A Document of V.S. 1784 (A.D. 1728)
In memoriam T. P. Mukherjee (1928-1990)
By Monika Horstmann, Heidelberg
0. Introduction
This paper is devoted to an aspect of the religio-economic his¬
tory of the 18th century.' It discusses a charitable grant given to
the deity, that is, the icon of the deity, Govinddevjl. This icon
came to reside in the princely territories of the Kachvähä Rajputs,
the rulers of Amer (Amer, also Amber) and, after 1733, of Jaipur,
respecdvely. The icon had been removed from its former abode,
the Govinddevjl temple of Vrindavan, in August 1670 whence it
was taken to the Kachvähä territories, where, after a number of
intervening sojourns, it eventually was installed in its present
temple, the Govinddevjl temple behind the City Palace of Jaipur.^
The Odyssey of the icon had been caused by the impendent icono¬
clasm which Aurangzeb had encouraged in 1669 and which con¬
sequently gained momentum.
Govinddevjl is a Gaudiya Vaisnava image, and, like other
Vaisnava images and their temples of Mathura and Vrindavan,
which is to say, their Gaudiya custodians, had been a recipient
of Mughal and Rajput grants since the time of Akbar.^ Thus these
institutions figure prominently in the religio-economic history of
northern India. The evidence on the deity Govinddevjl is, as it
seems, the one best established as far as the old Vaisnava temples
' I wish to thank the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Bonn, for a grant
which enabled me to study archival sources at the State Archives of Rajasthan, Bikaner, in 1988. I also express my gratitude to the Director of the State Archives of Rajasthan and to his forthcoming and efficient staff.
^ Cp. HoRSTMANN [forthcoming a] and 1994.
^ Cp. Mukherjee and Habib 1988.
of Mathura and Vrindavan or their successor institutions are con¬
cerned. This is due to the sustained efforts of the late Tarapada
Mukherjee (School of Oriental and African Studies, University
of London) who fUmed the archives of the Mathura, Vrindavan
and Jaipur temples. These films form part of the collection of the
Vrindaban Research Institute. In the following I use the abbre¬
viation TPM when referring to this collection."
The document which is published here does not form part of
this material but of papers grouped under the dde Daftar punya:
dol I. sa. 1784-1788 (File of charides: esdmates of 1784-1788
A.D.') in the State Archives of Rajasthan, Bikaner, and was
copied by me in 1988. However, the document relates in its con¬
tents matter to documents filmed by T. P. Mukherjee to which I
refer in the following.^
\. Text
1.0. The physical appearance of the text
The text, here given in its Nägari rendering along with a fac¬
simile of its original, shares in its physical appearance the charac-
terisdcs of Eastern Rajasthani chancellery papers. A few of these
may be drawn attendon to:
(1) As for the rendering of e/ai and o/au, the script follows
an older usage according to which the grapheme o/au could rep¬
resent both. This document reflects only remnants of this usage,
such as in line 6 and elsewhere vago. for vagal., abbreviation of
vagairaha, "etc."; line 30, column 4 daudha for dedha, "one and
a half".-The letter sa represents kha and kha.
(2) Towards the right-hand margin the lines slighdy ascend.
This is the style that had prevailed in Persian documents since the
Safavid period' and was also adopted in the Mughal and hence
" For further abbreviations cp. the list of abbreviations at the end of this paper.
' This caption is misleading for the file starts with documents of V.S. 1784.
' Dr. Mukherjee wished that the archival papers relating to the Vaisnava
temples of Mathura and Vrindavan and to their successor institutions as far as
they were promulgated by the Kachvähä chancellery be published by me in the
form of a monograph. The present paper is thus closely related to the project which he entrusted to me.
' Busse 1959: 28.
in the provincial chancelleries. There are innumerable North In¬
dian doeuments, older and younger than ours, where tbis style is
much more conspicuous.
(3) From the elevatio, the extrapolation of the name of an ex¬
alted person or, as in our case, a deity, which also reflects a
Persian chancellery usage, it ensues that the name of that person
will not be spelt out in the main body of a document but that a
gap is left in the appropriate place.^ It seems significant that once
in the document the name of Govinddevjl is given, in fact (line
15), which proves that it is this deity (and not Rädhämädhoji who
also appears in the elevatio) whose expenditures are estimated.
In the Nägari rendering of the text the following conventions
have been observed: Word separation has been introduced as well
as hyphenization within words at the end of lines. Numeral com¬
pounds have been broken up according to their constituents.
// indicates an insertion made by the scribe.
X indicates a letter undeciphered.
= indicates a deletion made by the scribe.
The currency rates are the usual ones, namely 1 rp. = 16 a. =
64 p. 1 takä corresponds to 50 däm.'^
1.1. Abbreviations used in the text
The abbreviations used in the Rajasthani documents are am¬
biguous. One abbreviation may correspond to more than one
word. Thus ^° may stand for ^^vTT "repeated"; 'J^i^ ,
"square (metr.)"; , "place"; MdRlH , "in the vicinity of;
■"T^nr , "to be carried to account" or HuRtitti , "according to, in conformity with".
In cases where an abbreviation can be unequivocally inter¬
preted because it forms part of a standardized word sequence, it
seemed helpful to add the usual context of such an abbreviation.
In the list to follow the first instance of an abbreviation in the
text published here has been given each time.
■?n"° T5rr% , ^IFTT , "änä" (line 33, column 4)
^c<ri<|i| , "beginning with" (line 7), t° ... fUt , "upto" (lines 7-8)
' Mohiuddin 1971: 128 (Persian sar-nämä).
