Regrni Research {Priv,::te) Ltd Kathmandu: S eptanber 1, 1975
Regmi Research Series
Year 7, No. 9,
Edited By Mahesh c. Regmi. ********
Contents
. Page 1. Ranajit Kunwar's Letters to Bhimsen Thapc1 ••• 161 2. Social Changes During the Early Shah Period •• • 163 3. Srimanavihar.:r •• • 173 4. Selected Documents for Marga-Poush, 1887 ••• 174.
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Regmi Research (Private) Ltd. Lazimpat, Kathmandu, Nepal.
Compiled by Regmi Research {Private) Ltd for private study and research. l�ot meant for public sale or display• 161.
Ranajit Kunwar• s Letter to Bhimsen 'Ihap a By Dinesh Raj Pant.
From Ranaj it Kunw ar, to Kaji Bhimsen Thapa.
Greetings. ,;11 i s well here, and I wish the same there. The news here is g ood. '. . . I nformation ab out_ the situation prevailing here had been given i n t he previous letter. The enemy, wh o had proceede:l · through Panthajada, ha s not advanced farther. Our S az::dars and companies are making preparations to attack him. _The position of the w estern kingdoms r emains t he same as before. As regards the Hudhesh region, we hav e r eceived repo rts t hat Ranajit Singh has vacated t he fort as well a s the territories (Parg anna) that he had occupied, when the British m ade a reque st t o t hat effect o n the basis of a complaint submitted b y_ Baghal S ingh. Ranajit Singh is now trying to o rganize a united front of the Marhattas, the Sikhs, and t he hill Rajas, on the ground that otherwise the British will assllllle supreme au thority. Th e hill Rajas, on their part, want to start a quarrel-w ith us. I shall . report on whatever developments tak e place.
. I have leamt from the letter sent by. the boys that Rewanta . Kunwar has be en graciously deputed to �umaun.we could have. accou�lJI shed ev erything through the grace of F..J..s M ajesty and ·-your support. We tried t o act acco.tding to royal orders, not to Please other .people. In Kumaun, Rewanta was becoming a victim of i ntrigue, and th at was why we h ad petitioned for his transf er,, We are here acting acco.tding to the orders of . the Budha Kaj i (Amara Simh a Thapa), as we had been di·rected unde� royal. in- s�ructions. RE:wanta writes, "N ot to t alk of increasing the strength of the Barakh Company by fo,ur platoons (Patte), even the two existing platoons that have been c reated are not being abl.e to receive their emoluments•. Because •. • in his battal ion (Pal tan), no order h as been iss�d to· charge our increase:i
Contd• •• 162. allowances (on the revenues of) Kurnaun.,;The Kaji has. clearly stated that he has ,net received any order to allot lands in this r�gion . Because of the large number of Sardars, it is not proper for us to ranain in the unny like ordi�cy persons.
I have represented my problems before you, and will do whatever you adviDe. Hopinl) that you will coontinue giving me advice, and informing me about your welfare.
Sunday, Bhadra SUdi 11 (1867) Camp: Sugatror.
.§Ource: Dinesh Raj Pant, "Bhimasena Thapalai Ranajit Kunwaralc Vi. sam. 1867 Bhadra 26 Gate Lekheko Patra. 11 (L�tter written by Ranujit Kunwa:t to Bhimsen Thapa on Bhadra 2G, 1367 Vikrama). Purnirna, Year 7, No. l, Margu 2028 (Novernb�r-Decenber. 1971), pp. 9-13. Explanation
Sard�= Baghel Singh seems to have played·an important rola - in the Punjab before the rise of Ranjit Singh. ·see Joseph D. Cunningham, History of th•� Sikh s ( 1966 ed.), Pp. 102-11; . Khushwant Singh, A History of the Sikhs, PP• 173-80.
Not much information is available about the battle of Pan• thaj ada. ;" 1-.:!tter T.-,ri tt(.)n by Sard ar Shumsher Rana and Sardar . Dhokal Simha Khatri to Bud ha Kaji l\111,:ira Simha Thapa on l'5hadh Sudi 3 1 1867 {June 1810), and the Bhasha vamshavali, contain the following information:
Nepal was efeutcd d in the battle of Nagini. During the rainy season of 1867 Vikramn, the Rajas of the Barha Thakuri principalities seize4. the 0pportunity o t besiege the e N palis at Panthajada.h T ey· had been able to win over the local ryots and Zamindars to their side. Some troops had beent s atione:l at Panthajada under the command of Subba Basanta Bogati and · Birqbahu Simha uf Musikot. '.rhe Nepalis were compelled to sur� render the fort fter a four days. Hearing of che siege, Bu::la .•' es" Kaji l.mara Simha Thapa n se t the Tripuradal and other compani ·'� to Panthajada under the command of Sardar Shumsher Rana and Sardar Dhokal 'Simha Khatri. By the tim� these troops :reached Panthaj ada, the en.emy had entrenched himself in four positiollSj.;... in the hills, and was launching an attack on Jada. ·aecause
Contd ••• 163 .
of the limited forces at their disposal, the Nepali corrmanders had not been able tp finalize a strategy. Meanwhile, �he enemy took up . two .more positions. The commarxler's then -wrote' to . .' . BUdha Kaji l�ara Simha Thapa on ,"\s hadh 23, 1867 Vikrama for'. advice'. · Subsequently, according to th e Bhasha Vamshavali, th e Nepalis clcfeat(.� the enemy and reoccupied Panthajada.
