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PCVAM_0001_0032

Documenta Nepalica

Documents on the History of Religion and Law of Pre-modern Nepal
Version with DOI and citation guidelines Editorial Principles

A marble wall inscription in the digicheṃ of Vaṃ Bāhāḥ recording the Buddha’s five moral precepts [c. 1982]

ID: PCVAM_0001_0032


Edited and translated by Nutandhar Sharma in collaboration with Pabitra Bajracharya and Rajendra Shakya
Created: 2023-03-14; Last modified: 2026-02-28
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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, 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

The marble inscription on the wall of the Digicheṃ of Vaṃ Bāhāḥ records the five moral precepts of the Buddha (pañcaśila), outlining fundamental ethical principles for guiding moral conduct. The precepts are first written in the Pali language, and each precept is afterwards translated into the Nepali language.


Diplomatic edition

[1r]

1पंचशील­
2पाणातिपाता­वेरमणी­सिक्खापदं­समादियामि­।
3म­प्राणीहत्या­गर्दिन­भन्ने­शील­राम्ररी­पालना­गर्दछु­।
4अदिन्नादान­वेरमणी­सिक्खापदं­समादियामि­।
5म­अरुको­वस्तु­नदीकन­लिन्न­भन्ने­शील­
6राम्ररी­पालना­गर्दछु­।
7कामेसुमिच्छाचार­वेरमणी­सिक्खापदं­समादियामि­
8म­परपुरुष­परस्त्री­गमन­गर्दिन­भन्ने­शील­
9राम्ररी­पालना­गर्दछु­।
10मुसावादा­वेरमणी­सिक्खापदं­समादियामि­।
11म­झूठकुरा­बोल्दिन­भन्ने­शील­राम्ररी­
12पालना­गर्दछु­।
13सुरामेरय­मज्जपमादट्ठान­वेरमणी­सिक्खापदं­
14समादियामि­।
15म­मादकपदार्थ­सेवन­गर्दिन­भन्ने­शील­
16राम्ररी­पालन­गर्दछु­।

Translation

[1r]

Five moral precepts:

I undertake the precept to abstain from killing.

I undertake the precept to abstain from stealing.

I undertake the precept to abstain from committing adultery.

I undertake the precept to abstain from false speech.

I undertake the precept to abstain from intoxication.


Commentary

The edition and synopsis presented here are revised from the printed version published in Basukala et al. 2022: 194 (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