Vajra Books and Publications has published the English translation and scientific analysis of the Muluki Ain, first drafted by Janga Bahadur Rana in 1854. This text, a major milestone for the archiving of Nepali historical documents, was translated by Rajan Khatiwoda, Simon Cubelic, and Axel Michaels, a team created in collaboration with Heidelberg University.

The first Muluki Ain was considered an important document not only in Nepali but also in South Asian history. It was created to replace sporadic regional law systems of various parts of the country and unify them through a single legal system.

Although the text is traditionally accredited to Janga Bahadur Rana, a fact our authors also acknowledge in this translation piece, it was most possibly drafted by a council of prominent lawmakers.

The team behind this translated piece is especially dedicated to South Asian legal history. Khatiwoda completed his PhD on the Homicidal Law of 19th-century Nepal, based on various versions of the Muluki Ain. Cubelic, with his PhD in Hindu Legal Scriptures (Dharmashastra), and Michaels, a senior professor at Heidelberg University focusing on South Asian text culture and language, are also experts in this field.

The translation brings the various legislatures of 19th-century Nepal to the eye of a larger readership. Some highlights of the Muluki Ain are its highlighting of laws around caste and family systems, purity and sexuality, and punishment systems.

These punishment systems also include penalties for acts ranging from stealing, murder and other crimes, to smaller grievances, like punishments for spitting and farting.

The text acts as a time capsule for enthusiasts of early Rana history.

The authors believe that their text was primarily created to make Nepal’s first written law more accessible to scholars, local and Global, especially those interested in the legal and political systems of South Asia. Khatiwoda adds, “We believe that the book will assist scholars, researchers, and those with interest in related materials to comprehend the immediate social, economic, and political environment of South Asia and Nepal.”

Although initially published by Heidelberg University, Vajra Publications has now released the book to make it easily accessible to Nepalese and South Asian audiences.