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A copy of a patra from Mahanta Khīmānātha authorizing Hīrānātha to serve as abbot of Bhagavantanātha's monastery in Rānāgāũ (VS 1943)

ID: K_0097_0041


Edited and translated by Christof Zotter
Created: 2019-05-20; Last modified: 2024-04-17
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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, 2024. 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 CCby-SA.

Abstract

In the patra of which the present document is a copy, Mahanta Khīmānātha confirms his disciple Hīrānātha as his successor on the gaddī of Siddha Bhagavantanātha's maṭha in Rānāgāũ, Salyan.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1श्री­सिद्ध­भगवंतनाथजी­•
2१­

1श्री­५­सर्कार­
2२­

1श्री­राजा­
2३­

[seal of Hīrānātha]

1[?]क्कल्‌­वमोजीम्‌­नक्कल्‌­दुरूस्त­छ­भनी­सहीछाप्‌­गर्न्या­हीरानाथजी­¯¯¯

1स्वस्ति­श्रीमहंतगोसाँईषीमानाथजीकस्य­पत्रम्‌­¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯
2आगे­चेला­हीरानाथके­•हाम्रा­¯ ¯ १ ¯ ¯का­मठगद्दीमा­•व
3स्न्या­गद्दीका­मालीकका­धामस्याल­•हुन्या­वषतमा­
4जौना­चेलो­•मठजगा­धांन्या­•माफीकको­हुन्या­रछ­
5तसलाई­गद्दीका­मालिक­•गुरूले­•पीठीञामा­धाप­
6दी­•गद्दी­सौंपी­जांथ्या­•सोही­चेलाले­•सल्ल्यान­
7अडामा­जाहेर­गरि­¯ ¯ २ ¯ ¯मा­•अडावाट­वक्साई­¯ ¯ ३ ¯ ¯­
8पाचवाट­पनि­•सोही­चेलालाई­⟪थमाई­⟫मजकुर­•अडाको­
9पगरि­स्मेत्‌­•१­पट्टी­सीपाही­•आई­गद्दीमा­वसाई­
10जांथ्या­•सो­हाम्रा­पुर्षा­गद्दी•का­मालीकले­चला
11ईआय़ा­वमोजीम­•हा•मीले­त­चेला•लाई­गद्दी­
12सौंपी­गञ्यूं­सोही­रीत­वमोजीम­•सल्ल्यान­अ
13डामा­•जाहेर­गरि­¯ ¯ २ ¯ ¯मा­साधी­•तैले­हामी­व
14स्याका­गद्दीमा­वस्नु­•¯ ¯ ३ ¯ ¯­पाचवाट­पनि­थमाई
15दिनु­गद्दीका­मालीकले­•गरिआय़ाका­रीत­व
16मोजीम­मठको­दामकाम­•हालीमुहाली­•च•च
17लाऊनु­छोरा­देवदत्त­कव़र­•चेलो­गंगानाथ­स्मेत्‌­
18अरु­भाई­चेला­नाती•को­गद्दीमा­दाव़ा­धक्का­[?]
19स्ती­भनी­•त­चेलालाई­गद्दी­सौंपी­पीठमा­धा[?]­
20लगाई­हाम्रो­दस्षत­लेषी­त­चेला­हीरानाथला[?]­
21सौंपीदीञ्यूं­येस­वातका­साछी­प्रोहीत­दी[?]
22लाप्रसाद­पाध्या­घाटुवुढा­हंसराज­भार्त्ती­ज[?]
23वीर­साही­झुपु­कव़र­गुदरिया­दय़ानाथ­•देसु[?]
24री­छेत्री­दीसाली­•डंडे­केटो­स्मेत्‌­गैर्‍ह­रानागाउं­ले
25षक­साछी­•षरिदार­टीकाराम­जोतीस्‌­ईती­[?]
26त्‌­१९४३­साल­मीती­आस्वीन­सुदी­३­रोज­५­

Translation

[1r]

[above the main text:]

Venerable (Śrī) SiddhaBhagavantanātha (text: Bhagavaṃtanātha) 1

Śrī 5 Sarkāra[’s government] 2

Venerable king 3

[in the left margin:]

[seal of Hīranātha]1

Attesting that the copy is true to the original, Hīrānātha-jī

[main text:]

Hail. [This is] a letter (patra) of the Venerable MahantaGosāī̃Khīmānātha-jī (text: Ṣīmānātha-jī)