' Gupta 1986: 74, fn.2.
t° ... "from" (line 9)
W° ctilMril , "price" (line 33, column 3)
wr° "tolä" (line 39, column 2)
"^m, "two" (line 33, column 4; ad hoc abbreviation)
"rate, tariff" (line 29)
¥° (before the name WT, "first" (for an intercalary month,
of a month) otherwise also called adhika)
iTT^, TfT^ "month" (line 19)
#° wt. fkm "date" (line 5)
^° (preceded by ^IT^ ) ^T^, "repeated" (line 3)
"'5° (followed by a sum) , "to be carried to account"
(line 23, column 1)
^° (followed by iTll^^mdl ) TRif^, "in conformity
with" (line 71)"
T° WTT, "rupee" (line 13)
fr° ft^, "daily" (line 26)
-^T^, "rest, balance" (line 19) WF^TT, "year (of the Vikrama era)"
(line 5)
m° (followed by ^° or 'W°) "fiscal year" (line 5)
W° , "annual" (line 15)
1.2. The text
[I] "Jlrm^l
[2] ■j|lj"i)<<<^c<^) -^TTMlHIMl^l
[3] ^^RTTK" H^l^l^ -qr^K" Hi\A\^
[4] T^TT^-Ht7T"^T5fift'?T^"4t ^WTlW [5] #r'^rntHt°lTiT?"iTCl' 'i'fTr°"fT° lo^a hkmih t^t [6] ■#^«TT^ m/I-JI ^'HW'aFfl"" ■^^■RPfit-
[7] -^TTR^ <|cIIh1 ^t'^HT^T?^ löca
[8] Hli HI<JI ^ ^3<<<K 7^RTTT^-^%-#Y- [9] -^WY^t "^'■HTT^TJ?^'^■'I^'lOC'l^W^
[10] TT^-SFPC'^^ dHIIÄ ^qilTWT3IHr#^
[II] ^FT?:^'5?0 <^*lill HH1IÄ AT/fT'^^^TT- [12] TTTTT i+uilHM •#-:T^"^'^W^"|I^"WT-
[13] T!i^-^-#kHTTfJT'3rw5i" ^rlr"?v6"T° im<^n ^Tjir-
[14] 'W'^H -RRT%r 8??eiii-ii öR?ciii.||
[15] Y^'HW^°'aTfiT"^j'll-^ <^<<^l -fn°
[16] w^T°^nTpi"^WTJT'^iT;TT'#^
[17] XQHiWU»
[18] ^■»fl^ ri^lni T°
[19] ■Jir^T" o'=ni)'Jn-°Trr° \?-5fiTT°
[20] e?ei=)-^T^-%7T m\HM\
[21] ■giTT°1'()/ll = ll/'^T#T° e^?ii = ii
[22] TPT^ O^lHl ^c-j^-^o [22] Itll *lHdt
[23] DW^i'^iY^" [23] T° 1)111
[24] III-
[24] -iftTT^fTHIT^wf
[25] Ht* irm [25] wft tiw
TT- ■hV-
[26]75iTtvbTt [26] TT t fr° [26] [26]^Tq7T^
fl"" HW Vt?^ ft°
[27] Hww [27] ?i [29]ft° ii;-3:T° [29] <^ niöhi Y
[28] H) "i) ^-
[30]^ IUI Y [30]%^
[29]^ ft^rr [29]^°-- [31] -ii
m [30] [31]ini
[30] 1) ^ nöi
■?Til" R"i
[31]T^'°i [32]qkf^ [32]^fV°i1
nil [33]h:°\) T
[33]^ 48111=
[34] =) [34] I-
[35] *tiHHi -^^-^tT"
[36] wtwtarat
[37] ö=^)
[38] wTw^f'WT [38] v-Ä'i^ O^Ihi 'i^l'" ^))'ar-
[39] ?>3=(ii) [39] TWlwSt°oRo))^-^
[40] 1))WlJT°-lllT°T°"mH""IT- [41]
[42] ^oii)
[40]^ 4 [40]^rrw ^
WxxfV TIT7f|--
[41] ftx [41]-^ T°
1 W
[42] Ht"?o)) ^ [42] 1^11)
^n»
[43] ^T°V)T T°
[44] iio)
[45]^;^ [45]—- [45]^^nT=nir
*tlHlHI 'Wf- [46] — TT ■#ft''ill
[46]ttT^T° tTS- [47] —'2: [46] TT5iW9RTT
[47] f;) [48] m)^^ IWTTnröii)
öiiT [47]^ T-l) ^
[49] ao) ^iaiiTT"
[48] wir [49] ao)
[50] fiT"5in" fTT^'^ ^Ihh)
[51] TTT' WT" atl)IITT°TlT' ■(H'{l=
[52] ■^nrf'StnT 'kiiiTihi wt' (?i)'5t#
[53] «IHlHI <iHi||4JI Hrq"t *li|IHl-
[54] TT^qr^ftq- H8i; = )
[55] |?^TT^^tTTT" 1WT° WUT [55] ^MMM4<c(M 11
[56] IJT^Tt^ 1=:-ll [56] TTT^-frqmt^TR'TTTlT 5)
[57] TT' TT^ 1) -^ttht II)
[58] TT° WT (sic!)WTftTTT?T^WT [60] 'li =
[57]^ft°^ [57]?nTT ft*iT
TTT§- ^'
[58]^ l?IITTT° [58] W ^
IWlol-i TTTfrw
[59]^° V) T [59]l=°i^° 1"=!
T" TT° T°
[60] -=-11) [60] 10)
[61] ■q%^tf)'° 1?TTT° 1-4 ^-
[62] TTT!r?i)-?C1i)'J°T"T?r'?n-"^
[63] 1111-
[64] ■^'■■Ht^Tfit'-aiwr-^t ^
[65] +iih1hi cm^HiT'^^rtrrt-^jflt
[66]
[67] -HtTTwft^t^T" ^jTrr" 1 w [67] %tt? w «ihIhi tw
[68] T° eo)TTT°T° locoj-^^RT [68] ■wf'iwiTT
[69] WT" \c)-^T° [69] \=«='1) [70] Xo^R)
[71] TT° i|l<lt(l«Hl ^ <«»iH <)=(IHliJH
[72] #°T°t^n?^ ii^HMWT 10^8
1.3. Translation
[1] (Invocatio:) siiRämjT
[2] (Elevatio :) sriGovinddevjl and Rädhämädhoji
[3] (2 endorsements for further chancellery procedure :)
Send a repeated petition.
