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

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A copy of a lālamohara from King Gīrvāṇayuddha appointing Joturāma and Bholārāma to conduct the rituals of Śrī Candrabadanī (VS 1864)

ID: K_0029_0035A

Edited and translated by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2018-10-10; Last modified: 2021-03-23
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, 2021. 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 lālamohara from the king, who according to the date must have been Gīrvāṇayuddha, confirms a trust (guṭhī) to conduct rituals during the two Dasaĩ festivals at the Candrabadanī temple. It confirms the goddess's priests (pūjārī) Joturāma and Bholārāma to enjoy the surplus revenue from lands and material provisions as specified in the appended details, and obliges them to arrange for blood sacrifices, worship, the feeding of girls and recitations with the trust's funds.

Diplomatic edition

[117v]

1⟪७२नं.⟫

1जैसीकोठाअडावाट
2नकलवमोजिंनकलदुरुस्तछ

[Seal of the Jaisīkoṭhā]

[Unknown seal]

1फागुणसुडी•५रोज४मा•
2आगेचन्द्रवडनीकापुजहारीजोतुराममोलारामकेश्रीच•
3न्द्रवडनीका•पुजाभोग•२दसैमावलीदानराग्यावोक्यावडे
4रह्याकोगुठी•गाउज्मा•५जीउलाजमा१४।।आजपनी•तीमी
5हरूलाई•थामी•तपसीलवमोजिंकाजगा•मोहरगरीवक
6सौ•दुईदसैमा९।९वोका१।१रागाभोगपुजाकन्यालाई
7भोजन•पाट्‌लगाईश्रीचन्द्रवडनीकापुजागरीहाम्रोज
8येमनाई•आफनाषातीर•ज्मासीतगुठीगाउजानीभोगे
9गर¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯१
10तपसील

[118r]

॥११८॥

[Seal of Jaisīkoṭhā]

[Unknown seal]

[table1]

1	वौसौनीगाउ१के•जीउला	३
2	साधना गाउ१के•जीउला	१॥•
3	चौरागाउ१मध्येजीउला	२॥
4	गुज्येना गाउ१केमध्येजीउला	॥
5	षावरा गाउ१मध्येवोका	१
6	फ्याकंतीगाउ१केजीउला	१२॥
7	कुनेरीगाउ•मध्येवषता•	१
8	जगेठीगाउ•१के•जीउला•	।।
9	सीरुव़ागोषारोगाउ१केजीउला	१॥
10	षतेलीगाउ•१केजीउला	१॥
11	पौसाधागाउ•१मध्ये•वोक्या	१
12	नगडीरूपैञा१करासगाउ•१मध्येजीउ	१
13	चील्लागर्षा•मध्येरांगा१नगडरूपैञा	१
14	श्रीवगरकाजगावाटजागन्यापुजाकोसराजाम

11इतीमीतीसदर¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯

Translation

[117v]

no. 721

From the Jaisīkoṭhā office:

The copy is true to the copy.2

[Seal of the Jaisīkoṭhā]

[Unknown seal]

On Wednesday, the 5th of the bright fortnight of Phālguna3

Āge: To Joturāma and Bholārāma4 , the priests (pūjāhārī) of Candrabadanī

Today we, too, support the guṭhī that was set up for the worship of Śrī Candrabadanī [and] the [attendant] sacrifices during the two Dasaĩ festivals—altogether 5 guṭhī villages supplying he-buffaloes, he-goats and whatever [worship material] is needed [for] sacrifices, and a total of 14½ jīulās5 —and issue a mohara for the land [granted] according to the details [below]. Have the sacrifice of 9 he-goats and 1 he-buffalo each, the worship, the feeding of girls and the recitations be performed during the two Dasaĩs, conduct the worship of Śrī Candrabadanī, celebrate our triumphs, and, conceiving the villages as [your] guṭhī, enjoy [the attendant fruits], being mindful of your duties.

