफागुस्याफल∙सिर्तोसाविक्‌दरिचलिआयाकारकमकलमगैह्रर∙अैनवमोजीमका∙डंडकुंडमर्‍‍योअ
29पुतालिचाकचकुईमारिमेटिवेमौजरैतपसिलवमोजीमका∙नगदजीनीस∙मालोकाभारठेक्‌गरिवक्स्यौं
30रस्तिचलाईवस्तिवसाईजगाअवादगुलजार∙गरिरैतिराजी∙राषी∙साविक्‌दरिचलिआयावमोजीमअसुलत
31हसिलगरि∙कवुल्‌वमोजीम∙कानगदजीनिस∙यकैकिस्ता३७साल∙कामाघमहिनामाजीम्माव़ालमार्फ
32त∙तहसिलअडा∙मादाषिलगरिरसिदफारषतिलीनु∙कदाचीतजीम्माव़ाललेदामकामहिनामिना
33पार्‍‍योमर्‍‍योभाग्यो∙भन्यातिमिमुषिया∙रैतिकाघरघरानावाटवुझाउनुपर्लाफर्मायसिवेसौतिमाल
34हरुचाहिदा∙लेषीपठायाकामाल∙सावीक्‌वमोजीमगवैयादरभाउलेदाषीलगर्नुसोमालचलान
35गर्दाअघिचलिआयाका∙अडाअडावाटचलाउनु∙आफ्नागाउमाभयाका∙मैनकस्तुरिअनेत्रनवेचनुजो
36भयाकोदाषीलगरिठेकमध्येमिन्हालीनु∙¯ ¯३¯काआजापूजामामुलीषर्चजोछसाविक्‌वमोजीमक
37त्तीनघटाइठेकवाहेक्‌चलाउनु∙कवुलवमोजीमका∙ज्मामा¯ ¯४¯पर्‍‍योअथवाजगावाटउठाउनसकेनौ
38भनियकदाममिन्हापाउन्याछैन∙लोकाभारठेकमा∙नफाभयापनीनोक्‌सानभयापनीरैतिलाईदामा
39साहिकाहिसावलेवाडीलीनुदिनु∙असुलतहसिलगर्दार∙रैतीदुनिञाकोझैझगडा∙मामिलामुद्दा∙पर्दाअैन
40थीतिवमोजीमगर्नुलेषीयावमोजिमनगरिघटीपारि∙घुसरोसवत्‌सर्सलामिषाईनञारकमकलमलगा
41इलियोहक्‌कुराछोडीवेहक्‌मा∙वीजाञीविदुत्‌गरिरैतीदुनिञालाईदुषदी∙कामकाजगर्‍‍यौरकोही
42कराउनआयोर∙सोमुद्दामासावीतगरायोभन्या∙अैनवमोजीम∙वुझाउनुपर्लाकवुल्‌‌वमोजीम[?]
43नगदजीनिस∙कीस्तामादाषीलगर्नसकेनभन्या∙अैनवमोजीमसजायगरि∙नगदीरुपैयाकोदोचंदार
44जिनसिमालकोअसनका∙दरभाउले∙मोल्‌स्मेत्‌तेराघरघरानावाटलीलोकाभारटोडीवक्सौलाभ
45नियक्‌सालालोका∙भारकोपट्टागरिवक्स्यौं¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
46तपसिल¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
47नगदमोहररुपैया¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯२२२
48इतिसंवत्‌‌१९३६सालमितिमाघसुदि११रोज१शुभ्म्¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯[Seal of Śrī Viṣṇu]

Translation

[1r]

Hail! A letter from Commanding General of the Eastern Front Jīta Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā, a prince born of a prince

Āge: To Chiṃju, the mukhiyā of Ruibhoṭ [within the cluster of villages surrounding] Kutāṃbhoṭ within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā [region]

You made the [following] supplication [to us]:

"[We] have submitted [all] payments and cleared [all] arrears, since the year [VS 19]22 (1865 CE) when, in the name of the jimmāvālas and mukhiyās, … … …1 sāheba formalized the annual lokābhāra ṭheka contract, which states:

'The jimmāvālas and mukhiyās shall not sell elsewhere the wax and musk available in their own village. [They shall] collect all [of it] that is available [in the village for delivery to us] and receive a reduction on the ṭheka contract. Deliver [all] articles (jinsī māla) requested [by us] at their current rate in the village. When dispatching those articles, do so through the aḍḍās that were formerly used.'