[4] (Type of document') Estimate: Charity for food offerings
[granted] in cash.'" (Narratio-) Concerning food offerings to the
deity sri -jl [5] there arrived, on the fifth bright day of
Vaisäkh of the fiscal year V.S. 1784, [submitted] by Räjä [6]
Ayämal a petition [to the effect] that [the deity] had received cash
for food offerings etc., according [7] to a sanad issued by the
divdn-s, upto the second bright day of Bhädvä of the year V. S.
1784 [8] and that he" now applies for the confirmation of the
parvänä. (Dispositio) Therefore [9/10/11] it has been ordered
that you shall confirm the parvänä from the third bright day of
Bhädvä of V.S. 1784, and you shall not give the allowance of
revenue in cash from the treasury of Amer, [11] and on arrears
you shall not assign a revenue allowance. Instead, [12] you shall
pay the cash amount from Räjsar Phutoläv. On report of the
divän-s Naräya[13]ndäs and Klrpäräm'^ you shall enter in the
record of events: four thousand and [14] thirty-nine rp. and nine
a. — 4239 rp., 13a., 2p. — 4238 rp.. 13a.. 2 p.
[15] Charity for food offerings etc. for the deity srTGovinddevji,
annually
[16] recoverable dues: one thousand nine hundred and fifty-six
rp., nine a.;
[17] 1956 rp., 13a., 2p.
*[18] Charity for food offerings per day 2 rp., 9 a., 3 p., rate
[19] per month 78 rp., 4 a., 2 p., balance for 12 months
'° For typological devices introduced in the translation cp. par. 3, fn.37.
" That is, the deity as a juridical person.
" These divän-s are documented as in office in 1725 and from 1728 to 1731 by Gupta (1986: 187).
[20] 939 rp., 6 a.; [thereon] reduction of 1/59 [=]
[21] 15 rp., 10a., 2p., balance 923 rp., IIa., 2p.
**[22] Cash per day 28 takä
at a rate of
[23] 18 takä per 1 rp., to be
carried to aceount:
[24] 1 rp., 9 a.
**[22] Food produce, per day
15 ser, 8 chatämk, price:
[23] 1 rp., 12a.'
***[25] sugar ***[25]
candy, butter, vegetables for
[26] cream as food offerings
food offerings, in the evening,
per day [26] per day
[27] five takä ; takä
[28] 5 takä [27] 3
***[29] milk
per day
[30] 1 man at
a rate of 1 ser at 4 takä, 25 däm, [31] to be
carried to
account :
[32] 20 takä
***[29] rate --
[30]
**[24] for food evening
***[26] rice[?],
[29] per day 6
ser, at a rate of 1 rp.
[30] for 11 ser,
8 chatämk, to
be carried to
account:
[31] 8a., 2p.
offerings in the
***[26] mung
beans, per day 3
ser
[29] at a rate of
34 ser, 12
chatämk [for 1
rp.], to be
carried to
account :
[30] one and a
half a.;
[31] la., 2p.
***[32] ghee, ***[32] wheat
per day 1 ser, fiour, per day 5
8 chatämk, ser,
[33] at a rate [33] at a rate of
of 4 ser, 14 1 rp. [per man],
chatämk [for to be carried to
1 rp.], price account: two a.;
[34] 5 a. [34] 2 a.
*[35] Scent, annually recoverable dues:
[36] four hundred and eighty-six rp. ;
[37] 486 rp.
**[38] perfume, three
hundred and seventy¬
two rp.
[39] and a half; 372 rp., 8 a.
**[38] scented balm, per day
2 tolä, per
[39] year 720 tolä, at a rate of
[40] 1 tolä for 1 a., 2 p., to be
carried to account: sixty-seven rp.
[41] and a half [42] 67 rp., 8 a.
***[40] lemon [oil?] per year
[41] twelve and a
half;
[42] 12 1/2 tolä
***[40] rose[?],
[41] per day 1
mäsä, per year
[42] 30 tolä, at a
rate of 1 tolä [43] for 12 rp.,
to be carried to
account:
[44] 360 rp.
***[45] scented [45] = = = = = **[45] rose-
oil, annual [46] = = = = = water, per day
estimate [47] at a rate of half a ser,
[46] six rp.; 1 rp. for 4 ser, [46] fixed
[47] 6 rp. [48] 8 chatämk, for one year, 4
to be carried to man, 20 ser,
account: [47] at a rate of
[49] 40 rp. 1 rp. for 4 ser, 8
chatätnk, to be
carried to
account:
[48] rupees [49] 40
*[50] Cash and food produce for [the maintenance of] cattle,
garden etc.,
[51] for 1 month 46 rp., 4a., 2 p., to be carried to account: 555
rp., 6 a.,
[52] [thereon an] reducdon of 1/59, [i.e.] 9 rp., 4a., balance
[53] per year: five hundred and fourty-six rp.
[54] and two a.; 546 rp., 2a.
**[55] For 6 head of cattle, **[55] For 11 servants, namely,
per month 18 rp. gardeners and gate-keepers, at a rate of
half a. ; [56] 3 man of wheat for 1 servant per month.
[56] and one and a
18 rp., 1 a., 2 p.
***[57] food- grains [as
fodder], per day
thirteen and a
half
[58] ser, 13 ser,
8 chatämk, for
one month: 10
man, 5 ser,
[59] at a rate of
1 man, 10 ser
[for 1 rp.], to be
carried to account:
[60] 8 rp., 1 a., 2 p.
***[57] grass, per day:
[58] 6 takä, at a
rate of
[59] 18 takä, 25
däm per month,
to be carried to
account:
[60] 10 rp.
[57] to be carried to
account: 33 man at a
rate of 1 rp. for
1 man, 10 ser,
[58] to be carried to
account:
twenty-six rp., 6 a.;
[59] 26 rp., 6 a.