R.e\-rnnta Kunwar was Ranajit Kunwar'' s son'. *********
x Social Changes during the Early Shah Per iod By Baburam Acharya (Cont inued from �he AUgust 1975 issue)
Prithvi Nar ayan Shah l1imoelf appears to have conducte:i tr ade. After a war wi th China, Khasa situated on the left · · banks'· of the sunkoshi river had been merged into Tibet. Pri thvi Narayan Shah had appoin ted'.consuls at Khasa, directing them to send him infonnation about the quantity of gold which might reach Khasa from Lhasa. He also advised them to buy t he gold , and not l e t it fal l into the hands of o'thers. Prithvi Narayan Shah col l ected as much gold as possible, and sold sane gold to the people of India also . It was also his d esire.to develcp· agr iculture in t he coun tcy'. H e s'tress ed t he nefad· £or · reclaiming lands which could be irrigated, and prospecting for mines even if this required th � evacuation of settlement's . A mine, once i ts operation was started, yielded subst@tial . income fo r generations. Prithvi Narayan �ah.�'· therefore.:�·d id
X Baburam Acharya, Ncpalko Samkship tc1 Vrittanta (.l, Conclse ,"\c coun t * of Nepal). Kathnandu: Pramod Shamsher and Ni'r •Bikram "Pyasi, 2022 ·<1966)'. Cpapter 21': "'Ilin Shahrajaharuk� -Sana Yama Samajma Bhayeko Pari vart� ra i: rabandhako TUlanatmak Lckhajokha." (A comparative evaluation of t� social changes and arranganC$lts .during th� t:1me ··of three Shah Kings) •· pp'. 127-5 1. Contd ••• .. 164.
not want to le av e �y mine unexploited . He mad e effectiveo. arr angements for theo· development of. agr;Lculture and mining. Prithvi Narayan Shah permitted the export only of herbs und elephants to India. Trade in elephants wus a gov ernment monopoly, whereas herbs were al lowed to be .exported by private tr.ide:cs. Elephants abounded in the Tarai·f orests , but it wus not easy to c aptur e them . Prithvi Narayan Shah therefore laid spec ial empha.si� on the need for capturing and exporting el� phants. Herbs were available in abundance and perennially. Prithv i Nar.iyan Shah accordingly gave full freedom to �xport herbs. Ibwever, hw stressed that peopl e should imp ort only gold .:i.nd silver. He p rohibit ed the import of manuf actured foreign goods, particul urly t extiles and luxury good s . He earnestly desired his .. subjects to become affluent . He desired to increase agriculturul product ion , anq expand cotton culti vation in o.cder to d E:!velop the ind igenous textile manuf acturin0• Durin g the reign of Prithvi n.irayan Shah, not much was spent on the administration . Ec9nomy was practised even during war . Durin g the Kirat war, Prithvi Ncirayan Shah obtain ed a loan of Rs 8,000, and later of Rs s,ooo, f rom a Br ahman . After the conquust of Saptari, he rc.-
contd••• 1 65 •
t roops at the end o f the war. He had , no doubt, tried to in cre ase the revenues of the st<1-t;.e, whil e. incurring increased expenditure. 1-bwever, revenues did not i ncrease at the sam e Pc::ce as exp enditure, with the resul'It that the trea sury became whol ly enpty in 1833 Vikrarna . During the w ar, forced lamr ( Jhar.:i) was exact ed on a lar ger _ scale than before, and , · con ar:ictsequ ently, p eop l e h::..d not eno ugh t ime to attend to f a rming crafts. 'I'hi s w as also one f-:icto r contributing to the p au- c ity 0£ funds at th2t time.
• The .soci,11 struc ture,'I:...� wel l as food habits , c hanged con- sider.:ibly durinCJ the si:;...ty-two or sixty-three ye;:irs between Prithvi Narnyan Sh ah and Rana Bahadur Shah. Pr ·::�viously, Brah r dh , and take th mans andt Chhetri s 'Used to �,.,ea otis eir food in s ep aru.e kitcL8ns . But durlng the war they took meals with their usual clothes on , becaus e the enemy could launch an attack while they were eat ing• Chhetris and Magar s were p er mitted to cat together wheat c akes cooked in ghec wit hout tak ing off th;:., ir clothe s.People belonging to_ untouchabl e cashes were segregated, but people belonging to other ca&tes main tained ir:timate inter-communal rel at ions, and even mc1t rimonial rel at ions, with on e another . Only Brahmans were emp loyed as cooks, bc!C ausc they were not engaged in mil itary d uties . Close inter-communal relations und cooperat ion among different commu n ities bel onging to the pure castes prqnotect social unity.
hrchitccture during the reign o f Prithvi Narayan Shah was bas ed on the Rajput �tylc. There i s not much d if ference ·between the Mughal and Rajput styles o f architecture. During the rule of the Ma lla Kin gs , NCfJf1li architecture was patterned after the Mughal styl e, which reflected Musl irn influence, whereas th� Rajput styl e was based on Hinduism . The Hanurnan Dhoka PaL:ic e, buil t by Pratap Malla, reflected the influence of the Mughal style. This p al ace was plast erc.>d with lime durin g the rule of Jang Bahadur. i.s a result , the old Mughal art. in the Pal ace has been cov ered up. The Rajplit style of the paJ. ace built by Pri thvi Nara,yan Shah at Basanti:-ur is still. visibl e . 'Ih e Mughal style of th e pal aces buil,t by_ the Malla kings of Patan and Bhadgaun was also effaced, becc1use these too were Pl astered with lime·. But the last palace built for Jaya Prakash Mal l a, which wc1s Putterned after the Mogh�l stll e, was. not so p last ered . Th.at is <-,hy the Mughal architectural style of · that Pulace is st ill intact. The big poor-house constructed at De:opat an dur ing the r eign of Ran a Baru:idur Shah was based on th'.·. Rajput styl e. It was the last building constr-µctod dur ing his rC;;ign . i'. san ato r ium had also b een built there for the use of o�een Kantavati. It too depiected the .Ra jput style• Contd ••o• 166.
