An Account of The Kingdom of Nepal Part 8

The second son, Manik, obtained Palpa; the third son, Bihangga, (Bhringga of the Puraniya account,) obtained Tanahung, and Lohangga, the fourth son, obtained Makwanpur.

I shall now return to the Kiratas, the nation next to the Lapchas, when they were about to receive Lohangga as their chief.

At that time the country between the Kosi and the Kankayi, and on the plain so far as the Mahanandah, was subject to Vijayanarayan, whose ancestors are said to have come from Kamrup. From his t.i.tle, one might be led to suppose that he was of the Vihar family; but one of this race, who was in my service, denied any such relation; and, indeed, as Vijaya is said to have been the seventh prince of his family, he could scarcely have been descended of the grandson of the Koch Hajo, ancestor of the chief's of Vihar. The natives allege, that the t.i.tle of the chiefs of this family was Harbhang Raja, and that the t.i.tle of his minister was Bharbhang Mantri. Harbhang Bharbhang, in the provincial dialect, implies foolish, similar to the notions entertained by the Bengalese of Havachandra and Bhavachandra of Kamrup, which may perhaps serve to connect the history of the two dynasties. Not that these princes seem to have been more foolish than their neighbours, but they probably had some customs, that appeared extraordinary to their subjects. Two dynasties are mentioned as having preceded that of the Harbhang Rajas; 1_st_, That of Kichak Raja, contemporary with Yudhishthir; and, 2_d_, That of the Satya Rajas, in whose time probably the power of the Kirats or Kichaks was at the greatest height.

I have received three accounts of the manner in which Vijayanarayan was overthrown. The first was given me orally by Agam Singha. He says, that the ancestors of Vijayanarayan originally possessed only the low country called Morang; but that this prince took into his service his ancestor Singha Ray, the son of Khebang, who was Hang or hereditary chief of the Kirats, that occupied the hills north from Morang. When the needy mountaineers had for some time been accustomed to the luxuries of the plains, the Raja built Vijayapur, and took the t.i.tle of Vijaya Bharati, or victorious over the earth. He soon after took occasion to put the mountain chief to death, under pretence, that he, being an impure beef-eating monster, had presumed to defile a Hindu woman. Baju Ray, son of the mountain chief, immediately retired, and, going to the Rajput chief of Makwanpur, promised to join him with all his Kirats, if that prince would enable him to destroy the murderer of his father. This was accordingly done, and the Hang was const.i.tuted sole Chautariya or hereditary chief minister of the princ.i.p.ality, which dignity his descendants enjoyed, until its total overthrow, and Agam Singha, the last possessor of the office, accompanied his master, when he fled for refuge into the Company's territory, and now lives with the mother of that unfortunate youth.

The second account was given by the Munsuf of Bahadurgunj, mentioned in the Introduction. He nearly agrees with the Kirat chief, but says, that the new dynasty was formed in a manner entirely peaceable. Vijayanarayan having died without heirs, the Kirat chief, who was the second person in the government, invited a brother of the Palpa Raja to take possession of the government.

The third account was communicated to me in writing by Premnarayan Das, mentioned also in the Introduction. The scribe says, that one day Vijayanarayan went to Varahachhatra, a place of pilgrimage on the Kosi, where Vishnu is wors.h.i.+pped under the form of a boar. Here he found a Sannyasi, Ramanath Bharati, who, warned by a dream, had come from Surya kunda, and had taken up his residence in a hut near the place of wors.h.i.+p, where he was a.s.siduous in prayer. The Sannyasi having been insolent to the Raja, a circ.u.mstance not at all improbable, the prince had the audacity to kick him down the hill, and to burn his hut. The G.o.d then appeared to the saint in a human form, and gave him authority of speech, (Bakya Siddhi,) by which all men would obey his command. Bharati then went to the poor chief of Makwanpur, who, having been kind and attentive, was commanded to take possession of the dominions of Vijayanarayan, and was informed how it might be done.

The account of the Kirat is evidently the most credible, although it is not unlikely that Ramanath may have been disgusted, and might have been employed to gain over the people, and to negotiate between the Rajput and Kirat; but the scribe alleges, that these barbarians were not elevated to the first office of the state until a later period. However that may be, in the remainder of the history, I shall follow chiefly his account, although even there it differs in some particulars from the accounts that I received both from Agam Singha, and from the Brahman.

