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A copy of a lālamohara from King Rājendra confirming Saṃkaradatta Jhā's appointment to the office of priest (VS 1887)

ID: K_0003_0017A


Edited by Astrid Zotter in collaboration with Raju Rimal
Created: 2019-03-22; Last modified: 2021-08-11
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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, 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 CCby-SA.

Abstract

This copy of a lālamohara from the king, who according to the date must have been Rājendra, confirms Saṃkaradatta Jhā from Thimi as a temple priest serving 50 households despite claims to that office by a wife of a deceased younger brother. Together with the hereditary right to enjoy the surplus revenue from 2 ropanīs of land, these privileges were granted to him as part of a ritual fee (dakṣiṇā) for having performed the puraścaraṇa of the mahāsahasracaṇḍī at the time of the Chinese invasion.



Diplomatic edition

[324v]

1॥३२४॥­

1३०६­नं­⟫

1से­नं­३२३­२२३­
2रुजु­⟫

[Unknown seal]

1श्री­गाल•माहादव­•
2१­

1श्री\­५­वाज्याज्यू­•
2२­

1श्री\­५­वुवाज्यू­•
2३­

1प्रस्तीसौ­•
2आगे­•थीमीका­•संकर•दत्त­•झाके­•चिनिञा­अऊदामा­महा•सहश्र•चंदी­•पुरश्चरण­२­
3लाष­गर्‍याको­•दछीनामध्ये­•तहाको­•वकुली­•जजमानि­•ठकाली­भो­घर­५०­डक्को­•प्रोहीताई­•
4र­¯ ¯ १¯कोपुजा•का­षेत­•रोपनि­•२­तस्को­•महसुल•स्मेत­•मारी•मेटी­•¯ ¯२ ¯वाट­•सं•
5कल्प­गरीवक्सनु­•भय़ाको­•रहेछ­•अंतरमा­•तहाका­•अमाली•ले­•कचपच­•गरी•दीं•छं­•भं•
6न्दा­•ऊसो­•भय़ा­•संकल्प­भय़ाकै­रहेछ­•भनि­•ठहर्दा­¯ ¯ ३¯वाटलाल•मोहर­गरी­•थामी•
7वक्सनु­•भय़ाको ­रहेछ­•विचमा­तीम्रो­भाई­•मनि­झा­मरी­•अपुताली­पर्‍या­पछी­•देऊवा­भनकी­ने
8वार्नीतीर•को­छोरी­•ल्याया•कोले­एस्मा­•त­हाम्रो­पनि­•लागछ­भनि­•अमाली•हरूछेऊ­भं
9न्दा­•आफु•­•माईति­•भाडगाऊको­वुद्धीराज­•भाजु•लाई­•षवाऊडा­•तिम्रो­चीत­•नवुझी­•हाल्‌•
10का­अमाली•छेऊ­•भन्याछौ­र­•हाम्रा­हजुरमा­•विंन्ति­पर्‍यो­•तिमीले­•पुरश्चरन­•गर्दा­•पाय़ा
11को­वीर्ता­व़ा•कुलि­जजमानि­•ठकाली­•डक्कोभो­घर­•५०­र­¯ ¯ १¯नित्य•पुजा­गरी­षान्या­•
12षेत­रोपनि­२­अचारको­•पैडाव़ारी•मध्ये­•आधीली­•षानु­भनि­अघी­भय़ाको­•मोहर­व
13मोजीम­•हामीले­पनि­•थामी•वक्स्यौं­•आफना­षातिर­•ज्मासंग­वृता­जानी­•संन्तान­•
14दरसंन्तान•तेक­•भोग्य­गर­•ईती­संवत­१८८७­साल­मीती­•भाद्र­वदी­•१४­रोज­•३­शुभ­

[Unknown seal]

Synopsis

[324v]

The royal document (lālamohara)1 of which this is copy addresses Saṃkaradatta Jhā2 from Thimi.

