Vikrama Shah of Nepal
By Theodore Riccardi Jr., New York
■ The brief inscription presented here is an interesting addition to the
growing corpus of Shah epigraphy.* It is written in Sanskrit and Nepali
in the Devanägari script on a copper plate (Nep. täma-patra) which
measures 7*4 X 8% inches. The inscription covers eight lines; the
usual Sanskrit prasastP of the Shah dynasty (lines 1—3) precedes the
proclamation itself which is written in Nepali (lines 4—8). I was able
to photograph the document in 1968, but I do not know its provenance.
"While it shows signs of having been repaired, there is no reason to doubt its authenticity: except for minor spelling errors, the language is correct.
It bears the royal seal in the upper left hand corner and the customary
invocation sri durgä is at the top. The seal reads sri sri sri girväryi
yuddlia vihrama säha deva 1721. Girväna Yuddha, it will be remembered,
was the infant king who was placed on the throne by his father, Rana
Bahadur Shah, upon his abdication in 1799 {= Saka 1721).* Effective
control of the government then fell into the hands of the prime minister
Bhim Sen Thapa.*
The inscription is one of the large group of documents which concerns
the relations of the Shah government, with its Hindu point of view, and
the Tibeto-Burman tribes, non — Hindus whose exposure to Hinduism has
been almost constant since medieval times. In this case, the tribe is
1 Much of Shah epigraphy, which is quite extensive, has been published
in the Nepali journals Pürnima, Sanskrit Sandes, and the work edited by
Yooi Narahabinath : Itihäs Prakäs. Kathmandu: Itihäs-Prakäsak Sangh,
n.d., and Itihäs Prahäiinä Sandhipatra Sarngraha. Kathmandu: Royal
Nepal Academy, B.S. 2022; for corrections and additions to many of these,
see Dhan A VAJRA Bajraoarya (ed.): Itihäs-sarnsodhanko Pramärt-prameya.
Lalitpur: Jagadamba Prakasan, B.S. 2019. A copper plate inscription has
recently been published by A. W. MacDonald : A Nepalese Copper-plate f rom
the Time of Prthivirtarayan's Father. In: Kailash 1,1 (1973), p. 6—8.
2 For the legendary origin of the prasasti, see Yogi Naraharinath (ed.) :
Oorkhävamsävall. Kä^i: Aryabirsingh, B.S. 2021, p. 30—1.
3 The Shah dynasty employed the Saka era for its inscriptions, as did the
Mallas of western Nepal.
* For his career, see Cittaranjan Nepali : Janaral Bhimsen Tliäpä ra
Tatkälin Nepal. Katlunandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, B.S. 20—22.
150 Theodore Riccabdi Jr.
the Gurungs. The proclamation addresses two directives to their clans.
It calls upon them to employ Brahmans in their rituals and informs them
that certain taxes will be rescinded: the cäkcakui, or tax on adul¬
tery; thc maryo, presumably some kind of death tax; and the ajmtäli,
or tax on property of those who die without heirs. It is possible,
however, that maryo apviali is a composite expression referring to esche¬
at property.
The inscription is as follows:
Sanskrit :
svasti srig{riräjamkra<^udärmv,iTiaranäräyanetyädi
vividhavirudävaliviräjamämimü (2) nonnat sriman
rrmhMräjädhiräjasriklsrirnahäräjegirväijayuddlM^
säha bahädur (3) samser jang devänäm sadäsamaravijayinäm
Nepali: äge hämrä bhara mulu (4) k kä nhucarm acärja,gururn lämä
ra ghale. gharti turn mormmi sab vagaihra gururn praii tin (5) iharuläi.
cäkcakui. maryo apuiäli mäph gari thiti bärpdhi baksyaurn hi (6) jo
pani brärhmarfu mümndarahyächau. äja upränt. janmadä mardä visäha.
cäda kalyän, gardä. brähmaiju räkhi käj käm gara iti samvat 1860 sal (8)
miti mägh sudi 12 roj 3 subham Translation :
(Sanskrit): Hail! His Highness the mountain king, crest jewel of the
royal crown, resplendent with the many detailed praises Nara and
Näräyana etc., uplifted in pride. His Highness, three times Sri, the
king Girväna Yuddha Vikrama Shah Bahadur Samser Jang, of the
Devas always victorious in battle
(Nepali): For all Gurungs* of our country«: Nhucana', Acärja*,
* sab gaihra gurum prati, "for all Gurungs." The reading otguru instead of gururn is possible since the anusvara is not well struck, but the sense would not be clear in this context.
* äge hämrä bhara muluk kä, lit. "henceforward, of all our country." This
phrase begins the Nepali portions of almost all the tama-patras of the Shah
dynasty.