Lohangga, on crossing the Adhwara, first subdued a petty chief of the Magar tribe. He then took possession of a small territory on the plain, belonging to an Aniwar Brahman. Then he destroyed Mohan Thakur, another chief of the last mentioned tribe, and seized on his territory, which now forms the district of Mahatari. He in a similar manner seized on Korani, belonging to a Bhawar, and probably a descendant of Nandak.u.mar, (p. 129;) on Khesraha, belonging to Raja Langkeswar; on Rampur belonging to Raja Muzles; on Pokhari, belonging to Raja Karabandar; on Jhamuna, belonging to Raja Roja; on JoG.o.da, belonging to Raja Udaygir; on Dhapar, Kalisa, and Belka koth, belonging to Raja Karnadeo; on Samda, belonging to Ballabh deo; and on Karjain, belonging to Dullabh deo, a brother of the two last mentioned chiefs, who were descended of Saran deo, brother of Karma Singha and Nandak.u.mar, (p. 129,) as I am informed by Gauri Chaudhuri, their representative, and now Zemindar of Dhapar, in the district of Puraniya. All these were petty independent chiefs, whose territories now form Pergunahs in the Subah of Saptari, belonging to Gorkha, or in the adjacent parts of the Company's territory. The rapacious chief now made an attack on the hill Gidha, but here he was opposed by a devil, (Dano,) who killed a number of his troops, and prevailed, until the holy man Ramanath ordered the G.o.d Ramkrishna to cut off the devil's head, which was accordingly done. The Raja then descended to Meghvari on the banks of the Kosi, where he learned that Vijayanarayan had died. He, therefore, left one-half of his troops at Meghvari, and, advancing with the other, took quiet possession of Vijayapur, (Bissypur, R.) The nature of these transactions strongly confirms the account given by Agam Singha, as the force of the petty district of Makwanpur seems to have been totally inadequate to effect such conquests; but the junction of the Kirats will readily account for the success.

Agam Singha says, that during these wars, his ancestor Baju was killed, and was succeeded by his son Bidyachandra, who relinquished the t.i.tle of Hang, and in its stead took that of Chautariya, and who, like all his successors, a.s.sumed a Hindu name, and adopted some degree of purity in his manner of life.

Lohangga had now acquired a very extensive territory, reaching from the Adiya on the west to the Mahananda on the east, and from the alps of Bhot to Julagar near Puraniya. When the Sannyasi had placed the Raja on the throne, he wished to return to his native country, but, at the intercession of the prince, he remained some time longer, having been appointed priest (Mahanta) to a temple (Math) erected at Varaha Chhatra, and well endowed. According, indeed, to my authority, the priests, his successors, seem to have held a distinguished place in the state; but, since the conquest, they have sunk into insignificance, although the Gorkhalese still allow them ample endowments.

Lohangga had two sons, Raghav' and Bhagawanta, but rationally left the whole of his dominions to the former, who, by all other persons except the scribe, is considered as having been the founder of the family in these parts, and as a brother of the Raja of Palpa. In his reign Ramanath delivered over his office to Jagamoban, and disappeared; but he promised his successor to favour him with an annual visit.

Harihar', the son of Raghav', extended his dominions to Gondwara, and took the t.i.tle of Hindupati, or chief of the Hindus. His wife, Jagamata, having been delivered of a daughter of most extraordinary beauty, he, in his joy, called to her by her name; but, as it is totally contrary to Hindu law for a man to call his wife Mata, that is, mother, he was under the necessity of divorcing her, which will, perhaps, show that his civilians had a considerable skill in discovering legal pretexts for the actions of their prince. The chief was soon after supplied with other wives, for, having made war on the Vihar Raja, and taken that prince in battle, his anger was pacified by obtaining Mahisi and Maheswari, two beautiful daughters of the descendant of Siva. By Mahisi the Morang Raja had four sons, Chhatrapati, Padma, Pratap, and one who died an infant.

Maheswari bore only one son, named Subha, to whom his father intended to leave the whole of his dominions, and, in order to secure his authority, gave him immediate possession of the territory of Makwani.