***[61] Bird-seed for the ***[61] rate —-
peacocks, per day 3 ser, for [62]
1 month
[62] 2 man, 10 ser, at a rate
of 1 rp., 4 a., to be carried to
account: one rp., thirteen a.;
[63] 1 rp., 13 a.
[64] Balance: food offerings etc. for the deity sri jl,
[65] annually recoverable dues: two thousand two hundred and
eighty-three rp.;
[66] 2283 rp.
*[67] for food offerings per *[67] for garments per year
day 3 rp., for 1 month [68] twelve hundred and twenty-
[68] 90 rp., for one year one rp.;
1080 rp., [thereon] reducdon [69] 1221
[69] 1/59, [i.e.] 18 rp.,
balance:
[70] 1062 rp.
[71] {Eschatocoi-) In accordance with the cerdficate of the
divän-s in the memorandum.
[72] Date: 15th bright day of the first Vaisäkh of the fiscal year
V.S. 1784 [= April 13, 1728].
2. The type of the document
In the beginning of the text (line 4) the type of the document is
specified as a daul. A daul or dol ist an estimate of costs which
is drafted in the course of a series of procedures conducive to the
promulgation of a parvänä (m.) or sanad (f.) involving the assign¬
ment of a payment or salary in kind or cash. A parvänä (Pers.
parvänä^'*) is addressed to the administrative officers concerned
with the locality from where the payment is to be drawn; a sanad
(Ar., hence Pers.), in connecdon with financial transactions, is a
patent containing a written statement of accounts and entitling
the grantee to draw payment accordingly.'^ Both the parvänä and
the sanad are promulgated by rulers or in their name by the
administrative officers concerned. Besides being related to finan¬
cial matters these documents can also form patents authorizing
the grantee to certain other rights.'^
The exact sequence of administrative procedures as it was ob¬
served in the Kachvähä chancellery has, as far as I can see, not
been documented so far in a comprehensive manner. However,
the indications offered by the various types of Kachvähä docu¬
ments point, as would be expected, to a very close similarity with
the procedures followed at the Mughal court."
In the Mughal chancellery the drafting of a daul in connection
with grants of jdgirs was the following,
"When a man appeared at the Imperial court and applied for
a Jägir, the Diwdn-i-tan (Minister for salaries) ordered his
subordinates to prepare a Haqiqat (office statement), stating
therein tbe name of the candidate, his native place, and the
date of presentation of his Nadhr (offering). Then the
Haqiqat was placed by the Dlwän-i-tan before the Diwän-i-
A'la (Prime Minister), who submitted it to the Emperor. If
an order was passed for the grant of a Jägir the Prime Min¬
ister endorsed it on the paper. This paper served as a voucher
" In the Mughal chancellery the term used is daul; Khan 1950: XI.
In the Mughal chancellery the term used seems to be rather parvänca; Khan 1950: Vlll-lX; cp. also Mohiuddin 1971: 85 ff.
» Abü'l Fadl (Blochmann/Phillott) 1977, I: 270.
" Mohiuddin 1971: 85-86 and pass.
" Cp. especially Habib 1963 and, with an abundance of detailed informadon, Gupta 1986.
for the chief clerk of the Diwän-i-tan to prepare a Siyäha-
Daul or an estimate on the basis of it, describing in it the
grantee's personal rank, the number of retainers he had to
maintain, the salary of himself and that ofhis retainers, fixed
in accordance with the Dastüru'l-'Amal of the emoluments of
Mansabdärs, and the name of the Pargana from which the
grantee had to receive the amount.
The Daul was handed over to the Wdqi'ah-Nawls (Diary-
writer) who, after making an entry in the Wdqi'ah (Diary)
drew up an extract called a Yddddsht (Memorandum) for
submission to the office of the 'Ard-Mukarrar (Confirmation
of orders).
The Yddddsht repeated the details much in the same form as the
Haqiqat and the Daul. On it the Wazir directed that the
Yddddsht should be compared with the Wdqi'ah (Diary) and veri¬
fied, and then sent to the 'Ard-i-Mukarrar (Confirmation Of¬
fice). On the margin of the paper, the Wdqi'ah-Nawls (Diary-
writer) wrote the text of the Yddddsht according to the
Wdqi'ah. Next the Ddrogha (Superintendent) of the Confir¬
mation Office wrote the date when it was received by that
office. Then it was again submitted to the Emperor for approval,
after which orders were issued to the officer concerned."'*
The present document allows us to trace some of the adminis¬
trative procedures that it had to pass. Before going into its details,
it needs to be pointed out that the untidy and in places even
incorrect appearance of it is due to the provisional function it
fulfills in the chancellery procedures. It serves as an aid towards
further operations. In a finalized parvänä or sanad fiaws are of
rare occurrence.
The daul, which in its beginning specifies the objects that it
refers to in its caption, namely punya bhoga, "charitv for food
offerings", refiects the following administrative steps, as well the
actual as previous and subsequent ones:
1. A petition is placed before the court. The text phrases this in
the words araja pahauci, "a petition arrived" (line 6). The sub¬
mission of a petidon takes place through the applicant himself or
through his agent. In our case, the applicant is a deity, that is a
juridical person, who is represented by an agent or a recommend-
■» Khan 1950: XI.
ing mediator, namely, Räjä Ayämal, as this is expressed by the
words märaphata räjä ayämala ki. "
2. The two divän-s, after an order has been passed that the
petition should be granted and this has been endorsed, report the
order for entry in the record of events. This is put in the phrase,
varisälai divdna [name of the divän] va [name of the divän] däsala
väkai karau, "on report of the divän-s N. N. and N. N. you shall
make an entry into the record of events" (lines 12-13). There are
normally two chief revenue officers. Sometimes one will act alo¬
ne.^" They are subordinate to the Chief divän or pradhdn.^^ The
two revenue divän-s are the des (ko) divän or divän des^^ (or
divän-i-des), who is also called divdn-i-vatan^^ , and the divdn-i-
tan. The divän-i-des, according to Gupta (1986: 164, fn.2), seems
to correspond to the Mughal diwän-i-khälisa.
