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

Editors: Arlo Griffiths, Vincent Tournier.

Identifier: DHARMA_INSEIAD00039.

Hand description:

Language: Middle Indo-Aryan.

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

Version: (77e39b7), last modified (77e39b7).

Edition

⟨1⟩ […][virupakhapatimahāsenaparigahi]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩(ta)sa Agihot(ā)giṭhomavā[japeyāsamedhayā]⟨Face B⟩(ji)sa ⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨2⟩ […]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩padāyisa savathesu [Apatihatasaṁ]⟨Face B⟩kapasa (vā)siṭhīputasa (I)khā⟨Fragment right⟩[kusa] […] ⟨3⟩ […][vā]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩siṭhīputasa puki(yā)[naṁ] [kaṁda]⟨Face B⟩sirisa bhariyā khaṁdasāgaraṁṇakamātā ⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨4⟩ […]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩Ikhākunaṁ sirivirapu⟨Face B⟩r[i]sadatasa Āyuvadhanīke vejayike ca ⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨5⟩ […]⟨Fragment left⟩[A]⟨Face A⟩pano Ubhayak(u)lasa ⟨Face B⟩Atichita m anāgatavaṭamā(naka)(ka)panīke ca ⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨6⟩ […][dhātuvarapariga]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩h(i)ta(sa) [](ma)(ce)[tiya]⟨Face B⟩(pā)damūle Aparama(hā)vina(se)[li](yā)na(ṁ) pa(r)i[gahe] ⟨Fragment right⟩[…] ⟨7⟩ […]⟨Fragment left⟩⟨Face A⟩[bhikhu]⟨Face B⟩(saṁ)ghasa patiṭhapita(ṁ) (ti)

Apparatus

⟨2⟩ (I)khā[kusa][pūkiyānaṁ] Vogel 1931–1932 • Vogel’s restoration would be out of place at this stage of the formula. The word pūkiyānaṁ indeed figures in its expected place in l. 3.

⟨3⟩ -sāgaraṁṇaka- ⬦ -sāgaraṁnaka Vogel 1931–1932.

⟨5⟩ anāgatavaṭamā(naka)anāgatavaṭamāna[ke] Vogel 1931–1932 • Emend -mānake.

⟨6⟩ Aparama(hā)vina(se)[li](yā)na(ṁ)Aparamah[ā]vinase[li]yānaṁ Vogel 1931–1932.

⟨7⟩ patiṭhapita(ṁ)(ti)patiṭhapitaṁ ti Vogel 1931–1932.

Translation

... of Vāsiṭṭhīputta the Ikṣvāku, favored (by Mahāsena who has Virūpākṣa as his lord,) sacrificer (of the Agnihotra, the Agniṣṭoma, the Vājapeya and the Aśvamedha), giver of … whose will (is unimpeded) in all matters; wife of (...) Vāsiṭṭhīputta Kandasiri of the Pūkīyas, mother of Khandasāgaraṇṇaka, for the increase of the life-span and the victorious reign of Siri-Vīrapurisadatta of the Ikṣvākus ... to the past, future and present members of her own family on both sides and to nikapanīka ... established ... at the base of the Great Shrine of him who is ensconced in the excellent relic [or: element (i.e., nirvāṇadhātu)] for the community of monks, in the possession of the Aparamahāvinaseliyas.

Commentary

(1) 1

(2) (vā)siṭhīputasa2

Bibliography

First described and edited by Vogel 1931–1932, pp. 66–67 (M2, M9). Re-edited here from the estampage published by Vogel and from our photos.

Secondary

Sarkar, H. [1971] 1969–1970. “A note on some fragmentary inscriptions from Nagarjunakonda.” EI 38, pp. 175–178. Pages 175 (ii, iii).

Srinivasan, P. R. and S. Sankaranarayanan. 1979. Inscriptions of the Ikshvāku period. Epigraphical Series 14. Hyderabad: Govt. of Andhra Pradesh. Pages nos. 27, 31.

Tsukamoto Keishō 塚本啓祥. 1996. インド仏教碑銘の研究 I, Text, Note, 和訳 Indo Bukkyō himei no kenkyū I: Text, Note, Wayaku [A comprehensive study of the Indian Buddhist inscriptions, Part I: Text, Notes and Japanese Translation]. Kyōto-shi 京都市: Heirakuji Shoten 平楽寺書店. Pages nos. Naga 20, 27.

Raghunath, K. 2001. The Ikṣvākus of Vijayapuri: A study of the Nagarjunakonda inscriptions. Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers. Pages 125 (no. 22), 128 (no. 25).

Notes

  1. 1. As observed by Vogel 1931–1932, there are traces of a line before his l. 1 in M2 (our face B), which corresponds to our l. 2. We think our l. 1 did not cover the whole length of the line on face B, and this means that the text expected before -padāyisa (i.e. hiraṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasatasahasa-) might not have been represented. See also our comment on l. 2.
  2. 2. A part of the usual characterisation of king Cāntamūla and the general is missing here. This corresponds, in EIAD 6, ll. 4-6, to siricāṁtamūlasa sodarā bhagini raṁño sirivirapurisadatasa pituchā mahāsenapatisa mahātalavarasa. This might have been overlooked by the engraver. An alternative explanation would be that the missing text was engraved on yet a third face of the pillar, but that third face is entirely abraded.