Documenta Nepalica

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

Version with DOI and citation guidelines

A copy of a lālamohara from King Rājendra appointing Hākyā Kaṭavāla as the overseer of the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1883)

ID: K_0015_0031E

Edited and translated by Manik Bajracharya in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya
Created: 2021-06-10; Last modified: 2022-11-16
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, 2022. 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 lālamohara of King Rājendra appoints Hākyā Kaṭuvāla to operate the Luthāma Guṭhī of Matsyendranātha in Patan. He is required to pay one hundred rupees to the treasury of Matsyendranātha and is entitled to enjoy the residual income from the trust land.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1पो१६ष१३पा∙५८मी३१४

1गुठीचीताईदारी

1भंनौहर्ष
2हेनौराम

1२४२

1[a seal probably of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā]

1आगेहाक्याकुटवालकेसहरपाटनकाश्रीमछिन्द्रनाथकारथकोसुनाकाविमां
2कोतपसीलवमोजींकागुठिषेतकोअषत्यारगरि⟪रा⟫मानंदवाडाकानाउँमाभय़ाको
3गुठिकामोहरहानितलाईवक्स्यौंआफ्नाखातिरज्मासीतपरापुर्वदेखिचली
4आय़ाकोगुठिवक्सा⟪चला⟫ईसालिंदाश्रीमछिंद्रनाथकाभडारकारुपय़ा१००दा
5षिलगरीसेषवाकिरह्याकोलीगुठिजानीभोग्य़गर¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
6तपसील्‌

[table1-part1]

	डुषुरोपनी	६	पतिपारोपनी	६	भीलुपारोपनी	६
	रानिवुरोपनी	७	कुसुंतिरोप[?]	८	दुषुवगररोपनी	१

[1v]

1२९७नं

1[unknown seal]

[table1-part2]

	पाकोरोपनी	६	रा[?]वुरोपनी	१।।।	सीलाकोरोपनी	६
	घ्योपोरोपनी	३	थछेरोपनी	१	तेपनारोपनी	५

7ईतिसम्वत्‌१८८३साल्‌कार्तिकवदी५रोज्‌६शुभ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯

Translation

[1r]

po 16 ṣa 13 pā 58 mī 3141

[This document concerns] the overseership of the guṭhī

bhaṃ. nau.2 Harṣa

he. nau.3 Rāma.

242

[a seal, probably of the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā]

Āge: To Hākyā Kaṭuvāla. We have annulled the mohara that was [issued earlier] in the name of Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā and have granted you authority over the guṭhī kheta land listed in the details [below] relating to the golden vimāna 4 of the chariot of glorious Macchindranātha in the city of Patan. Being mindful of your duty [and] knowing that this is [your] guṭhī, operate the guṭhī, which has been running since olden times, deposit 100 rupees every year into the treasury of the glorious Macchindranātha, and enjoy the surplus.

The list [of guṭhī lands]

[table1-part1]

	Ṅakhu	6 ropanīs	Patipā	6 ropanīs	Bhīlupā	6 ropanīs
	Rānibu	7 ropanīs	Kusuṃti	8 ropanīs	Ṅakhuvagara5	1 ropanī

[1v]

2976

[unknown seal]

[table1-part2]

	Pāko	6 ropanīs	Rānibu	1 ropanī 3 javās	Sīlāko 7	6 ropanīs
	Ghyopo 8	3 ropanīs	Thache	1 ropanī	Tepanā	5 ropanīs

Commentary

The original of this copy of a lālamohara annuls Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā's overseership of the Luthāma Guṭhī in service to Buṅgadyo, and gives the authority to the addressee, Hākyā Kaṭuvāla. The copy leaves out the praśasti, and does not mention the name of the issuing king, Rājendra Vikrama Śāha (r. 1816-1847). The document is archived with the serial number 242 and is found on pages 296 and 297 of the bundle of copies marked as po 16 ṣa 13 pā 58 mī 314 at the Guṭhī Saṃsthāna. In contrast to earlier related documents (E_2253_0015A to E_2253_0015G, E_2254_0001A to E_2254_0001J, K_0341_0034 and K_0015_0021C), this document does not mention the name of the Luthāma Guṭhī. Instead, it refers to the guṭhī as serving "the golden vimāna of the chariot of glorious Macchindranātha."