"The Diwan-i-khalisa was appointed by direct order of the
Emperor on the recommendation of the Diwan-i-ala. His of¬
fice maintained a number of records and received revenue
papers from the provinces and the parganas. He put his sig¬
nature on the parwanas with the remark 'was seen'. Papers
relating to the appointments of all the imperial officers such
as the Subadars, the Diwans, the Faujdars, the Kotwals, etc.
were disposed off in his office. He signed the appointment
orders of the Diwans, the Faujdars and the Amins. His office
prepared the rent rolls ... of the khalisa mahals and main¬
tained the papers pertaining to the salaries of the ladies of
the royal family. ... The Diwan-i-khalisa prepared the rent
roll ... of the Empire and put it up before the Emperor."^"
The divän-i-tan is in charge of jägir assignments.^' Bhatnägar
(1974: 284) distinguishes between a Diwan Desh and a Diwan
Hazur. Also Gupta (1986: 164, fn.4) mentions a diwän-i-huzüri.
It is not quite clear if the officer holding this title has exactly the
same function as the divdn-i-tan or to which extent the two offices
are perhaps incongruent.^^ The endorsement däsala väkai karau
" For Räjä Ayämal cp. below, par 3, p. 140.
" Gupta 1986: 164, 186.
" Bhatnägar 1974: 281-82.
" These are the indigenous Rajasthani forms.
" Gupta 1986: 164.
" Siddiqi 1989: 64.
» Gupta 1986: 164.
" An example of the variety of ddes is provided by the case of Vidyädhar, the
corresponds to an endorsement used in the Mughal chancellery,
namely, däkhil-i-väqi'a numäyand, "incorporate with the report of
events"" which was used when the Emperor had granted a jdgir-
i-tankhwdh which would be endorsed by the diwdn-i-a'ld by this
formula.
3. On the basis of the thus endorsed document the diary-writer
would prepare a yädidäsati (that is, a yddddsht), a memorandum,
that is another version of the document which would reflect the
contents matter of the petition and the procedures to which it had
been subjected. Our text contains a further endorsement which
shows that the process of preparing a memorandum has been
passed, too, namely, mu. yädidäsati mai dasasata divdniydna , "in
accordance with the certificate given by the divdn-s as recorded
in the yädidäsati (that is, the yddddsht)" (line 71). The abbrevia¬
tion mu. or, alternately, md. corresponds to muvdphika or
mdphika, "in accordance with, in conformity with".
4. The endorsement in the last line of the text gives the date of
the last administrative procedure as far as it goes for this docu¬
ment. This procedure seems to be the one expressed immediately
architect of Jaipur He became des divän first in V.S. 1785, then, once again as it
seems, in V.S. 1807 (Roy 1978: 242-43). According to Bhatnägar (1974: 284,
fn.64), in V.S. 1794 Vidyädhar figures as Diwan Hazur and as such co-acts with a Diwan Desh named Naraindas. Both men are listed as divän-s for the years A. D.
1737-38, when Naräyandäs precedes Vidyädhar when both are named together.
Vidyädhar is also divän from A.D. 1739-41, when his name appears first when
both divän-s are mendoned together. In 1749, also the year of his death, he acts
alone as divän (Roy 1978: 241; Gupta 1986: 187). However, in V.S. 1790, when
he is no revenue divän, he acts as an official authority along with the revenue
divän-s. Just like Räjä Ayämal before him and others after him, he acts as a
mediator of a petitioner whose petidon is granted at his recommendation. In this case as well as in other comparable cases, the endorsement of the eschatocoi of the document reads "in accordance with the memorandum and with the seal of Vidyädhar and the certificate of the divän-s" (document GD, V.S. 1790, 8 Jan.
1733). In this and comparable cases it seems that a recommending dignitary of the Court was accorded the rank of an authority in the endorsement. This dignitary will, however, never appear as acting official when the document is referred to later on, such as in the relatio of subsequent confirmations. Maybe the tide divän- i-huzüri is accorded as a reward of personal merit.
It may be added that from V.S. 1806 the endorsement in the eschatocoi of the
Jaipur Court had changed and that the new usage prevailed at least until the
middle of the 19th century A.D. Now the endorsement reads mu. yädidäsati va
dasasata säsa va (later on vai) divärnniyärnna. Occasionally the place of dasasata säsa is taken by the name of a court dignitary.
" Mohiuddin 1971: 57.
below the elevatio, namely the repeated araja mu. pahocävau. This means either "Send a repeated petition" or "Send it for [the pro¬
cedure ofj repeated pedtion", in other words: "Send it for confir¬
mation." That the endorsement is made twice and in a hand each
time different from that of the scribe of the main text points to the
divdn-s as its authors. They would have it sent for the procedure of
araj'a mukarara (Pers. ard-i-mukarrar) . This corresponds to the
Mughal usage that the Prime Minister should endorse a petition
after it has been granted and passed the stage of being recorded in
the yddddsht with ba 'ard-i-mukarrar rasdnid, "let it be submitted
again".This implied that now the petition would be submitted
once again to the Emperor for final approval.^'
The administrative procedures beyond this stage and leading to
the promulgation of the parvänä are reflected in the parvänä-s
themselves. In these the "repeated pedtion" is mendoned as hav¬
ing been submitted. They will specify the order issued and that it
was recorded by the diary-writer on the report of the divdn-s. In
this connecdon the names of all these three officials are normally
given. If not, a gap is left for a name omitted. Then the resume
as provided by the memorandum is given. Sometimes tbe endorse¬
ment is added that the divdn of the sarkdr (revenue province)
concerned shall make out the parvänä according to the order.^°
Then the date of the procedure and sometimes also the place of
it are given. Then follow verso normally the seals and signatures
of the divdn-s and the mustauß (auditor), and, in case he, too, is
concerned, that of the bakhsi (paymaster).