The Rajput styl e of architecture disappeared after the end o f Rana Bah�dur Shah 's reign as a result of the growing popu lar ity of European architectural styles aft er the emergence of Bhimsen Thapa . 6VTIOn g the forts and temples built in .Nep al from the time o f Prithvi Naruyan Shuh to that of Rana Bahadur , the Lal Killa (Red o F rt) built by Barn Shah at hlmora proved to be the strong est during the war against the British. Thes e forts and temples were built by the Newar artisans of Kathmandu Valley according to the new Nepali style o� architec ture. snall roofing tiles (Jhin gati) , whi ch was popular in Kathmandu at that time, wcr� used in t he region from Kirat to Kumaun. lbuses with roofs of �uch til es were con structed in the Tc1rai also . This re sulted in a big gain . j�ar Simha had the ,temple o f Rama in Janakpur roofed with Jhingatis . ,�fter the war with the British, both sides agreed to demc'trCd.te the bound a�y on the bi:lsis of actual occupat ion. The inhabitant s of villages, which were under the actual occup ation of N ep al, suppress ed the receipts issued to them by t he Nep al government, and defected to the Brit ish , because the Nep ali adm inistration at the time followc: Let us now discuss the condition of hand icraft at the time of the wars fought during the reign of Prithvi Narayan Shah. On an auspicious date, Prithvi Narayan Shah cut a baJnboo to make a new l:ow for the Nuwakot CaJnpaign. In view of his victor./ in Nuwakot , Prithvi Narayan Sha}) s ent a sentry to protect that .,. baml:oo thicket • .i\. sentry was p ost ed there until 1980 Vikrama. Howeve r, he used to stay at the district headquarters office near the Gorkha palac e , which was located at a· distance of about two miles from the btunboo thiGket . Indian dancers und mus icians had been employed at the royal palace dur ing the Mw.lla period . I3ut Prithvi Narayan Shd: �ncouraged Nepali dancing and music. He prohibit oo. the entry Contd ••'I• 167. o f Indi an dancers and musicians·int o N epal, . becaus·e h e f elt that they m ight underst and the state s ecrets, l�t that· time, the Newari language was used in danc ing and musi cal perfor mancesn. Dr am as w ere written in Ne wari, · but Kh as-Kura, Hin dus tan i, Ben gali,· and Maithil i w:�re also used . ,'\ s · a: res4lt,· Nepali dramas survived and are n ow making progress . Gamblinng and theft were rarnp ant in the eastern and western regions, as well as in the Mallna kingdoms, d ur ing the reign O f Prithvi Narayan �l.i�.1n. Later, Prithvi Narayan Shah_ introduced · some steps which letl·t o a decline in theft. He imposed a total bd.1.1 on garnblingn. H e. made. several efforts to stop br ibery, althoug h it was difiicult to do so. He appointed Thakuri s as Dittha, and Nagar.-s as Bichari, because h e regarded t hem as les s corrupt ibl e . He al so ·aFpointed Pandits i n c ourts to pre v7nt tampering \vith j ustice . He ut�l ized,t he incofi\e from judi cial fines for cnaritabl e purposes, instead of c.redit ing such income -to t he r oyc:i.l t reasury, because he '!.:>elieved that its u se for other purpo ses would n ot bring religious mer it . P rithvi Narayan Sh ah also believed that it would not be a sin to kill anyone who w as found to have of f ered or accepted bribes, but h e did not actually sent enc e such perDons to death.Gambling, al though banned by Prithvi Narayan Shah,was revived nineteen .. Years aftqr his d eath, that is , during th e reign of Rana Bahadur Shah. This was done on religious gro unds. The Gorkhalis h ad defeated the Chin (:se troops on t he eve o f the Tij festival durin g 'Which Shiva and Parvat i are wor chipped . People w ere pcrrnitl:<..::J. to e ngage in g arnbling during t he Tij festival to '·celebrate.. th at victory. Later, gambling was pe nnitted d4ring the Tihar {Panch��) fes tival as welln. D uring the Ran9 regime, ·· gambl ing had crossed a l l limits. Gambling was permitted even during minor fest ivities . Du ring the rule of Dev Shamsher, · contd •••• 168 . ht the de ath o f King N arabhupal Shah . p rithvi Narayan shah mig have desired that his w ive s should not bec ome Sit is on h iS de ath. His elde n h eady d e If hi younge St st quee ad alr i d. s e a r 5 queen Narendra Laxmi had not become a sati, th e twe lve y old conflict in the roy al c ourt would not have taken p lac �; atn BUt she bec ame a 33-ti because tne re w as nocody after �he of Pri thvi Na rayan Shah who could change oormin d . RaJe ndra Lax.m i, a quee n of King Pr atap Singh Shah could not become a satio, because her son w as still an infant. The e ldest q ueen h d b n of King Rana Ba a ur Shah £9ced no diff ic ulty in ecomi g ane sat i , because her da\,lghter -had already be n married, and 7 e n herself w,:, s in de tention. $he a lso believed in the tradi tio tho.t th e soul of t he husbarid dl.yoing an untimely de ath wou ld be 1 �berated if hi� wife became . a S ati. on the de ath o f Kin9o. d Girvan Yuddha Bikram Shah, his eldest que en was . still young al1 sre also ha d an infant ·son •. However , she w 0 s forced