The document does not mention any designation Hākyā Kaṭuvāla may have had. He was granted similar authority to oversee the Savāpāli Sadāvarta Guṭhī of Patan in 1821 (see K_0013_0030A) and the jātrā guṭhī of Guhyeśvarī in 1822 (see documents DNA_0010_0013 and K_0014_0014A). Hākyā's overseership of the Luthāma Guṭhī did not last long. In another document K_0014_0014C, issued six months after the current one, overseership of the guṭhī was restored to Amṛtānanda Bā̃ḍā and Sundarānanda Bā̃ḍā, the sons of Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā.

The document lists land endowments of the guṭhī amounting to a total of 56 ropanīs and 3 javās. This is similar to what is listed in another document relating to the guṭhī issued in 1805 (see K_0341_0034).

Notes

1. This probably refers to the archival identification number of the original mohara. The meanings of the abbreviations po, ṣa, pā and mī are unknown. [⇑]

2. The abbreviation bhaṃ stands for bhaṃne ("the one who reads out") and nau. for nausindā, a low-ranking office clerk. It may thus be understood that this person reads the original out loud while another person checks the copy for errors as he goes along. [⇑]

3. The abbreviations stand for herne nausindā ("a nausindā who watches"), the clerk who checks the copied document for errors while another person reads out the original. [⇑]

4. This refers to the Luthāma Guṭhī which manages the vimāna (i.e., the structure with gilt metal panels securing the inner sanctum of the Matsyendranātha chariot). [⇑]

5. E_2253_0015C has Ṅakhuvaṃga while K_0341_0034 has Ṅakhuvaṃraga. [⇑]

6. This refers to the folio number within the bundle. [⇑]

7. Document E_2253_0015C has this place name spelled as Silāpāko. [⇑]

8. Documents E_2253_0015C and K_0341_0034 give the name of this place as Ghyopī [⇑]

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.
javā	var. java, yava; n. an area measurement unit equal to one quarter of a ropanī, or measuring 22,5 hāta (MA-54 5.38-40).
kheta	[fr. S. kṣetra] var. khet, kheṭ; n. 1) irrigated land in the hill region suitable for the cultivation of rice and wheat. 2) a measure of land in the hill region equal to 25 ropanīs or 100 murīs (ca. 1.25 hectares) (M.C. Regmi 1999: 136-137 ; cf. M.C. Regmi 1999: 234 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 162 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 227 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 860 ; M.C. Regmi 1995: 77; Adhikari 1984: 351; M.R. Pant 2002: 133; Whelpton 1991: 284 ).
lālamohara	var. lālmohara, lālamohar, lālmohora; abbreviated mohara; n. royal document bearing the red seal.
mohara	[P.] n. 1) a seal. 2) a document bearing royal seal; often an abbreviated reference to a lālamohara. 3) a coin having the value of eight ānās or half a mohararupaiyā̃.
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 )
praśasti	[S.] n. poetic eulogy, often functions as intitulatio in documents.
ropanī	[fr. S.] var. ropani; n. unit of land measurement in the hill region, including the Kathmandu Valley, comprising four murīs. The area may vary according to the grade, but current standard area for a ropanī comprises 5,476 square feet (cf. M.C. Regmi 1999: 235 ; M.C. Regmi 1978: 864; Whelpton 1991: 286; M.C. Regmi 1995: 77; M.C. Regmi 1978: 163; M.C. Regmi 1988: 270).
vimāna	n. an architectural feature of a temple or chariot; a structure securing the inner sanctum of a temple or chariot. In documents E_2253_0015A~E_2253_0015G and E_2254_0001A~E_2254_0001J, this term refers to the structure decorated with gilt metal panels built around the chariot of Matsyendranātha in Patan.