Art Institute of Chicago stone Buddha statue, tank foundation, Śaka year 1580
Version: (b80acdf), last modified (b80acdf).
Edition
⟨1⟩ svasti śrī cāli-vāka-
⟨2⟩ ṉa-(ca)kāt=tam 1000 5 100 8 10
⟨3⟩ Itan mēl-c cell(ā) [ni]-
⟨4⟩ ṉṟa pi(ṟa)māti ௵ Āṭi ௴
⟨5⟩ mutal ௳ rācamā(nya)-
⟨6⟩ rāca-śrī-mallāri-rāyar
⟨7⟩ peḷai⟨k⟩kuṭi-⟨k⟩ kuḷam ve-
⟨8⟩ ṭṭivicca paṭiyiṇālē
⟨9⟩ Inta k¡o!ḷattilē tai
⟨10⟩ mātam mutal yā(t)ām ¿e?-
⟨11⟩ ruvar kūṭai-⟨t⟩ taṇṇīr-
⟨12⟩ Ē(ṟ)ṟaccālum cuṟṟi ma(ra)-
⟨13⟩ ṅkaḷai veṭṭ(i)ṉ(ā)lum
⟨14⟩ keṅkai-karaiyi(l)ē (kār-ā)-
⟨15⟩ m-pacuvai-k koṉ(ṟ)a tō-
⟨16⟩ ṣattiḷē pōka-k-kaṭavar ā(kavum)
Apparatus
Translation
⟨1⟩ Prosperity! Fortune!
⟨1–5⟩ Year 1580 of the Cālivākaṉa-Caka ⟨era⟩, (that is), date first of the month of Āṭi of the year Piṟamāti,1 which was current upon it.
⟨5–16⟩ According to the manner in which the glorious Mallārirāyar2, king honoured by kings, had the tank in Peḷaikkuṭi dug, at this tank, starting from the month of Tai, if one, whoever (yātam oruvar), lifts up water ⟨with⟩ baskets or cuts sourrounding trees, he should be deemed to undergo the sin of killing a black cow on the bank of the Ganges.
Bibliography
Reported in ARIE 1950–51 (ARIE/1950-1951/B/1950-1951/255); in Ghose 2022, with photograph.
Edited and translated in Cox 2025 (pp. 493-494), with photograph (fig. 10, p. 504).
This digital edition by Emmanuel Francis based on documentation kindly supplied by Nicolas Revire (including an unpublished reading by the late Michael Rabe) and on Cox 2025.
Primary
[C] Cox, Whitney. 2025. “Bricks from a Tamil Pagoda.” In: For the Love of Tamil: Essays in Honor of E. Annamalai. Edited by Margherita Trento. Napoli: UniorPress, pp. 479–504.
Secondary
ARIE 1950–51. Annual report on Indian epigraphy for 1950-51. Edited by N. Lakshminarayan Rao. Delhi: Manager of Publications (Department of Archaeology). Page 31, appendixes B/1950-1951, item 255.
Ghose, Madhuvanti. 2022. “The monumental Buddha from Nagapattinam: The many lives of an Art Institute icon.” Orientations 53 (1), pp. 39–44.
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<summary>17th-century inscription recording the foundation of a tank. Engraved on the back of a 12th-century stone Buddha statue first noticed in Pōḻakkuṭi, possibly brought there from Nākappaṭṭiṉam, and presently kept in the Art Institute of Chicago (<ref target="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/21023/buddha-shakyamuni-seated-in-meditation-dhyanamudra">access no. 1964.556</ref>).</summary>
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cāli-vāka
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rācamā<unclear>nya</unclear>
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<note>The figure is clearly legible to me in <ref target="https://www.artic.edu/videos/26/buddha-shakyamuni-art-institute-essentials-tour">an online video from the Art Institute of Chicago.</ref></note>
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Prosperity! Fortune!
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<p n="1-5">
Year 1580 of the Cālivākaṉa-Caka <supplied reason="subaudible">era</supplied>,
<supplied reason="explanation">that is</supplied>, date first of the month of Āṭi of the year Piṟamāti,<note>That is, Jovian 60-year cycle year Pramāthin or Pramādin, as pointed out by <bibl><ptr target="bib:Cox2025_01"/></bibl> (p. 491).</note>
which was current upon it.
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<p n="5-16">
According to the manner in which
the glorious Mallārirāyar<note>On this possibly being the Tamil rendering of the Marathi name Malhār Rao, see <bibl><ptr target="bib:Cox2025_01"/></bibl> (p. 492).</note>, king honoured by kings, had the tank in Peḷaikkuṭi dug,
at this tank,
starting from the month of Tai,
if one, whoever <supplied reason="explanation"><foreign>yātam oruvar</foreign></supplied>, lifts up water <supplied reason="subaudible">with</supplied> baskets
or cuts sourrounding trees,
he should be deemed to undergo the sin of killing a black cow on the bank of the Ganges.
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<p>The date is problematic. Śaka 1580, that is 1658/59 CE, does not match any Jovian 60-year cycle year Piṟamāti, that is, Pramāthin (1639/40 CE) or Pramādin (1603/04, 1663/64 CE). See discussion in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Cox2025_01"/></bibl> (p. 491), who suggests that <quote>the simplest solution is thus to understand the year as <foreign>pramāthin</foreign>, equivalent to Śaka 1560 or 1638 CE.</quote></p>
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<p>Reported in <bibl><ptr target="bib:ARIE1950-1951"/></bibl> (ARIE/1950-1951/B/1950-1951/255); in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Ghose2022_01"/></bibl>, with photograph.</p>
<p>
Edited and translated in <bibl><ptr target="bib:Cox2025_01"/></bibl> (pp. 493-494), with photograph (fig. 10, p. 504).
</p>
<p>This digital edition by Emmanuel Francis based on documentation kindly supplied by Nicolas Revire (including an unpublished reading by the late Michael Rabe) and on <bibl><ptr target="bib:Cox2025_01"/></bibl>.</p>
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Commentary
The date is problematic. Śaka 1580, that is 1658/59 CE, does not match any Jovian 60-year cycle year Piṟamāti, that is, Pramāthin (1639/40 CE) or Pramādin (1603/04, 1663/64 CE). See discussion in Cox 2025 (p. 491), who suggests that “the simplest solution is thus to understand the year as pramāthin, equivalent to Śaka 1560 or 1638 CE.”