by Bhimsen Thap a to become _ a Sat i� Thereafte. r , n o queen of Nepal bec ame a Sati . The custom of S ati become g radually absolete i n the ro�al f ami�y . It became unpopular among t:1:e people too, and fa.nally dis appeared dur.in:g the i:;..ana pe riod• The size of the army w as increased in 1805 AD in order to attack Kangra. Salaries w ere paid not in c a sh but in the . e form of land ass ignIPent s at tha t time . There wa s no a lteraatiVl' but t o confiscoate Bi rt a lands to increase the si ze o f tbe ar'f. J for expanding the state territor ie s, because Raikar and Jag e� l l or u h lands were not avai ab e f s c ass i gnme nt . The Ku sh Birta -- lands o f Brahmans and the Guthi B irtas of temple s were confi so cate d with the assurance that they would be restore d late r . 1 35 Theseo 1ands were then converted i nto Raikar. However , the B:rt of mili tary families such as Thakuris , Chhe tris , and Mag ars we re not c onfiscated . Amo ng Brahmans too , partiality was ract se by ot c onfiscating t h � irta s o f R n;J n t P dit p i d n e a a a h an nd others . Bhimsen Thapa to o c onf isc ated Birta lands i n trieo. a ti ame w ay for pu1:Po�es o f war: The e� re blaire f or s uch conf1S� s o ur al tl1 , c ation and partiality was la id . n King Rana Baha d Shah the truth was that he co_u ld ne ith':1: grant n�r- c9nfiscate Birta:.;• O ring the conr isc ated' Bir.t as was. rais e d The q uestion f resto 1211 a g s ov r But t his did n t happ ' aftE: the the Kangra Camp i n -w a e • o ' r e . Howr.;:V The question was raise d also a ft r the t:1e Pa !-Bri tish war in dra Bikram Shah , P k l nds · dur ing the last days of K g Raj en a ho a a rta w ere res tored. which had b een granted s B i i m litary organization played an important The GOrkhal i o t .c l the rule o f Bahadur Shah . It to k 57 years o role unti ginning of Prit vi this organization , from the be h deve lop s o aaninistration Nar y- n c hah , s rule to the final day f the T ng s of Nep al maintained standing of :a�ad�r shah . he Mal l a Ki 169'I. ann es � · ( s ic) . D uring w a r , tp.ey utilized t he s ervices o f t he ir subJ ects a _ �d c oll�cted a.tms - They· �a te� bega n to organize armies by r�cruitJ.r:.g _ their Khas and_Ma gar subJects under commanda rs cal led Umraos . They a lso used to invite Khas and Magars f rom Gorkha and Tanahu f or m ilitary assistance'I. One h undr ed permanent troops w ere maintained under the command of one'I· sardar at the Gorkha pa lace. There were two fort s to the east of Phading and sa lyan for· de fending Gorkha from the att acks o f the Kings of Kathmandu _Valley . The obj ective of the se: .:forti fications w as to attack tbe Malla Kings. The Ragin as Gaqhi fort wa s construc ted t o chec k · the attack of the · L amj'Iung King in the W�st . T he Sifanchok Gadhi. f ort was cons tructed for the supervis.5.on o f the se fort s . Able -bodied pe rfD ns of ne ighboring areas wc..re recruite d during � he_ winter, and g iven leave during the mons oon. An Um rao'I_ was appointed to train'I· them, he U.Se d to prov ide training at the se f orts by rotation . Many troops we re rE:c rui ted during' the reign of King Prithv i ··Narayan Shah. H ow ever, there was no standing arm y. Troops were recrui'Ited a t tirres of n eed and la�er derrobilize d . Th ey were ctrrned with K hukris and $v ords, as well as w1th bows and a rrows'I. Of fic:ers carri ed shields. 'l'he Go_rkhalis fe lt the n eed for u�g the guns l o ot€d during the invasio n �f Mir Kassim' in Makw anpur . But fl int s n ece ssary for the: use cf guns were not available i n N�pal . It was also di f ficult to purchase flints f rom the Europeans. Mir Kassim h ad e sta,blished_a factory f�r· p roducing guns and f in s. HOvJeve r, the fac tory cl os ed down when 11e· lost l t ·'I. • his te rritori es. Because flints were not avai lable , P rithvi Narayan Shah introduce:ct th e practi�e o f ignit�ng muzzle -loading guns w ith paper wicks. Thereafter, he formed t wo companies ;of rifl�.;.;me n, Kal itux and srinath.Kal ibux was named a·fte r the Goddess 'Kalika, and Srinath after Siddha Gorakh N ath. In the biginning, each c ompany h ad one hundred s<:>ldiers arid s·e:7en off i o�rs .; ;There WE:re no � e than f ive perrnanen t o.:,rnpanl:es during the re ign of Prithvi Narayan Shah. Eac'"l c:ompany had n o more than 150 troops . 'I·he five • o::,mpan ies mus t have had . abo'Iut 750 .guns . With the hel p o f these 9uns, the eastern t erritor ies o f Nep al w ere annexed. Paper wicks were being us ed instead of flint fo� firing guns . Guns 'ne eded frequent. r epair�. J?r�thvi Na.r:;-ay an Shah employeJ three Musl im fugi tives from India for repaining g un s, and all ot�d Kipat 1 ands to tr.em . They not only _ repaired; damaged 170. guns , but a lso manufac tured new ones. In Europe , guns were manufac tured by machinery . However, the Gorkhalis manufactured guns by using iro n rrould. The se guns were . of low qua l ity. During tht.: re ign of Prithvi Narayan Shah, guns looted from the troops o f Mi r Ka s sim and the British were sufficient. The practice of p urchasing guns was s tarted dur ing the period of Bahadur Shah . But when Subba Dinanath tried to send 500 gun s from Ca lcu tta to Nepal, the British Gov.ernor-General refused to give permi s s ion. Ho,.,evcr, the Briti s h sent a gun of good quality to pacify the Nepal. government. The'I· Gorkhalis procured guns from the Naw ab oj 0udh, the Sikhs , and some Europeans other than the British , at the tim8 when Nepal ma inta ined 100 •?mpanies of troops · and its fron tiers extended from Sikkim to Garl·.wal'I. An arms factory was opened in Nepal during the last year o f th.