Regmi Resea.rchi�(Pri'Vate) Ltd, Kathmandu: .e. August 1, 1970.

Regmi Research Series Year 2, No. 8, Edited By: Mahesh C. Ragmi.

Contents

� 1. An Official Nepali Account Of The -China War •• • 177 2. The Tharu Community And Their Culture ... 189 3. Kirat Migrations •• • 190 4. .Ancient Bhaktapur ... 191 5. Jagachc�dra ... 193 6. Judicial Customs In e N p�l ••• 195 7. Glossary of Revenue, Administrative And other Tenns Occurring in Nepali Historical Documents ••• 198

Regmi Research (Private) Ltd, Iazimpat, Kathmandu, �pal. Co�iled by Regmi Research (Private)d Lt for private stu(\y and research. Not meant for public sale or display. 177.

l An OfficialI Nei:ali Account Of The Nepal-China War

King Ran Bahadur Shah1 s lette r To Officials Sent For The Conquest Of Kuma;un Garhwal

. To ag J a,t) �.P::-:nc.e,:Sa.rda · r J'.mbar · Singh Thapa and Ce,ptain Golyan Kha.was, Greetings,

All is ·well here. We want good news toore. We received your latter and noted its contents. The nows hore is good. You have reported that when the enemy crone and encamped at Kou.dya., :'?,ny (of our troops) stayed there to resist the advance, and that when Ambar Singh Th'.lpa went there for assistance along with additional troops, the enemy was repulsed with heavy loss of life. We have read the mes.sage. You have won the battle. The letter appears to have been written in a F lgun (cow.."Tlencin� February JJ), It reached here on the 8th of Aswin (Septemoor3), 2

Recentl¥', no (!3tter) has come from there.

When the Chinese troops reached Dhaibung, the morale of our troops went down. We were faced with the probleM of saving the count ry and of repulsing the enemy by mamtq,ining troops on two fronts, This was the reason why the paid soldiers, musketeers (Tilanga) and shield bearers accompanying you h;id to be dismissed. There was justice in some cases and injustice in others. Yet we shall grant paddy to some and cash to others. Noboey should therefore feel dejected. We sra.11 act -with prudence. Let everybody know this and remain loyal and satisfied.

When the enemy wns only at one day's distance from Kathmandu, we checked him where possible and negotiated where this was to our interest. We then wrote to you ut abo what hud happenAd here and1asked you to come post-haste. By the grace of (the Goddess) we faced the enemy by means of strength and tactics and repulsed him, maintaining the country indepmdent as usual.

There also you have repulsed the enemy and retained hold over the conquered territory. No1v that arra."'lgerr.ents have been completed here, we shall have to maintain only one f.r0r..t t'r.9:-e. This te�itory has accrued to us through our good fortu.ne. Do not therefore abandon it. Though, because cf the happening here, wo could not render necessary assistance, yet now we shall do so.

1. Dhanaa B jra Bajracharya and Gnyan Mani Nepal, Aitihasik Patra Sangraha. (A Collection cf Historical Letters), Kathmandu.: Nepal Samskritic Parishad, 201� (1957)., PP. 56-?h.

Contd••• . 178.

The letter written by Ievanidhi Pant reached here after 40 days. He .. has writte n t hat tho troops of th e king of Sirmur were stationed at Lan gur- · garh for rend.Jring assistance, but went b ack when the ld..ng of Garhwal failed _to pay the promised money. With the advice of the Nawab, a meeting was arranged at t ha Alalfhnanda and a t reaty was n egotiated. The settlement was made that the teITitory across the Yamuna shm.1:I;d belong to S:i.rmur, While that on this sic!e should accrue to Gorkha. After mald.ng this treaty, the king went back. S rinagar came under the suzerainty of Gorkha. This is what was contained in that letter.

The same news h/J.s been communicated also by a few· other people living in ••• (words mis�i.."lg )� No news has arrived from t here, but we have- taken this report to bs true'9 We are glad that you have dona well. So f ar as future pla.."'ls c.'r0 concerned, we have sent Kalu Panda and Bhagu Kh:1was there. Let them stay -the::-e along with their two regiments, ·as well as Jog Malla am. Bhakti Th.a.pa. Appoint a Subba in that new teITitory along with necessary troops to loo:t aftar it, and Sardars, Subbas , Umraos a nd Subedars as c onsi­ dered necessa::.-y by �Caji J8.gajit Panda. Those who receive orders from the K ajL shall .obey the·111 er alea be com;idered reibels, and those who obey th'em shall be considered loyal. • After rnalci.n.g necessary ar-r-:trgements t here, Jagaji t Para should come here, accompanied by the necessary ni;rnber of men. The Pajani2 las to be h�'!d early, �c come as soon'as you get this royal order.

We have alre:idy jnformed you how our army canB back after reaching Di.garcha. The subsequent develop:nentsare as follows.

When the raws of thei plund er of Digarcha and the capture of the Tibot.u. Kajis reached. China, the Chinese Emperor sant his General, his son-in-law Tung Thang, C ha.!l Chun, Hc.i Kun, a nd other A1rbas and Sardars, an d the C hine1'G­ Sok Yogya C'.Tumba h.'h5.Illba, with troops, to Lhasa towards the end.of Falgun (m;i.d-:March). · ·.

From Lh:l.sa tmy s ent a i'ew letters fc:".'· con cluding a treaty, and demar.iW that we should give t hem tick Syamarpa L6ll'la, who had sought our refuge, o:-•.1 Dhurin Kaji and I-:.o Ka.ji· of Ihasa, -who had b een d3tained by u s. But w e ref� to· give up these who· had sought our succor, from considerations of virtue.

Thereupon Ge"'1'3!'al Tu.."'l.g Thang ad....-,anced with his army and on Thursday, .Ashadh Sudi 2, ovorpor:e!'ed our Chhutts outpost a t K ukurgtat. To the Sarda:­ of our troops a� I:"lru.:-� c.lso caine the news that one outpost wa's still in o"'" possession. At this, Sard'.U' Shatru Bb:lnjan Milla, accompanied by his tro.::ip.s, aJ?.d Tula.ram t!.nd Udc.�n, Sub edars,· along with regiments, started from Kerunf. The enemy had· ccc upi-3 d the outpost at Kukurghat arxi was -wait ing -to attaci< the troo ps that w ould cOO".e as re inforcement; a.t'-ver maintaining a posi tier, on the wayo

2. i.e. annual reorganization of civil and military services. 179 .

Not understanding the enenw'1 s plans , '?Ur reinforcene'nts , rathe r inadeq"Uate in number, reached the opposite side of Pangsingtar. A battle '. took pJace th:lre . 20 or 25 men of oi.1r side, along with Tula.ram Sube dar, fe l:;. fighting. 10 or 15 men' .of' the enemy also were killed. Some got wounde d. Our troops re treated to Ke rung , fighting all the way. At the gate s of our outpost at Ke rung, our Udhan Khawas died of a bulle t-wound'. Sardar Shatru Bhanj an Malla killed a· few pe rsons , but when he was wo unded by arrows on hi s b.1ck and arm, he re treated arrl joined his troops at Kerung . We had two forts ins ide Ke rung and one outpost. The pe ople who de fendedthe m were ina�equate in number. On that same da y th e enemy attacked th e fcrt . But when ll3 fa iled to bre ak it , he withdrew . Ne xt do;r he launche d an attack again, andafter a figh ting of about si x hour s failed to rrake any headway and so withdrew •

. · On th e fourth day, the enelT\Y again 1T8.de an attack iri the early hours · <.i f the morning . With guns and arrows and bags of gunpcwder and burning fo liage and torches , he first overran the outer fortifications a little before noon. In th�tw o inner forts, fighting went on throughout the day. Three or four hundred of the enemy were killed. '.two hundre d wer9 killed .· on our side too . A little after dusk, our two fo rts were breached, but some of our nan 1T8.naged to e scap e . On that same nigh t, tho enemy pursued t hem and -reached Rasuwa a little after sunrise . Shots were excha�ed by both sides all day lopg, and 8 or 10 of the enemy were ld.lled. I. . • When the enemy crossed the Rasuwa river at a hi gh point and came to­ besiege our men, the lat ter left Rasuwa and oo t k to thei r heals. At Syapruk they met 81.ll>Erlars Bhaskar an d Jagbal who were going from hare along with their regiments. The re was a n exchange of gunfire be tween th e enemy and us from the . two sides'· of the ·river . Prabal Rana , Bharat Kha.was 3.rid Rana l':�shar Panda, toge ther with a few U.:iraos and with the Shrmath re giment the n! re ached there for the defense of Syapruk village .