After this, Harihar seems to have fallen into a state of dotage, and his three sons by Mahisi rose upon their aged parent, and put him in confinement. In this difficulty he applied to Adanuka, the wife of Chhatrapati, one of these unnatural sons, and promised, if she would procure his release, that he would leave the whole of his kingdom to the child with which she was then pregnant. This lady, who seems to have possessed great abilities, persuaded her husband and his two brothers to release their father, on condition that the whole kingdom should be divided into four equal shares, one for each brother. The three sons of Mahisi then went and attacked their brother, in order to compel him to agree to this engagement, but they were defeated with great loss, and retreated to Phulwari, on the Kamala river, where Adanuka was delivered of a son, whom his grandfather immediately created king of all the territories east from the Kosi, while he left all on the west of that river to his son Subha. The father and uncles of the infant had probably been too much weakened by their defeat to venture on any farther enterprise of villainy.

I shall now follow the history of Subha, who soon after these events fell sick, and sent for Ganggadhar, the successor of Jagamohan as priest at Varaha Chhatra. This person informed the Raja that he was just about to die, but, as he himself had forty years of life to spare, he would transfer them to the prince, for whom he had a great regard. The Raja accepted the offer, and soon after the priest went and buried himself alive, (Samadi,) a manner of taking leave of the world which is considered as very laudable, and to this day is occasionally practised at Varaha Chhatra. The Raja, on the strength of this accession of life, married a young Rajput named Amarawati, by whom he had two sons, Mahapati and Manik.

Subha Sen had governed thirty-one years of his additional life, when he had a dispute with Pradyumna Upadhyaya, a Brahman of Tanahung, who was his Dewan, or minister of finance. This traitor entered into a conspiracy with a certain officer named Parasuram Thapa, and, in order to induce this man to rebel, did not hesitate to give him his daughter in marriage, although the fellow was of the spurious breed called Khas, descended by the father's side alone from the sacred order; and this would appear to be considered as by far the most reprehensible part of the Brahman's offence. Having seized on the old Raja, their master, these traitors intended to deliver him up to Isfundiyar khan, the Nawab of Puraniya. By this time Indu Bidhata, the infant who had been made Raja of Marang, had grown up, and, hearing of his uncle's misfortune, led an army against the Nawab and the traitors, and was accompanied by his brother Budha Sen. Having obtained a victory, he restored his uncle; but, while they were still in the midst of their joy, Kalu Upadhyaya, a relation of the treacherous Brahman, contrived to seize on both the uncle and nephews, and again delivered them to the Nawab, who had made the most liberal promises. It was on this occasion that the Moslems reduced the greater part of the low country of Morang, and, in fact, they settled some free land on the family of the traitor, but to no great extent, and vastly less than was expected. One of his descendants is now the Munsuf at Bahadurgunj, mentioned above as one of the persons from whom I received information respecting this princ.i.p.ality.

The unfortunate Subha and his nephews were sent to Dilli, where Muhammed Azim, then emperor, deprived them of cast by a curtailment of which the faithful are proud.

Prabodh das, the then Neb, or second hereditary minister of the family, fled with the two sons of Subha Sen to the Kirats, and his descendant, who gave me the written account, alleges that it was then only that the chiefs of this tribe were elevated to the dignity of Chautariya; but in this, I imagine, he is mistaken.

Mahapati, the eldest son, was placed by the Kirat Bidyachandra Ray on the throne of all that remained to the family east from the Kamala river, while the smaller portion west from that river was given to his brother Manik, to whom Prabodh das adhered; but a Kirat of the same family with Bidyachandra acted as the Chautariya of Manik, and Mahapati had a Neb of the family of Prabodh das.

Mahapati married, but neglected his wife, and had eighteen illegitimate children. Mahapati means elder son, and I was a.s.sured by the Munsuf of Bahadurgunj, that his real name was Mandhata. Here, indeed, I must follow chiefly the authority of the Munsuf; for the descendant of Prabodh das is little acquainted with the history of the eastern division, while the Munsuf was naturally unwilling to speak of the western.

Mandhata governed eighteen or twenty years, and left his territory to his natural son Kamdatt. I am informed by a Brahman, who had resided long in these parts, and by an intelligent Kirat, that Kamdatt lived on very bad terms with b.i.+.c.hitra Ray, the Kirat Chautariya of this part of the princ.i.p.ality, who drove Kamdatt to Lasa, and placed on the throne Jagat, a younger but legitimate son of the western branch of the family. This prince reconciled the Chautariya to Kamdatt, and while Jagat reserved to himself the country between the Kamala and Kosi, he gave all the territory east from the latter river to his kinsman Kamdatt. Thus the princ.i.p.ality became divided into three shares.