-:! ru le o f Bahadur · shah . w ith the help of French technicians . The Ma lla Kings , the Kings of the Bais i and ChaubiSi statE.:.;, and the King s of Kumaon and Garhw al als o used to purchase guns. But they could not purcha se many guns , becaus8 the ir revenues were inadequate .They could no.t match the might o f Nepal. The f rontiers of Nepal extended to Garhwal during the period of Bah adur shah.'I· The Nepali army had been fully equippe:d ."1ith gun s by that time'I. Bow'Is and arrows had I?roved,use less during the f i fty years of the Gorkhali military organ ization'I. Since Prithvi Narayan Shah, thE- Gorkhali army had becon-.a invin•ible . It is so famous that N epal is known in Europe after Gorkha. Khas , Magar• and Gurung have jointly made the Gorkha li arn.y famous for its• bravery . The G orkhali army wil l lose its strength if any other communi ty is recruited. Even the Khas, Magars and Gurung s of Gorkha are not given pre fe rence for r ecruitmei;,:i.t in thE.: army . They are se lected from area s s itua t ed betwe en Tanahu and Lamjung on the one hand to Gulmi and Argha on the other. Kashi di s trict is situa�ed in the center of this region. The read:Iuarters of Kaski. , Pokhara,'I. has becom� the cente r of the Gorkhali army , becau se large numbers·of l In c ontradis tinction, achievements . o f the P rithvi N arayan .Shah were so deep-rooted that the enemy could n ot tb�art · them desp ite r�peat�d e f ort s. The as s m f _ t k ,co pleted _b y Bahadur Shah were n ot as deep -ro oted A s'I a res ult,'I Ku�aun an d Gar.hwa1. e � . . wer lost . Howcve: r , the te rr1 tories extending.,fr om Palpa �nd P arbat t o Doti an a s ll'I d . d � itadi are �i _ un e r the sovere ignty o f Nep al , b�cause fee lings of Nepal i .unity h ad spre ad ttere . The terri torie s co nquered by Pritnvi Narayan Shah stil l r emain a p a r t o f Nepal bec au s e he pe li_1:;ved tha t peopl e in :the conquered arec.. s st.o uld be wo n ov E;r by spreading feelings o f n_ation-al ism'I. It seems that Kumaun a nd Garhwal were · lo s t , be cau s e the po licy o f trying to r e tain c o ntrol o f co nquered territories thr0ugh fo r ce created dissatisfaction am ong the peeple'I. The lac.K of such mode rn weapons as those p o s se ssed by t he Bri'Itish w as also one fac tor bE:hind _the de feat o f N epal. Be that as i t may , Nepal ha d to lo se several territo ries because it r. eno unced the policy o f P rithvi Narayan S hah . :. . \ . Bow s , Kliukris, Knives� and .swords w ere t he main weapons at the beginning o f t he rule o f. Prithvi Narayan Shah. The Gorkhali army began t_c use guns also after ,the guns o f Mr Kassim were l ooted i n the b a le o f Mqkw anpur . Jvo st of the Gorkhal i troo tt ps W1:::re equipped with gun s a t the time of t� . war With t he Kiratis. The five co rnr anie s f ormed at that t ime were equip�d w ith five hundred o r s,.:'Ven h l?,Ildre d guns . There were about 1,500 o r 2 , ooo troops equipped w i th l::ow s . All th e'I. tro ops had t>E:en equipped v. i th 9uns dur ing the wars w ith Til:e t and the We stern �tate s . Surplus bow s were dis tributed .among the , Khanmas and fo r de fense a fter the G o rkhali trqops w ere e quipped W ith guns. Th� G orkpali tro op s had become very e f;icie nt by the time . hal f o f tt1e troops ' that accompani<:d Damod �r Pande '.s_ mission was lost in the snow while re turning from the mona�tery .o f a d'I Tashi Lamc.1 i n Digar�!'"la - C ap tain K i1:'kp trick h� . aqvl sed, the Br.itish gov ernment to _fo llOd a policy of conc1l1atiQn, rather t han o f c onfrontation , because ,he � as i mpressed by the effjeiency and di scipline_ of the Gor.kha·li troops • The Gork hali troops o f that t:±me wore b lack turbans'I···on their heads, black. labeda _ ( blouse )_ and Sur�wal• and ( t+ousers) leath1::r belt s• They used K hukri s and muzzle-�oading guns equipped with · bayonets. Dur i_ng the rei gn o f. Ra�a Bahad�r · Shah, the SamurjM9 co mpany was allowed to us e �ilve r badge s a lso. contd •••• 112. Th e number of troops was increased two or four time's during the administration of Bhirnsen Tnapa refore he became Genera l , and companie s were renamed Paltan. Silver badge s were granted to the Paltan troops, and golden ones t.o subedar s and captains . Th� Nepal i army was compose d' hal'f o f. Paltan and half of company tJ:>ops . The discipl ine Which had been maintained ill the per iod of Bahadur Shah had