After seven or eight days, the ; enemy attempted to cross the ri var, but was c h3 eked and re pulsed by our gunfire• After two or thrse days, when they saw a strong fo rce crossing the river at a high point , our troops cons: dared the asce nt difficult and there fore de cided to shift from Sy�pruk to Dhunche'. We had a strong force at Dhunche commande d by bamo da.r Pancte . Subedars asBh kar and Jagbal, along with the ir regim:ints, were staying at adj acent plL.ces at the top of tra Dhunche hill, named Deureli. The enemy came upon them at that place , but was twice repulse'd by our men. On the third attack, two of our Subedars', along with 40 or 50 men were killed. The enemy occupied tha t territory 'Wi.t h_ a loss of 200 or 250 men . Fro m Dhuncha our troops W&i"t t to there reoccupy that area, but the enemy attacked th em mi dway. Oir troops repulsedhim once, but when he came in larger numbers, a few were ld.lled on both sides'. Our troops then withdrew and joine d the nobles at Dhunche. The place was a di' fficult one, and so they left Dhunche andc am e to Dhaibung.

Contd •. • 180.

The enElllY pursued the m and a battle took place near Kamaragarh. Our troopswon the battle ' aridki lled 40 or 50 of .the enemy with shots and swords . 100 or ·150 (9f the enenw) fell do wp ·t}le: .hill and di ed. The enemy then encamped at Ramche while our troop s mainta.ined. position at Jhaibung• Meanwhile,'· the �ne:rey sent letters from Dhunche expre ssing th:3de sire to concluie peace. We wrote a reply to th e letter here and sent a Dhewa accanpany.i.ng Chiniya P anda and Dhurin K aji as well as a C hinese we had de tained here · along with: the reply. They met our noble's at Dhaibung aoo thu:, went to Raioohe. They handed the la tte::- over to Sardar Ha Ye -kun and Chun Tu-yi, subordinates of General Tung Tha"l. g. They sent the letter t o Ge neral Tung Thang, and an oral m assage thr oug h our cpurier that the place was too s mall f or their troops and officers, and therefore we should evacuate Dhaibung and send our noble's to con:i�0t negotiati ons . They wrote letters on a piece of re d cloth and told our couriers to show it to t he ir troops coming through Deurali as well as to cur t roops, and a dded that they had ceased f ighting and t hat our troops should also do the s ame .

. When the cloth was shown to the troops t a Deurali , thare was a cease­ fire on beth sides. It was difficult for us to ·fight at Dhaibung , and wher. this message c ame , our noble s left t h9 place . The enemy remai ned on one si de of the Betrab ati, while our troops stayed on the other.

From Dhaibung Gefl.ernl 'Tung 'rhang wrote a letter demandi ng t'hat we should sendto them the •Chinese de tair..e d hare, Dhurin Kaji and Ito Kaj i . We sent them, along with Ranaj it Panda , Bhotu Panda , Narsingh Taksari, Ram Das Pant and Balabhadra Khaw as to Gene ral Tung Thang. On Saturday, Shrawan 31, they cro ssed the Batra.bat:!. and at night met the .Arnb as of the enemy troops a cross the river . On that sair.e night they took the Chimse deta ined 't-ere andD hurin Kaji to GenorA.l Tung T hang . On S unday ., our noble! who .r..ad gone from here me t Ge mral Tung Tha.rg at noon. T hey had a re ply to the letter sent fi-om here . On Tue s day, they sent Rana.jit ?ao:ie and Balabhadra Khawas here. The latte r reached hers on Wednesday.

The letter containe'd many matte.:-s , But the main p oint wa s that Dhaib � was too narrow for them, and that t ha y therefore s hoPld be allowe d to cme to Nuwakot, wh ere the ld.ng and his upcle should also go tv ne'gotiate pea.ct.; am if the king and his uncle could no� come, emissaries should be sent t.;; conduct th'e talks. They further wrote that if we did not allow them to co� t_o Nuwakot and failed to withdt'oW om� tro o:po from the -two fronts , they wa.: ltl. come by force' . A second letter wa�i also re ceived the same day.W e prepari: ..;. a re ply to the se cond letter and crd�red our troops to resi st them if tb:·, crosse'd the river by force.

·cont d, • • 181; ,

On he t morning of M:mday, Bhadra 8, the enemy crossed the Betrabati and adva nced at s everal points, including Chokde, where Damodar Panda was, staying, Dhudhe... Thumka, where our outpost was situated; and at Gerkhu on ; t,he ma.in road, whi ch was occupied by K irti Man Singh. Our troops repulsed t,hem'0 at all th e three points. and forced t hem to withdre w to the Betrabati•.

Ch ·the ford aver the Betrabati, the chief Chinese off icial began to .ld.lL hisre treat ing troops. As the ford was blo cked, many fell down into . -the Betra.bati 'river. Several of t he enemy fell down the hill and die d, while othe rs were killed by ou r troops'' shells, sword s and arrows . In all 1; 000 or , 1 200 of theene my er w e ld.lled'. Cb our side, 15 or 16 were woi.mded by arrows , swords or shells'. Of the Chirose th at managed to escape acros s the river, two S::1.rdars had their noses cut, and they immediately jlmped into t he Bet rabati river and were drowned . Bhotu Panda and Nar singh Takaari · are s till in tho enemy camp. The enemy has not left talking of pea ce in spit of th is battle, and we too are, doir.g the same. ¥-�

General Tung Th ang wrote two or three letters demanding that goods looted at Digarchc1. which had reached 01.n' Palace should be sent back along with the high-ranking 11011.as who would be deputed to China with letters . and prese nts for the Emperor , that the agrssment signed between our nobles and Kaji Syamarpa La.ma of Tibet at Kerung should be sent, and that, since Syamarpa lama uas already dAad, his family and belongings should also be sent b'ack, so that t h ey might be placed in their own mnastery ( Gumba ). We sent Hari and Balabhadra Khawas with all th e� to China along wi th · General Tung Thang� We' . shall send hig h-ra.YJ. king no bles with letters a nd prese nts for the E:nperor , w.i. th �stru ctions to visit China , obtain an audience with the Emperor and state our case . ,If (the Chinese) accepts these nobles, finalizes a treaty and goes back c.'. long with his troops, it will be good.

On Aswin 5, we sent Kaji Devadutta Thapa, Subba Prat:lman Rana , Jayan:-a Shahi·, son of Jethabudh.a Na.r singh Ta'.:: s'.!ri , and 'Balabhadra; son of Khardar Bishnu Shankar, to China along with Tung Thang . On Aswin 10, they me t Gene ra Tung Thang at Dhaibung . Tung Thang wa.s highly pleased to see our no bles anj Kajis'. The Chinese tr oop's were suffaring from tho scarcity of food'. Severa l of them were ill, and many had died. When o,lI' nobles reached there, they began to takebe.c k the s ick arrl the o.ffer:ding, along with their t roops ani axms and ammunition. Tung Thang WE.s a�c'o:np ,r nied only by his troops • On Saturday, Aswin 24, G:n1c!'al Tung Thang left Dhaibung along with his troops and returned to C hina accompanie'd by h is tro.op s and our Kajis.

Kantipur, Kartik Badi 7, 1849 Vik'rama.. /791..

Crntd • •• - · Explanation : ,,.,·,· . King Ran Bahadur Shah wrote thi s'· letter in 184? Vik:rama to Kaji Jagjit Panda, Sarda.r Amar Sµigh Thapa (Senio r) and·c apta in GoJ.:ayan Kha.Was, who had gone for the conque st of Kumaun and Garhwal. Jagjit Panda was too eldest or t he five sons of Kaji Tularam Panda, Sarda.r Amr Singh Thapa and the ot he rs worke d under his COillll1aild •. Jag jit Panda is famous for hi� role in the conquest of. �estem Nepal . He was one of tr.e four Kajis of Nepal at that time .