Soon after this b.i.+.c.hitra the Chautariya died, and was succeeded by Budhkarna his son, with whom Kamdatt continued to live on the worst terms; sometimes the one, and then the other, being under the necessity of flying from Vijayapur, which was the seat of government. On one of these occasions Kamdatt came to the Company's territory, and applied to Ghanasyam Upadhyaya, of the family of the traitor who had betrayed Subha Sen. The Brahman took him to Calcutta; but, receiving no countenance from the Governor-General, they returned to the frontier, where they raised some men, with whom Kamdatt recovered the government of Morang.

Kamdatt still farther enraged the Kirat by putting his brother to death, on which event Budhkarna applied to the legitimate heir of the family, then in exile, who recommended an alliance with the Sikim Bhotiyas.

Budhkarna having gone to that country, and having formed an alliance with its rulers, ten men were sent by them under pretence of adjusting the differences between the prince and his minister. These ruffians, having been admitted to a conference without suspicion, rushed on Kamdatt and put him to death. Budhkarna then placed on the throne of Vijayapur the legitimate heir, Karna Sen, whom the Gorkhalese had then expelled from the middle princ.i.p.ality. He died in about eighteen months afterwards, in the year 1774, leaving an only son, a boy, under the charge of his widow, and of his Chautariya Agam Singha, descended in the fifth degree from Bidya Chandra, who was contemporary, according to Agam Singha, with the first Rajput prince of this country. In the same year the Gorkhalese attacked Vijayapur, and the widow fled with her son, and accompanied by Agam Singha, to the Company's territory.

The widow, her son, and minister, settled near Nathpur; while Budhkarna, after some fruitless engagements, went to Calcutta to solicit a.s.sistance, but without success. He soon after came towards the frontier, at Chilmari in the Company's territory, from whence he was carried off by a party of Gorkhalese soldiers disguised like robbers. He was taken to Vijayapur, where, under pretence of avenging the death of Kamdatt, the slender claim which the Gorkhalis used to cover their unjust attack on the infant son of Karna Sen, he was put to the most cruel tortures, which continued three days before he expired.

The jealousy of Prithwi Narayan of Gorkha did not permit him to view the poor child, then five years old, without anxious fears. His first plan was to endeavour to inveigle him into his power, by promising, on condition of an annual tribute, to restore his inheritance. He next offered to hold the territories of the youth from the British government, and to pay an annual sum; for he was cruelly alarmed lest the governor should interfere. At length he is alleged to have calmed his fears by a stratagem worthy of his savage nature. A Brahman was hired to insinuate himself into the favour of the mother, to whom he represented himself as a person skilled in the inoculation for the small pox. Having gained the mother's consent, he performed the operation; but the smallpox did not appear; in its stead most dreadful ulcerations took place, and the child perished of a wretched disease. It is in general believed that poison was used instead of matter, and that the perpetrator was hired by Prithwi Narayan; for, immediately after the operation, the Brahman disappeared, and is supposed to have retired to Nepal. The character of the prince does not leave much room to think that he would hesitate about employing such means.

The unfortunate widow, deprived of her only hope, seems to have harboured views of revenge. She sent to Mukunda Sen, the Raja of Palpa, and, as I have said above, of the same family with her husband, in order to request one of his sons, whom she might adopt, and to whom she might transfer the right to the middle and eastern divisions of the princ.i.p.ality. The Raja accordingly sent Dhwajavir, one of his younger sons, who came to Puraniya in the year 1779, and sent letters to the Deva Dharma Raja, to Sikim, to the Chaubisiya Rajas, and to the Governor of Bengal, soliciting aid, but without the least probability of success. He had remained about three years at Puraniya, and had formed a friends.h.i.+p with Madrapati Ojha, a Brahman, who managed the estate Dhumgar, within nine coses of the frontier of Morang. He had also formed a friends.h.i.+p with a Ganes Bharati Mahanta, a priest, who lived between Puraniya and Dhumgar. This man, in the year 1782, promised, that, if the youth came to his house, he would adopt him as his pupil, (Chela), and lend him money, of which the young man was in much need. On his arrival at the residence of this priest, various delays and frivolous excuses were made to avoid the performance of the promises; and the youth was tempted, by an invitation from his friend Madrapati, to advance to Dhumgar, where he and his attendants were entertained eight days, in the office where the rents of the estate were collected. In the night of the eighth day the party were suddenly awakened by the approach of a body of men; and, on looking out, perceived that these were armed, and had surrounded the house. The party in the office now looked for their arms; but these had been removed in the night without their knowledge. They soon learned, from the language of the people by whom the house was surrounded, that they were Gorkhalese soldiers, who ordered them, in opprobrious language, (Nekal Bahenchod,) to come out. Several who went out were killed, but the Raja remaining within, and all his people invoking the protection of the Governor and of the Company, as usual in such cases, the soldiers entered, and said, there is no Governor nor Company can now give you any a.s.sistance. The Raja soon received a cut in his forehead, and then acknowledged himself; asking them, whether they intended to carry him away or to murder him.