been we akened during the administration o f Bhimsen Thapa. During the war with the British, large numbers of trc aps fle d to Lahore and joined the Sikh army 1 while others surrende re d to the Bri tish. The trocps cannot lY.: wholly blamed for such conduct. Shortuge of we ap ons and s uppl ies was the main reason why they did so. Tho se who surren dered to the British were able to obtain assurances that they would not be forced to f light against Nepal • The British were very c lever; hence they r?tained these Gorkhal i troops so long as the war cont inued. After the treaty was signed , they founded the Briti sh Gurkha army and recruit�d the Gorkhal is . After this war, Maharaj Ranj it Sin�h o f thi:: Punj ab also fo unded a Gurkha brigade and appointed the far,,0us captain Balbhadra Kunwar as its Commander'. During the period from Prithvi Narayan Shah , the Gorkhali army w as well-disc ip lined . Later , because the troops had to be staioned at distant places, they became sl ack . The offi cers too became iood of 1 ife of luxury'. Natu ra lly, the refore', di sc ipline bec ame lax . :ouring the period from Prithvi Narayan Shah to Bahadur Shah, dress style s cha nged considerably. OUring the re ign of Prithvi Narayan Shah , rich people wore cloaks (jama) and cap s. Ordinary peop le wore �aleks and caps, while middle c lass people wore blouse's {hhoto) and loint:-Cloths . Well.t..•to· do persons were fat and hea'lthy . Peop l<:: wore coarse clo the s according to their Gast8 and occupation, as laid down by Jayasthi ti Malla. But only· dome stic servants and slave's were ac tually fol lowing that tradition . How ever, the costume s of people liv ing in the hill's were differ�nt. Prithvi Narayan Shah tried to remove the di fferences . He made arrangement s for sE:parate types of c aps and tilak according to caste and occu pation, as shaktibal'labh has described in his drama Jayaratnakaranataka . Con servativism was discouraged, because Pri thvi Narayan Shah brought al:out uni formity in dre'ss sty le s andoo f d habits . However, sacred-thread-wearing castes never took liquor . The drinking habi t w as di scoura g�d among oth�r 'castes a1 so . The se traditions we re obs�rved until the +e ign of King Raj endra� (To be cont inued) 173. . . sr1manav1'h ar aX By · H ariram Joshi ****** Mo st schol urs believe that sr: imanavihara h ad b een const ructed by the fwr1ou s L icc huvi Kin<.J Manadeva. Th ey cite a s evidence the fact t hat th.� Vi hara itself is c a l led Sriman a, and that the 1 �opal avarn�hav c.1l i s tat es th at M anctaeva construc ted it in ord er t o atone f or his sin in murdering hi s father, Viswadeva . or Vri s adeva. This view i s not tenable, however. Th e inscript ion s o f i•1 wn ad eva show that he believed in Hinduism, not in Buddhism . It i s not l ikely , t here fo re, thc>.t he wou ld have construct ed a Buddhist Vihara . Mo reover, t he Changun a rayan . inscript ion of t-k.nc1deva, und the Pashupati insc ription o f J It app e ar s m ore corr ect to _p re sume that Srimanavihar a was c onstr uct ed by King Vri sad eva, who was a Buddhist. Ja.l'· adeva in s cription o f 15 7 samvat u s es the honori fic word "Sriman 11 to desc ribe Vrisad ev a. Th is proves that Srimanavi hara was so c�llcd after Vrisildeva, not Manadeva. The· word 11 Sr imtin 11 ho.s "0een u sed to descr ibe Amshuvarma al so , but h e c __ould nota. have con.str uc t(�d th.::i.t V ihara • .Amshuvorma' s H andigaun inscript ion of 3 2 Samvat mentions .Sr imanavih aru as on e o f sever al V iharas, th e r eby showing that it was already in existence at that t ime. *******a*** xMapt ed f rom : HariraJTI• Joshi , " Sr:i,;manaviharG_ Ek Samkshipta 11 Adhyayan. ( A .Brie f study of Sriman avihara) • Madhuparka (N,.::;p uli, Monthly, published by, the Gorkhap atr a Co::porution ). Year 8, No . 3 1 Shr awan 2032 {Jul y-.,\ugust 1975)a, pp. 11- 15. Contd •.• ·174. Selected ��ts of Marga-Poush, 1887 Chhap La nd Grant Marga Sudi S, 1887 ( 44/16 0) Nahar Singh Basnyat was g=anted lana s in Nuwakot on Chhap tenure on payment of Rs 4½ every.ye ar'. The la nds had been previou sly granted to Dalabir Gharti on Chhap ten ure on payment of Rs 4 every year. Marga Sudi 5, · 1887 ( 44/160) Two mouj as· in Mohottari, one of Ka labanjar (i.e . virgin forest) were grant8d a s Jagi r to Chaudhari Khedu Singh Pande effective Baisakh Badi 1, 1888'. Purchag�--2_f Gold'·O'.)ins Marga Sudi 6, 1887 (44/161) Royal orde r to Subba Prayag Datta Jaisi directing him to remit Kal dar RS 60, 000 to th� firm of Ba ij nath Sahu in Patna for the purchase of go ld coins ,(asharfi) from the contrac t revenue s of ti.o rang for the ye ar 1887 Vikarama through Captain Birabhadra K.unwar o f the Kaleshwar Kachahari office • . Purchase of Mi litary su.ppl i,---es Marga Sudi 6, 1887 ( 44/161) Sardar Jahar Singh Baniya was ordered to remi t Kal dar Rs 32, 000 directly to the firm o f 'Baijnath Sahu in Fatna as part payment for uniforms and other supplie s required by the Srinath Kampu which had been obtained by Jamadar Jodha Singh Ma hat ana