· At the beginning of this lettor, reference has be en nade to the letter se nt l:;,y Jagj it Panda an d others in Falgun, 1848 Vikrama . The letter rGache d. the. C'aPital after 6 roonths . It re fers to a battle that toolc place at Kaude . In Ashadh ., 1848 Vikrama, when Nepali troops.re ached-Srinagar, the capita.l of Garhwal, . the King of that· State, Pradyurrna �hah, fled across the _river ' Alakananda. After the advent of winter , a fierce. battle took place be tween the Garhwali rule r and the Nepal is . Pradyunna Shah suffered a crushing defeat at the han ds of the Ne pali troops led by Sardar · Amar Singh Thapa. Prad.yunna . Shah then t•rie d to :-epuls e too Gorkha troops with the help of Jagat Prakash, ruler of Sirmur, by pr omising him to paymone y.

M3anwhile , during th e rainy s eason of 1849 Vikrama., the governrrant of Nepal was experien cing difficulty in defe nding the comt ry when a war b rok1: out with the Ch inese. It was be'caus e o' f this that salaries of some of the troops sent to the west were withoold and e ome soldiers were dis missed. Kaji Jagj it Panda and others were ord'ered to eome back to Kathmandu iume­ diately. But before the order reaclled t he m, a treaty betwe'en Nep al and Ch:n:. had been conclu1ed, and a s suchthe tro ops of ,Tagjit Pande did n ot have tc fig ht the Chinese. In this le tter, King Ran i3ahadur Shah has refe'rre d to tt" need to re sume t he campaign in the west and lo ok after the administrative affairs of the conquere d territorie s.

Jagat Prt¾kash, ruler of Sirmur, had then aITived in Langt rganh to help Pra dynmn:i. . Shah. But Pra d yunna. Shah did not g iv e him the stipulated nonc:y �,here on the lat against hi m and sidad th the Nepali's•' In Bh.:ad� UJ:> ter turne d � . .L8h9 ·Vikra'ma, the rw.er of Sirmur, J agat Prakash, s igned a treaty with J.1.;J-l't Pan da. According to this treaty, th9 river Ya-:m.ma was recognized as the · western boundary of Nepal. In Aswin, 1849 Vikrama., the King of Garhwal, :J:>:racy1.nnna,'. Shah, signed a treaty wi.th NApal unde r. ·wh ich he agre ed to pay an armual tribute of Rs 25,000.

This letter mentions how afterinf orr.a.tion reached the cap ital fror, n oble s e'lsewtere that Srinagar had bean subjugate d by Nepal. Captain Kalu Panda and Bhaju Khawa::1ere w sent along wit h troops iD ro p tect the newly- · conquere d te rritory, while Kaj i Jagjit Panda was or dered to hand over t b" administration of Kuira un and Garlrrral to Su':>ba Yoga M:Llla and Bhakti ThlF�•, who we re in Kathmandu for the a P jani. Then follow s a detaile d account of the. war with China.

Cont d ••'• 183 .

Ever since King conquered Kathmandu Va lley, re la­ tions between Nepal E11d Tibet had be com atra:ined . The Milla rulers of Nepal had circulated debased coinsdu e to the scarcity of silver. The se coins • reached Tibet in large nunbers .. Prithvi Narayan Shah was in favor of circula­ tin g pure coins. Therefore., the :in sisted on using co ins of pure silver only- and not debased coins. The Tibet ans did not acep t · Prithvi ·Nara­ yan 's policy, because it harmedth eir interests . Consequently., trad.E! between Nepal and Tibet declined and relations we nt on deteriorating.

Ii1 1838 Vikrama., the. Tas hi La.11a of Digarcha, Pai Den Yasbe died. His brother, Syama.rpa lama misappropriated the funds of the nxmastery. He was put in impris onment by the followers of the new incarnate Lama. In 1844 Vikrama, he escaped from prison and took asylum in Ne p'al. Whan Nepal gave asylum to Syama.rpa Lama, war between N9paJ.. an d T ibet be came inevitable •

. . L.-i 1845 Vikrama, war broke out between Nepal and Tibet . In this war, Nepal defeated Tibet, Ne pali troops capture d the areas from Kuti to Sikhar jung and from Kerung to Jhunga. A treaty was ultima.tely conclude d through the mediation of China. Nepal re linquished the Tibetan areas conquere d by it whiJ.e Tibet agreed to pay an annual tribute of Rs So, 000 to Nepal.

But Tibet paid this ):lrmual tribute not more than once, thus violating the treaty. Nepal, therefore , 2..gain d3 cla::ed war on Tibet . In 1848 Vikrama , · Bahadur Shah sent troops to attack Tibet, commanded by Ab himan Singh Basne t from Kerung and by Kaji Damo,dar Ptnde i' a roodar Pand wen rom KutX i . K j i Da a t on conquering Tibetan territo ry andr eached I.gaz-cha, the capital of the Tashi Lama. In Digarcha, he captured a largo quant'ity of gold and s ilver and then returned to Kathmandy. th wi his t.roops \ in M9.gh, 1848 Vikrama. SyaJJB. rp'a Lana was still lj_ving as a refugee in Nepal. During the war, Ne,ali troops captured Ka.j i D�1urin Md Kaj i Yuto o::: Lhasa and brought hem t to Kathmandu. Tibet conveyed to the Chinefls E:�eror t he news that Nepal had conquered Digarch=i a."1. d captured the f'1"l jis of Lhasa . It asked Chi.na for he lp against Nepal. China se nt troops to c.le fa.'"'ld Tibet. After this developmmt, war broke out in 1849 Vi.k!'am1. between N"lpal . and China..

Nep al 1 s r0la.tions with China a.re very old'. In 67 8 Vikrama, whe n the Tang dynasty was ruling China, YU8n C'hwang , a Chinese traveller, visited India through Afghanistan . After v'isit:L-,g places of Buddhist pilgrimage and studying Buddhist literature, hA :-otu:::--1�ed t,o China in 700 Vikrama.. ffJ1 his travelogue, he ha� als o mr ntioned !�e:.?p�l end its fe.mous King, AmshuVarna (663 -678 Vikrana), Pre viously, Nepo.l er:. ��-- ·-;, on India for its relations with China. At the end of the seventh cen·�ury Vikrama, King Srong Btsan Gall!)O created the state of Tib'3tbet we E. n }!epal and China. With the rise of Tibet, India's cc!ltacts with China started through Nepal. Buddhism sprea d to Tibet through Nepa'l. T ibet borrowed :ts!epal 's script and social customs.

Contd••' • 184 .

Durmg the reign f, o ·th e Lichchhavi ruler , 'Narendra rev, between 700 and 714 Vikrarna., Ch1na. 1 s Anbassador Wang -Yunche travelledb etween China and India thro ugh Nep al. He has written about King Narendra Dev, · his palace, and the prevailing situation. After the de ath of Elll)eror Harsh a in 7 04 Vikrama., Ambassador Wang-Yunche was :insulted by Har sha 1 s vassal , .Arunas\1Wa. . The Chine�e Errperor then attack ed northern India . In this war, both Nepal and Tibet helpe d China. According to Chine se account s , King Narendra De v of Nepal sent 7,000 cavalry troops to the aid of China during th is war. Accurate accounts of Nep al''s subsequent relations with China up to the thirteenth century are not availab le' . ·

In 1425 Vikrama., the M:ing dynasty came into powe r after the fall of t he Yuan dynasty whic h r.a d baen establishe'd by Kublai Khan Mongol. The first Enperor of tm Ming dyn asty was Hang Bu. A Chine'se delegation came to Nep al :in 1441 Vikrama.'. At this t ira , Sthit i Ms.lla was king of Nepal, but ministers of the Baish family were in power in Kathmandu, even though Jaya Singh Ram and his yo unger brothe r, Madan Singh Ram, we re the rulers • In 1471 Vi krama too, the Chinese EmpE.ror, Yung Lo, sent a delegation to Nepal. At this t ime, King Jyotir Malla was occupying th e throne of Bhadgaon , Kathmandu was being ruled by Madan Singh RamI s son, Shakti Sing'h Ram. Nepal also was sending dele gations to Chi:1a. N9.dan Singh Ram and his son, Shakti Singh Ram, are ment ioned m Chine'se chronicles'. After ruling China for about ab out 2'7 5 years, the fannus ·riling dyna::;ty collapsed, and in 17 01 Vikrama. it was replaced by the M3.nc hu cr