They replied, that they came for his life; on which he began to pray, and held out his head, which was cut off with a sword. During the confusion a Brahman escaped, and repaired to Madrapati, who replied with the utmost composure that he could give no a.s.sistance. The Raja had with him thirty-four people, of whom fifteen were killed, eleven wounded, and four carried away. Among the killed were Ripumardan, a natural son of Karna Sen Raja of Morang, and a messenger from the Sikim Raja, with five of his attendants. The soldiers were disguised like robbers, and took away such property as they found with the Raja, more probably to show what they had effected than for the sake of the plunder, as they gave no disturbance to the people of the village. From all the circ.u.mstances attending the event, few doubt that the scheme was preconcerted, and that the Mahanta and Brahman were the agents of the Gorkhalese, to decoy the youth within their reach.

The poor widow was now totally helpless. She was originally allowed a pension of 100 rupees a month; but for many years this has been withheld, and the Zemindars in the Company's territory are giving her great trouble respecting some lands, which had been granted her free of rent. Her sister-in-law died in the year 1810, in Tirahut, where she had some villages, which she left by will to the unfortunate old lady; but I am told that the Raja of Darbhangga has seized on them as Zemindar, although his claim is probably dubious, the grants having been made before the decennial settlement.

Having thus traced the fate of Mandhata and his descendants, I return to his brother Manik, who procured the share of the princ.i.p.ality that is west from the Kamala river.

By the Munsuf of Bahadurgunj, Manik is said to have governed his country quietly for twenty years. Although his share of the princ.i.p.ality was one of the most productive of revenue, as including a large portion of the plain, he had little power, few of the hardy Kirats being under his authority; but then he was exempted from the dangers arising from the turbulence of these mountaineers. He left four sons, Hemcarna, Jagat, Jaymanggal, and Vikram. The first succeeded his father, and Jagat, as I have mentioned, was placed by the Kirats in the government of that part of the princ.i.p.ality which is situated between the Kamala and Kosi.

Hemcarna had a son, Digbandan, and a daughter, Maiya Saheb, of most extraordinary beauty. About this time first rose to notice Prithwi Narayan Saha, whose ancestors had held the petty territory of Gorkha, in some measure dependent on the Palpa Rajas, the kinsman of Hemcarna. This person had by various means acquired some little power, and had induced the people of Lalita Patan to choose his brother Dalmar-dan Saha for their king; for they had fallen into anarchy, and had displaced their lawful sovereign of the Mal family, which had long been in possession of the three princ.i.p.alities into which Nepal. Proper had been divided.

Prithwi Narayan, about this time, offered himself as a suitor for the beautiful daughter of Hemcarna, but was rejected with scorn, as a match far beneath her rank. Soon after, however, he was the fortunate suitor, but I do not exactly know the period. Hemcarna having died, was succeeded by his son Digbandan, a very weak prince, in whose affairs his brother-in-law, Prithwi Narayan, soon began to interfere; and by his courage, liberality, and strength of understanding, totally drew to himself the minds of the soldiery. In the year 1761 he openly attacked his brother-in-law, and took him and his family prisoners. The chief persons that had resisted his attack he put to death, some by the sword, some by the rope, and some by flaying them alive. Their children he delivered to the most vile and abominable tribe, (Sarki,) to be educated in their odious profession, as outcasts. The captives he conducted to Nepal, the open attack on which he then commenced; for, until then, he had contented himself with seizing on the pa.s.ses, by which the valley is surrounded, and with fomenting dissensions among the three divisions of the princ.i.p.ality. In 1769, having completed his conquest of Nepal Proper, he attacked the petty Rajas west from Gorkha, usually called the Chaubisiya, or Twenty-four. For some time he had rapid success, but in an engagement with the Tanahung Raja, he was so roughly handled, that he was compelled to relinquish these conquests. In the meanwhile, his brother-in-law Digbandan, his wife, and seven sons, were kept in close confinement, and were only prevented from starving, by a pittance sent to them by their kinsman the Palpa Raja. What became of the remainder of these unfortunate persons I cannot say; but in the year 1780 Bhubar, one of the sons of Digbandan, effected his escape to Betiya, in the Company's territory, where he was kindly received, and two villages, free from the obligation of paying any revenue, were granted to him. He died lately, and has left two sons, one of whom in 1810 was eight, and the other five years of age; and these are the undoubted legal heirs to the whole princ.i.p.ality founded by Lobangga Sen.

