Documents on Paśupatinātha

The temple of Paśupati, "the lord of the animals", lies in the town of Deopatan, about three kilometers northeast of Kathmandu. The deity is a form of Śiva and the tutelary deity of the kings of Nepal since Liccavi times. The temple attracts thousands of pilgrims each year from and far beyond the Kathmandu valley. The documents presented here concern various aspects related to Paśupati, such as the rituals, administration, and social participation.

Ascetics

PN_0004_0062: A copperplate inscription recording a land endowment by Bhīma Malla for feeding foreign Brahmins and ascetics and for worshipping Paśupatinātha (NS 760)

K_0230_0035: A letter from C-in-C Bhīma Śamśera Jaṅga Rāṇā Bahādura to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā re bidding farewell to ascetics after Śivarātrī (VS 1962)

Regulations

PN_0004_0060: A copper plate inscription of an order by King Rājendra to the Bhaṭṭa priests and other officials regulating entry into the Paśupatinātha temple (VS 1885)

Rituals

PN_0004_0062: A copperplate inscription recording a land endowment by Bhīma Malla for feeding foreign Brahmins and ascetics and for worshipping Paśupatinātha (NS 760)

K_0241_0071: A document from King Jagajjaya re guidelines for operating rituals of Śrī Paśupatinātha (NS 855)

PN_0004_0049: A copper-plate decree of King Jayaprakāśa Malla prohibiting certain activities in various shrines of Kathmandu (NS 872)

PN_0008_0020: A decree of King Jayaprakāśa Malla prohibiting certain activities in various shrines of Kathmandu (NS 872)

K_0625_0039: A lālamohara from King Raṇabahādura to Lakṣmīnārāyana Putuvāra re the reward for building a dasaĩghara (VS 1849)

DNA_0013_0025: A lālamohara of King Rājendra establishing a guṭhi for the feeding of rice pudding to Paśupatinātha (VS 1885)

Satīs at Āryaghāṭa

K_0096_0059: A copy of a lālamohara from King Rājendra granting a house to Rādhāramaṇa Arjyāla on the occasion of a widowed royal concubine’s self-immolation (VS 1879)

K_0045_0011C: A sales deed of the land donated to the Brahmin prior to committing satī by the senior queen of King Rājendra(VS 1898)

Slavery

PN_0002_0002: A copperplate inscription recording the offering of two slave girls by Bālakṛṣṇa Upādhyā to serve at Paśupatinātha (ŚS 1695)

PN_0002_0030: A copperplate inscription by Buddhirekhā Godārni recording a variety of implements offered to Paśupati and the emancipation of a slave (VS 1863)

PN_0004_0065: A copperplate inscription recording the emancipation of three women from slavery by Sundara Giri and his wife (VS 1869)