Documents Related to Land Transfer
Agriculture had been Nepal’s dominant economic sector throughout the early Śāha and Rāṇā periods. Property rights or tax collection rights on land represented the major sources of wealth. Since Nepal was governed as a patrimonial state, the Gorkhali king claimed ultimate ownership and control over the territory. Through the assignment of land rights, the state allocated resources to administrative and military personnel, political elites, and religious institutions. State actors and social groups were linked to the government and to one another through an intricate system of various land entitlements. Documents regarding land transfers are therefore of crucial importance for understanding the economic foundations of state formation, social power structures, and religious life during Nepal’s “long” nineteenth century.
Royal Endowments and Gifts of Land
DNA_0013_0027: A lālamohara from King Gīrvāṇa donating land to the Visaṅkhunārāyaṇa Guṭhī (VS 1859)
K_0096_0011: A copy of a lālamohara to Raṅganātha Pauḍyāla renewing a grant of land [VS 1863]
K_0096_0013: A copy of a lālamohara to Raṅganātha Pauḍyāla renewing a grant of land (undated)
DNA_0013_0029: A lālamohara of King Gīrvāṇayuddha granting land to Buddhirāma Dāsa (VS 1867)
DNA_0013_0086: A lālamohara from King Rājendra granting a birtā to Indu Bhānsyā (VS 1893)
Land Sales