I have already mentioned, that Budkarna, the Kirat chief of the eastern division of the princ.i.p.ality, discontented with the illegitimacy and temper of Kamdatt, invited Jagat, a younger son of Manik, to a.s.sume the government, which he accordingly did, but he seems to have been a person of moderation; he contented himself with the middle portion of the princ.i.p.ality, situated between the Kamala and Kosi, and allowed Kamdatt to retain whatever was beyond the latter river, for a maintenance, but not as a sovereign. Jagat usually resided at Chaundandi and s.h.i.+karmari, and died in peace. He had no son, and his dominions went to his brother Vikram, who left them to his son Karna Sen. In 1773 Prithwi Narayan, having somewhat recovered from the defeat which the Tanahung Raja had given him, attacked Karna Sen, and took his dominions. The fugitive prince, as I have mentioned, was received by Budkharna, the Kirat, as sovereign of Morang; but I have already given an account of the miserable events that immediately after happened.

Having now detailed the first origin and total overthrow of the princ.i.p.ality founded by the Rajput Lohangga, I shall mention what I have learned concerning the nature of the government, which his descendants administered.

The Raja, in most cases, seems to have given himself very little trouble about the affairs of government, but was surrounded by Rajputs and Khas much attached to his person and family, and by Brahmans; by whom both he and his guards were duped, and who seem to have been the most active intriguers of the court.

Next in rank to the Raja was the Chautariya, who, as I have said, appears to me to have always been a Kirat of the family, that had governed his nation before the union with the Rajputs. The Kayastha alleges, indeed, that this was not the case; but he appears to me to be either mistaken, or to have made his representation from hatred to the Kirats, by whose power the Rajas and their Hindu adherents were very much controlled; for, setting aside the evidence of Agam Singha, a plain unaffected man, but who may however be supposed to be influenced by vanity, the Kayastha pretends, that, until a late period, the office of Chautariya was held by the family of the perfidious Brahman, who delivered Subha Sen to the Moslems; but the descendant of that person does not pretend that his ancestors ever enjoyed the dignity of Chautariya, and says, that they held the lucrative appointment of Dewan, which will be afterwards mentioned. The Chautariya signed all commissions and orders, while the Raja applied his seal. The Raja might punish the Chautariya in whatever manner he pleased, and even put him to death; but he could not deprive him of his rank, nor his son of the regular succession. This power of punishment, however, must have been very much limited, as the Kirats seem to have been entirely guided by their chief; and they composed almost the whole strength of the state. The Chautariya was allowed one-tenth part of the whole revenue.

The ancestor of the Kayastha held, by hereditary descent, the office of deputy (Neb) Chautariya, and seems merely to have been the person appointed by the Hindu Raja to carry on the writings necessary to be executed by the chiefs of the Kirats, who, if we may judge from Agam Singha, were no great penmen.

Next to the Chautariya was the Kazi or Karyi, to whose office the Raja might appoint any person that he pleased. The Karyi was usually the most active person in managing the affairs of government, and received one-sixteenth of the profits of the whole country.

Next to these was the Dewan, whose office, as I have stated, was hereditary in a family of Brahmans. The Dewans managed the whole collections of the territory on the plain, and probably made much more than either Chautariya or Karyi, which, joined to their birth, gave them great influence. When the princ.i.p.ality subdivided, each Raja had his Chautariya, Karyi, and Dewan, who formed his council.

The regular military force consisted of two kinds. First, the Rajputs and Khas, who generally resided near the person of the Raja, and formed his immediate security. They were by no means numerous, and were usually paid in money. The other branch of the regular army was more numerous, and consisted chiefly of Kirats. They were under the orders of Serdars, but the number of men under each of these was not defined; each was appointed to command a number proportioned to the supposed extent of his abilities. The Serdars could at pleasure be removed, or the number of their troops altered. Each Serdar, in proportion to the extent of his command, received a quant.i.ty of land in the hills, which he subdivided among his officers and soldiers, reserving a share for himself. He might at pleasure appoint new soldiers, or remove old ones; but he received no regular tribute from the lands, although all his men made him presents.

