Pillar from monastic hall of site 1 at Nagarjunakonda — reign of Siri-Vīrapurisadatta

Editors: Anonymous editor.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSEIAD00025.

Language: Prakrit.

Repository: Early Andhra (tfb-eiad-epigraphy).

Version: (9fa90aa), last modified (35386f0).

Edition

Part A

⟨1⟩ ma[hā](r)⟨Fragment right⟩[ājasa] […] ⟨2⟩ °agiho⟨Fragment right⟩[tāgiṭhomavājapeyāsamedhayājisa] ⟨3⟩ [°a]nekahiraṁṇakoṭigo⟨Fragment right⟩[satasahasahahalasatasaha]⟨4⟩[sapad](ā)yi(sa) ⟨Fragment right⟩[…]

Part B

⟨1⟩ [1+]⟨Fragment left⟩[3×]⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨2⟩ savathesu °apat[i](ha)[tasa]⟨Fragment right⟩[ṁkapasa] [vāseṭhiputasa] ⟨3⟩ (°i)khākusa siricaṁtamūlasa sa⟨Fragment right⟩[hodarā] [bhagi]⟨Fragment left⟩ni [mahāsenāpatisa] ⟨4⟩ [ma]⟨Fragment left⟩hātalavarasa vasiṭhīputa(sa) ⟨Fragment right⟩[pūkīyānaṁ] ⟨Fragment left⟩ka(ṁ)dasirisa (bha)⟨Fragment right⟩[riyā] ⟨5⟩ [mahā]⟨Fragment left⟩talava(r)i (kha)[dasāgaraṁnagamatā] cātisiri °apano ⟨Fragment right⟩[jāmātukasa] ⟨6⟩ [raṁño] ⟨Fragment left⟩(ṭha)[r](ī)[putasa] [°ikhakunaṁ] [si](ri)vira(p)uri[sa](data)sa ⟨Fragment right⟩ ⟨7⟩ [°ayuvadhanike] [vijayave]⟨Fragment left⟩(ja)yike °api (ca) °apa(no) ⟨Fragment right⟩ ⟨8⟩ [3×]

Apparatus

⟨1⟩ ma[hā](r)⟨Fragment right⟩[ājasa]ma... Sarkar1969.

⟨4⟩ [sapad](ā)yi(sa)...yi... Sarkar1969.

⟨2⟩ °apat[i](ha)[tasa]⟨Fragment right⟩[ṁkapasa]°apat[ihatasaṁkapasa] Sarkar1969.

⟨3⟩ (°i)khākusa • Compare EIAD 28(°i)khākukulasa. — ⟨3⟩ sa⟨Fragment right⟩[hodarā][bhagi]⟨Fragment left⟩ni ⬦ sa[hodara][bhagi]ni Sarkar1969.

⟨4⟩ vasiṭhīputa(sa)vāsiṭhīputa[sa] Sarkar1969. — ⟨4⟩ ka(ṁ)dasirisa _(bha)⟨Fragment right⟩[riyā]ka[ṁ]dasirisa Sarkar1969.

⟨5⟩ [mahā]talava(r)i (kha)[dasāgaraṁnagamatā][mahā]talavari … Sarkar1969. — ⟨5⟩ cātisiri ⬦ cāṁtisiri Sarkar1969.

⟨6⟩(ṭha)[r](ī)[putasa][°ikhakunaṁ][si](ri)vira(p)uri[sa](data)sa ⬦ māṭha[riputasa][si]rivirapu[risadata]sa Sarkar1969 • The latter restoration does not account for the space available, and comparison with EIAD 28 allows to restore ikhakunaṁ.

⟨7⟩ °api (ca) °apa(no)°apica °apaṇo Sarkar1969.

⟨8⟩ [3×](si)rivirapu(risadatasa) Sarkar1969 • We see no trace of the akṣaras rivirapu, and do not expect the word sirivirapurisadatasa to be found in this part of the formula.

Translation

... Cāntisirī — uterine sister of (Great King Vāsiṭṭhīputta) Siri‐Cāntamūla the Ikṣvāku, ... of Great King ... (sacrificer) of the Agnihotra, (the Agniṣṭoma, the Vājapeya and the Aśvamedha) giver of many times ten millions of (pieces of) gold, (hundreds of thousands of cows and hundreds of thousands of plows of land), ... whose will is unimpeded in all matters ... ; wife of (Great General,) Great Talavara Vāsiṭṭhīputta Kandasiri (of the Pūkīyas); (Great-)Talavara-wife, (mother of) Khandasāgaraṇṇaka — in order to (increase the lifespan) and leading (to victory) after victory of (her son‐in‐law King) Māṭharīputta Siri‐Vīrapurisadatta (of the Ikṣvākus) ... and also ... of her own ...

Commentary

Vogelb edited separately the 5 fragments of the same inscription. In light of the improvements allowed by Sarkar1969’s reconstruction of the inscription, variants of the first edition have not been recorded. But Sarkar’s reconstruction is still problematic. In l. 4, of the first fragment, we expect savathesu to have occurred after -padāyisa. This suggests that either the positioning of the fragments in Sarkar’s image is wrong, or it is Sarkar’s hypothesis of M13 and M6 belonging together that is erroneous. We are inclined to prefer the second interpretation, and hence separate Sarkar’s text into section A and B, while provisionally keeping all these fragments together under one inscription number. Compare EIAD 28 for apparently parallel text.

(B.2) °apat[i](ha)[tasa]⟨Fragment right⟩[ṁkapasa]1

(B.5) °apano2

Bibliography

Fragments first described and edited individually by Vogelb, then pieced together by Sarkar1969, who gives the first reconstruction of the inscription. Re-edited here after Sarkar’s plate VI.

Secondary

Srinivasan1979a

Tsukamoto1996

Raghunath2001

Notes

  1. 1. Note the unusual shape of t, with a loop.
  2. 2. Note unusually round shape of pa.