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Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A stone inscription recording the establishing of a caitya in honour of the deceased Devajoti by his sons and wife (NS 847)

ID: PCVAM_0001_0008


Edited by Nutandhar Sharma in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya and Rajendra Shakya
Created: 2023-03-13; Last modified: 2024-12-11
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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, 2024. Published by the courtesy of the National Archives, Kathmandu. The copyright of the facsimile remains with the Nepal Rashtriya Abhilekhalaya (National Archives, Government of Nepal). All use of the digital facsimiles requires prior written permission by the copyright holder. See Terms of Use.
The accompanying edition, translation/synopsis and/or commentary are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License CCby-SA.

Abstract

This stone inscription, located north of the entrance to the esoteric shrine (digi), documents the construction of a votive caitya in honour of the deceased Devajoti by his sons and wife. It establishes a directive for annual rituals to be performed on the anniversary of his passing and specifies the offerings to be made at the caitya.


Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1᠀­श्रयोस्तु­||सम्वत­८४७­फागुणशुक्ल­ˎˎसप्तम्यायांतिथौ­
2लोरोहिणीनक्षतेत्रे­ˎˎविस्कंभजोगे­ˎˎशुक्रवालस­कुभला
3सी­ˎˎसवित्रि­ˎˎवृषलासी­चद्रंवसी­||थ्वकुन्हु­प्रतीथा­दिन­जु
4लो­||पुनभाषा­ˎˎववुजु­ˎˎश्री­देवजोतिजुयात­नामण­||
5थ्व­चितवाहाल­दयका­जुलो­ˎˎपुनख­ˎˎ थ्व­कायपनि
6म्ह­ˎˎश्री­अमितजोतिजु­ˎˎश्री­दिनजोतिजु­ˎˎमाता­पोनध
7लिजु­||भार्य्या­देवलानिजु­थ्वतिस्यन­ˎˎसमोहन­दयका­
8जुलो­||पुनष­ˎˎदेवजोतिजुया­ˎˎशलातकुन्हु­थ्व­चितवा
9हा­पुजा­ˎˎसालीक­पंचपहार­पुजा­याय­प्वात­१­मत­||कुड­२­
10सीयाफकी­ˎˎरा­प्र­७­कुर­२­थ्व­ˎˎथुति­दान­वियमाल­ˎˎथ्व­चिंता­
11याक­ˎˎगुथि­कत्तकन­चित्ता­यायमाल­||थ्व­चितवाहाल­
12ग्वम्ह­नं­सेनकर­सा­ˎˎपंचमहापाप­लाक­जुरो­ˎˎग्वह
13थ्या­वाहथ्या­ˎव्रह्महथ्या­राक­ˎनीदान­यात­सा­धम­ˎˎ
14कम­ˎˎपुन्य­राक­ˎˎउत्पति­जुलो­।।      ।।शुभ­||❀

Synopsis

The caitya (text: citabāhāla) was constructed in the name of the deceased father, Devajoti on Friday, the seventh of the bright fortnight of Phālguna—during the following astrological alignments: the Sun in Cancer, the Moon in Leo, the constellation Rohiṇī, and the conjunction Viskaṃbha—in NS 847 (1727). The caitya was constructed by his two sons, Amitajoti and Dinajoti, his wife Ponadhaल्i, and his elder son’s wife, Devalāni.

The inscription mandates that on the anniversary of Devajoti's passing, specific offerings are to be made during the worship of the caitya. These include one wick lamp, 2 karṣas of roasted rice (siyāphakī), 7 pras of meat and 2 kuras of rice beer. Additionally, a pañcopachāra-pūjā ritual is to be performed for the effigy (sālīka) on the same day. The guṭhī members are tasked with ensuring these rituals are carried out properly. If someone causes destruction to the caitya, he will incur the five great sins, including the killing a cow, a woman, or a brahmin. Those who honour it will earn merit (dharma), good deeds (karma), and virtue (puṇya). Auspiciousness.


Commentary

This stone inscription, written in Pracalita Newa script, is located north of the entrance to the digi of Vam Bāhāḥ. This edition and synopsis presented here are revised from the printed version published in Basukala et al. 2022: 179-180 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1116). For a documentation of this inscription and Vaṃ Bāhāḥ on the DANAM database, see https://danam.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/report/d2578f40-cfce-4450-a8c1-3092c08ef487.

Notes