"When [you] dispatched tahasiladāras and dvāres to the seat of our authority, we had to provide them with food, and with packhorses and porters on the way, and we sustained losses when [some things] including horses tumbled down a cliff. This has been a great burden for us."

We have made [provisions] not to send tahasiladāras and pyādās2 to your seat of authority. Submit whatever is owed in one instalment in the month of Māgha. You will have to pay double if the instalment [payment] crosses [the deadline]. Such is the land[-revenue] monopoly that [we] have made, putting [our] signature to.

On Wednesday, the 7th of the bright fortnight of Māgha in the year [VS 19]36 (1880 CE) [we learned that] there is an [ongoing] case [in which you are petitioning for] a sanada contract that accords with custom, [that is,] without [the requirement] to post a 7-day deadline notice and to put up collateral, since it is land under a lokābhāra [contract]. The following report was submitted to us by the Bandobasta Aḍḍā:

"No property is pledged as collateral [by the local contactors]. As it is a lokābhāra [contract], no deadline notice is posted [publicly] either. Now for the crops of the year [VS 19]37, too, [they] are requesting a sanada lease under the lokābhāra system in accordance with custom (i.e. without having to pledge any property as collateral). In the Ain and savālas, however, it is stated that collateral shall be taken when assigning monopolies for ijārā and lokābhāra land.

"While it is stated that [lokābhāra] land shall not be provided without posting a 7-day notice and without any pledge of property as collateral, it is [precisely] because the land falls under a lokābhāra [contract] that, [they say], the 7-day notice has not [customarily] been posted. It is [also] stated that in cases of any deficit or excess in revenue [from lokābhāra land], it shall be made up by or distributed proportionally to [all ryots]. When property is put up as collateral, the jamānī ānā3 must also be given. Once the jamānī ānā, which has not been imposed before, is levied, [the contractors] will come to complain that a new amount not imposed in the past is now being taken; [they] will say that [they] will not accept [the lokābhāra contract] if it means putting up collateral. It is up to [you] whether or not to offer contracts in the name of the aforementioned mukhiyās and jimmāvālas for lokābhāra monopolies on land [relating] to crops for the year [VS 19]37 (1880 CE), even if it goes against the Ain and savālas.”

We have thus formalized a one-year lokābhāra lease [contract under the following terms]:

As the land is in a remote border [area], in accordance with the Ain and savālas, there is no need to post a 7-day notice of deadline [or] put up collateral. Draw up sanada leases directly in the name of the mukhiyā and in the name of the jimmāvāla of the villages.

In accordance with my acceptance that no arrests shall be made and no fault assigned based on offering land against provision of the Ain and savālas, [we] have made a lokābhāra contract for [land] in Ruibhoṭ village– 14 [beyond] Kutāṃbhoṭ within the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā [region], which has been registered as our khānagī, in [return for] the cash and kind [revenue] mentioned in the tapasila below for the period of 1 year [beginning] from (istaka) the 1st of the dark fortnight of the month of Āśvina in the year VS 1936 (1879 CE) to the 15th of the bright fortnight of the month of Bhādra in the year [VS 19]37 (1880 CE), comprising [the following payments] in cash and kind: ¯ ¯ ¯ [rāja-?]aṅka, kalyānadhana, dharmādhikāra pañcakhata, arrearages (rahatā, bahatā, uḍaṃtā, gaḍaṃtā), jhārā levy from the rakamī households, and unregistered customary taxes and levies (rakamakalama), for which there shall be no deductions; there shall be total exemption, however, for the appropriate sermā, sāunephāgu, syāphala5 and sirto [revenue], regularly imposed taxes and levies (rakamakalama) and the like, and, in accordance with the Ain, daṇḍakuṇḍa, maryo-aputālī and cākacakui.

