The Practice of Ordeals in Nepal: A Historical Overview from the Malla to the Rāṇa Periods in Comparison with Hindu Dharmaśāstra

Presenter

Giudice Alessandro - University of Cagliari, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

Panel

70 – State Law, Religious Identity, and Cultural Transformation: Hinduisation and Sanskritisation in the Himalayas

Abstract

This paper offers a comprehensive historical overview of the practice of ordeals in lawsuits in Nepal, comparing these practices with the descriptions found in the Dharmaśāstric texts. I will focus on three key texts, thus ordered chronologically:

  1. Divyaśuddhi: A previously unpublished Sanskrit text, which I edited for my PhD thesis. This brief work survives in three Nepalese manuscripts and was likely composed by the early twelfth century. One of these manuscripts indicates that it was copied, probably for use in legal proceedings, during the reign of Ananta Malla (1274–1308 CE).
  2. Nyāyavikāsinī: A Newar translation of the Sanskrit Nāradasmṛti composed in 1380 CE by Maṇika/Māṇikya at the behest of Jaya Sthiti Malla (r. 1382–1395 CE, with his rise to power beginning as early as 1372 CE).
  3. Mulukī Ain of 1854: This legal code expressly forbade the administration of ordeals, marking a significant shift, as the practice had been attested in Nepal until shortly before its composition.