Details (tapasila):

[118r]

[p.] 118

[Seal of the Jaisīkoṭhā]

[Unknown seal]

[table1]

1	[belonging] to6 the 1 village [of] Bausaunī,7 jiulās	3
2	[belonging] to the 1 village [of] Sādhanā,8 jiulās	1½
3	within the 1 village [named] Caurā,9 jiulās	2½
4	[belonging] to [and] within the 1 village [of] Gujyenā,10 jiulā	½
5	within the 1 village [of] Khābarā,11 he-goat	1
6	[belonging] to the 1 village [of] Phyākaṃtī,12 jiulās	2½
7	within the village [of] Kunerī,13 he-goat (?)14	1
8	[belonging] to the 1 village [of] Jageṭhī,15 jiulā	½
9	[belonging] to the 1 village [of] Sīruvā Gokhāro,16 jiulās	1½
10	[belonging] to the 1 village [of] Khatelī,17 jiulās	1½
11	within the 1 village [of] Pausādhā,18 he-goat	1
12	1 rupee in cash, within the 1 village [named] Karāsa, jiu[lā]	1
13	within Cillāgarkhā:19 1 he-buffalo, cash in rupees	1
	material for worship coming from the land belonging to Śrībagara 20

The date is valid.

Commentary

The document was microfilmed twice, the second time as K_0335_0025. Another copy of the same document is extant as K_0105_0031. Unclear readings have been rectified on the basis of this latter copy, but in the absence of knowledge of the local realities, some readings, especially those of place names, remain tentative. It is noteworthy that the land measurement units used in the document differ from those used in other documents, and thus probably are the units current in the area.

The temple concerned is that of the goddess Śrī Candrabadanī in Tehri Garhwal, located on top of a mountain about 35 km from Devprayag. At the time of the document's issue Garhwal was under Gorkhali rule. The document bears testimony to the fact that the Śāha kings made provisions for celebrating Dasaĩ in the conquered territories. It mentions common features of these rituals, including the sacrifice of nine goats21 —either to sacrifice one on each day of the nine-day festival or all of them on one day, on either Mahāṣṭamī or Mahānavamī—and one buffalo, the feeding of girls (kanyā) and recitations (probably of the Caṇḍī). As this only confirms a pre-existing custom, it remains unknown whether the original endowment was made by an earlier Śāha king following the conquest or went back to an original endowment of the former kings of Garhwal.

Notes

1. This number added by a later hand refers to the position of the document in the assemblage of lālamohara texts copied in the Jaisīkoṭhā. The bound material, microfilmed sequentially from K_0028_0032 (front cover and index) up to K_0031_0014, covers the main body (i.e. excluding the initial and final formalities) of 303 royal documents from the period VS 1847–1864 concerning different guṭhīs. [⇑]

2. This note was added in the left margin by a later hand. [⇑]

3. The year is given further up in the batch of documents, at the beginning of K_0029_0030B, as VS 1864. Thus the date would correspond to Wednesday, 2 March 1808. The reigning king in whose name the original lālamohara was issued must have been Gīrvāṇayuddha. [⇑]

4. The name Molārāma has been corrected to Bholārāma on the basis of the another copy of the same document (K_0105_0031). [⇑]

5. This must be a measurement of land. While jiulo in modern Nepali denotes land for cultivating rice (Parājulī et al. VS 2067: s.v. jiulo), the term jūlā is known as a land measurement in Hindi (McGregor 1993: s.v. jūlā). The details contain an exact breakdown of the land assignments in terms of this amount. [⇑]

6. In this list the villages, tracts of whose land are earmarked as guṭhī land, such land is specified with either the phrase gāu 1 ke, "to/for the 1 village" (in the sense of "of/belonging to"?) or gāu 1 madhye, "within the 1 village". In one instance both are combined (gāu 1 ke madhye). Those five villages that had to supply animals or material items are all paired with gāu 1 madhye. It is unclear whether this usage reflects different circumstances—e.g. land "[belonging] to" referring to land that lies outside the village as opposed to land "within"—or are just equivalent expressions conveying the sense of "from within". [⇑]

7. The readings of this and the following place names are tentative. The present name could also be interpreted as Bausautī, Vausaunī or Vausautī. The other copy of the document (K_0105_0031) reads Bosaunī in this place. [⇑]

8. Same spelling in K_0105_0031. [⇑]

9. K_0105_0031 reads Cauro. [⇑]

10. K_0105_0031 reads Gujyanā. [⇑]

11. Same spelling in K_0105_0031. [⇑]

12. K_0105_0031 reads Patrākandi. [⇑]

13. Same spelling in K_0105_0031. [⇑]

14. The word bakhatā (or ba/va-kha/ṣa-tā/nā) is unclear. K_0105_0031 has bakharā, which may represent a misspelling of the Hindi word bakarā, "he-goat". It is also possible that the word is indeed bakhatā, which denotes a food prepared with a mixture of husked beans and lentils (Parājuli et al. VS 2067: s.v.). The use of such food in a ritual context, however, is unknown to me. [⇑]

15. K_0105_0031 reads Jageḍī. [⇑]

16. Same spelling in K_0105_0031. [⇑]

17. Same spelling in K_0105_0031. [⇑]

18. K_0105_0031 reads Pausādhya. [⇑]

19. K_0105_0031 reads Cīllāgarkhā. [⇑]

20. K_0105_0031 reads Śrīnagara. [⇑]

21. While in the text nine goats are mentioned as provision for the temple, the tapasila only accounts for three of them. Were the other six to be bought from the land revenue? [⇑]

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.
caṇḍī	[S.] n. 1) "the fierce one," name for a goddess, often for Durgā. 2) also (Durgā)saptaśatī; recitational form of the Devīmāhātmya, popularly recited on occasion of the Dasaĩ festival.
dasaĩ / daśaĩ	[fr. S. daśāha] var. dasai; n. festival to worship the goddess Durgā as slayer of the buffalo demon, held over the bright half of the autumn month of Āśvina (baḍā dasaĩ) and, on a smaller scale, over the bright half of the spring month of Caitra (caite dasaĩ).
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).
jaisīkoṭhā	n. an office usually considered to be a branch of the office treating with foreign affairs (Munsīkhānā) dealing with the foreign correspondencies to Tibet (see e.g. Kumar 1967: 166; Parājulī et al. 1995: s.v.). Adhikari, however, argues that the terms Munsīkhānā and Jaisīkoṭhā were used simultaneously to denote the same office (Adhikari 1984: 83-84). He assumes that the former refered to a location within Basantapur Palace while the latter denoted the office operated from there. That the Jaisīkoṭhā did not exclusively handle paper work related to the north is also evinced in a book of copies of 303 lālamoharas documented from K_0028_0032 (front cover and index) up to K_0031_0014B. These royal orders concern affairs of different guṭhīs both within the Kathmandu Valley and outside.
lālamohara	var. lālmohara, lālamohar, lālmohora; abbreviated mohara; n. royal document bearing the red seal.
mahānavamī	[S.] var. mahānaumi; n. ninth lunar day of the month of Āśvina and climactic day of the Dasaĩ festival.
mahāṣṭamī	[S.] n. eighth lunar day of the bright fortnight of the month of Āśvina and one of the major days of the Dasaĩ festival.
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.
pūjārī / pūjāhārī	var. pujārī, pujāhārī; n. person formally appointed to conduct the worship (pūjā) of a deity and therewith earning one's livelyhood, temple priest.
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.
tapasila	[fr. A.] var. tapasīl, tapasīlā, tapsīl; n. particulars, details; can be a self-sustained document, but is more often appended as a list after the narratio of documents.

Bibliography

McGregor, R.S. (ed.). 1993. The Oxford Hindi–English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Parājulī, Kṛṣṇaprasāda et al. (ed.). VS 2067 [2010]. Nepālī Bṛhat Śabdakośa. 7th ed. Kathmandu: Nepāla Prajñāpratiṣṭhāna.