Keep the ryots well disposed by overseeing affairs, founding settlements and making the cultivation of land flourish (ābāda guljāra garī). Collect revenue as listed and managed previously, and submit [the total amount] which you have agreed to pay, in cash and kind, in a single instalment in the month of Māgha of the year [VS 19]37 (1881 CE) through the jimmāvāla. Deliver it to the Tahasila Aḍḍā and obtain a receipt.

In the case where a jimmāvāla mishandles the money matters, [and then] dies or runs away, then you, the mukhiyā and the ryots, shall have to pay from your household property. When [there are orders] in writing for grains or [other] needed items, make the purchase at the current rate in the village, as was done previously. When dispatching such items, do so from the government office (aḍḍā) that was previously used. Do not sell elsewhere the wax and musk available in your village. Deliver all available [wax and musk] [to us] and receive a reduction in [the amount due according to] the ṭheka contract.

Besides [the commitments] under the contract, use [the revenue], without any reduction [to the previous amount] for whatever general expenses there are for the worship of ¯ ¯3¯6 . You shall not receive even a single dāma remitted on the total amount you have agreed to pay in the case where there is ¯ ¯4¯7 or that you fail to collect [what is owed] on [lokābhāra] land. In cases of profit or loss in the lokābhāra contract, proportionally distribute to ryots, or collect from them [the surplus or shortfall]. Follow the rules set by the Ain when collecting revenue and settling lawsuits between ryots. If you do not follow what has been written [in the Ain] by inflating or reducing [figures], taking bribes or [embezzling] salami [payments], and imposing and collecting new levies, overstepping your authority, causing injury and oppression, and so making ryots suffer, and if anyone comes to complain about it and proves [such wrongdoing], then you shall pay in accordance with the Ain.

If you shall fail to deliver the cash and kind amounts that you have agreed to pay in the instalment, you shall be punished in accordance with the Ain: double the amount of cash dues and [due] chattels assessed at the rate in Asana 8 shall be taken from household property, and we shall tear up the lokābhāra [contract].

Particulars (tapasila)

mohararupaiyā̃s in cash: 222

Sunday, the 11th of the bright fortnight of Māgha in the [Vikrama] era year 1936 (1880 CE). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

This letter from Jīta Jaṅga offers land under a lokābhāra contract to the mukhiyās and jimmāvālas of Ruibhoṭ in the Aṭhāra Saya Kholā region without a pledge of collateral from them. This letter overrides a previous state order that prohibits offering land under lokābhāra contracts without any such pledge. However, it also states that such a concession has been made only because the land is located in a remote border region, suggesting that collateral was compulsory for similar contracts in non-remote areas.

The topmost part of the document is missing, having probably been left out during microfilming. This creates problems in fully understanding the content. There are four references left blank for mental insertion in the document: The first is the name of the person who first formalized the annual lokābhāra contract in 1865 under the mukhiyās and jimmāvālas of Ruibhoṭa. This was probably the commanding general of the eastern front. The second reference is in all likelihood ‘Śrī Rāja’, thus yielding ‘rāja-aṅka’, i.e. the levies due to the royal palace. The third reference is a deity that was evidently widely revered by the locals. The fourth reference is unclear, but its presence is used to emphasize that the contractors will not receive any concession in the payment of the contractual amount.

