Third text on rock wall by A Vương river in Tây Giang (C. 199), 6th/7th century CE
Version: (3e0b233), last modified (4e6a5f6).
Edition
⟨1⟩ svasti ya{ṁ} doṁ kluñ· Usīr· Ājñ(ā) nī(y·)
⟨2⟩ m(ā)s· Ākara samrāṅ· Ilon· lalāṅ· pāt taṅ·
⟨3⟩ samrāṅ· Ilon· jnas· tlūv· taṅ· samrāṅ· Ilon·
⟨4⟩ dampāṅ· dvā taṅ· ya dom· vr(ī)y· mās·
⟨5⟩ taṅ· pāt· voḥ
Translation
Hail! All chiefs usīr this command: gold of the mines, samrāṅ ilon, four weights of thatch; samrāṅ ilon, three weights of jnas; samrāṅ ilon, two weights of dampāṅ. All of them give weighed gold, four pieces.
Bibliography
The inscription was tentatively deciphered, though not translated, in Wittayarat 2004. It is re-edited here from photographs and after autopsy of the stone in March 2026.
Primary
Wittayarat, Daoruang. 2004. “Les inscriptions rupestres de Samo (inédites) : une tentative de déchiffrement, de traduction et de datation.” Lettre de la société des amis du Champa ancien 11, pp. 14–17. Page 15, item C.
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<p>Archaic script with long descenders on <foreign>ka</foreign>, <foreign>ra</foreign>, <foreign>A</foreign>, etc.</p>
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<p><lb n="1"/>svasti ya<surplus>ṁ</surplus> doṁ kluñ· Usīr· Ājñ<unclear>ā</unclear> nī<unclear>y·</unclear>
<lb n="2"/>m<unclear>ā</unclear>s· Ākara samrāṅ· Ilon· lalāṅ· pāt taṅ·
<lb n="3"/>samrāṅ· Ilon· jnas· tlūv· taṅ· samrāṅ· Ilon·
<lb n="4"/>dampāṅ· dvā taṅ· ya dom· vr<unclear>ī</unclear>y· mās·
<lb n="5"/>taṅ· pāt· voḥ</p>
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<p>Hail! All chiefs <foreign>usīr</foreign> this command: gold of the mines,
<foreign>samrāṅ ilon</foreign>, four weights of thatch;
<foreign>samrāṅ ilon</foreign>, three weights of <foreign>jnas</foreign>;
<foreign>samrāṅ ilon</foreign>, two weights of <foreign>dampāṅ</foreign>.
All of them give weighed gold, four pieces.</p>
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<p>The interpretation of <foreign>kluñ</foreign> is uncertain. There are inscriptions where it might have a meaning like <q>destroy</q>, and others where it seems to designate some kind of dignitary (<q>minister, chief</q>). The word <foreign>usīr</foreign>, not found so far elsewhere in Old Cham, does not have an evident match in Modern Cham, but does in Malay and Acehnese, where <foreign>usir</foreign> and <foreign>usé</foreign>, respectively, mean <q>chase away, expel</q>, while the meaning in Old Javanese is rather different (<q>to go to, go in the direction of, take refuge with, try to reach or obtain, strive after</q>). The word <foreign>ākara</foreign> is a loanword from Sanskrit meaning <q>mine, multitude</q>. We tentatively match <foreign>lalāṅ</foreign> with the word that appears as <foreign>ralāṅ</foreign> in later inscriptions (and exists as <foreign>lalang</foreign> in Malay). The expression <foreign>samrāṅ ilon</foreign>, that occurs four times, is alas totally opaque. The word <foreign>taṅ</foreign>, so far not found in any Old Cham inscription, must be the precursor of modern <foreign>taṅ</foreign>, <q>to weigh</q>. The words <foreign>jnas</foreign> and <foreign>dampāṅ</foreign> (the latter being somewhat uncertain of reading) are unknown, but clearly designate countable items. The numeral words <foreign>pāt</foreign>, <foreign>tlūv</foreign> and <foreign>dvā</foreign> are all well attested in Old Cham, and easily matched with numerals <q>four</q>, <q>three</q>, and <q>two</q> in other Chamic languages (<bibl><ptr target="bib:Thurgood1999_01"/><citedRange unit="page">36-39</citedRange></bibl>).<!--
lalāṅ: maybe same as ralāṅ in later inscriptions?
ralāṅ thatch, mountain grass 9, 106 ralām̃ f413 Thurgood 1999: 301, ECIC VIII, 272 Mal. lalang, Old Jav. halalaṅ
-->
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<p>The inscription was tentatively deciphered, though not translated, in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Wittayarat2004_01"/></bibl>. It is re-edited here from photographs and after autopsy of the stone in March 2026.</p>
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Commentary
The interpretation of kluñ is uncertain. There are inscriptions where it might have a meaning like “destroy”, and others where it seems to designate some kind of dignitary (“minister, chief”). The word usīr, not found so far elsewhere in Old Cham, does not have an evident match in Modern Cham, but does in Malay and Acehnese, where usir and usé, respectively, mean “chase away, expel”, while the meaning in Old Javanese is rather different (“to go to, go in the direction of, take refuge with, try to reach or obtain, strive after”). The word ākara is a loanword from Sanskrit meaning “mine, multitude”. We tentatively match lalāṅ with the word that appears as ralāṅ in later inscriptions (and exists as lalang in Malay). The expression samrāṅ ilon, that occurs four times, is alas totally opaque. The word taṅ, so far not found in any Old Cham inscription, must be the precursor of modern taṅ, “to weigh”. The words jnas and dampāṅ (the latter being somewhat uncertain of reading) are unknown, but clearly designate countable items. The numeral words pāt, tlūv and dvā are all well attested in Old Cham, and easily matched with numerals “four”, “three”, and “two” in other Chamic languages (Thurgood 1999, pp. 36–39).