1 The second Emperor of the Manchu dynasty, naned Kang Hi (1718-79 Vil

Tshien-lung greatly expanded the Chinese errpire'. He brought Tibet toe under . his suzerainty. So when he camz to know about t he f all of Digarc M tc ,Nepali troops andthe capture of Tibetan Kaj i s by thom, he inum diate ly ser.t a lar' ge army to Lhasa to attack Nepal under the command of Tung-Thyang, h:..::. son-in-law. The Chine se troops :r-eachad Lha.sa towards the end of Falgun lU/: Vikram. M3esagas wer e exch2.nged btJtween Nepa l and T\m ,-Thyan g. Tung-ThYJr•L proposed that Ne pal should surrende r Syararpa foma a s well as Kaj i Dhuri.'1 and Ka.j i Yuto of Lhasa. �pal emphatically replied that it would n ot surrc;.:.•� ·those who had sought ref�e, and that i t was even prepared to fight on ti:1': issue.

Contd•' •• 18 5.

In these· circumstances, war betw een Nepal and China was inevitable. At',thi.s tiue, Nepal was involved in war at three or foi.:r fronts . To take revenge for it s defeat , -Tibet incitedSi kkim to attack Nepal at Chainp ur :l.n the eas t. Bijayapur' 1 s administrator, Subba Purnanda Upadhyaya, as well as Kaji D3va Ds.tta Thapa, who had been depute d fr om Kathmandu, repulsed the att ack an d def eated the enemy. Kaji Jagjit Panda was fig hting in Garhwal'. � anwhile, the rulers of Achham, Doti and Jumla revolted an d out off c om1 ,�.­ nications betweeni Kathmandu and Kmna1.m and Garhwal. But withln two months, Capt ain_ Kalu Panda quelle d the revolt wit h th3 assistance of the rule r of Jaj arkot . In this way, nnny Nepali generals were s cattered here and there. So Nepal h:l.d been unable to fully pr0po,re itself to meet the Chinese attack .

On Ashadh 11, 1849 Vikrama, Tung-Thyan g attacked the Nepali fort at Kukurghat . The Chinese easily conquered the are a, as the number of Nepali soldiers there was very small to stop the advance of the Chinese troops, Sardar Shatru Bha.nj an Malla, SubedarTu la Ramar.d Udhau Khawas left Kermg -for Kukurghat. The enetey was fully prepare d, while the number of Ne pali troops was small. Advancing wit hout knowledge of the enelJ1Y'1 S prepa rations, they encounte red the enemy at Pansingtar'. Subedar Tularam was killed along with 20 or 25 othar Nepalis . The Nepali withdrew to Kerun g, where the Chine se pursued them. In the first encounter, Sube dar Udhau Khawas was killed, while Sa.rdar Shat ru Bhanjan M9.llaw as woundod.

There were three N� pali forts in Ke:i:-ung, After four or five days ot fighting, the Chinese troops captured all of them. T he Chinese ventureas w succes'sful becaUBe the nunber of Nepali soldiers there was snail. The Nepalis t r-en withdrew to Rasuwa. The eneltlf too caine on their heels . ·

Hearing about the Chine'se advance, Bahadur Shah illlilB'diately sent a lar ge army commanded by Kaji Darrodar Panda on Ashadh 15. This reinforcema nt proceeded .from Kathrrand u with allpo ssible spee d. The Nepali troops gradually withdrew from Rasuwa be cause the Chinese were hotly pursuing them. At Syapruk, • t hey mt Subedars Bhaskar and J agb al . For their a s sistance, ' Prabal. Rana, Bharat K hawas and Rana Kes h:lr Panda also reached the re . Thus the N epalis gat hered some strength and che'cked t he Chinese advance fo:;.• ten or twelve days . B ut the en emy made a surprise attack an d cons e'quen tly they withdrew to Dhunche where Da.modar Pande was staying. Fight ing took place bet we en the two s'ides . on the Dhun cra hill. The Nepal is twice defeated the enemy. In the third battle , howeve'r, some Nepali soldiers inclu:ling Subedar Bhaskar Rana , we re killed. But the Chinese side suffer8 d two or three hundred cas ualt:ie s . There were a few more encounters. But the Nepali troop s left Dhunche and . came to Dhaibung be'cause the enemy was :in purs uit and Dh1.mche was unsuitable for fight ing . There was another en count;er at Kamamaregadh as the Chinese were still in pursuit. Nearly 40 or 50 Chinese ::r nldier s were killed, while about 150 fell ck:wn the steep hills and died . The Ne palis s cored a v ictory in this battle. T he Chinese tr oop s had n ot s o far Jt)8t w ith such s tti'f re'sistance and 11ere advanc ing easily. After th is, Tung-Thyang playe d a trick. He sent a message to Kat hnmldu propos ing a treaty. His aim was to fj.nd 0ut to what

Contd , •• 186.

· extent ,·t he Nepalis hadbe en weakened and how much strength they still possessed. Nepali:'Bha.rda.rs .we nt to Tung-Thyan g:_with a replyto his le tter. He proposed that both sides should agree to a c�ase-fi.re and' . suggested that because Dhunche was too s mall for them, they should be allowed to stay in · Dhaib ung, where Nepali Bhardars · should come fo r holding negotiation s.

Realizing that their preparat ions fo r war with China were inadequate and that the intrus'ion of the enemy would only harm the country, tre Nepal governna nt acceptedTun g-Thyangts suggestion. Nepali troops accor di!':[?lY left Dhaibung to make room for the Chinese troops afte r a cease-fire notice was printe d in big letters on red clDth and shown to the Chinese at the top' . of the Dhunche hill and the Nepalis at Dha ibung'. Fighting came to an end ana the Nepalis came across 1ne river Bet ravati while the Chinese troops remaine .; at Dhaibung on the oth3r side"

Tung-Thyang had asked .the Nepal govermre nt to send envoys for peace talks along with the' . Chinese and Tibetan·Kaj is captured by Nepali troops• Kaji Ranj it Panda, Bhotu Pan da, Na r Sing h Taksari, R am Das Pa.nth� Balbhadra Khawas and others reached Dha.ibun'g on Shrawa n 31 along with them. B ut now Tung-Thyang be gan to talk di fferent ly . H e w anted that the Ch ine se should occupy Kat hmandu just as the Nepali had once plundered· Digarcha. He had got back the _T ibetan and Chirese Ka.jis,a� well as Dhaibung, wit hout a fi'ght. He stopped the Nepali Bhardars t he re and told them, 11 Dhaibung t' oo is very narrow for us. Let m proceed to Nuwakot and hold negotiations there. For t his the king himself or his mcle should come , or the matter may be hancil� !� by Bhardars . Withdrow your troops, otte rwise we shall advance by means of force. 11 Four days later , he sent Ranjit Pan de and Balabhadra Khaw'as a lone to Kathmandu with a letter to th is effect'.

Now the Nep alis unde rs tood the real m:>tive of Tung-Thyang. Acceptance of his conditions would havA meant surrender. Bahadur Shah the refo re ordero-i his ariey- to re sist'· if th is e nemy attempted to advance by means of force.

