A purjī from the Mulukī Aḍḍā to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā the appointment of Bharapuranātha as the new abbot of the monastery of Gorakhanātha (VS 1978)
ID: K_0252_0018
Edited and
translated by Astrid Zotter
in collaboration with
Raju Rimal and Christof Zotter
Created: 2019-08-07;
Last modified: 2022-11-11
For the metadata of the document, click here
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 purjī from the Mulukī Aḍḍā orders the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā to issue a provisional appointment letter (bahālī purjī) for Bharapuranātha as abbot (pīramahanta) of the Mṛgasthalī monastery so that he may perform imminent Navarātra rituals.
Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1श्री\1⟪4⟫1पुनं४५१1⟪३२⟫[Seal with the legend: श्री मुलुकि अडा ४२] [Unknown seal] [Unknown seal] [Unknown seal] 1मुलुकीअडापुर्जीफाट्वाट श्री५सर्कारतर्फगुठीवन्दोवस्तके2 पुर्जी
3 ऊप्रातमृगस्थलीकोपीरमहंतपरमहंसनाथमरेकोर•तेस्काथाऊमाभरपूरनाथलाई
4हीजोभर्नागरी•श्री३महाराजवाटसदरगरीवक्सीयेकोहुनाले•घटस्थापना•नव़रात्रको
5कामस्मेत्•गर्नुपर्ने•हुनालेनीजलाईआजैवाहाली•पुर्जीगरीदी•अरूजोगर्नुपर्नेस्मेत्सनदस्मे
6तगरीदीनुभंन्ये•श्रीवडागुरूज्युवाटलेषीपठाऊनुभयेकोवेहोरा•श्रीकम्याँडरईनचीफसा
7हेवकाहजुर्माजाहेरहुंदा•भोलीदेषीघटस्थापनानव़रात्रकाकामचलाऊनुपर्नेभयेकोहुना
8लेनीजपीरमहंतभरपूरनाथवाटकामचलाऊनलाऊनालाईनीजकानाऊमास्मेतजजस्का
9नाऊमाचाहींछचाहीनेपुर्जी•गरीदीकामचलाऊनलाऊनुभनी•लेषीपठाऊनुभंन्येमर्जीवक्से
10कोहुनालेमर्जीवक्सेकोलेषीय़ावमोजींगर्नेकामगर ७८सापछीजोचाहीनेसनदभै
11आऊला•७८सालआश्वी१६गतेरोज७शुभ्म्¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
Translation
[1r]
41
323
[Seal with the legend: śrī muluki aḍā 42]4
[Unknown seal]5
[Unknown seal]
[Unknown seal]
A purjī from the purjī section (phā̃ṭa) of the Mulukī Aḍḍā to the Guṭhī Bandobasta [Aḍḍā] under Śrī 5 Sarkāra
Uprānta: "As the pīramahanta of Mṛgasthalī, Paramahaṃsanātha, has died and yesterday Śrī 3 Mahārāja put Bharapūranātha in his place and has endorsed [the appointment], and as the ghaṭasthāpanā [and other] Navarātra rituals have to be performed, issue a provisional appointment letter (bahālī purjī) today, and [later] the prime minister's certificate of appointment (sanada) that needs to be issued as well." Notice of [these] details written and sent by Śrī Baḍā Gurujyu has been taken by the Commander-in-Chief Sāheba, and as from tomorrow on the ghaṭasthāpanā [and other] Navarātra rituals have to be performed, [the latter] has given an order (marjī) [to this office] stating: "Send [an order] in writing that the rituals be performed, [that] the needed purjīs be issued in the names of whoever is needed [for them to be performed], including in the name of the said Pīramahanta Bharapūranātha, so that one can have him perform the rituals." Therefore, perform the task in accordance with what is stated in the order. Later, the needed sanada will come to be issued.
Saturday, the 16 solar day (gate) of the month of Āśvina in the [Vikrama era] year [19]78 (1 October 1921 CE). Auspiciousness.
Commentary
In this purjī, the Mulukī Aḍḍā orders the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā to issue a bahālī purjī appointing Bharapuranātha as the successor of the deceased abbot of the Mṛgasthalī monastery, Paramahaṃsanātha. This was meant as a provisional appointment only, with the promise that the proper papers be issued later. This interim solution was necessary because the abbot (mahanta), whose appointment had been ratified by the prime minister on the previous day, needed to perform the rituals during the autumnal Dasaĩ festival—here called Navarātra—that started on the following day6 .
As can be reconstructed from related documents, the previous pīramahanta of Mṛgasthalī had died on the 18th gate of Śrāvaṇa (K_0252_0044), whereafter the Guṭhi Bandobasta Aḍḍā was put in charge of managing the regular and occasional rituals of the monastery until the appointment of a new mahanta.
According to a letter sent by the office of the Baḍā Gurujyu (K_0252_0021) and another written by Bharapuranātha himself (K_0252_0022), the latter's appointment was indeed ratified on Friday, the 15th gate of Āśvina. Both the Baḍā Gurujyu and Bharapuranātha stress that the provisional appointment needed to be issued in order to avoid anything getting in the way of the Dasaĩ rituals.
This bahālī purjī was issued by the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā on the very same day and is extant in two different copies (K_0054_0053, K_0177_0004). That it was received by Bharapuranātha the same day is evident from a receipt issued by him (K_0252_0022). Thus this last-minute intervention on the eve of the Navarātra festival achieved what it set out to do.