Kurkihar bronze pedestal dedication, Rājyapāla year 28

Editors: Rajat Sanyal, Vincent Tournier, Arlo Griffiths.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSBengalDed00086.

Hand description:

Standard Pāla-period Siddhamātr̥kā. Example of repha integrated into the akṣara below its headline are found in line 3 mārga and ācāryo, and in line 4 kīrttir.

Language: Sanskrit.

Repository: Bengal Dedication Inscriptions (tfb-bengalded-epigraphy).

Version: 2025-05-09 14:45 (5f23e1c), last modified 2025-05-09 14:45 (5f23e1c).

I. Anuṣṭubh

⟨1⟩ @ śrīmat-kāñcīm ala⟨ṁ⟩kurvann

asti grāmaḥ satām mataḥ

narasiṁha-caturvedi-

maṅgalākhyo mahīyasāṁ||

II. Anuṣṭubh

dvijānām ālayo ramyo

veda-vedāṅga⟨2⟩-vedinā⟨ṁ⟩

tatra viprā¿t?⟨n⟩vay(e) śuddhe

lavdhajanmā guṇānvitaḥ||

III. Anuṣṭubh

yo vairocanasiṁhasya

sthavirasya guṇ(o)dadheḥ|

prajñāsiṁha Iti khyāta⟨ḥ⟩

śiśyo ’bhūd guṇinā⟨3⟩m mataḥ||

IV. Anuṣṭubh

¿ś?⟨s⟩o ’kārayad idaṁ vimvaṁ

saugataṁ ghaṭ⟨ṭ⟩ano¡jv!⟨jjv⟩ala⟨ṁ⟩

śuddhar¿ā?⟨ī⟩ti-mayaṁ bhaktyā

nyāyāṁ mārga-samāśritaḥ ||

V. Anuṣṭubh

Anena puṇyenācāryo-

pādhyāya-sahita⟨ṁ⟩ ⟨4⟩ jaga¿ta?⟨t·⟩

mātā-pitr̥-samāyukta⟨ṁ⟩

saugataṁ padam āpnuyā¿ta?⟨t·⟩||

VI. Āryā

śrīrāj⟨y⟩apāla-nāmni kṣitibhr̥ti bhuvam avati kīrttir atimahatī|

Avdi ’¿p?⟨ṣ⟩ṭāviṁśatime kr̥tā ⟨5⟩ ¿ś?⟨s⟩(i)tadinā¿p?⟨ṣ⟩ṭa-vaiśākhe||

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ -caturvedimaṅgalākhyo G B ⬦ caturvedī maṅgalākhyo BS • Banerji-Sastri’s reading comprises a silent, unnecessary emendation.

Translation by Vincent Tournier

I

There is a village named Narasiṁhacaturvedimaṅgala,¹ which adorns the illustrious Kāñcī, and is esteemed by the excellent ones, the noble ones,

II

[and is a] pleasing resting place for twice-borns who master the Vedas and Vedāṅgas. There, in a pure lineage of brahmins [vipra], he who is endowed with virtues, took birth.

III

He became the disciple of the venerable Vairocanasiṁha—[himself] an ocean of virtues—and [came to be] called Prajñāsiṁha, esteemed among the virtuous ones.

IV

He, relying on the correct Dharma, with devotion ordered to be made this image of the Sugata, made of pure brass, which is resplendent as it is rubbed (by devotees).

V

By the merit, may the world, together with [his] teacher and preceptor, joined by [his] mother and father, reach the state of sugatas!

VI

While King (kṣitibhr̥t) Śrī-Rājyapāla was ruling the earth, during [his] 28th year, on the 8th day of the waxing (sita) [fortnight of the month] of Vaiśākha (i.e., on the Buddha’s birthday), [this] most excellent memorial was made.

Commentary

Bibliography

First edited by A. Banerji-Sastri (1940), whose reading was reproduced by S. Huntington (1984). An improved edition had by that time already been offered by P. L. Gupta (1965). There is even a third edition, by G. Bhattacharya (2000), but it is inferior to Gupta’s, as it comprises several silent emendations and printing or typing errors. Banerji-Sastri’s summary was mispresented as a translation by Huntington and Bhattacharya. In fact, no translation has been published so far. The text is edited here by Rajat Sanyal, Vincent Tournier & Arlo Griffiths, based on the photograph from the Huntington archive, and furnished with a translation by Vincent Tournier.

Primary

[BS] Banerji-Sastri, Ananta Prasad. 1940. “Ninety-three inscriptions on the Kurkihar bronzes.” JBORS 26 (3), pp. 236–251. Page 246, item 52.

[G] Gupta, Parmeshwari Lal. 1965. Patna Museum catalogue of antiquities (Stone sculptures, metal images, terracottas and minor antiquities). Patna: Patna Museum. Page 155, item 164.

[B] Bhattacharya, Gouriswar and Enamul Haque. 2000. Essays on Buddhist, Hindu, Jain iconography & epigraphy. Studies in Bengal Art 1. Dhaka: The International Centre for Study of Bengal Art. Page 95.

Secondary

Huntington, Susan L. 1984. The “Pāla-Sena” schools of sculpture. Studies in South Asian culture 10. Leiden: Brill. Pages 213–214.

Notes

1. On caturvedimaṅgala, an equivalent of agrahāra used in the Tamil-speaking South of India as a suffix to villages granted tax-free to Brahmins, see Sircar 1965, p. 377; Sircar 1966, s.v.

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<p rend="stanza" n="1">There is a village named Narasiṁhacaturvedimaṅgala,<note>On <foreign>caturvedimaṅgala</foreign>, an equivalent of <foreign>agrahāra</foreign> used in the Tamil-speaking South of India as a suffix to villages granted tax-free to Brahmins, see <bibl><ptr target="bib:Sircar1965_01"/><citedRange unit="page">377</citedRange></bibl>; <bibl><ptr target="bib:Sircar1966_01"/></bibl>, s.v.</note> which adorns the illustrious Kāñcī, and is esteemed by the excellent ones, the noble ones,</p>

<p rend="stanza" n="2"><supplied reason="subaudible">and is a</supplied> pleasing resting place for twice-borns who master the Vedas and Vedāṅgas. There, in a pure lineage of brahmins <supplied reason="subaudible"><foreign>vipra</foreign></supplied>, he who is endowed with virtues, took birth.</p>

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<p rend="stanza" n="6">While King <supplied reason="explanation"><foreign>kṣitibhr̥t</foreign></supplied> Śrī-Rājyapāla was ruling the earth, during <supplied reason="subaudible">his</supplied> 28th year, on the 8th day of the waxing <supplied reason="explanation"><foreign>sita</foreign></supplied> <supplied reason="subaudible">fortnight of the month</supplied> of Vaiśākha <supplied reason="explanation">i.e., on the Buddha’s birthday</supplied>, <supplied reason="subaudible">this</supplied> most excellent memorial was made.</p>

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Patna Museum no. 143, 9729 ???

Huntington Archive no. .... ???

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