On Bhadra 8, ab out 10, 000 Chinese t:i.•oops crosse d t te Betravati and advanced on three po ints. The Nepal:.s had three forts this side of Betravat�, at Chokde, Dudhet hwnko and Gerkhu.. Kirtiman Singh Basnet was in comJJBnd at Gerkhu and Da.IOOdar Panda at .Chokde .. t A all ttese three places, there was . heavy fi ghting bet ween the Ne pali and Chino 3u troop . In the end, the Nei)c>l_;.... s i repulsed the Chinese at all th:3 threo poi:1ts. The Chine se took t o their b, c:. an d reached the Betrava ti . See_ing no ot rs r way of inciting his troops to 1 resist th e Nepalis, the Chine se Gene ral stood on the bridge and himself \:�' • • to slay his retreating soldiers. The noses of two officers who had retrea.ta; beyond the river were cut. They izmoo d.iate ly leapt int o the wate rs of the river. But this ac tion of the Chinese General had the contrary ffe e ct. Instead of feeling encourage.ct, the Chinese troops began to retreat throUt:r: other routes. Mlny of them lost their lives when they fell down the hill: · · into t he river . Many were killed by the bullets ,. arrows or sword t'hrust bj \t•• Nep alis. In ll a , 1,000 or 1;1 200 Chinese soldie' rs were ld.lled in this way.

Contd••• 187 ,

Ab andonin g all hopes of further advarx:e, Tung-Thyang decided to conc lu::le a treaty and wr ot e a letter to the goverruoont of Nepal accordingly. As soon' · as th is letter r�chedNe pal, the governmmt sen t a letter deputing Damodar Panda, -who was m. the battle-field, to go to China for the treaty ne gotiations" The letter was as follows : -

"The Chmese Enperor is not a small Emperor, but a great one. By the grace of the ·goddess, we oould have c6Tl!)letely driven them out th is time , but'· we did not think it proper to era.ate permanent conflict with the Errperor. He too intends to make peace with us'. Tung-Thyang asked us to send one of our four Kajis to mee t the · Enperor of C hina, with letters .and presents , , Ye sterday; our Kaj is were going to Tanahu and Lamjung to conclu::le treaties there also. But we re alize now.t hat we should send some Kajis to the Enperor. The seniormost Kaji, Damodar Pan-de, who has received Birt a grants, should therefore go, Delay will not serve the intere sts of our country, Start from there. So far as orders ar e core erned, you are a Panda of our palace. You know everyt hing, so do al l that will benefit . thei · country and bring credit to you. Understand this well. Send a reply imme­ diately a£tex:getting this letter. Delay will 'harm us." Dated Thursday, Bhadra Su.di 13 at Kant'ipur,

But Tmg-Thyan g was repeatedly demanding the restoration of property · which the Nepalis had looted during the capture of Digarcha, the surrender of Syana:rpa Larra, and the return of the treaty of 1845 Vikrama. The Govern­ ment of Nepal, realizing the inportance of maintaining good relations with · China, sent Eari Vakil arxi Balabhadra Kha.was with all these to Tung-T hyang on t he:ir way to China,

Thus, according to this tre aty, Syamarpa Lama had to be surrendered. But as he had alre ady committed suicics, Tmg-Thyang carr ied away only the dead body and sons of his belon gings. The Nepalis had to return eome of the pr operty loo-t:A3d in Digarcha, The trea ty signed with Tibe t in 1845 Vikra m was cancelled. A Nepali delegation was to visit the Chinese Errperor every f'ive ye ars. The' ' Chinese wit.hdrew their forces from the Nepali territory occupied by them. The teIT itory thus revertedto . Nepal.

Contd ••'• '188.

° A delegati on· �onsisti� of Kaji Devadatt1;(Thapa· (Magar )', Subba PratiJmll ·· Rana and othe�s le.ft -�t hmand'U for China along :w:ttn. -letters and presents on Aswin 5; 1849 Vikrama . On Aswin 24., Tung Thyang·· left for China along w:i.th the Nepali envoys.

This letter had �een written' . sane tim:l before Aswin 5, 1849. But it was not sent for s ome_ reason. It was sent only on Aswin 24, after an account of the depa rture · of the delegation fo r China and the re turn of Tung Thyang was adde4.

Some foreign hfstorians have clainadthat after this war, Nepal became a part of the Chinese empire. But this letter cle arly refutes this claim and shows that Nepal ha� nev er recogn ized · China •s· .s uze rai nty. Ne pal had not eJq:>ressed it s desire to conclude a treaty ¥-tth China, after being defeated in any bat·tle at the hands of the Chi nese t roops. On the contra:,f, the Chinese troops had suffere d a crushing defeat at the hands of Nepah troops in the Jast battle fought on the Betravati. Moreover, the morale of the Nepali 1:.ro opswa s very h:ig h during these days . The letter to Kaji Damoc:c'..r Pando says that 11the Nepali tr oops by the grace of the Goddess, cou+,d have conpletely drivan the Chim se troops out. But we didn ot think it pro:,per to create pemanent conflict with.th e Emperor. He too intends to make peace with us.11 The Chi nese troops had coI_lle veey near the capi ta.l. Continued conflict with China would -therefore have le d, to possib ilities of Britis h pre'ssure over Nepal·. In such situation� it �s very wise on the pc.rt of the Governnant 9f Nepal to conclude a trea'ty with China. Ne prov:i.­ sion in the treaty ugge s sts·that Nepal accepted China �s suzerainty or harr..c;� its own interests in .any way.

The treaty provided for the visit of a Nepali delegation to China ever:,· i'ive years , This too benefitted Nepal. Now that the GovernI1Bnt of Nepal h.� ,1 .. e stablishe d direct contacts with the Chine' se government, Sino-Nepal x,:ibt�1, · would not be impaired in any -vra.y•' . Moreover, re1ntions that had been i'nter� · forman y years pa st were re-est'ablishe'd. This practice continued till 196� Vikrama. durir:g the rule of Prime Mini ster Chanira Shamsher. Diplomatic relations between Nepal and China were again severe d when China unde rwent a revolution in which the imperial rule crone to an end and a, republican regime was set up'. Relations between Ne pal and C'hina were resum ed in 201} Vikrama on the basis of -the Panchasheela,..

Contd••• ' 189 .

The Tharu Community And Their Culture�

By Ishwar Baral

There •is'·'a story ab out th e origin of the Tharu comnnm.ity. Whe n the llislims invaded Chitor (Rajp1;1tana ) in the 12th century,. the Rajputs sent thei r women to th e hilly regions in the north for safety. These omen w ·,,aited long ,for their men, but in vain. They then accepted as their husbands their own- servants., as well as local low caste people. Children bom of suc h union came to be known as Tharus . Accordingly, Tharu women have greater . author.ity -ins ide the home , and the Tharus still call their wives nRani" ··(queen).· However, this custom is prevalent only among the Rani Tharus, who theref ore regard themselves as of higher status tha n other Tharus.

· ·· '· T·be Thar us call Indians other than themselves 11Baji'11• Thi s is a deroga­ tory term. This may be presumed to indicate th?.t they belong to a period earlier than the Vrijji• Republic . Prob ably the Vrijji (Va.j'ji ) Republic, in course of its expansion, oppressed the Tharus and therefore they started calling the ·inhabitants of Va jj i Vaji (with long "a")'. In tbe N'e pili language, the term,' 11Vajiya" signifies abuse. In the Bengali language, a useless thing' · is referred, to as 11Vaje11 • If Vajji corrupted as Vaje, the 9rig il'la.l home of the ·Tha.r u community must have been s omewhere ne ar Vaj ji. Va j ji comprised the modern districts of Ch amparan and Muzaffarpur , the major portion of Darbl1anga , the Mirzapur, Parsa and So nepur divisions of Chhapra district and other areas. An old Tharu of Kailali told this writer tha t the Tharus orig inally caine from Saptari and Mahotta.ri. 'l'his view probably contains some tr uth . Moreove'r , the Tharu dialect is a peaculiar mixture of Ma.gadhi, Maithili; Bh ojpuri and Awadhi.