' nhucana, "Nhucana". This is originally the name of a Gurung king and
is variously spelled nocana, nucana, nhucaiia. The king Nhucana stands as
the eponym of one of the Gurung clans. The term is not mentioned by the
only ethnography dedicated to the Gurungs, B. PiONiiDB's Les Ourungs.
The Hague: Mouton & Co. 1966 nor by Dob Bahadub Bista in his People
of Nepal. Kathmandu: Ministry of Information 1967. See, however. Yogi
Nabahabinath (ed,): äri magar gurung ko vamSävall. Kathmandu: Harek
Pustak Bhandar 2020, pp. 1—2.
« acarja, "Acärja." The reading is tentative. It is possibly acaji or even avaji, but neither of these is known to me.
Gurung Lama*, Ghale**, Gharti**, Tum**, Mormmi**, etc., to you,
we have duly** rescinded** the (taxes of) cäkcakui**, maryo*', and
aputäli**. Formerly** also you acknowledged** Brahmans**. From now
on**, employ Brahmans in your births, deaths, weddings** and festivals.
9 gurum lämä, "Gurung Lama". I take this as an equivalent of lämä
gunnn, a clan of Ginungs. See Piqnädb, op. cit., pp. 171—2.
1" ghale, "Ghale", the leading clan of the Gurungs. Ralph Tubnbr in his
Nepali Dictionary. London: Kegan, Paul, reprinted with corrections 1965,
p. 155 gives: "A clan among Magars and Gurungs."
n gharti, "Gharti". The word is probably borrowed from Nepali. Tubnee, op. cit., p. 155 gives: "emancipated slave; name of a caste." Bista, op. cit., p. 5 gives it as a subdivision of the Kämis (blacksmiths) and as a Magar clan (p. 59).
12 turn, "Turn". The term is not listed by Piqnäde nor is it found in the lexicons. Bista, however, gives tu as the name of a pad (family) of the Ghy-
abre clan who are the priests for all except Lama Gurungs (p. 75).
1' mormmi, "Monnmi". This is again a tentative reading. What I have
taken as mm could also be s (morsi ? morhhi t) or as some other conjunct.
PiGNÖDE, p. 178, gives morme as the name of one of the solah-jat clans of
the Gurungs. Mormi or murmi is also an older designation for the Tamangs.
Confusion on the part of the central government with regard to the names
bf Gurung clans is always a possibility.
1* thiti bärndhi, "having regulated" or "arranged". The phrase is common in official documents.
1* mäph gari, lit. "having forgiven".
1« cäkcakui,, an adultery tax or fine. Here the major lexicons, Tubneb and
Shabma, are of no help. Only Ram Candba Dhunoana's Sanksipta Nepäli
Kos lists the term (p. 122), with the following definition: arkäkl sväsni
lämdä järlläl lägne dand vä jär mardä sväsnlläl hune dand, "a fine applicable to an adulterer (jär) who takes someone else's wife, or the fine applicable to a woman if her lover dies." The levy is mentioned frequently in contem¬
porary documents; see, for example, M. C. Regmi: A Study in Nepali
Economic History. New Delhi: Manjusri 1971. It is in all likelihood equi¬
valent to the tax called järl mentioned in the inscriptions ofthe westem
Malla kings.
1' maryo 1 Possibly it is equivalent to maruva. Tubnbr, p. 494, gives
"a particular disease of the womb which causes the death of the child in it."
Dhungana, p. 335 marera kliäli huna äeko (khängl)," that which has become vacant because of death (wages)". Mahesh C. Rbgmi lists the expression
maryo-aputdll and defines it as escheat property; see Kumaon Documents - 1.
(Regmi Research Series # 4.4.), p. 61.
1* aputäli, the tax on the property of a man who has died without heirs.
A variant is autall.
1* hijo, lit. "yesterday".
2" mandärahyächau, "you acknowledged".
21 brährtnana, "Brahman". The word is misspelled.
22 äja upränt, lit. "from today forward".
22 visäha, "wedding". The word is a misspelling for viväJia.
152 Theodore Riccabdi Jr.
(Dated) the thkd day 12 sudi of the month of Mägha in the year
samvat I860**
The document is couched in the usual abbreviated inscriptional lan¬
guage, and it is not entirely clear whether the taxes were to be cancelled
if the Gurungs continued to employ Brahman jiriests or, the taxes were
cancelled and the Gurungs were to continue to employ Brahmans. We
do not know what the Gurung attitude toward Brahmans was at this
time; however, they may have been receptive to them due in part to
their long and close alliance with the Hindu Gorkhalis. Levi cites the
case of the Gm'ungs of Darjeeling who used Brahmans in their several
attempts to be accepted as ksatriyas. While the time is several decades
later and the place east of their original home in Nepal, the response
may very well illustrate a general attitude on the part of some tribes
toward Hinduism**.