3. Commentary on the daul
The present daul forms one out of four documents now avail¬
able which relate to the grants that the temple of Govinddevjl
received from Räjsar Phutoläv. The other three documents are
parvänä- s. These are dated V.S. 1769, V.S. 1773 and V.S. 1777.
In the earliest document, namely, that of V.S. 1769, Kisanräm,
son of the Bengali brahmin Govindräm, is granted the revenue of
200 bighd of fallow arable land. Kisanräm was a minister of Jai
Singh II and a maternal uncle of Vidyädhar, the architect of Jai-
" Mohiuddin 1971: 71.
" Cp. Siddiqui 1989: 127.
^° Thus, for example, in document GD, V.S. 1773.
pur.'' The grant is given to him in perpetuity, and, in return, he
is requested to give his blessings. This item of a grant is called a
puni udika, a charity of land. It is also stipulated therein that the
land shall be of a quality which will allow for a realized revenue
of c. 1 rp. per bighä.
Räjsar Phutoläv lies in the then tappä (cluster of villages) of
Rämgarh of the parganä of Amer. There exists in our time a
village by the name of Phutoläv, which lies in the Jamvä Rämgarh
tahsil of the district of Jaipur which partly corresponds to the
Rämgarh tappä of the 18th century.'^ The two villages are here
taken to be identical, for which, however, I can produce no con¬
clusive evidence. At any rate, Räjsar Phutoläv can claim to have
served as a locality from which endowments to high dignitaries
were made from at least that dme.
In V. S. 1773 Govinddevjl was granted a charity for the evening
food offerings which was to be drawn from the storehouse of the
kasavä {qasba) of Amer and which consisted of both cash and
kind, namely 3 takä per day in cash and 28 tol = \5 \/l ser of
food produce. For these items cp. lines 25 to 27 of our text, where
the same 3 takä of cash are listed, as well as lines 22 to 34, where
the afore-mentioned 15 1/2 ser of food produce are listed in de¬
tailed weight and in this respect fully identically with the earlier
grant. This patent of V. S. 1773 is incorporated in that of V.S. 1784.
In V.S. 1777 there was submitted, through the mediation of
Räjä Ayämal, a peddon in the interest of Govinddevjl, then resi¬
dent in Kanak-Vrndävan." Räjä Ayämal (also, Ayämal) was for
a long dme the Chief divdn of Jai Singh II.''' In this document the
relatio states that since the hot season, that is, since the rabi
harvest of V.S. 1776, Govinddevjl had received the realized reve¬
nue of the village Räjsar Phutoläv. It is now granted that the deity
receive, from the ^Aar//"harvest on, the entire realized revenue of
that village as a "charity for food offerings etc." The sum to be
drawn is now 4239 rp., 9 a. This sum results from the following
operation:
Assessed revenue of the village: 7000 rp. ./. arrears: 300 rp. =
" Roy 1978: 42.
" India 1983: 106; code no. 176 referring to the map on p. 102
" Kanak- Vrndävan, a site and a temple situated between Amer and Jaipur, was one of the provisional abodes of the deity; cp. Roy 1978: 166-67; Horstmann [forthcoming a] and 1994.
" Cp. for details Bhatnägar 1974: 179, fn.74.
6700 rp. ./. abatement on 6700 rp. according to an eight-months'
ratio": 2233 rp., 5a., 2p.'* ./. reducdon of 227 rp., 5a., 2p., as
stipulated in a yäddäsht of the 9th dark day of Äsoj, V. S. 1777 =
-2460rp., IIa.; 6700rp. ./. 2460rp., IIa. = 4239 rp., 5a. (!). The
sum assigned is, however, 4239 rp., 9 a., which must be due to a
slip of the pen; 5 and 9a. differ in a single vertical stroke.
It is not clear if the grant of V.S. 1773 was sdll valid in V.S.
1777. Both grants are, however, conflated in the daul of V.S. 1784.
The sum of 4239 rp., 9a. is made the basis of our daul of V.S.
1784 to which the remainder of this paragraph is devoted." It is
evident that the officer worked out a different result when reck¬
oning up the various items. He first worked out the sum total of
4239 rp., 13 a., 2 p. which he eventually corrected by "4238 rp.,
13 a., 2 p." (line 14). This reveals that up to the spelt amount of
"four thousand two hundred and thirty-nine rp., 9 a." (lines 13-
14) he relied on the previous records. However, as he broke up
the sum in order to create conformity with earlier allowances of
mixed origin (cash, food produce, and revenue allowances not
directly related to specifically quantified items claimed by the
temple), he found the result not to be congruous with the total
established in earlier papers.
The sum of 4239 rp., 13 a., 2 p. is incorrect, for its constituents,
namely, 923 rp., 11 a., 2 p. -I- 486 rp. -I- 546 rp., 2 a. resuh in 1955
(and not 1956) rp., 13a., 2p. This interim balance the officer
neglected correcting though he adjusted the sum total (line 14)
accordingly, hence 4238 rp., 13 a., 2 p. A few of the interim
balances call for a commentary, namely,
lines 18-19: The daily allowance of 2 rp., 9 a., 3 p. can only be
" For the usage of reducing allowances by months' scales cp. Habib 1963:
264-65. An eight-months' rado implies that the grantee will receive an allowance for only eight months in the period of twelve months.
" This abatement is calculated correcdy.
