Documenta Nepalica

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

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A copy of a rukkā from King Rājendra directing Hanumanta Sīṃ to oversee relief work on guṭhi lands in Gahigāu assigned to Kathmandu's Tripureśvara temple (VS 1891)

ID: K_0019_0014A

Edited and translated by Marija Grujovska
Created: 2023-04-24; Last modified: 2025-10-08
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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, 2025. 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 copy of a rukkā tasks Hanumanta Sīṃ with restoring order to flood-damaged land in Gahigāũ and managing the sadāvartaguṭhi of the Tripureśvara Temple in Kathmandu. It mandates annual land surveys and the reestablishment of tenancy.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्रीत्रीपुरेश्वर

1नं७२
2ते•पोनं४१
2पानं४४
3सीनं८०

1रुक्कासौ
2आगेहनुमंतसींकेतेरोजीम्मारह्याको----कागुठीसदावर्तको
3भर्नामौजेगहीगाउमाखोलालेपैनीभत्काईवालुव़ालेगाउपुरीदी

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]

1७२

1हेर्नेनामुगो•
2भंनेनौहर्ष

4योरैतीलाईनापीनगरीठेकवमोजीमकारुपैय़ालीदाठेकसीकस्तभै
5केहीरैतीभाग्यकेहिजगामाव़स्याकाछन्‌अवउप्रान्तनापीनभय़ा
6भोतापोतारैतीलाईनदिय़ाधुरवाधनगराय़ाभय़ाकारैतीपनीभाग
7नंन‌गाऊउजारहुनजालागुठीसदावर्तक्यालेचलऊलाभनीतैहा
8म्राहजुरमावींतीगर्दागर्दा९२सालदेषीसालवसालमौजेनापी
9दिनुधुरवाधगराईभोतादीभय़ाकारैतीथामीभाग्याकारैतील्या
10ईजगागुलजारगरजगाअवादगुलजारभय़ापछीभोतादीय़ाका
11रुपैय़ारधुरवाधमालाग्याकोरुपैय़ाकोसुदस्मेतलीसाहुलाईपनी
12तीर्नुगुठीसदावर्तचलाउनाकोवन्दोवस्तकोहुकुम्वक्स्यौंअफ्
13नाषतीराज्मासीतजगाआवादगुलजारगराईसाहुकोरुपैय़ास
14दचारगुठीसदावर्तचलाउन्याकामगरईतीसम्वत१८९१साल
15मीतीमाघसुदी१०रोज७शुभं¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

[In the space above the main text:]

Śrī Trīpureśvara

[In the left margin:]

No. 72 1

te bundle2 no. 41

pā no. 44

sī no. 80

[Main text:]

This is an executive order (rukkāsau).3

Āge:

To Hanumaṃta Sīṃ

"The sadāvarta guṭhī of --- (i.e., glorious Tripureśvara)4 is under your responsibility. In the mauje [of] Gahīgāu assigned [to it], the river destroyed the irrigation channel, and the village was filled with sand.

[Seal of the Pāhāḍa Baṃdobasta Tahabila Phā̃ṭa]5

[In the upper left margin:] 726

[In the lower left margin:]

The one who was present [to check against the original when it was being] read out: nā[yaba]mu[khīyā]Go

The one who said: nau[sindā]Harṣa

[Main text:]

When money (text: rupaiyā) was being collected from the tenants in accordance with the lease terms, [but] without [re]surveying the land, the lease arrangement broke down7 : some tenants fled, and some remained on [their plots of] land. From now on (avauprānta), if the land is not surveyed, tenants are not provided with credit (bhotā) [and] land tax [assessment] (potā)8 and land demarcation[?]9 are not carried out, even the remaining tenants will flee. A petition was submitted to us stating,: "The village will become deserted [and] the guṭhisadāvarta officials will operate [it in that state unless action is taken]." Therefore, from the year 1892 [onward], an annual survey of the mauje is to be carried out. Conduct land demarcation, give bhotā, retain the tenants who have stayed, and bring back those who had fled, [and so] revive the land. Once the land has been cultivated [and] is flourishing, collect the money given as bhotā and the amount spent on land demarcation, including interest and repay the creditor. We [hereby] issue an order regarding [such] arrangements for operating the sadāvartaguṭhī. Mindful of your duties, cultivate the land [and] make it flourish, [using] the creditor's money honestly [and so] carry out the task of operating the sadāvartaguṭhi.

Saturday, the 10th of the bright fortnight of Māgha [in the Vikrama] era year 1891 (CE 1834). Auspiciousness.

Commentary

This rukkā pertains to the mauje of Gahigāũ, which, along with additional plots of land in Bara district, was endowed by Lalitatripurasundarī for the alms-distributing (sadāvarta) guṭhi associated with the Tripureśvara Temple in Kathmandu. The endowment was formalized through a lālamoharā issued in Māgha VS 1877, which established the guṭhi (DNA_0012_0019). The same document identifies Hanumanta Sīṃ as the chief trustee (guṭhiyāra), thereby placing him in charge of managing the endowment and ensuring the fulfillment of its intended religious and charitable functions. In the same year, he was also appointed as the temple's biseṭa (K_0002_0041D).

