An undated stone tablet inscription from Bāgha Hiti (Bhaktapur) describing the fountain’s water spout (ND)
ID: NHDP_0002_0110
Edited and
translated by Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi and Rajendra Shakya
Created: 2026-09-23;
Last modified: 2026-11-09
For the metadata of the document, click here
The accompanying edition, translation/synopsis and/or commentary are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
.
Abstract
This undated stone tablet inscription from Bāgha Hiti in the Tāthalī area of Vāgeśvarī (Bhaktapur) describes in verse the qualities of the fountain’s water spout. The Licchavi inscription, from circa the fifth century, does not mention any donors or the objective in constructing the spout.Diplomatic edition
[1r]
1[?]उद्योतकाख्येसततंमनोज्ञे सुरालयस्याध्वनिसद्विहारे2हारेवधारेयमतिप्रसन्ना झषस्यवक्त्रात्पततीविराजते।।
Translation
[1r]
[May there be] success! In the ever-charming [place] called Udyotaka, upon the temple pathway in the noble monastery—this stream of water, exceedingly clear, like a pearl necklace, shines brilliantly as it falls from the mouth of a fish.
Commentary
This inscription is at a water spout popularly known as Bāgha Hiti, located in the Tāthalī area around Bhaktapur’s Vāgeśvarī temple.
The most recent publication of the text of the inscription appears in the following article:
Rājavaṃśī, Śyāmasundara. “Itihāsako Kurā.” Rolamba, Vol. 15, No. 2, 1995; pp. 9-10.
This was preceded by Padma Sundara Śākya’s reading of it in the Gorkhāpatra daily on Saturday, the 5th of Caitra in VS 2045 (March 18, 1989 CE).
The inscription bears no date; hence the chronological timeframe must be deduced paleographically. The renowned epigraphist and historian Dhanavajra Vajrācārya judged this script to be contemporary with the era of King Mānadeva I (mid-fifth century CE).
The verse is a poetic Licchavi description of the water spout. While the text records that the water flows from the mouth of a fish or some other aquatic creature (jhaṣa), local vernacular tradition refers to it as Bāgha Hiti—a spout representing the mouth of a tiger (bāgha). The Sanskrit term jhaṣa typically means “fish” in general, but here it may be referring to the makara motif more usually found on Kathmandu Valley water spouts. The tip of the spout could arguably be that of a fish, but it definitely bears no resemblance to a tiger, as the tip is obscure (Rājavaṃśī 1995: 9). Directly beneath the inscribed text, the artisan has sculpted an exquisitely rendered depiction of rippling waves.
The pearl necklace simile used for the clear stream of water from the spout is a classic trope in Sanskrit court poetry, here highlighting the beauty of Licchavi water architecture and the quality of water it discharges. The inscription itself is a unique specimen of its kind, as it omits the donor's name, the toponym in question, the poet’s identity and any explicit declaration of pious intent or other purpose behind the commissioning of the water spout.
