A votive inscription on the backside of the Hayagrīva-Bhairava mask of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot by Samīrarāja Śākya (NS 1132)
ID: NHDP_0001_0155
Edited and
translated by Simon Cubelic and Rajan Khatiwoda
in collaboration with
Bharat Maharjan
Created: ;
Last modified: 2023-12-19
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Abstract
This votive inscription records the donation of the Hayagrīva-Bhairava mask for the main beam of the Buṅgadyaḥ chariot by Samīrarāja Śākya and his family in memory of his grandfather and father.Diplomatic edition
[1]
[A carving of the moon to the left of the invocation at the top][A carving of the sun to the right of the invocation at the top]1⟅ॐमणिपद्मेहुं1श्रेयोऽस्तुसम्वत्११३२वैशाखशुक्लपक्षप्रतिपदा॥2२०६९वैशाखमासस्यदिनेषु१०रविवारकून्हुखाछेँ
3दिवंगतकीर्तिराजशाक्यतत्पुत्रस्वर्गीयलेखराजशाक्य
4प्रमुखंसकलजहानपरिवारयाधर्मचित्तउत्पतिजुयाः
5श्रीमदार्यावलोकितेश्वरस्यरथसविराजितकर्कोतक
6नागराजायामूर्ति (ध:माख्वा:पा:) दुन्तां⟪दयकूम्हकाय्भाजुसमीरराजशाक्य⟫थुगुधर्मंजगत
7संसारउद्धारजुयमालशुभम्
Translation
[1r]
[A carving of the moon to the left of the invocation at the top]
[A carving of the sun to the right of the invocation at the top]
Oṃmaṇipadmehuṃ!1 May there be prosperity! On Sunday, the 10th solar day, the first day of the bright fortnight of Vaiśākha, in the [Nepāla] era year 1132, [that is Vikrama] era year 2069, piety (dharmacitta) had arisen in the [now both] deceased [family] heads Kīrtirāja Śākya and his deceased son Lekharāja Śākya and the entire family from Khāchẽ. They offered an idol (mūrti) of the nāga king Karkoṭaka shining on the chariot of the glorious Āryāvalokiteśvara, to be affixed to] the face of the of the dhaḥmā2 . The one who carried it out is Samīrarāja Śākya, the son of [Lekharāja]. This meritious act (dharma) may uplift the world. Auspiciousness.
Commentary
The inscription is engraved on a metal plate affixed on the backside to the Hayagrīva-Bhairava mask which is put on the front of the main beam of the chariot (see Locke 1980, 265-66). Interestingly, the inscription identifies the mask as the nāga king Karkoṭaka, but not as Hayagrīva-Bhairava. Commonly, Karkoṭaka is identified only with the main beam. According to one of the members of the donor family (personal communication 5 April 2023), the inscription was composed by their family priest and the deity was identified by him.