Buṅgadyaḥ, also known by various names such as Rāto Matsyendranātha, Karuṇāmaya, Padmapāṇi Lokeśvara, and others, is a popular deity in the Kathmandu Valley and is undoubtedly the most revered deity in the city of Patan. Worshipped by Buddhists and Hindus alike, the deity is celebrated annually by the inhabitants of Patan with a month-long chariot procession (ratha-jātrā) just before the start of the rainy season. The deity is enshrined in the twin temples at Bungamati and Patan when the deity is not in the chariot. Chronicles attribute the inauguration of the chariot festival to the twelfth-century king Narendradeva. This fascinating festival involves people from every strata of society.
The case concerning the administration of the Luthāma Guṭha in Buṅgadyaḥ
Luthāma Guṭha, also spelled Lusā Guthi, Lusāhāpau Guthi, or Lhusā Guthi, was established by Jīvarāja Bāḍā (Śākya) of Oku Bāhāla in the early seventeenth century. The guṭha maintains the panels, arranges for their transport and installation on the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot each year, and manages the storage of the dismantled panels throughout the year after the festival concludes. The following documents pertain to a legal dispute that arose in 1802 regarding the stewardship of the guṭha.
E_2253_0015A: A copy of an account by Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā of the petitions he submitted to Rudravīra Sāha and Bam Sāha in support of his claim to control the Luthāma Guṭha [VS 1859]
E_2253_0015B: A copy of an executive order issued by Cautariyā Bam Sāha authorizing Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā to operate the Luthāma Guṭha (VS 1859)
E_2254_0001A: A copy of an executive order issued by Cautariyā Bam Sāha authorizing Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā to operate the Luthāma Guṭha (VS 1859)
E_2253_0015C: A copy of an executive order, presumably issued by King Gīrvāṇa, granting Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā the right to retain oversight of the Luthāma Guṭha and its land endowments (VS 1860)
E_2253_0015D: A copy of an order from Subedāra Śaṅkhadhara to officials in Patan to investigate Rāmananda Bā̃ḍā's claim to the overseership of the Luthāma Guṭha (VS 1860)
E_2253_0015E: A scribal note confirming to Patan’s amālī the identity of the original sponsor of the Luthāma Guṭha and the queen regent’s order to restore control over it to one of his descendants through a bahālī [VS 1860]
E_2253_0015F: A document written by Śaṅkhadhara, an official in Patan, confirming Rāmananda's stewardship of the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1860)
E_2253_0015G: A note regarding the retrieval of utensils belonging to the Luthāma Guṭhī [VS 1860]
E_2254_0001C: A copy of an order from Subedāra Śaṅkhadhara to officials in Patan instructing them to investigate Rāmananda Bā̃ḍā's claim to the overseership of the Luthāma Guṭha (VS 1860)
E_2254_0001H: A copy of an executive order issued by Cautariyā Amara Siṃha Śāha directing judicial officers in Patan to determine the rightful claimant to the crop yields from plots belonging to the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1860)
E_2254_0001G: A copy of an executive order issued by Queen Rājarājeśvarī Devī instructing judicial officials in Patan to determine the rightful owner of the crop yields from plots belonging to the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1860)
E_2254_0001E: A copy of an arjī submitted by Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā and fellow guṭhī members claiming their right to the harvests and utensils belonging to the Luthāma Guṭhī [VS 1860]
K_0341_0034: A copy of an executive order from the king granting Rāmānanda Bā̃ḍā the right to resume oversight of the Luthāma Guṭha and its land endowments (VS 1862)
K_0015_0021C: A copy of a lālamohara issued by King Rājendra relieving Ramānanda of his oversight of the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1876)
K_0015_0031E: A copy of a lālamohara issued by King Rājendra appointing Hākyā Kaṭavāla as the overseer of the Luthāma Guṭhī (VS 1883)
K_0014_0014C: A copy of a lālamohara issued by King Rajendra restoring to Amṛtānanda and Sundarānanda their ancestral right to oversee the Luthāma Guṭha and its land endowments (VS 1884)
E_2254_0001F: A copy of a letter from Ḍiṭṭhā Bhāgīrāma of Patan recommending that its unnamed recipient rule in favor of Rāmānanda regarding ownership of the harvest on land belonging to the Luthāma Guṭhī
PD_0002_0002: A thyāsaphū recording events in the history of the Luthāma Guṭhī during the early Śāha period
Buṅgadyaḥ: Administration
K_0341_0018: A copy of a royal decree appointing three former biṣeṭs as diṭṭhās in the service of Matsyendranātha (VS 1862)
RRC_0005_0159: A copy of a royal decree appointing Sīu Narasīṃ as a ḍiṭṭhā to oversee the management of Patan's Matsyendranātha Guṭhīs (VS 1863)
K_0630_0067: A document informing Bhoṭa of the dispatch of the chief priest of Matsyendranātha and cautioning other priests of the community not to interrupt the ritual worship of the deity (VS 1872)
K_0017_0002A: A copy of a royal decree authorizing Kīrtimāna Sĩṃ Bhaḍela to manage the guṭhī of Matsyendranātha in Patan for six years (VS 1893)