When called upon by the Raja, he was bound to appear in the field with his stipulated number of men; and a few Kirats, in their turn, were always on duty at the residence of the prince. When on actual service, the men were allowed subsistence. The Kirats seem to have been chiefly armed with swords and bows, their arrows being poisoned. The Rajputs had fire-arms. It is said, that there were in all 90,000 Kirats able to carry arms; but not above 5000 or 6000 were considered as regulars. The others paid rent.

In the hills the management of the police and the collection of the revenue was entrusted to officers called Subahs, who accounted to the Dewans for the revenue, but as commanding the militia, were subject to the Serdars. There were also Zemindars, who appear to have held the property of the soil, but were allowed to retain only a small portion (15 to 20 bigas) of good land, fit for transplanted rice, and for this they were held bound to pay three rupees a-year, and to appear in the field as a militia, when called upon by the Subah. The Zemindar, however, as lord of the soil was ent.i.tled to cultivate, without additional burden, as much as he pleased of any ground not fit for transplanted rice, and no one could cultivate such without giving him a present. Every family, except the Zemindars, who cultivated this kind of ground, paid three rupees a-year to the Raja, and the men, when required, were bound to appear in the field. All the land fit for transplanted rice, except that held by the Zemindars, was Melk or free of revenue. Part had been granted to Brahmans and temples, and part to various officers of the state, none of whom were paid in money; but by far the greater part was given to the Serdars, for the support of their men. Over every three or four villages the Subah appointed a deputy, called a Duyariya.

In the hilly part of the country, much of the cultivation was carried on by Adhiyars, who gave to the soldier, officer, or Zemindar that employed them, one half of the produce for rent. Each family of this kind paid a rupee a year to the Raja. All persons not employed in agriculture (Sukhvas and Khosvas) paid eight anas for ground-rent, and two anas for holidays. No casts were exempted.

In the level country the lands were cultivated by tribes, who had little or no turn for military affairs, and paid a rent in money, which was collected under the Dewans by Fouzdars, who managed districts (Garhis) by means of Chaudhuris, who held manors, (Pergunahs,) and under these by Mokuddums, who held villages, (Gangs.) In some places the word Pergunah had not been adopted, but the Chaudhuri held the s.p.a.ce between two rivers, which is called a Khari.

Independent of the Dewans was a register called Suduriya, and, wherever there was a deputy of the Dewan, the register had also a deputy. In fact, the Mogul system of finance had been completely introduced, while in the mountains the Hindu system of military tenure seems to have been more completely retained.

The trial of civil causes was conducted at the capital by four b.i.+.c.haris, who appointed a deputy for the jurisdiction under each Subah, and for each subdivision; and these judges seem to have had a much greater authority than is usual in Hindu or Muhammedan governments. Under the b.i.+.c.haris and their deputies were petty officers, named Duyariyas, who arrested offenders, and decided petty suits. These were a.s.sisted by Kotwals, or messengers. The reason of the attention paid to suits seems to have been, that the Raja took one-fourth of all property recovered by legal process, and allowed the judge a share; of course, the complainant usually gained the cause. The princ.i.p.al chance which the defendant had was giving a bribe higher than the share that the judge would legally receive; but the Raja was a check on this kind of gain.

In the hilly country there were no duties levied, except at custom-houses placed on the pa.s.ses towards the plain, or towards the dominions of Lasa.

On the plain there was a vast variety of duties, similar to those now exacted, and which will be afterwards detailed.

I shall now proceed to consider the present state of this princ.i.p.ality, in the footing on which it has been placed by the Gorkhalese.

In the first place, it has been divided into districts.

The eastern division of the princ.i.p.ality, founded by Lohangga, together with the part of Sikim, and a portion of Thibet, that have been conquered, are now divided into two districts, (Zilas,) Morang and Chayenpur, each under the management of a Subah.

Morang, in a general sense, extends in the low country from the Tista to the Kosi, for the level country, that formerly belonged to Sikim, has now been annexed to this district. Its extent, therefore, from east to west, is rather more than 87 miles. On the low hills, it extends from the Kankayi to the Kosi, which is about 48 miles. It includes very few or none of the mountains, and none of the Alps.

The most remarkable places are as follows: