Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A copy of a lālamohara from King Gīrvāṇayuddha exempting land endowed to a guṭhī supporting devotional singing from taxation (VS 1860)

ID: K_0001_0035C


Edited and translated by Rajendra Shakya in collaboration with Astrid Zotter
Created: 2018-02-03; Last modified: 2021-04-20
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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 CCby-SA.

Abstract

The document of which this is a copy exempts land donated by an individual to the trust (guṭhī) that supports devotional singing (bhajana) at a Śrī Gaṇeśa shrine in Kathmandu from the potā tax from the year VS 1860 (1803 CE) onwards.



Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1२५४­

1६६­नं.­आगे­काठमाडौका­∙श्री­गणेशका­∙थानमा­∙भजनका­∙गुठीके­पटानका­∙अम्वल∙मध्ये­∙तै∙
2वाटे­∙पुर्गषेत­∙तस्को­∙साध­∙पुर्व­वाटो­∙दछीन­कुलो­∙पछीम­∙मजदेऊ­∙वाडाको­∙साध­ऊतर­∙नक­∙
3वाहालका­∙वाडाको­साध­∙य़ति­∙चार­कील्ला­∙भीत्रके­∙षेत­रोपनि­∙सात­∙७­काजी­नरसीं­∙मार्फट्‌­∙
4पाटन­∙सर्तगल∙डोलका­∙सीताराम­नेव़ार­∙थाईकोमी­∙गुठी­∙निमीत्य­∙अर्पन­∙गर्‍याको­∙६०­सा∙
5लदेषि­∙पोता­माफ­गरी∙वक्स्यौं­∙आफ्ना­षातिर∙ज्मासीता­भजनको­गुठी­∙रष­∙ईति­∙संम्वत­∙
6१८६०­साल­∙मिति­∙कार्तिक­वदी­११­रोज­२­शु­¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

1स्ही­दी...­


 [Unknown seal]

Translation

[1r]

2541

Number 662 : Āge: To the guṭhī for devotional singing (bhajana)3 at a Śrī Gaṇeśa shrine in Kathmandu.

We have waived the potā tax from the year [VS 18]60 (1803 CE) onwards [imposed on] the taibāṭe purgakheta4 , a field of seven—[in numbers] 7—ropanīs in the ambala of Pāṭana, [situated] within the following four boundaries: a road to the east, a water channel to the south, the boundary of Majadeū Bāḍā['s property] to the west, and the boundary of the Naka BāhālaBā̃ḍās' [property] to the north, [and] endowed to the thāīkomī5 guṭhī [established by] Sītārāma Nevāra of Sartagalaḍola in Pāṭana and [authorized] through (marphat) KājīNarasīṃ. Keep the guṭhī for devotional singing running properly, being mindful of your duty.

Monday, the [11th]6 of the dark fortnight of Kārtika in the [Vikrama] era year 1860 (1803 CE)7 . Auspiciousness.

Signature: Dī...8

[Unknown seal]

Notes

1. This number likely refers to the position of the document in the collection from which it was copied. The other entries in the ledger bear similar numbers. [⇑]

2. This number refers to the position of the document in a collection of copied lālamohara texts archived under the numbered classification Pā. Bam. Ta. 1. The bound material, microfilmed sequencially from K 1/20 (index) up to K 4/33, covers the main body (i.e. excluding the initial and final formalities) of 468 royal documents from the period VS 1830–1894. [⇑]

3. Bhajanas are often performed in front of a deity/shrine (as probably was done in the present case) or in public resthouses called phalcās by Newars (Nep. pāṭī). [⇑]

4. It is not clear what specific tract of land this refers to. The words could either denote a type of field or be a place-name. [⇑]

5. The writing here is not clear. The word could denote the type of guṭhī, maybe misrepresenting some Newar word. [⇑]

6. The lunar day (tithi) is not clearly visible due to the ink mark of a seal. The most likely reading appears to be 11, but this would not tally with the weekday. Only tithis 1 and 9 would yield a Monday. [⇑]

7. According to the date, the issuer of the original lālamohara must have been King Gīrvāṇayuddha [⇑]

8. The akṣaras following the word shī, "signature", are unclear. They must represent the signature of the scribe involved in checking the copied documents for their correspondence with the originals. The same signature is present in other copies in the same ledger. From a comparison with places where it is more clearly written, the most likely reading would be Dīdī, followed by another akṣara. [⇑]