Documents Regarding the Paśupatināth Temple

The temple of Paśupati, “the lord of the animals,” is located in the town of Deopatan, about three kilometers northeast of Kathmandu. The deity is a form of Śiva and has been the tutelary deity of the kings of Nepal since the Liccavi period. The temple attracts thousands of pilgrims each year from within and far beyond the Kathmandu Valley. The documents presented here cover various aspects related to Paśupati, such as 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 worshiping Paśupatinātha (NS 760)

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

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 regarding guidelines for performing the rituals of Śrī Paśupatinātha (NS 855)

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

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

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

DNA_0013_0025: A lālamohara of King Rājendra establishing a guṭhi for the distribution of rice pudding at 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 deed of sale for the land donated to the Brahmin prior to the senior queen of King Rājendra committing satī (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)

Administration

K_0501_0032: A deed of consent submitted by Sumitrānanda Pādhyā to the Guṭhī Bandobasta Aḍḍā promising to provide a replica of a stolen statue at the Paśupatinātha temple (VS 1970)