" In order to facilitate the reading and analysis ofthe translation a number of typological devices have been introduced. These are,
SIVIALL CAPS, BOLD: caption,
bold characters, underlined : sum total (line 14),
bold characters: major groups of items and interim balances (lines 15, 64), underlined : groups of items and sums constituent of major groups of items and interim balances (lines 18, 35, 50),
- asterisks indicate constituent sums in descending hierarchy; thus sums marked by ** are the balance of sums marked by ***.
worked out by dividing the monthly allowance of 78 rp., 4 a, 2 p.
by 30. The result of 2 rp., 9 a., 3 p. is the result of bringing down
an odd sum.
lines 20-21: vädi (Ar., Pers. wa'da) means usually "interest (on
foodgrains advanced)". Here it means rather a reducdon, namely
of the sum of 939 rp., 6 a. by a fifty-ninth part of it. The calculation
of the estimate is based on yearly expenses. 360 lunar days make
a year. These are roughly equivalent to 354 solar days. Consump¬
tion of food is calculated as taking place by solar days, for which
cp. also lines 52 and 68-69 (column 1). 360 reduced by a fifty-
ninth (= 6.10) results in 353.9. The calculation by 354 solar days
is, for example, explicitly made the basis of calculation in a docu¬
ment of V.S. 1808 (TPM).
column 2, line 23: The amount of 1 rp., 12a differs from the
balance of its constituents which would only come to 1 rp., 1 a.
column 2, lines 45-49: These lines call for complete deletion;
the scribe shifted them quite correctly to column 3, lines 45-49.
The document of V. S. 1777 has made it clear that from the rabi
harvest of V.S. 1776 on the deity had already received a cash
amount which was, in fact, a much more convenient procedure
than that of collecting cash and kind from the storehouse of the
parganä headquarters of Amer. The daul of V.S. 1784 confirms
this order, but though it reiterates facts that had come to prevail
for some eight years, it opens up religio-economic insights of some
interest, for it relates the revenue allowance granted to the prices
of the commodities which the deity would receive.
There are in the document commodities that have been lumped
together as belonging to a similar kind, such as "sugar candy,
butter, cream" or "vegetables", or items not specified as to their price rate per amount, such as "lemon[oil?]" or "grass". Though
to this extent incomplete, a price list can be worked out, namely.
Commodities available at the price of 1 rp. per amount listed
Foodgrains, fodder
11 ser, 8 chatämk rice [?]
mung wheat
foodgrains for fodder
wheat flour {ätä)
bird-seed
34 ser, 12 chatämk
1 man, 10 ser
1 man, 10 ser
1 man 2 man
Dairy products milk
ghee
36 ser
4 ser, 14 chatämk Scent
rose [?]
scented balm
rose-water
1 mäsä
10 tolä, 8 mäsä
4 ser, 8 chatämk
Tt seems impossible to ascertain whether the prices given in the
document are the actual ones of V. S. 1784. As the daul represents
a conflation of two previous patents, namely, those of V.S. 1773
(cash and kind) and V.S. 1777 (cash revenue allowance) one
would perhaps hesitate to exclude the possibility tbat the prices
are frozen ones of earlier years or to some extent ficdtious.
It would also be mere guess-work to relate the budget put forth
by the daul to income scales of the time. At the time of Aurangzeb
the average monthly income of an unskilled urban labourer in
North India ranged, varying according to the various regions,
from 2 rp., 10 a. to 4 rp.'* which may serve as a very rough refer¬
ence data. It must also be borne in mind that since then the levels
of prices of crops, to specify only one group of items out of several
ones, had followed trends uneven for the various crops and reve¬
nue districts." Gupta (1986: 88) states that "There is ... a rise
amounting nearly to 100 per cent from the prices of the period
1665-1706 in those for 1707-50." We also seem not to know how
the wages related to the fluctuating prices.
As the daul works out a budget for Govinddevjl, one would like
to know if this represents the entire budget of that religious
insdtution. The budget is, first of all, only that of Govinddevjl and
his consort. Her confidantes, two sakhi-s, enjoy a joint budget of
their own. It covers the expenses for food and clothes of 1 rp. per
day."*" Govinddevjl also possessed additional revenue income and
land for usifruction.'"
The favour which Govinddevjl, a family icon of the Kachvähäs
" Habib 1963: 245 with fn. 21.
" Gupta 1986: 75-82.
" A contemporary document (TPM) from the Natvarji temple of Jaipur which is dated V.S. 1792 shows the amount of 2 rp. per day to be granted for the deity's food offerings.
An overview of this for the period from V.S. 1700 to V.S. 1930 will be given in the monograph in preparadon; cp. fn.6.
and to them an important referenee object for legitimization/^
enjoyed reached a peak when, in V.S. 1797, the new temple of
the there recently installed icon started receiving an annual cash
income of 1 rp., 4a. raised in addition to each 1000 rp. of the
entire revenue, of all taxes and cesses as collected by the khalisa
and by all the jägirdärs and ijäradärs in the Kachvähä territories.
At that time these territories consisted of 90 pargand-s. The char¬
ity levied only on the revenue collected from a single pargana may
not have been less than 55 rp."' From that time on the income
formerly drawn from Räjsar Phutoläv has figured no longer in the
patents issued by Jai Singh II and his successors so that the daul
of V.S. 1784 seems to be the last one available which relates to
that source of income.
Bibliography
Abü'l Fadl 'Allämi (Blxx;hmann/Phillott). 1977. TTie A'Tn-i Akbari, transi. ... by H. Blochmann. 2nd rev. ed. by D. C. Phillott, vol. 1. 3rd ed. repr. from the 2nd.
New Delhi.
Bhatnägar, V.S. 1974. Life and times of Sawai Jai Singh, 1688-1743. Delhi.
Busse, Heribert. 1959. Untersuehungen zum islamischen Kanzleiwesen an Hand
turkmenischer und safawidischer Urkunden (Abh. d. Dt. Arch. Inst. Kairo, Islam.
Reihe, Bd.l). Kairo.
Dastur Komwar, Jaipur. Rajasthan State Archives. Bikaner
Gupta, Satya Prakash. 1986. The agrarian system of eastem Rajasthan (c. 1650-c.
1750). Delhi.
Habib, Irfan. 1963. The agrarian system of Mughal India (1556-1707). London.
Horstmann, Monika, [forthcoming a]. Govinddev and his custodians from 1643
through the time of Jai Singh II (1700-1743). (Originally presented as a paper at
the conference on Govindadeva Temple History and Artistic Dimensions, Vrin¬
davan, 4-7 April 1991.)