Notes

1. The reference made here is unclear. The topmost part of the document, where the name would have appeared, is not visible in the image. See Commentary for details. [⇑]

2. A sepoy. [⇑]

3. I have not run across this term elsewhere. It appears to be a nominal administrative fee imposed on contractors when putting up collateral. [⇑]

4. The number is confusing, but it adds weight to the assumption that Kutāṃbhoṭ is being used in this document as a reference point to define Ruibhoṭ's location. [⇑]

5. The term is not clear, but it probably is also a kind of tax. [⇑]

6. This reference is again unclear due to the missing topmost part of the document. However, it is clear from the context that reference is being made to a deity. [⇑]

7. This is another reference that is not clear due to the missing topmost part. [⇑]

8. Asana was and still is one of Kathmandu's main markets. [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
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.
Bandobasta Aḍḍā	n. the Land Revenue Administration Office (Sever 1993: 478).
cākacakuī	var. cākacakui, cāṣa caṣui; n. often translated as "adultery" or "fine for adultery" (see e.g. M.C. Regmi 1982: 135; cf. Śarmā VS 2032: s.v. cākacakuī) and sometimes as "incest" (cf. Bhaṭṭarāī and Dāhāla VS 2041: s.v. cāka cakuī) the word also denotes forms of marriage among different ethnic groups which are not in accordance with the Hindu ideal of marriage (see Stiller 1976: 174). According to the Mulukī Ain, the punishment for members of Enslavable castes was the enslavement of the man (cāka) and the woman (cakuī or cakuī) (see Fezas 1986: 173 with reference to the Mulukī Ain, ch. 86"māsinyā jyū amālile lināko" [MA-KM VS 2022: 367-68], for further details, see note in DNA_0014_0028).
dāma	var. dām; n. the smallest monetary unit, one-fourth of one paisā (in case of measurements of land etc.) and one-256th of one mohararupaiyā̃.
daṃḍakuṃḍa / daṇḍakuṇḍa	n. generic term for judicial fines and penalties.
dharmādhikāra / dharmādhikārī	[S. dharmādhikārin] n. chief judge in religious jurisdiction whose main duties are to grant expiation and rehabilitation to polluted individuals. The term is exclusively used for Brahmins.
dvāre	var. dvāryā, duvāryā; n. 1) a local revenue collection official (e.g. M.R. Pant 2002: 132; M.C. Regmi 1970: 149) who can arrest offenders and try petty cases (Stiller 1981: 379). 2) a gatekeeper at the royal palace who collects certain levies (Edwards 1975: 106; M.C. Regmi 1978: 226); 3) a village headman in the Kathmandu Valley (M.C. Regmi 1970: 149).
ijārā	[A.] var. ījārā; n. 1) a system under which the government granted to an individual the exclusive right to collect revenue from a specified source subject to payment of a sum stipulated in advance (M.C. Regmi 2002: 299). 2) a contract for collection of revenue, exploitation of mines, etc. (M.C. Regmi 1978: 226; cf. Adhikari 1984: 349; M.C. Regmi 1978: 162).
istaka	The meaning is unclear, but the form always occurs before a samvat (era) period. It may be a truncated form of 'istakbīl-tā-gāyat', which means "from a certain date to a certain date, used chiefly with respect to notes" (Wilson 1855: 220).
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).
jimmāvāla	var. jimavāla, jimmavāla, jimvāla; n. a chief contractor (ṭhekedāra) who, before the introduction of the land administration, collected revenues from the lands in the hill region and submitted them to the government (Parājulī et al. 1995: s.v. jimmāvāla).
kalyānadhana	n. hidden treasures (Adhikari 1984: 350) and “unclaimed wealth or property“ (Krauskopff and Meyer 2000: 186) that acrued to the state.
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).
lokābhāra	[S.] n. "a system under which the local community undertook liability for payment of the stipulated revenue through a representative designated for that purpose" (M.C. Regmi 1978: 162)
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.
