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PCVAM_0001_0023

Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
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A brass-plate inscription recording the donation of a metal fire-ritual pit by Siṃghamuni of Vaṃ Bāhāḥ and his family (NS 999)

ID: PCVAM_0001_0023


Edited by Nutandhar Sharma in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya and Rajendra Shakya
Created: 2023-03-14; Last modified: 2026-02-27
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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, 2025. 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

A brass inscription affixed to the metal fire-ritual pit in front of the Kvāḥpāḥcheṃ of Vaṃ Bāhāḥ records the donation of the pit, intended for fire rituals, by Siṃghamuni of Vaṃ Bāhāḥ and his family.


Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1 ᠀ ॐ­नम­:श्रीशाक्यसिंहाय­:||ब्रह्मोपेन्द्र­मृडामराधिपतिभि­वद्यं­जिनं­श्रीघनं­||संसाराध्वितरंगभं­
2गुरुकरं­लोकाभिकांक्षाप्रदं­||तप्तमण्णनिभम्­सुदुष्करकरं­द्वात्रिंशदं­कैयुतं­९­[?]ण­[?]त्रभवाधिपं­त्रिजगतां­ता­[?]
3ॐ­नम­:||१­||श्रेयोस्तु­||संवत­९९९­जेष्ठ­शुदि­पूर्ण्णमासि­अनुराधानक्षत्र­||सिद्धिजोग­||[?]थपक­श्रीसुजयधर्म्मसं
4स्कारीत­वज्रकिर्त्ति­महाविहारस­श्री­२­भगवान­प्रीतीनं­सयव­विहारया­शाक्यवंश­श्री­सिंघमुनि­[?]लानि­काय­[?]जोति­
5माम­ज्ञानि­[?]:­तिरी­[?]सिंख्वाथकुं­||थ्वते­जल­भो­[?]चयां­धर्म्मचित­उत्पति­जुयाओ­धातु
6या­जज्ञसारा­दयकाओ­जज्ञ­याना­ओ­दुम्ता­जुरो­||शुभ­।।      ।।

Synopsis

Svasti. Oṃ. Obeisance to the glorious Śākyasiṃha. The Jina Śrīghana—praised by Brahmā, Upendra (the Sun), Mṛḍa (Śiva), and Amarādhipati (Indra)—is the one who has crossed the path of saṃsāra, who bears the noble burden (gabhaṃ gurukaraṃ ?), who fulfils the desires of the world, who shines like a blazing sun (taptāṇḍa), who has performed arduous austerities (suduṣkarakara), who is endowed with the thirty-two auspicious marks, the lord of the three worlds, and their sole protector. Oṃ, obeisance.

With the arising of pious intent (dharmacitta), the family of Siṃghamuni—together with Kīrtimuni, his brother’s son Mānajoti, his mother Jñāni, his wife … …, and Siṃkhvāthaku—residents of Sūjadharma Saṃskārita Vajrakīrtī Mahāvihāra, offered a metal fire-pit (dhātuyā jajñaśāla) after conducting a fire-sacrifice on the full-moon day of the lunar month of Jeṣṭha in NS 999, when the constellation Anurādhā and the Siddhi conjunction prevailed. May all be auspicious.


Commentary

The edition and synopsis presented here are revised from the printed version published in Basukala et al. 2022: 189–190 (DOI: https://doi.org/10.17885/heiup.1116). For documentation of this inscription and Vaṃ Bāhāḥ in the DANAM database, see https://danam.cats.uni-heidelberg.de/report/d2578f40-cfce-4450-a8c1-3092c08ef487.

Notes