It should be noted here that we have little detailed information as to
what the policies of the Shah government were with reference to caste
and the religious practices of the tribes.** It is not known, for in¬
stance, whether such caste prescriptions as are later found in the
Muluki Airi" were in force at the turn of the nineteenth century. It
** The year is 1802 A.D.
" L^vi writes : "The Gurungs of Darjeeling, although barely Hinduized, have a solar clan (suraj-bansi). Thus, even tho Mongolian tribes of eastern
Bengal lay claim to this title. Somo Brahmans, enoountorod by chance,
revealed to them their distant and briUiant origins for a fee : their ancestors
were genuine ksatriyas, but when Visnu, in tho form of Parasu-Rama, mas¬
sacred the ksatriyas twenty-one times in order to avenge the honor of the
Brahman caste, they removed thoir sacred threads whioh marked them for
the fury of the divine hero. In 1871 thoy went to ask of thoir zamindar
(answerable proprietor and administer) to restore their Brahmanio thread,
but were repulsed with scorn. They did not give up, however. They sup¬
ported their second request with an offer of five hundred rupees, tho third
with two thousand rupees, and their wish was granted. Prom then on thoy
were organized into three gotras and separated by the rules of matrimonial
exclusion. They banned widow marriage, adopted the custom of child
marriage and strove to make themselves worthy of the Solar race to whioh
their bakshish and perseverance had brought them." Le Nepal. Paris: Ernest Leroux 1905, Vol. 2, p. 90.
2' Regmi, op. cit., p. 119, notes that traditional Hindu rules relating to
caste and cow slaughter had been introduoed into various parts of Nepal
before the Gorkhali conquests, "but their rigorous enforcement appears to
have been undertaken only thereafter. Persons who contravened suoh regula¬
tions were heavily fined or else sentenced to enslavement or capital punish¬
ment."
" The Muluki Ain, "the Law of the Country," was only promulgated in the middle of the nineteenth century, but its origins go back considerably
farther. The standard edition is 3rl Pane Surendra Bikram Säha Deva hä
H ,t
is known, liowever, that the government ruled by ad hoc directives
such as those in the inscription, rather than by coordinated policy.
In any case, the directives contained'in the inscription are consistent
with what is known about the economic situation prevailing in Nepal
during this period. It is highly probable that there were economic
reasons for both directives; it is also highly likely that certain
Brahmans benefitted more from these directives than the Gurungs.
Regmi has provided us with an excellent account of economic policies
of the Shah government in the early nineteenth century.** He points
out that in 1810, because of the government's need to finance its mili¬
tary operations, the indebtedness of the peasantry (which included a
good deal of the population of the tribes) had grown very serioUs ; the
resulting slavery had become so widespread that cultivated lands were
reverting to waste and the government was losing large amomits of
revenue.** If this assessment is correct, the Brahmans too would have
been threatened, if not by slavery, at least by economic hardship. The
directive to the Gurungs to employ Brahmans in their rituals would have
greatly widened the economic possibilities for some Brahmans and in¬
creased the dependence of the Gurungs on them.
There is little information available on the inheritance or death
taxes mentioned in the inscription, but with reference to the adultery
tax Regmi asserts that one "significant step taken by the government
to restrict enslavement was the removal of adultery within the com-
mmiity from the list of cognizable offenses in the case of the Magar,
Gurung, Sunuwars, and certain other communities."** If this judgment
is correct, however, the government was only minimally increasing the
amount of cash available to the tribes. Regmi unfortunately provides
no figures for the amount of revenue collected for the adultery tax, but
the total could never have been very great. Hamilton states that there
was a tax of 2 10/16 rupees levied by the collector in addition to
the tax which "went to the Raja"**. He also provides revenue totals
collected for land rent, marriages, concubines, and adultery in Saptari
and Mahatari districts. The total for 1809 A.D. for adulterers in Saptari
was Rs. 90 while land rent was Rs. 29,881, marriage 251, concubines
Säsän Kälmä Baneko Muluki Ain .Kathmandu : Öri Päfic Ko Sarkär, Kanun
Tathä Nyäya Mamträlaya, B.S. 2022.
** Regmi's work, referred to above deals specifically with the period
between 1768 and 1846, that is between the conquest of Nepal by Prthivi
Narayan and the establishment of tho Rana regime.
2' See his section on slavery, pp. 117—124.
3» Ibid., p. 122.