Did the term Tharu originate from 11Thar'11 , a district in Sindh? But · considerable rese·arch is needed before we can expre ss such a view. Linguisti evidence as wel l as the Thar'u physiognomy, which has affiniti es wit h that of Tibetans and Burmese, would a.ppear to preclude this theory.· Accordin g to an ancien t custom, which is still prevalent in Rajputana', the Tharus cut off their toe and put tika on the head o f their King with the blood. Babu Ram Acharya therefore 7io!ds that the Tharus were originall3r Kshatriyas and came from Rajputana. The � s of Western Ne pal are mostly concent rated in Banke , Bardiya , Kailali, Kanchanpur, Salyan, Dang and Deukhuri , The ir clans are: Kuchila , .ta.nwar, Kach ha.riya, Dang9riya, K_'..,_tha.riya, Ra.jhatiya , Rana, Khunha, Sunha, Raji, etc. -::-¾"..t--i:�-

X11Tharu Jati Ra Tinko Sanskriti"• Nepal (A Collection Of Arti cle s On The His':.ory And Culture Of Ne paI.T:7{athmandu: Tribhuwan University Cultural Asso ciation, 1966. 16�161 P?'). Contd • • • 190.

·· .' ...' ... · . .. ·•···' . ··· x· •Kirat Migrations

In ancient tim�s� the Ki rats claimed to'· have had a divine origin •' . They had a language of their own, which the y called the divine language • In course of· time the Kirat cOl)llllUility multiplie'd in numb ers . Their leaders then decided to hold a population. census, and asked each of the m to bring a stone.

'Every Kirat then brought a stone before the leader. A,sm all hillock · then grew up• . Tp cot11T1ensorate the ce nsus , the leade r proposed the construe · tion of a tower wij,h these.' stones'. Everybody agreed and started digging the foundation . Gradually the tower b'ecame so high that the top was no longer visible. Yet the· tower wru:; getting higher •.f eople still carri'ed stones and bro ught clay, and the stones also were being laid one by one• As work was going on at fullsp eed, somethin g happeneµ, and language diffi culties a rose . Nobody could understandwh at his fellow said . They started quarrelling amo ll?: themselves'. Those who were at the ba se of th e tower pulled it down. M9.ny people were killed by the tower as i t was fall­ ing, Among those who escaped with their lives , 16 le aders , ea ch speaking -1 different language, emerged. Th ey too started fi ghting among themselves· In the end, only 4 leade rs remained alive. When these too sta�ed fightinc, . a leade r named Papah ang led his fo llowers towards the east to find a place to 1ive in. In 6 months, he crone to Simangadh.

This group spoke 12 di fferent lall?: -uages . They could not. there fore all remain at th e saroo pla ce . The Magars , Chan's and Gur,·n�s settle d down in Pa.lpa; Doti and Pyuthan in the north-west . The Nagas , Siyas, Lapchas and Kach:i.ns went t9 Assam, Sukkim and Burma in the. east'. The I.ap chas , Kachins and Siyas 'to ld the ir .m9ved ahead, telling their f9llows to follow them y b the banana bushes and Bohori tree s which they would cut at diffeN · points on the road. The Limbus-;Khaiiibas, Meches , Koche s, Tharus, Danuwars and Dhimals accordingly followed them to the. east'. But the banana bushes had again sprouted up, and' . the Bohori tree s too had_ grown, so that only a dark -stain was visible on the spot where they had been c'-ut. The Danuwars and Dhimals then decided that it would be difficult to reach th ei r brethr� and so settle d iown in the N epal Ta rai . The Limbus and Khanibus similarly went to the hilly areas of N epal. The Me ch'es, K oches · and Tharus proceedec rQ � towards the east and es tablishedth eir ru le in A ssam . A branch of this g 'I calling themselves Dukpa, settled · ctown in Bhutan. Those who w ent southw::..:.:.. settled down in the Garo ,Khasi and Jayantiya hills. From the Qlro hi11:, , . one gro up, known as' Haijongs' , ._r!3 acheci Mynensingh. .. ' ,. _, �- q One group; known as the Kachharis, gradually settled down in Sylhet, 'lripura, Ma.nipur, C9milla, N9akhali, Chittagong and Arakan.

ximan Singh C)lemjo�, ·· 11 Kirati Bhae� Ko': Gadbadi"·, (Kirati �e Disturbances ), 11Kirati Dant.ya Kat'ha 1 1 (Kirati Myths andLe gends ). Kathmandu: Royal , 20Ll (1964) , 41-42 PP'. Contd. ,•'. 191.

x Ancient Bh�ktapur

· Before the inception of the , Bhaktap ur, alike Kathmandu and LaJ.itpur, was a distinct entity. The name Bhaktcl)ur '¥l ed to denote the ld.ngdom and the city of Bhaktapur. At present Bhaktapur stands only for the city and the district. The area of Bhaktapur is 45 sq. miles only. The population and area of this district is lesser than that of Ialitpur or° Kathmandu. At different time s th is city has been historically . known by different esnam -- Bhatgaon, Bhaktapuri, Bhaktapur, Bhaktapattan, . B.haktagram, Bhaktapathan, Khripum, Mrakhaprim, Khrimprim, Khwapurn, Khwapwa _oa� Khwapwi being some of thoseo. . . L:i..}{e. Kat hmandu and Lalitpur it had the. etatus of the kingdom of Nep al onc·.e� The kingdom of the anc;ient Mallas was Bhaktapur. The nc-un e Bhaktapur is nowhere mentioned in theo. Sanskrit andNewari manuscripts even u;) to the time of the later Malla kings. Bhatgaon is mentioned in the letters written by t.he ld.ng of Kathmand1u , Jaya Prakash 1'hlla and the king of Patan, Rajya Prakash Ms.lla to the 'Kaji Kalu Pande in the court of the Gorkha King Prithvi N�ayan Shah. From this it can be known that at Gorkha and othe r close-lying dis.tricts the name Bhatgaon was currently known and thi s was befo re the am al­ gamation of the difi'arent kingdoms by Prithvi Narayan Shah Dev in one unit•

. In the stone , gold and silver insc�ptions written in Sanskrit, th is city has been.called Bhatapuri, Bhaktapur , _ Bhaktapattan and Bhaktagram . In the 11Swaroda,ya Tika 11 written hy Narapatij aya Sharma in Vikram Samvat · 145� (1401) at the time of t,.. o reign of the Royal Prince of Bhaktapur, Dham3. Malla and his three _brothers,the name Bhaktapuri is mentioned. In the book 1 1 Prayarcohitta Samrechayao11 writt en at the time of the reign of King Anand Dev near ab out SamVat 1214 (1157 ) for the first time Bhaktapur is mentione d. In the 11Khanda Khadya Tika 11 written in the reign of King Jit Malla and Pran :Malla at about Vikram Samvat 1590 (1533) for the first time the name Bhakta­ pattan is seen. This Bhaktapattan alsotra ns forms it '-,1lf to Bhaktapattan at about Vikram Samvat 17 63 in the gold , inscriptions of Bhupatindra Malla. This Bhaktapattan is similar to Lalitpattan and Devpattan. Deupattan might have been tho pri:me source of this change. But when we seE the stone inscriptions of Poorna.Raj Bajracharya dated about 1804 (1747 ) the use of Bhaktapattan the final verdict wa still feel lacking .

xLila Raj Shrestha, 11 Prachin Bhaktapur Khripung Gram", (Anciento. Bhaktapur-Khripunggram ). (Gorkhapatra, Chaitra 20, 2022 (April 2,1966) .

Contd ••• .192.

At abOllt Vikrani sa:mvat·11 90 (ll33 ) in-the re ign of Nare ndra Dev f9r too first time Bhaktagram is mentioned in the book. IIPratis than Tantra ". This same Bhaktagram qontinued to be in useup to th e latter. Malla kings. Bhaktap uri being only t,re femine fQ rm', we do not fin d popularly adopted. As Bhaktapattan and Bhaktapattan were used instead of Bhaktapur, in the same process Bhaktagram being the currently accept ed tenn p u to the latt er Mallas this might have de generated. t<> Bhatgaon of common use. The no.me Bhaktapur cazne into b'eµig in , Vikram Samvat 93 5 · (878) a.t the inc eption of the kingdom of Thak�i dynasty . later on in· 935 (878) when we see the na.me of Patan to be Lalitpur inhe t st one inscriptions of Rudra 03vI s era, we can ded.uce that both of the'se names we ro given by Dev.