mukhiyā	var. mukhīyā, muṣiyā, muṣīyā; n. a designation for an administrative post used at the local, district and central level. At the local level mukhiyās functioned as village headmen and revenue functionaries (Pant and Pierce 1989: 93; M.R. Pant 2002: 134; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 269). District headmen were also called mukhiyās. In the central administration, mukhiyās were writers who kept accounts or supervised officials of lower ranks (Edwards 1975: 107 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 228 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 862 ; Kumar 1967: 16).
pañcakhata	n. a generic term for heinous crimes (see e.g. M.R. Pant 2002: 134; Whelpton 1991: 285).
rāja aṅka	n. generic term for taxes levied on occasions of royal rituals and others that went directly to the royal palace, including cumāvana, goḍadhuvā, godāna, gādīmubārakha, and phattemubāraka (M.R. Pant 2002: 135; M.C. Regmi 1970 (No. 9): 225; M.C. Regmi 1978: 864).
rakamakalama/kalamarakama	[fr. A.] n. 1) official matters. 2) an account containing different sections of revenue. 3) knowledge of official matters, officialdom (Turner 1931: s.v. rakam-kalam). 4) customary taxes and levies (Regmi 1976: 77).
rakamī	adj./n. a holder of rakama land.
sāheba / sāhaba	[fr. A. sāhib] n. 1) word to respectfully address a high-ranking person, sir. 2) master.
salāmī	[P.] var. salāmi; n. payments due to the government including fines, levies, fees etc. See also sarsalāmī.
sanada	var. sanad; n. a regulation, order, decree or certificate of appointment, esp. from the prime minister (prāimaminisṭara yaṇḍa kamyāṇḍara ina cipha) or the commander-in-chief general (kamyāṇḍara ina cipha janarala); "government orders" (Karmacharya 2001: 327).
sāune phāgu	var. sāunya phāgu, sāunyā phāgu, sāunya phāghu; n. a homestead levy (valaka) collected in the hill districts, including Kathmandu Valley, during the months of Śrāvaṇa and Phālguna every year (cf. M.C. Regmi 1971: 230; M.R. Pant 2002: 136). According to M.C. Regmi (1995: 27-28) it originally served the supply of foodstuff to the royal household, and was converted into a cash payment in 1807. Normal households had to pay half the amount of landowners and local functionaries. The rates were revised in 1813.
savāla	n. 1) an enquiry. 2) a set of directives issued especially for the administrative purposes. Contrary to a sanada which is applicable to general public, a savāla refers to rules within a particular organization or an administrative unit (see Siṃha 1981 sv svāla. 3) rules and regulations enacted based on an existing law; administrative regulations (Adhikari 1984: 356; Karmacharya 2001: 328).
sermā	n. an annual homestead tax collected in cash on pākho land (see e.g. M.C. Regmi 2002: 302).
sirto	var. sirto, sīrto, sirtto, sirttā; n. tribute paid by Vassal states to the Central government (see Adhikari 1984: 356; Pant and Pierce 1989: 94; M.C. Regmi 1978: 865; M.C. Regmi 2002: 303).
tahasila aḍḍā	office responsible for collecting dues and receiving taxes.
tahasiladāra	n. a collector of revenue; in charge over a tahasila.
tharaghara	n. 1) originally referred to the leaders of the thirty-six clans (thara) of which the nobility of Gorkha consisted (Riccardi 1977: 47 n. 5). 2) member of the six clans (cha thara) of Pā̃ḍe, Pantha, Aryjāla, Khanāla, Rānā, and Bohorā, who supposedly assisted Dravya Shah in the conquest of Gorkha (Edwards 1975: 108). They were heriditary dignitaries, in the 11th of Rāma Śāha's edicts charged with the duty of protecting the throne and lawfulness (Riccardi 1977: 49). These six clans form the top level of the 36 clans of the Gorkhali nobility (ibid.: 62 n. 1). Persons from these six tharas often oversaw land measurements. 3) Also known as chatharīya, a clan within the Newar Śreṣtha caste group which are considered superior to Asala Śreṣṭha and other Śreṣṭhas of lower rank (MA-54 145.7-8).
ṭheka	var. thega; n. "generic term used to denote various categories of contractual systems for the collection of taxes" (Michael 2012: 135; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 270).