3* Francis Buchanan Hamilton : An Account of the Kingdom of Nepal.
Reprinted New Delhi: Manjusri 1971, p. 161.
154 Theodobe Riccabdi Jr., An Inscription of King Girvana Yuddha
J23.S2 The figures are comparable for Mahatari. With the Gurungs the
adultery totals may have been higher, especiaUy because of some of their
more liberal sexual practices, and among them the Hindu definition of
adultery may have had wider applicability.** Even so, the total could
not have been very high.
'2 Ibid., p. 161—2.
" Cf. Regmi, p. 119: "In addition, a stricter code of sexual morality was
imposed on communities which had not been brought within the fold of
Hinduism and whose traditional standards in this respect were comparatively lax." Enforcement of Hindu sexual morality would have been vigorously
enforced in cases involving prohibited liasons between Hindus, especially
Brahmans and Chetris, and Gurungs, but how the definition of adultery was
applied to cases involving only Gurungs is not clear.
Briefweclisel zwischen Franz Delitzsch und Wolf Wilhelm OrafBaudissin
1866 — 1890. Hrsg. von Otto Eissfbldt und Kahl Heinrich Rengstobf.
Opladen: Westdeutscher Verl. 1973. XXX, 544 S. 10 Abb. 8»
Der Briefwechsel zmschen Fbanz Delitzsch (1813—1890), Professor für
Altes Testament in Rostock (1846), Erlangen (1850) und Leipzig (seit 1867)
und seinem Schüler Wolf Wilhelm Gbaf Baudissin (1847—1926), den Otto
Eissfeldt aus dem Nachlaß seines Lehrers Baudissin erhalten und seit
langem zur Drucklegung vorbereitet hatte, ist, nachdem diese von K.H.
Rengstobf zu Ende geführt worden ist, nun selbst zum Vermächtnis des vor
seinem endgültigen Erscheinen Heimgegangenen geworden. Delitzsch, vor
allem als Begründer des jetzt nach seinem Namen benannten Institutum
Judaicum 1886 in Leipzig bekannt, das nach dem Kriege in Münster (Westf.)
neu eröffnet wurde, hat seine Bedeutung für die Orientalistik schon
lange vor diesem Datum dadurch, daß er als erster Forscher eine deutsche
evangelische Wissenschaft vom Judentum ins Leben rief. Er ist durch seine
bewußte Hinwendung zum konfessionellen Luthertum und eine entsprechende
konservative wissenschaftliche Haltung aber auch eine bemerkenswerte Ge¬
stalt in den kirchen- imd fakultätspolitischen Kämpfen des 19. Jahrhunderts.
,,Man kann sich nioht fest genug gegen die Welt verrammen" : Diese Be¬
merkung (S.404) kennzeichnet treffend seine im übrigen jodoch kenntnis¬
reiche und durchaus kritische Position. Ganz anders Baudissin: zeitweise
duroh ernste Zweifel hindurchgehend, ob er überhaupt zum Theologen geboren
sei, läßt er sich vor allem durch den Einfluß seines väterhohen Freundes,
nüt dem ihn ein enges, wenn auoh nioht vorbehaltloses Verhältnis bis zu
dessen Tode verbindet, zu dem Weg bestimmen, die Erforschung des Alten
Testaments imd der semitischen Religionsgesehichte zu seiner Lebensauf¬
gabe zu wählen und die akademische Laufbahn einzuschlagen, die ihn nach
der Promotion zum Dr. phil. in Leipzig 1870 zum Lic. theol. und Privat¬
dozenten für Altes Testament 1874 in Leipzig, später dann auf einen a. o.
Lehrstuhl 1876, auf ein Ordinariat 1880 naoh Straßburg, 1881 nach Marburg
und endlich 1900 nach Berlin führte, wo u. a. Otto Eissfeldt soin
Schüler wurde. Seine unterschiedliche GrundeinstoUung mit historisch¬
kritischem Ansatz und religionsgesehichtlichem Blickpunkt hält sich durch
seine bekanntesten Werke, von der Geschichte des alttestamentlichen Prie¬
stertums. Leipzig 1889 an bis zu seinem posthumen Kyrios ais ffoMesjiame.
Gießen 1929, durch.*
Den Lehrer hat es schwere innere Kämpfe gekostet, sich mit dieser immer
deutlicher hervortretenden Haltung seines Schützlings abzufinden, die in
1 Über Baudissin berichtet O. Eissfeldt in seinem Nachruf: Vom
Lehenswerk eines Beligionshistorikers. In: ZDMG 80 (1926), S. 89—128 =
Kl. Sehr. 1. Tübingen 1962, S. 115—142.