Kote Manu en credit from the Calcutta branch of that firm. Pandi tra j Ranganath Pandit Leaves for Ban� Marga sudi 8, 1ea7 ( 44/16 2) Revenue off ici als in Bara, Parsa , and'Rauta�at '�ere ordered to disburse Rs 2,000 every ye ar us al lowance ·to panditraj Ranganath Pandit, who had gone to Banaras to spend his last days the re. Contd . • •• 175. On Marga 11, 1887 , an order was i ss ued tc Amali s in areas situated be tw een Kathmandu and Narahar igunj to _make �rr angeme nt fe r acc ommodation, prov isi ons , etc tQ_ Panditra s J R,-=:.nganath •F' andi t who was on his way to B anara s . ( 44/l63)o. Cons true tion of Embankments Marga sudi 9, 1887 ( 44/16 2-6 3) • Royal ordE:r to Ama l id ars in areas east of Sindhu, Kahule and BLimdhung a, west of the Pandi river, Ba rlang-Ghat, · and Ban ighat , and north o f Talti and Kiranchok , directing. all inhabi tants of these areas , othe r than Upa dhyaya and Jai s i Brahmar.s, I1u laki po rte rs, and G oles ( i ,e . p eople who were under obl iga ti:. m to sup ply charcoa l f or thl� needs of the goveornme nt) t o prov ide Jhara labor for tle constrUcti on of ernbankm12ont s in Nuw akot va lley. T hey were a lso required to tak e along with them foodgrain s an d othe r p rovisions suffi c ient for four mo n ths , as wel l as impl eme nt s fo r cons truc ting th." embank mE:nt s. Ir rigat io n C hannel in Gadkhar Marg a S u di 12, 1887 (44/163) Royal orde: � t o the tenan t-cultiv ators (Kuriya) of Gadklar : "Beca u se y ou haye to repair and mai,ntain the i rrigation channe l of that area, all 1ands here to fore cultivated by outsiders shall re cultivate d by local pe rson s i n the future as allotted by the loc al he a dmen." Khet· La nd Grant in Khota ng Marg a sudi 13, 1887 (44/16 4) ta a Majhki , 316 muri s of Jag ir lands in the Kho n g _ . rea o f rat previously a llott�d to anothe r p erson on Adhiya te nu re , w e re reallotted to L al Giri on KUt t enure on payire nt of Rs 17 1½ as Thek and Ghi ukhane e very yearo. Contd, ••o• 176'. Chhap Land Grant in Ti lpung_ Marga Sudi 1 3 , 1887 ( 44/164-65) Jagir lands in Tilpung, assigned to Jamadar s of the srinath Ka rrr,u, had reen a llotte·d on Thek te nure to Taranidhi Jais� and his . twobro the rs on payment of Rs 70 every year . In cons ideration of that paylTlC:nt, Taran idr.. i Jaisi and his brothers had been permitted to ap propriate the �roceeds of serma (i.e . home'stead tax ) and other taxes and levie s, but Raja-Anka r.avi�s', (ie.e'. royal palace levies) had been pay able in addition . The lands were reallotted to Da ladam Thapa, sanman Thapa , and Jitrnan Thapa on payrr:ent of Rs 75 eve ry ye ar under Chhap tenure• The se lands had bc.;en conf iscated from Brah rrans ( in . 1806) • Hulak Land All otment s Marga Sudi 13, 1887 (44/165) Royal o rder to Kaji Balnarshingh KUnwa.r : t1In the year 1877 V ikrama , l ands in Chaubisi had been al lotted to Kagati Hulaki porters in Dha rap uni and e lsewhere . However, the porters . shifted to other area s . Because t�e lands were not allotted� and Hulak s ervices to were disrupted, according to rcpre sent.:i.tions made he re by Asman Rai and Mariobir Rai . Yot• are , therefore , directed to reallot the se l ands to Kagati Hulaki porters in such a manner thut the amount of Thek revenu' assess ed in 1884 Vikrarna doe s not decline', and the services too are not disrupted.'" LJ::>:coperly, Thek p ayment s remained uncollected, Cons truction of Fort POlli?h Badi 1 , 1887 (44/166)'. Royal orde r to sardar Shatrubhanj an Shahi and sa rdar Prah lad Thapa': 11 ()::)nstruct · · a big fort in Dailekh . at th: site of the old fort, by utl.l izing Jha ra later from the inhabitants of th e Karna'li region as wel 1 as the labor of the personnel compris'ing the two companie's unaer your command . complete the projec t q uickly'. Uti lize revenue from oarshan-Bhet fee s o�lle��ed from the personnel of the Sri Bhawani Bux and Sri Jw aladal comi panies to purcha se 11 construc tion materials and pa; wage s to ca.rpentE:!rs, etc . contd. • . • 177 • Pay ent of p Salary Poush Badi 2, 1$8.7 ( 44/166-67) • Roy a l orde r to Subedar T'ula S ingh Karki, M:gh N ath Pande, Madan Singh Rana,a· and f rajapati Parsai, direc ting them to disburse saalarie s a moaunating to Rs 1,125 for the year V ikrar.a to the fo llowing' five pe rson s from the reven ues o f Ju mla fo r the ye ar 1887 Vik ramaa:- subeadar T ula Singh Karki RS 675'. Two Majors Rs 250. Two Clerks (Bahidar) Co llection of Sa i r Du ty Poush Badi 11a, 1887 (44/167�68)a. Ho ya 1 ordear to the audhar�Ch s, Kanugoyes , ana Thekdar s of the army : ".Sa irdar Hari Cha.rah Chaudhari has reporte d to us that yo u have re fu sed.to pay Sair du ti es on the ground that no such duty had beean pa1 able before 1886'. You are hereby di recte d to make payme nts irrm=-di ate ly to the P ay such Sairda11r . dut y also on the elephan ts s old by chaucthar is i n Irxiia. Foiea:::..t Protection i_n Kafaldanda and Other Areas Poush Badi 11', 188 7 (44/168) The Jamadars a nd other officials of the Gurubux COTTJ)qny w ere