Horstmann, Monika. 1994. Govinddevji of Vrindaban and Jaipur and its Kachvähä patrons from the mid-seventeenth to the mid-eighteenth century A.D. In: A. W.
Entwistle u. F. Mallison (Hg): Studies in South Asian Devotional Literature:
Research Papers, 1988-1991... New Dehli u. Paris 1994, S. 82-93.
India. 1983. Census of India 1981. Ser 18. Rajasthan. Pts. XXII-A & B. District Census Handbook Jaipur District. Jaipur.
Khan, M. Naseer-ud-Din (ed.). 1950. Selected documents of Shäh Jahän's reign.
Hyderabad.
Mohiuddin, Momin. 1971. The chancellery and Persian epistolography under the
Mughals. From Babur to Shdh Jahdn (1526-1658). Calcutta.
" Cp. Horstmann 1994.
" This is based on the calculadons made by Gupta 1986: 69, 150, 152, 155.
Mukherjee, Tarapada and Irfan Habib. 1988. Akbar and the temples of Mathura and its environs. PIHC, 48th session, Dabolim, Goa University: 234-50.
Mukherjee, Tarapada and Irfan Habib. 1989. The Mughal temple admimstration
and the temples of Vrindavan during the reigns of Jahangir and Shahjahan. PI HC , 49th session, Dharwad: 287-300.
Roy, AsHiM Kumar. 1978. History of the Jaipur city. Delhi.
Siddiqi, Noman Ahmad. 1989. Land revenue administration under the Mughals
(1700-1750). Repr. ofthe 1st ed., 1970. New Delhi.
Abbreviations
DK Dastur Komwar, Jaipur
GD Govinddevjl temple (archives)
TPM film collecdon authored by Tarapada Mukherjee
V.S. year of the Vikrama era
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MI Wii^ < n </?3 tl-^iUliD-o-iu/lyiii/f
% i-fsT<'{\'=ji'rOTi!-^i
'^if'^i^'^fm'i^k bl'? yj[lp-fS^'^
'y?77^7^^--^/';'^y-^</l^<Hrftn^S;^g/!:|?7<^^
m'^hTft(?''''»f ''' dfl^'^M' <'^bi<r) Ic^l IH)^
iTTTT^ cTi i^""^"!.^ 'il'jM<<^ <1 y^^lwTl'^iy j'iTT"
jTrrr^^^oTT^-n '^^'^i<<=i wit^'^l'^hr^
(-Ti^,^T^}7xmmy^r^^^
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^ul^^rrß '
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''u- H Yi ü ns X!/ " <r'" t^^^r-^
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Govinddevjl temple, estimate of V.S. 1784 (A.D. 1728)
Bemerkung in eigener Sache:
In letzter Zeit breitet sich die Unsitte aus, daß die Verlage oder die Verfasser
ihre Bücher dem Herausgeber unter der Bedingung zur Besprechung anbieten,
daß er diese einer bestimmten Person anvertraue; bisweilen ist schon auf den
ersten Blick zu erkennen, daß die genannte Person mit dem Verfasser in einer
engeren Verbindung steht. Da die ZDMG gar nicht erst in den Verdacht geraten
darf, sie veröffentliche Gefälligkeitsbesprechungen, bin ich grundsätzlich nicht gewillt, auf derlei Ansinnen einzugehen. Die Rezensenten werden ausschlie߬
lich von den Herausgebern der ZDMG bestimmt.
T. Nagel
Piotr Steinkeller : Third-Millennium Legal and Administrative Texts in the Iraq
Museum, Baghdad. With Hand Copies by J. N. Postgatb. (Mesopotamian Civi¬
lizations, 4.) Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns 1992. XV, 123 S., 32 Taf.
$ 30,-. ISBN 0-931464-60-9.
Von der Tafel IM 43433 abgesehen, die als Ausstellungsstück weder kopiert
noch umschrieben werden konnte, veröffendicht das Buch alle Rechts- und Ver¬
waltungsurkunden des 3. Jährt, im Iraq Museum zu Bagdad. Von 68 der 74 publi¬
zierten, bisher meist unbekannten Tafeln sind die Kopien beigegeben. Der größte
Teil stammt von J.N. Postgate (65 Stücke), während Jeremy A.Black die der
Nrn. 38, 42 und 68 beisteuerte. 6 Tafeln (Nrn. 2, 5, 6, 10, 61 und 62) kopierte bereits J. van Dijk für den Band TIM 9, davon wurden 3 (die Nrn. 2, 10 und 61) von Postgate für dieses Buch neu kopiert. Lediglich die Nrn. 32, 34 und 39 waren nicht zugänglich und wurden nach den Umschriften von I.J. Gelb übernommen.
Abgesehen von der Nr. 2, die bereits E. Sollberger und D. O. Edzard bearbei¬
teten, und der Nr. 61, von der J. Krecher eine Bearbeitung vorlegte, waren die Urkunden bislang nicht erschlossen.
Nach ihrer zeitlichen Stellung stehen 1 Fara- und 11 vorsargonische Tafeln 62 sargonischen Texten gegenüber. Sie stammen, soweit ihre Herkunft zu bestimmen
war, aus den Städten §uruppak, Girsu, Isin, Umma, „Sagub", Mukdan und der
Dijala-Region. Isin ist vom Verf. (S. 5-8) schlüssig als Herkunftsort nachgewiesen und das ihm bekannte Material einer jüngeren und einer älteren Gruppe zugeteilt worden.
Wie bei Steinkeller zu erwarten, stehen die Bearbeitungen auf der Höhe des
heute Erreichbaren. Seine Kommentare lösen Detailprobleme, zeigen neue Aspek¬
te auf und regen zum Weiterdenken an. Der Verf beschäftigt sich u.a. mit der
Paläographie des Zeichens KAM (S. 15-19), beschriebenen Kupferäxten (S.29),
den mu-///-Daten (S. 56-57), der Identifizierung der Nuß- und Mandelbäume