Āge: to the disciple Hīrānātha

Whenever the occupants (lit. masters, mālikas) sitting on the monastic throne of [ŚrīSiddha Bhagavantanātha]2 [were about to] pass away3 the mālika of the throne—the guru—would clap the back of a disciple who was able to manage the monastic estates [and] confer the throne [upon him]. That disciple informed the Salyan (text: Sallyāna) office (aḍḍā), the aḍḍā submitted [the disciple's request] to [Śrī 5 Sarkāra’s government]4 , [and when] the fivefold [venerable king]5 also confirmed the disciple, the chief officer (pagarī) of the mentioned office (i.e. the Salyan aḍḍā) came with a detachment (paṭṭī) of soldiers [and] installed [the disciple] on the throne. This we have done when, according to what has been traditionally practised by the mālikas of our ancestors' throne, conferring the throne upon you6 , [our] disciple. According to that custon, inform the Salyan aḍḍā, seek permission from [Śrī 5 Sarkāra’s government]7 [and] sit on the throne we have been sitting on. According to the custom traditionally practised by the mālikas of the throne, excercise sole authority over money matters (dāmakāma) of the monastery (maṭha). There is [to be] no pushing of claims to the throne by [our?] son (chorā)8 Devadatta Kavara, disciple Gaṅgānātha (text: Gaṃgānātha) and other brothers, disciples and grandsons. Having said this, we have conferred the throne upon you, [our] disciple, clapped [you] on the back, written our signature [and] conferred [the authority] upon you, [our] disciple Hīrānātha. Witnesses to this matter [are] the priest (purohita) Dī[...]lāprasāda Pādhyā, village headman (ghā̃ṭu buḍhā) Haṃsarāja Bhārttī, Ja[...]vīra Sāhī, Jhupu (?) Kavara, Gudariyā Dayānātha, Desu[...]rī Chetrī together with the boy (keṭo) [called] Dīsālī Ḍaṃḍe (?) etc.

Rānāgāũ (text: Rānāgāuṃ), writer [and] witness KharidāraṬīkārāma Jotīs.

Thursday, the 3rd of the bright fortnight of Āśvina of the [Vikrama era] year 1943 (1886 CE).9


Commentary

As mentioned in two confirmations of Khīmānātha's abbotship—one by the governor of Palpa (and later prime minister) Lieutenant General Vīra Śamśera Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā in VS 1935 (see K_0097_0040) and the other by King Pṛthvī Vīra Vikrama in VS 1938 (see K_0097_0039)—Khīmānātha seemingly received a similar letter from his guru Mahanta Jagadīśvaranātha before he took over the throne of the maṭha from him. However, the present letter, issued by Khīmanātha one day before his death (cf. K_0097_0038) for his disciple Hīrānātha, is the only document of this kind available so far. Besides indicating some changes in the "traditional" procedure regulating succession during Khīmānātha's time (see Commentary in K_0097_0040), the letter contains some rare information regarding the maṭha's other residents.10 The document was probably penned in Rānāgāũ, the only place name contained in the text. Does this perhaps mean that Khīmānātha—who according to a contemporary report (K_0097_0038, see below) lived in Bhagavantanāthas's other maṭha in Śrīgāũ, Dang—passed away in Rānāgāũ?

The copy of the letter edited here was attached to a report Colonel Loka Bahādura Thāpā Chetṛ, the chief administrator of the Salyan district office, submitted to the prime minister five weeks later (see K_0097_0038). In the following months, Hīrānātha's claim was reviewed by different government institutions in Kathmandu (see K_0097_0042 and K_0097_0043), and in VS 1944, Māgha vadi 8 Hīrānātha finally received ratification of his abbotship by King Pṛthvī Vīra Vikrama (see K_0469_0024).

Notes

1. The legend reads: śrī hirānātha. [⇑]

2. Inserted from the space above the main text. [⇑]

3. The exact meaning of the word which can be read as dhāmasyāla or °syola is not clear, but from the context it is evident that it must refer to the imminent deaths of the mālikas. Other documents uses the phrase cola vadaldā, "changing bodies", in this context (see e.g. K_0097_0038). [⇑]

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

5. Inserted from the space above the main text. [⇑]

6. The emendation of ta to tã is based on the quotation of this passage in Loka Bahādura Thāpā Chetṛ's report to the prime minister (K_0097_0038, see also Commentary below). [⇑]

7. Inserted from the space above the main text. [⇑]

8. The word chorā or choro means 1) son and 2) boy, lad (see e.g. Parājulī et al. VS 2067: s.v. choro). Another source references two sons (chorā) of Khīmānātha, his first-born (jeṭhā) Devīnātha (K_0468_0061 line 115, see also K_0469_0045) and the younger (kāṃchā) Chatranātha (K_0468_0061 line 119). Devadatta Kavara is nowhere else mentioned in this context within the corpus. It is possible, therefore, that Devadatta Kavara was not Khīmānātha's actual son. [⇑]

9. The date corresponds to 30 September 1886. [⇑]

10. Two of the witnesses mentioned, namely Gudariyā Dayānātha and Ṭīkārāma Jotīs (also known as Ṭīkārāma Nyaupānyā), were also among the signees of a inventory list of Bhagavantanātha's maṭhas prepared almost twenty-one years later in VS 1964 (see K_0097_0017 table 24). [⇑]