dire:cted not to permit the inhabitants o f Kafaldanda and r o the: r area s (in Nuw ako t district) to ec laim foreast lands and use tracks t hat had been closed prev iously . T hey were also directed not to permit the reclamation of lands . situated along m ain tracksa. C�s -cous1n !:!e!:£1age in Salyan Poush Badi 1 1 , 1887 (44/1 69) • o Royal orde r to the Ja isi B:ahman s f Panchthapala of Salyan distric t: "You have s ubm itted a petition to captain Narasing Thapa praying that si nce the custom � f marryi ng o r el�ping·aWith the daughters of maternal unc les is prevalent in 178'. Salyan, but not in Panc hthap ala, a law ( th iti ) should be promulgated in this regard . V-J e the refore .dt2cree that in the fu ture Jai si Brahmans s hall ne ithe r marry nor elope with the daughte rs of the ir maternal unc_ leas . Any per son who does 90 shall be infl ictE::d punishme nt accordi ng to his caste ·statu s. Anyoody who willfu lly share s CJ:)mmensal relat ions w ith pe rson s who do so shall be required to undeargo expiation ac cording to customarya· (Niti) or sta tutory (Smriti) r i te s.") ; Chhap Land�nt In Nal a Poush Badi .30, 1887 (44/169-70)' . Lands in Nala , previo us ly granted at Chhap to Dharma Raj Thapa Godai;-, and as homeaste ad s to Bhadrap adhya were reallotted to l>lare Bhuban Singh . Chhap-Thek Land Grant Foush Sudi 3, 1887 (44/17 0-71)'. A plot of land in Katuw algaun had bee n granted to surbir Karmi _ anad Meghv.:i.rma Thapa a s chhap on payr. ent o f Thek revenue an�unting to nine rupe�s in add ition to e ight annas eve ry ye ar to the Chapra si Corrpanya. I n the year 1885, Vik rama , Sadananda Bhatta and Chanara:\:)ir Thapa were grante d t};la t land when they stipulated a p ayment of rts 3!.2 every ye ara. surb ir Karki and Me ghaw arne ·'I' hapa then submit ted a pe ti t ion ...:omp lanning that they had bee n rendered ho�le ss •· They were the refore reconfair me d in the ir posse ssion o f other land s unde r Chhap -T he k ten ure. fo r which they had previous ly been· paying n ine rupees. However, the amount w as now inc reased to nin::teen rupe e s . Tl') ey w e re also granted judicial authority over the inhabitants of ttese lands, entitling them to c olle c t fines, etc . f'erq uis ites o f Lurtber Work e rs poush Sudi 6 , 1887 (44/171-7 2) This o rde r was issued in the name of Basi s (i.ea. lumter workers) in Fa nqa village . King Ra na Bahadur had ordered the deduction of miscellaneous taxe s and levie s paid by Contd �· ••• 179. the Po sis o f seve n village s in the ..B alambu are·a e from the w ag s due to them ;.; The se taxes and lev ie s w ere as follows s - Paym�nts dur ing the m onth of Ashadh'. Payment s d u.ring the·oa s hain fe �tival'. saune Fagu . Gharani (horre stead taxes� • Fees p ay able du.ring the T ihar and lndraj a tra festival s . Fruits, v ctegable's,etc. supplied for Shraddha ceremonies in the Amal i''s house'. . However, the 213 households of Bosis in Panga Village did no were they p ai t enjoy these benefits, nor d wages. They' there fore, subm it ted a comp la int to th e go ve:rrurent . �cordingly , the BoSi S worke rs of Fanga Vill age w ere granted· the following ex-emp tions, with the except ion of the Feta tax on the Birta lands held by them, and fines payable in con!J idcratior. of offense s committed by th em :- Half a m ana of oil, and one 12!:.runga during the month of Shraw an'. do, during the month of Falgun. One mane o f oil , a nd two Ee rungas during the �sh ain festival . One goat during the month o f Shrawan'. One g oat and one rupee during the month o f Falgun. Walak payments on the occasion of t h0 Maghe-sankranti. Shrawam-sankranti , Tij, and Tihar fe stiv als . Tiko pres�nts during the oashain fe stival . Fruits, vegetab les� e tc . for Shraddha ceremonies at the Amal i''s house'. Force d-labor obligations ( Jhara, Beth, Begar) , Bosis s hall not aemand wages in the future, no r shall too Arna.Ii de mand a ny perqu is ite s. · 180a. f>ri vile ges of Time�Keep,2 rs in Bhadg uri Town a 0 I Poush Sudi 11, 1887 ( 44/172) The Ama li of Bhadgau n was ordered to grant the fo llowing fac ilitie s and pr!vil c,ge s to time -ke ept:rs (Ghadiwal) to e igh t house ho lds o f Jaisi Brabmans :- Excmption from miscellaneous homeste ad taxe s and lE:vie s (Ughauni, Pughauni). Exemptio n from force d-labor obligations (Jhara, Beth, Begar)a. Reconfirmation of 1 4� ropan ies of land be ing c ultivate d by ,them . Emo lume nts in ca sh amounting to Rs 1 05 and fourteen annas from the revenue s co l lecte d in Bhadgaun town from the year 18 87 Vikrama . The se eight h o use ho ld s w e re re quire d to remain in atten dance f o r marking the time all the tw enty-fours of the day. Tbek Land Grant in f'anauti (foush $udi 1 3, 1887 (44/17 3 ). The vil lage of Madanbas i n the ran. .iti area had been assigned as Khuw a to thea. Srinath Kampu . 'l'hek revenu0 from that village had bee n fixed at eighteen rupees. Reve nue col lecti on in that village w as now granted to Kirtibir Khatri on paymt3nt of nim teen rupe e s every ye ar. * ********