In the two Lichchhavi st one ins c riptions of about Vi'krem Samvat 650 foun:l in this city, it is said that king Shiv Dev ha d given similar rights. But in the stone inscript'ion of Tulache Tole, Bhaktapur, the name mentiore'd is Khripum. And in the sto ne inscription of Yolmarhi To_le, Bhaktapur, t he 1 n,ame mantioned i s Ma khaprim� Latter on in the "Hamsayamal11 of Vikrc:.rr1 Sanv2. ., 1195 (1138) the writer mentions t he name of his residentialare a to be Khrilllpr im B ruma. -- th is might, be the combinat ion of above me nti one d Khripil."'. and Makhoprim b ecoming one in Khrimprimb ruma, Bruma. standing :to r city.

But in Vikram Samvat 1061 (1004), before 11Hamsayamal11 was written, Khwapu is mentioned in a sto:r;ie inscripti'on of King Nirman Dev. Th is word - had already de'generated to Khwapu and Khwapwa from Khrimprim in the spoker. and -writ tenawari N . This Khwapu we fin:i in the garb of Khapwa appearing in a stor.e inscription dated Vikram camvat 1509 (1452) during the reign of King Yaksha Malla and in the ::opper inscription -of King Jagaj2.y2. lull ·, inscriped at about Vikram Samvat 17 85 (1728 ) at Changu Narayan temple This same word from that .time on appears in m:rny instances • • These days th'e word Khapwa is used as ·Khopa. In Newari to mention Bhat gaon this word is used. we have tried to find out the source of thi$ ·tem we have fo md to ·be in- the Ki rati term K hripum. ·

· This city has 1:?een nantioned in different terms but the continuati� :·. of Kira.ti culture has been maintained by the adoption of the t erm Khwap:, -· a direct de scendant of the Kirati· term Khripum. This is one example of' t.'· continuity of cultural herita ge ev en thro ugh th e transformat::.. on o�.' nar...:!:.

/

Contd ••• 193e.

x Jagachchandra

Jagat Prakash Malla rule d .in 'Bhaktapur from 1700 to 1729 Vikrama (1643 to 1672e) . During the latt er part of his reign, Ministeer Chamra Shekhar Sin gh attained an inportant position in Bhaktapur. Not muc h info:nnation is available about him, howe ver. An inscripti on of Jagat Prakash Malla discovered at Khauma ol T e (in Bhaktapur) shows that Chandra Shekhar Singh had offered the hand of a girl to Jagat Prakash Mal.la in marriage (see Purnima, No. 5). This is all that we know ab out the relation­ slrip betwe en Chandra Shek har Singh and Jagat Prakash Malla , This can mean that Chandra Shekhar Singh was Jagat Prckash Mallae1 s father-in-law or brother-in_;la.w-� . 91' that he procured a girl and offered her in man-iage to Jaga t Prakash Malla .

. 'A Suld coin bearing the date 782 N3pal samvat (1662 ) bears the name of Jagat Prakash Via lla on the obvers� and that of Chandra Shekhar Si ngh · "on . the rev erese. (Th3 :first refeerence to Chandr&. Shekhar Singh or Ch and 'Shekhar Singh is found in a book calle d 11Gitavali 11 (Collection of Song s) conposed by Jagat Prakas h I't.a lla in 1717 Vikrama. (1660 ). The 1Tlf'0.uc cript is availab le (Noe. 3154 ) at the Rashtriya Pustakalaya (National Library ) (in Kathmand u}e. The inscription of Chandra ekSh har Singh 1 s name on a c o:i'1 along with that of t pe King is indicative of his influence . In the Khauma ·Tole inscription of 17 23 Vikrama (1666 );; Ja gat Prakash Malla refers to · Chandra Shekhar Singh as one as dea.r to him as his own lifee. Thi s shows how Chandra Shekhar Singh ts influence was increasing� This process continue d until he became one with the king as 11Jagachchandran - or conj ucti on of the first names of both pe rsonse,,

The Bir Library (in Kathmandu) (No. 377 ) contains a drama called 1'1'1uladeva - Shashideva-Vyakh;; .:;n 1 1 py Jagat P:"' aka sh Malla, wheerein he refers to himself' as th e reigning ld.ng, but al so c-:.:cc1.sionally refe:es to 1 1 Jagach­ chandrae11 . The first verse in this dramt. is sung by Jagachchandra. The dram..1. mentions thate· (the Godde ss) Ralaju bestc;we d -the name of Jagachchandra because of the deep affection existing betw"en the two men. The concludinp portion mmtions both Jagat Prakash MalJ.a and Chandra Shekhar Sing h indiv:i.­ dually, which shows whom the term Jagachchandra refers to.

X Bhola Nath Poudel, 11 Jagachchandra", Purnima , 8, 1,Ja gh 1, 202 2 (January 14� 1966), 20-25 PP.

Contd ••• 194 .

o;: There are statues of 11 Jagachchandra 11 at the'. Bhairav temple in Bhaktap . The statues depict two fully armed men with lamp� in their han ds, The stat,;u on. the right is larger , but sluws the appearance of a younger man than the statue on the lef't. Both statue s are installed on t he same pedestal, on th\' four sides of which is written : "Since the statue offered by Jaya Jagach­ chandra Deva to Akashb hairav was damaged, Jayabhupatindra Malla rrade tl)ese of brass , These st atue s were first iElstalled in 7 88 Nepal Samvat (1725 Vi:::­ :.. 1668 A.D. ). These were renovated in 833 Nepal S�mvat (1769 Vikrama.-1712 11 A,D. ),

1 It is thus clear that the two st atues of 11 Jag achchandr. . a 1 were of Jagat Prakash Malla and Chandra Shekhar Singh.

The Bhaktapur mus eum contain s a portion of a stone inscription of · Jaga t Prakash Malla containing a hymn to the ten incarnations (of Vishnu) corrposed by him. This hymn contains the word 11 Jagachchandra11 at several plc.-::os, and says.' 11 Jagachchandra, tho�h two creatures, are one . n It bears the date 789 Nepal Samvat (1726 Vikrama - 1669 A.D. ). There are two inscriptions of Jagat Praka sh Malla at the Jih Swanchc:: ( courtyard) of the B haktapur Palace, both bearing the same date. One of them contains rules regarding the'_ Bhandarkhal tank in Newari verse'. The other refers to the Sadashiv achok (courtyard)'. These tw o show · that the term 11Jagachchandra 11 was used to refer to J agat Prakash Malla and Chandr:'" Shekhar S ir!�h. 11 Jag achc handra" is he re roontion'ed as king, while the term Malla folic.r:m. This proves that Chandra Shekhar Singh 1 s influence had further increased by this time" The date is .7 92 Nepal Samvat (1729 Vikrar.:. · 1672 A. D. ).

?r Thus it' . is clear that 11Jagachchandra was used t6 denote both Jat:i.· . . Prakash Malla and Chandra Shekhar Sir.gh.

·· Jagat Prakash Milla was born on l�ga 25, 1695 (approximately December 10, 1638 A.D.). During the time when Chandra 'Shek har Singh had gaine d influence, he had alreRdy t a t .:,ined majority. The reason or f Ch andra. Shekhar· Singh1 s lasting :influenc e :isno t clear.

However,' · this relati9nship does not appear to have developed in mat ters relating to administrative affairs. Accounts of Jagat Prakash Mllla 1 s. dealings with a K nt:.pur and Lalitpur bear only his CMn name .

Contd • •• 195 •

. Judicial Cust'o1113 In Nepal

The 1866-67 edition of the legal Code contains the following law governing the system of Nya or trial by ordeal :-1

1. In some areas, when trial is held by Nya at too in stance of anybody, (the accused person) is put into a sack and submerged in water. In tre tufu re , Nya shall not be conductedin this marme r in violat ion of the law. In case the (person who is)subm erged in th is manrer die s, the officer or local headman2 who conducte d Nya in this manner shall him self be put into a sack and submerged :::..11 water. The -Nya (trial) shall be invalidate d. . . . : 2.,. Nya shall not be conducted in case s _rela ti ng to lands, cattle, .. , . go!d, silver, jewelry and other property, murder, claim s that -orphans are slaves, witchcraft and rape. A.'1. y officer or local headman3 who disposes of sµc h cases through Nya shall be f:ine d with Rs 20. The judgment so deliv ereid through Nya shall be inva li- . dat e d. The case shall be heard again by the court.4 It shall be disposed of through evi denc e furnished 'cydo cuments, signatures, witne sses and pos ses sion . After true justice is awardedin this manner , th'e victory of the winning side shall be confirmed.

' 1 . His Majesty's Governme nt , Shri 5 Surendra Bi kram Shah Dev Ka Shasan Kal Ma Bareko Muluki Ain. (Legal Code Enacted During The Reign Of King Surendra Bll:ram Shah). Kathmandu: Ministryof Law and Justice. Jestha 2022 (June 1965). 11Nya Halaunyako'11 • (On Trial By Ordeal) . P. 234 •

. 2. The term s used are Dittha , Bichari, Amali , Jimmawal and Mukhiya.

3. The terms u sed are Hakim of Ad.al. at, Dittha., Bichari, Arrali, Dware, Thari , MJ.khiya, Mijhar and Bhardars of Gaunca (dist ric t headqua rters office).

4. T� te:nns use d are Adalat, Amal and Gaunda .

Contd• •• Imprisonment by - Proxy was " another intere'sting judicial cust om. The 1 1866-67 legal Cod� cqntains.' the _following law on this subject:'- l. In cas e a woman· commits offense s othe � than h t ose punishable with life inpri'sonment , and'· iri case any male relative from the fami ly of her husbanct or from among _her own or ha r mother's paternal relatives offers to un'dergo impri sonment as her proxy and prays that she be accordingly roleased , ha shall be nade to sign a b ond and impri'soned in lieu of. the wanan , .who sha1:l be released.

2 . In case a wi dow , married woman or girl is involvod in any punish­ ableca' ses other than tho se involving. mur der , rape and sharing of kitchen or the use· of water ( touched by her), and in case her husband,' son, fathe r-in-law, father or he r own o r oor husband's alder or young'er brother stipulate that they wi ll no't produ ce her before the court, 2 but will themselve s undergo liability for the offen'se co mmitted by her, action s hall be taken ac cording to law. But if nobody cooies forward to make any such repre 93 ntation on her be haJ.f, and her husband too has gone elsewhere or a.broad, she shall be punished with a fine according to law. But sre sha l•.

1. Ibid, 11 Satu Kaid Baschhu Bhanyako 11 • (On Imprisonment by ProJCY) ; P. 2LL

2. The term use d is Kachahari.

Contd ••'• 197.

3 not be under obligation to perform the ritual of Dhunga-Chhuwai, . nor shall any fee be coll.Eicte d for such ritual. In case the money :i,� not paid, she shall be imprisoned according t o law. ·, I . 3� In case a woman cctnmits any offe nse other than those punishable with life imprisonne nt, and in case her husband, son, her own or her husband's elder or younge r brother, fathe r or any relative on her . mother 's pate rnal relatives off ers to stand surety for her and undertake to bear liability for the punishment to be awarded her, he shall be nade to sign a bond , and acti9ll shall be taken against. him according to law , while the woman shall be released. In case no man offers to stand sure ty, (such W9JT!an) shall be summoned through 2 male persons, if female peons are not available, and broug ht (before the court). In cas e she doe s not come, and remains intransigent , she shall be caug ht hold of at the place where a physicians feels the puJse and brought before the court , and th3 case shall then be disposed of. A male peon shall not be sent alone to arrest a woman.

3 . According to Brian H: Hodgson, Dhunga-Chuayi meant a system under which a stone (dhunga ), the image of God Vis hnu, was placed before the loser when he lo st a case, and he as w commanded to touch it . 11He places one rupee and one pice on the stone ., and then salutes it with a bow, and retires, le aving the offering . The proceeds go to the Bicha.ri11 ., (Brian H. Hodgson, 11Some Account Of The Systems Of law And Police As Recogniz ed In The state Of Nepal". The · Journal Of The Royal Asiatic Society Of ,Orea� Britain and Ire land, Vol. I, 1834, P. 273.

Contd•• • Glossary·of Revenue , Administrative And Othe r Terms -Occurring In Ne pali Historical Documents . . . Kus ahi Bisahi A tax collected from Birta owning ... 0 Bra hmans and '118mbers of religious orders :i,.n ccms ideration of· t.10 confi r­ mation their Birta lands in the westerno! reg ions . which were annexed dur:ing th e period from 1782 to 1789. The rate s ranged from Rs 9 to Rs 14 per 20 muri_s of land. The tax was sometimes collecteod als'o in the form of household utensils, go ld and silver , lag Ala.g A tax collected in the Thak c1Xea when the 1:,erritozy was annexed. ro informa­ tion is available re gardirg its nature and·p urposoe . ,

Laskari ••• A rupee coin m:inted in India wh ich was in circulati on in Nepal also during the 18th and 19th centuries. 14 Laska.Ti annas exchanged for one N� aJ..i rupee in the weste rn hill areas in 1787. Laxmipuja ••• A tax colle cted in Gorkha and other hill areas t o finance official ceremo­ nies during the Iaxmipuja fe s tival in October or November.

I.ekhwar ••• A reveonue collection functi.onary in the Tarai areas of Garhwal..

Ma. fi ••• Fre�-hold lands,o· f rom the Arabic 11!'baf'i"•

·Maghe-SS.nkranti Kharcha . '. A ·tax colle ctad in Thak and e lsewhere to finance official ceremonie s on th'- -· .:'f'ir$t�day of the month of Magh (Jan�:7 14)e very year. · ·

Mahant-Mandali ••• Similar to the Jogi-Mandlli (See ReP."°� Re search Series , V ol. 2, No. 7, Julj• l;: 197 0, P. 174 ) for members of monasti c orderso. 199.

Mandar • •• A revenue collection functionary in Morang, Sheoraj and other areas in the Taraei, probably synonymous with the Mandal of Mughal Irrlia . Pasture lands Martae. . ..' . • Mas;i.ne Jat · ••• Castes and communitiees whose members could be enslave d. These includedBh ote, Chepang , Iarai, Majhi, Haya, Danuware, Kumhal and Paha.rie.

Matwala· Ja t ••• Castes and communities among whom the drinking of liquor was not prohibiteed. The se inclu::led the caste s and communities me ntione d above •

Mejmani ••• A levy collected from village headmen in the hill areas to finance hospitality expenses for visit ing official s; often collecte d in the form of a goat.•

Mijhars ••• Headnen of certain low-caste occupa- tional castees and Mongoloid communitiees suc h as Tamauta, whar, Mahar, Phalamya, Kadera , Mahi, Nau and Sunuwar . Mij hat's colle cted leviev from the familie s of casetes or communitie s under their juris- · diction, as we ll as judicial finees, esch�at and expiation feese. They retained the prescribed commis sions and transmitted the proceeds to the government .

Mohinaike ... A fun ct ionary appointed in Katehmandu Valley and some hill districts to dise­ charge functiones relating to land re cla­ mation and revenue colle ction.

Mokaddam ••• In haMug l Irrlia, the l-i,kaddamMuqaddam ( ) was a village -level functionarye,inch arge of settlement an:i the allotment of uncul­ tiv atecl lands• In Nepal , however, he -functioned at Parganna level and assisted in the collection of revenue.

Contd ••e• 200;

Mokarri ·• .. A sys te m of land tenure prevalEOt in the distri cts of the eastern Tarai under whic h the governmant assigned lands or villages to individuals s ubject to the paymen t of a fixed sum of money every year. The 1-bkaITi holde r, in consider ation of th'is payment , enjoyed aut hority to colle'ct land andot her revenues and ,re claim waste lands in the areas as signed to him.Wh ep such grants were made on a permanent' , they were known as Istimrar Mokarri'. (I:::t i- mra r is an Arabic word meaning perrnaner:"- '·

Moro-Aputali ••• Es c'heat property occurring to the st.a�· The• state disclaiIOO d-. its rights to apprc.• priate th e es cheat property of certai� commu."l ities'. These included Khas, Bhott, Gurung, Ghale, Magar and Sum1v1ar.

Mudahi • • • A tax on transactions in slaves • Mule Dware ... The topmost local function 3rY in the Rui;-Khola area adjoining Tibet , with village-level Budhyaulis under him.

To Be Continued'.