Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal

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A copperplate inscription at Subāhāḥ in Lalitpur recording a donation of two windows by Buddharāja, Munivaṃśa and Mahājyoti for the esoteric shrine (NS 842)

ID: NHDP_0001_0109

Edited by Rajan Khatiwoda, Rajendra Shakya and Ravi Shakya in collaboration with Simon Cubelic
Created: 2020-05-22; Last modified: 2022-02-28
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Published by Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities: Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal, Heidelberg, Germany, 2022. The image(s) on which this edition is based on is/are published under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the copyright lies with NHDP. All use of the digital facsimiles requires prior written permission by the copyright holder. See Terms of Use.
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Abstract

This copperplate inscription records the offering of two windows for the āgaṃ of Subāhāḥ.

Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1⟅ सं८४२श्रावणकृष्ण१थ्वकुन्हुसक्व
2वाहारयाआगमसझ्यारनिपातदुन्ता
3दानपतिश्रीवुद्धराज﹨श्रीमुनिवंश﹨श्रीम
4हाजोति﹨श्वस्वम्हसेनदुन्ताजुरोशुभ।।

Synopsis

On the 1st of the dark fortnight of Śrāvaṇa in NS 842 (1722 CE), the donors Buddharāja, Munivaṃśa and Mahājyoti (text: Mahājoti) offered two windows for the āgaṃ at Subāhāḥ.

Commentary

The day mentioned in this small copperplate inscription is probably the day when the two windows were installed on the first floor of the bāhāḥ where the āgaṃ is located. The first floor has a pāsukājhyāḥ in the centre of its outer wall flanked by two small closed windows that contain elaborate carvings. The two donated windows were probably these two small windows, called jvāḥjhyāḥ ('paired windows') on either side of the pāsukājhyāḥ. A pāsukājhyāḥ flanked by such a pair is a common feature of Newar architecture. Therefore, Subāhāḥ likely had a pair of such small windows even before the donation was made. The three donors may have either replaced a damaged jvaḥjhyāḥ or offered a pair that exhibited more elaborate carvings.

Word	Notes
āgaṃ	[fr. S. āgama] var. āgaṇa; n. the place where the image of the family deity is housed; the household chapel (Malla 2000: 16). Usually housed on the first floor of a monastery, the āgaṃ is a shrine of its principal deity, Cakrasaṃvara, who is worshipped by a Vajrācārya priest. Sometimes a Śākya elder may also perform the daily worship of Cakrasaṃvara if the monastery belongs exclusively to Śākyas.
bāhāḥ	[fr. new. bāhāla] var. bahāla, bahāra, bāhāra; n. a Buddhist monastery (Malla 2000: 327). The term bāhā is a corruption of the Sanskrit term vihāra. The word went through various modifications: vihāra > vahāra > bāhāra > bāhāla > bāhāl > bāhā (Locke 1985: 3). There are two types of bāhāḥ: the main (mū) bāhāḥ, and the branch (kacā) bāhāḥ (Gellner 1992: 167-168). Unlike in a bahī, bāhāḥ does not have a flight of stairs leading to the main entrance, but is guarded by two lions (siṃha). There is no circumambulatory passage to the main shrine, but main bāhāḥs may have a digi, a building with a large hall for meeting and feasting that may stand within the bāḥāḥ complex or separately. (#new#RS)
pāsukājhyāḥ	n. a kind of window with a row of five openings named after pāsukā – the five threads used in a puja. The openings have shutters or a metal veil. Characteristic is a dividing middle bar. Window for first floor of temples, āgãchẽ, palaces, bāhāḥs, and rich residences (Gutschow et al. 1987: 209). (#new#RS)