DNA_0014_0106: A lālamohara issued by King Rājendra appointing Durgā Siṃ as a ḍiṭṭhā and outlining his responsibilities regarding Matsyendranātha (VS 1895)
K_0213_0060: A deed of surety executed by Herāmāna Karmācārya guaranteeing Jogalāla Śreṣṭha's biseṭ khānagī in the service of Sveta Matsyendranātha (VS 1965)
Buṅgadyaḥ: Inscriptions
NHDP_0001_0138: A stone inscription installed by King Śrīnivāsa Malla at Taḥ Bāhāḥ regarding rules for the chariot procession and other activities of Buṅgadyaḥ (NS 793)
NHDP_0001_0141: A votive inscription by Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā recording his donation of the present pinnacle for the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot (ŚS 1772)
NHDP_0001_0151: A votive inscription on a gilded copper flag recording the donation of the flag by King Vīra Mahendra Malla and Queen Regent Rājyeśvarī (NS 831)
NHDP_0001_0152: A votive inscription on a gilded copper flag recording the donation of the flag by King Vīra Mahendra Malla and Queen Regent Rājyeśvarī (NS 831)
NHDP_0001_0153: A votive inscription on a gilded copper flag recording the flag's donation by King Vīra Mahendra Malla and Queen Regent Rājyeśvarī (NS 831)
NHDP_0001_0154: A votive inscription on a gilded copper flag recording the donation of the flag by King Vīra Mahendra Malla and Queen Regent Rājyeśvarī (NS 831)
NHDP_0001_0168: A votive inscription on a canopy for the sanctum of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording its donation by residents from the vicinity of the Khācoche caitya (NS 989)
NHDP_0001_0140: A votive inscription by Harṣa Narasiṃha on the tympanum (prabhā) to be installed annually inside the sanctum of the Bungadyaḥ chariot [NS 990]
NHDP_0001_0143: A votive inscription on the pinnacle of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot by Padma Jaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā recording the replacement of earlier donations made by his father (ŚS 1801)
NHDP_0001_0156: A votive inscription on the back of a moon image placed atop the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording its donation by Dhiṃnara Noko and a clan of Deobhājus (NS 965)
NHDP_0001_0147: An inscription recording the manufacture of a silver pot for the bathing ceremony of Buṅgadyaḥ (NS 971)
NHDP_0001_0146: An inscription recording the production of five silver plates for the daśakarma of Buṅgadyaḥ (VS 1886)
NHDP_0001_0158: An inscription, composed by Hemarāja Śākya and affixed to the right-hand railing of the balcony of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording the history of donations for the various parts of the chariot’s sanctum (NS 1111)
NHDP_0001_0142: A votive inscription on the pinnacle of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot by Kīrti Bhakti Kumārī Devī and Ḍamvara Jaṅga Bahādūra Rāṇā recording the donation of a Vajrasattva idol (VS 1937)
NHDP_0001_0144: A votive inscription by Jitajaṅga Bahādura Rāṇā recording his donation of a flag for the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot (VS 1940)
NHDP_0001_0145: A votive inscription by Commander-in-Chief General Deva Śamśera recording his donation of gold and silver in the name of his deceased wife (VS 1952)
NHDP_0001_0148: An inscription on a silver jar recording the vessel's replacement by Juddha Śamśera (VS 1990)
NHDP_0001_0150: An inscription on a copper cover for the main beam of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot recording the year the cover was commissioned and details of its manufacture (VS 1996)
NHDP_0001_0157: A votive inscription on the front of an image of the sun and moon placed atop the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording its donation by Daśa Nārā and his family (VS 2008)
NHDP_0001_0155: A votive inscription on the back of the Hayagrīva-Bhairava mask of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot by Samīrarāja Śākya (NS 1132)
NHDP_0001_0159: A votive inscription on the rim of a ritual tray recording its donation to Buṅgadyaḥ by a group of devotional singers (VS 2018)
NHDP_0001_0161: A votive inscription on a gilt copper flag recording the flag's donation by a group of anonymous individuals (VS 2029)
NHDP_0001_0166: A votive inscription on the front of a silver replica depicting the sun atop the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording its donation by Kularatna and others [VS 2008]
NHDP_0001_0163: A votive inscription mounted on the railing of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot recording Sundaralāla Khaḍgī’s and Gītādevī’s donation for the luthāma (VS 2047)
NHDP_0001_0164: A votive inscription affixed to the threshold of the door to the sanctum of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot recording Sundaralāla Khaḍgī's donation for the luthāma (VS 2047)
NHDP_0001_0160: A votive inscription on the rim of a ritual tray recording the donation of silver and gold to Buṅgadyaḥ for its restoration by a group of devotional singers (VS 2070)
NHDP_0001_0162: A votive inscription on a gilt copper flag recording the flag's donation by a Maharjana family (VS 2070)
NHDP_0001_0165: A votive inscription engraved on a metal plate hung on the front of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot, recording the object’s donation by an Ācārya family (VS 2072)