It states that the king's grandfather3 had made a ritual commitment (saṃkalpa) to grant—as part of a priestly fee (dakṣiṇā) for having performed two hundred thousand puraścaraṇas of the mahāsahasracaṇḍī4 at the time "when the Chinese came" (ciniñā aūdāmā)5 —the office of priest (jajamānī) over the south-eastern sector of the city,6 the priestly service (purohityāī̃) to 50 thakālī households7 and a field measuring 2 ropanīs linked to the worship (pūjā) of Śrī Gālamahādeva, a landholding exempt from the mahasūla tax. At some point the amālī of Thimi had quarreled and seized the land, but the king's father8 confirmed the earlier deed. Afterwards the addressee made petition to the king, stating that, after his younger brother Mani Jhā—who had taken a wife named Deūvā, a daughter of a Newar—died without a male heir and the latter, in claiming her inheritance at the amālī's office, had succeeded in allowing Buddhirāja Bhāju from Bhaktapur, who was a natal relative, to enjoy (parts of the holdings or the priestly office?). The document confirms the earlier lālamoharas, ruling that the addressee may enjoy the two ropanīs of land and (?) half of (?) (ādhīlī for adhilī?) the produce of vegetables (acāra?). He and his descendants should enjoy the birtā (text: vṛtā), conceiving it as theirs.

The document is dated Tuesday, the 14th of the dark fortnight of the month of Bhādra in VS 1887 (1830 CE).


Commentary

Due to a number of incomprehensible words and passages, the exact meaning of some portions of the present document remains obscure. For the copy of the earlier rukkā referred to in the present document and other documents related to this grant and the historical background to it, see the edition of K_0001_0039C.

The document attests to a quarrel over the rights and privileges granted to Śaṅkaradatta Jhā as a priestly fee for having performed a ritual at the time of the Chinese invasion (see K_0001_0039C for more on the ritual). Apparently, when his younger brother died without a male heir, his wife, who was of Newar descent, had claimed a right to have the worship performed, and had actually chosen for that purpose one of her relatives, Buddhirāja Bhāju, but the present document overturned her plans. This all implies that not only Śaṅkaradatta and his descendants but also his brother(s) were involved in fulfilling the ritual duties.

In order to understand the background and nature of this dispute over priestly services better, it would be necessary to find out which families and groups of Brahmins were in charge of performing household rituals in Thimi. The person who challenged Śaṅkaradatta Jhā/Vajhā's right, Buddhirāja Bhāju, probably was a Devabhāju, a Rājopādhyāya Brahmin,9 and thus the Newar lady probably came from a family of Rājopādhyāyas from Bhaktapur. Had the present office, then, been a former privilege of Rājopādhyāya Brahmins from Bhaktapur before being granted to Śaṅkaradatta Jhā/Vajhā, who evidently belonged to another Brahmin community, namely one whose members were of Maithili origin? Does the present document thus reflect a broader conflict between different Brahmin groups? How common was intermarriage between Rājopādhyāya and Maithili Brahmins at that time? These questions cannot be answered without access to further information.


Notes

1. The copy does not quote the praśasti of the king, but indicates its presence by the phrase prastīsau (for praśastisau). From the date of issue it can be inferred that the king in whose name the original lālamohara was issued must have been King Rājendra. []

2. In copies of the predecessor lālamohara, dated VS 1860, his name is given as Saṃkaradatta Vajhā (K_0001_0039C, K_0090_0049). []

3. I.e. King Raṇabahādura. []

4. See Commentary to K_0090_0049 for reflections on the possible nature of this ritual. []

5. This must refer to the Chinese invasion of Nepal in 1792, when, starting in June, the Chinese entered from the north and got down to the Betrāvatī River (Stiller 1973: 202–211); see Commentary to K_0090_0049 for further details. []

6. This translation rests on the assumption that vakulī is meant for Newari vaṃkulī, "south-eastern direction" (Kölver and Shresthacharya 1994: s.v.; see also K_0090_0049). []

7. The syllable following the word ṭhakālī, which can best be read as bho, might be a mistaken reading of ko. Both copies of the predecessor document (K_0090_0049, K_0001_0039C) have bho, however. Likewise the two akṣaras following the numeral 50 (ḍakko?) remain unclear. []

8. I.e. King Gīrvāṇayuddha. The document quoted here is extant in two copies (K_0001_0039C, K_0090_0049) and is dated Monday, the 12th of the bright fortnight of the month of Māgha in VS 1860 (1804 CE). []

9. Buddhirāja Bhāju is also known to have been in charge of performing rituals and to have managed the guṭhī of the four boundaries (cārakillāko guṭhī) of Bhaktapur, and together with Siddhinarasiṃ Acāra in VS 1897 was followed in this office by Īśvarīcaraṇa Bhāju and Rudra Jhā (K_0008_0013B). []