Notes

1. This number added by a later hand refers to the place of the document in the government ledger. [⇑]

2. While the abbreviation, po, probably stands for pokā ("bundle"), it remains unclear what words the following pā and sī are abbreviations of. That these indeed are abbreviations is clear from preceding entries, where the same syllables are followed by a dot. [⇑]

3. From the date of the document, the issuing king must have been Rājendra (r. 1816–1846). [⇑]

4. Added from the space above the main text. [⇑]

5. The seal marks the end of the page in the ledger. During the documentation process, this and the following folio were microfilmed as one photograph. [⇑]

6. This number added by a later hand refers to the place of the document in the government ledger. See footnote no.1 [⇑]

7. In text: sīkasta, from Persian shikast (broken, impaired). See Wilson 1855: 480, s.v. shikast. [⇑]

8. The terms bhotā and potā appear together in institutional contexts, such as the Bhotā Potā Office (loan office) (M.C. Regmi 1974 (No.1): 2). Regmi also renders the combination in other contexts as "loans and maintanance expenses" (M.C. Regmi 1974 (No.1): 3) and "credit facilities" (M.C. Regmi 1975 (Vol. 11): 218). [⇑]

9. The term dhuravādha remains unclear, as it is not attested in the standard dictionaries of the Nepali language. The first element, dhura, is a unit of land measurement commonly used in the Tarai region. The second element, vādha, may derive from the verb bām̐dhnu (to bind, to fix). [⇑]

Glossary

Word	Notes
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.
bhotā	n. credit or subsistence loan, subject to interest, given to tenants for (re)settlement and reclamation of agricultural lands (M.C. Regmi 1981 (No.1): 6).
biseṭa	var. biseṭ, viseṭ, viseṭa, besata; n. 1) a temple steward (cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 855) or a person responsible for administering a religious institution. 2) an official responsible for accountancy of temple trusts, as e.g. of the Paśupatinātha Bhaṇḍāra (Michaels 1994: 158-161). Michaels renders the term as "viśeṣ" and relates the different spellings attested to Skt. viśeṣa (ibd.: 160 n. 138). As the earliest reference quoted goes back to the Malla period (NS 794) and renders the term as beseta (G. Vajrācārya 1966: 23) it seems more likely that the term comes from Newari and is a variant of New. besata/byaṣṭa, "messenger" (cp. Malla et al. 2000: s.v.).
Dhura	n. unit of land-measurement in the Tarai region, comprising 16.93 m2 = 182.25 sq. ft. One kaṭṭhā is made up of 20 dhuras. Dhura is subdivided into 20 dhurkī.
guṭha / guṭhi / guṭhī	[fr. S. goṣṭhī] var. guṭh, guthi; n. 1) a socio-religious organization that manages and finances religious and charitable functions, a trust. 2) “endowed lands or other sources of revenue for financing religious and charitable functions“ (M.R. Pant 2002: 132; cf. M.C. Regmi 1988: 267).
lālamohara	var. lālmohara, lālamohar, lālmohora; abbreviated mohara; n. royal document bearing the red seal.
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).
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).
nausindā	n. a scribe or a clerk of lower rank responsible of translating, registry and accounts; “They were the lowest rank of scribes. There were more personnel in this rank than in any other within the "civilian" hierarchy (and excluding the sipahis). A considerable number of them worked in the offices of registry and accounts. Nausindas registered the papers which came in and left the offices and copied letters and documents.“ (Edwards 1975: 109 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1978: 228 ; Adhikari 1984: 354 ; Kumar 1967: 167 )
nāyaba	[fr. A.] var. nāeva, nāaiva; adj. deputy, assistant.
potā	n. a tax imposed on certain categories of birtā-lands. According to D. Vajrācārya, it was introduced by King Pratāpasiṃha (Vajrācārya VS 2019: 39). The document PD_0002_0002, however, mentions the exact year of the introduction of potā as NS 893 (1773 CE) which was still during the reign of King Pṛthvīnārāyaṇa.
rukkāsau	[S.] n. lit. "this is a rukkā", used in copies of royal rukkās in place of the king's praśasti.
sadābarta	[S. sadāvrata] var. sadāvartta, sadāvarta, sadābartta; n. 1) regular distribution of alms or food to mendicants, guests, pilgrims or the poor (cp. Adhikari 1984: 356). 2) a kitchen where raw or cooked food is supplied to these groups (cp. M.C. Regmi 1978b: 864). 3) a charitable foundation for the provision of food to poor, mendicants and pilgrims (cp. M.C. Regmi 2002: 302).
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.
uprānta	var. uprāṃta, ūprāṃnta, ūprā̃nta, prāṃta; also yathocita uprānta; conj. after that, besides, in addition to, hereafter. In earlier prose and official documents, this word marked the beginning of a text or paragraph. It has no equivalent in English (Clark 1989: 231). In some (mostly Rāṇā period?) documents, it takes the form of yathocita uprānta.

Bibliography

Wilson, H. H. 1855. A Glossary of Judicial and Revenue Terms, and of Useful Words Occurring in Official Documents Relating to the Administration of the Government of British India. London: WM. H. Allen and Co..