Translation on kukri requested

[beoram]

Svashtar,

I was looking through some old emails from John Powell, based on his discussions with people at the Gurkha Museum, and, yes, your friend is actually right about the numeral. It should be in the format x/xx, thus 8/23. But it is not a date, but some sort of 'serial number', perhaps a regiment number.

anyway, the inscriptions are still rather difficult. But, happily or unhappily, they appear to be more administrative than anything else. A way of catalogueing stocks, more or less.

--b.

Beoram, I finally heard from my nepalese friend at work and this is what he says. (He is in agreement with you about the reference being to an army division or battalion.) He came up with 8/23 though as opposed to 8123.

Just offered up for your information.

Here is what he wrote:


Morris,
It reads like this.

Shree(similar to sir), tin(3), Chandra(name of a person), gana
(battalion), 8/23 (date).

Rana clan ruled 104 years in Nepal. A king puts Shree 5 in front of his
name and Rana put Shree 3 (it is just a hierarchy of rank).

It sounds like this Khukuri (knife) belonged to a person under a
Battalion named "Shree 3 Chandra Samser Rana".

Hope it helps.

Thakur Karkee

Regards,

Norm

 

[Thomas Linton]

This is no more than wild speculation informed by no expertise whatsoever, but I love puzzles. What about the 8th year of the administration of the PM named? Old Japanese blades are sometimes marked acording to the year of an emporer's reign that they were made.