Incomplete India Kukri for Translation and Comment

[Battara]

Greetings folks!

Here is a kukri that I think is from northern India and possibly from the early to mid 1800s. Yes the pommel disk is gone. It might be laminated (will have to etch test).

Also there is a Hindi inscription one the thick spine (arsenal mark?) that needs translation.


This is a huge and heavy piece that belongs to my brother-in-law.

[bhushan_lawate]

hello,

The snap posted is inverted. however, the readings are as below:

Su Jai (3rd letter is not clear) 1 4 6 Shri (next is not clear) Chan Dra

so this refers to the initials and an arsenal no. probably.

Also, based on the script style as well as the way it is done. it appears to have been done at some later point than the weapon itself.

Good Kukhri


Regards,
Bhushan

[Silver John]

Hi Battara,

The blade is a Nepalese Army piece, marked to the era of Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana (1901-1929), that has been placed in a tulwar handle. I’ve seen quite a few like this and suspect that the tulwar handles were added at a later date to make the pieces more attractive to collectors.

Regards

[Battara]

Thank you folks. Great help.

So I was way off one the date............

On the tulsa handle - I have seen several of these made at earlier dates with tulwar hilts as well and they were correct with matching koftgary.

How does one tell if the hilt is original or a later addition?

[Battara]

Here are 2 pictures of a form of (and great) kukri with koftgari with tulwar hilt.

It was sold from Artzi years ago.

[RobT]

Hi All,

As bhushan_lawate noted, the inscription is upside down. The inscription is in two parts. One part is military info and the other part is a phrase of praise. The translation I propose for the military info is in part based on the book Guns of the Gurkhas by John Walter (hopefully I am interpreting his work correctly). The phrase of praise was translated by Dr Ben Judkins in his article about collecting the Nepalese military khukri.

The first two characters are an abbreviation for the Surjadal Company. The third character is the unit number (in this case it appears to be 8). The vertical slash isn't a character. It just separates the company and unit info from the weapon number (which in this case appears to be either forty six or forty eight).

The phrase of praise says Shree tin Chandra (thrice honored Chandra). The first character (shree) is an honorific which can mean various things ranging from honorable to beloved to fortunate but in this case probably means honorable. This honorific can be applied to deities, mortals, and organizations alike. I believe that women in general can be called shree (hence the name for the popular TV drama on the subcontinent). The second character (which looks like a three with a tail on it) is tin and it does mean three. As an interesting aside, from what I have read, our so called Arabic numerals 0-9 were actually a Hindu invention. The Moslems picked them up from the Hindus and passed them on to the west. The last two characters chan and dra together form Chandra which is a name for the moon on the subcontinent (and also the name for the god of the moon). Chandra is also a popular name for children of both sexes. In this case, the Chandra in question is Chandra Shumshir Jang Bahadur Rana who was prime minister of Nepal from 1901 to 1929. It was he who ordered the inscriptions be placed on Nepalese military arms.

Sincerely,
RobT

[Battara]

W W!

Great info Robert. Many thanks!


Thanks again to all of you for your help!

[Rick]

I see a star or sun mark on the blade.
Are all the fissures seen on the surface a sign that the blade was not forged at the proper temperature?

[Battara]

I mentioned that to my brother-in-law Rick.

[Rick]

How lucky you are to have a family member that shares your interests Jose.
Sure wish I did.