- Support
- Lower half of an Āyaka pillar; h. 161 × w. 47 × d. 37 cm.
- Text
- Middle Indo-Aryan, Southern Brāhmī script. Text inscribed on three facets of the pillar, a few akṣaras passing on to the fourth; h. 72 × w. 58.5 cm .
- Date
- Sixth regnal year of Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, approximately between 225 and 275 CE.
- Origin
- Erected originally at findspot.
- Provenance
- Discovered between March 1926 and October 1927 at Nagarjunakonda, Site 1, on the West side of the Mahācaitya. Identified at Nagarjunakonda Museum (acc. no. 72) in February 2016.
- Visual Documentation
-
Photo(s):
- photos JM 2017
- photos AL 2017
Photo(s) of estampage(s):- estampage Leiden N7
- Vogel
- Raghunath
- Editors
- Stefan Baums, Arlo Griffiths, Ingo Strauch and Vincent Tournier.
- Publication history
- First described and edited by Vogel 1929–30a: 14, 20 (C4) . Re-edited here from the Leiden estampage and after autopsy of the stone.
(1)
sidhaṁ
namo
bhagavato
devarājasakatasa
saṁmasaṁbudhasa
dhātuvaraparig[a]hitasa
(2)
mahācetīyamhi
mahārajasa
virūpakhapatimahāsenāparigahītasa
°agihāta(3)°agiṭhomavājapeyāsamedhayājisa
hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasata(4)sahasapadāyisa
savathesu
°apatihatasaṁkapasa
vāsiṭhīputasa
°ikhākusa
(5)
siricāṁtamūlasa
sodarā⟨ya⟩
bhaginiya
haṁmas⟨i⟩riya
bālikā
mahārajasa
(6)
māḍharīputasa
sirivirapurisadatasa
bhayā
mahādevi
chaṭhisiri
°apano
(7)
mātaraṁ
haṁmasiriṇikaṁ
parināmetuna
°atānaṁ
ca
nivāṇasaṁpatisaṁpādake
°imaṁ
bhaṁkhaṁ
(8)
patiṭhapitaṁ
mahārājasa
sirivirapurisadatasa
sava
6
vāpa
6
d⟨i⟩va
10
(1) sidhaṁ namo bhagavato devarājasakatasa saṁmasaṁbudhasa dhātuvaraparig[a]hitasa
(2) mahācetīyamhi mahārajasa virūpakhapatimahāsenāparigahītasa °agihāta-
(3)°agiṭhomavājapeyāsamedhayājisa hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasata-
(4)sahasapadāyisa savathesu °apatihatasaṁkapasa vāsiṭhīputasa °ikhākusa
(5) siricāṁtamūlasa sodarā⟨ya⟩ bhaginiya haṁmas⟨i⟩riya bālikā mahārajasa
(6) māḍharīputasa sirivirapurisadatasa bhayā mahādevi chaṭhisiri °apano
(7) mātaraṁ haṁmasiriṇikaṁ parināmetuna °atānaṁ ca nivāṇasaṁpatisaṁpādake °imaṁ bhaṁkhaṁ
(8) patiṭhapitaṁ mahārājasa sirivirapurisadatasa sava 6 vāpa 6 d⟨i⟩va 10
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<lb n="1"/>
<w xml:id="tok537">sidhaṁ</w>
<w xml:id="tok538">namo</w>
<w xml:id="tok539">bhagavato</w>
<w xml:id="tok540">devarājasakatasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok541">saṁmasaṁbudhasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok542">dhātuvaraparig<unclear>a</unclear>hitasa</w>
<lb n="2"/>
<w xml:id="tok543">mahācetīyamhi</w>
<w xml:id="tok544">mahārajasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok545">virūpakhapatimahāsenāparigahītasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok546">°agihāta<lb n="3" break="no"/>°agiṭhomavājapeyāsamedhayājisa</w>
<w xml:id="tok547">hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasata<lb n="4" break="no"/>sahasapadāyisa</w>
<w xml:id="tok548">savathesu</w>
<w xml:id="tok549">°apatihatasaṁkapasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok550">vāsiṭhīputasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok551">°ikhākusa</w>
<lb n="5"/>
<w xml:id="tok552">siricāṁtamūlasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok553">sodarā<supplied reason="omitted">ya</supplied>
</w>
<w xml:id="tok553bis">bhaginiya</w>
<w xml:id="tok554">haṁmas<supplied reason="omitted">i</supplied>riya</w>
<w xml:id="tok555">bālikā</w>
<w xml:id="tok556">mahārajasa</w>
<lb n="6"/>
<w xml:id="tok557">māḍharīputasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok558">sirivirapurisadatasa</w>
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<lb n="7"/>
<w xml:id="tok563">mātaraṁ</w>
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<w xml:id="tok569">°imaṁ</w>
<w xml:id="tok570">bhaṁkhaṁ</w>
<lb n="8"/>
<w xml:id="tok571">patiṭhapitaṁ</w>
<w xml:id="tok572">mahārājasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok573">sirivirapurisadatasa</w>
<w xml:id="tok574">sava</w>
<w xml:id="tok575">6</w>
<w xml:id="tok576">vāpa</w>
<w xml:id="tok577">6</w>
<w xml:id="tok578">d<supplied reason="omitted">i</supplied>va</w>
<w xml:id="tok579">10</w>
</ab>- (1) dhātuvaraparigahitasa dhātuvaraparigaṁhitasa JPhV .
- (2) mahācetīyamhi mahādetiyaṁhi JPhV . Vogel emends to mahācetiyaṁhi.
- (2) -mahāsenā- -mahāsena- JPhV .
- (2) °agihāta- Emend °agihota-.
- (5) sodarā⟨ya⟩ bhaginiya sodarābhaginiya JPhV . The emendation is supported by EIAD 5, l. 5 sodaraya bhaginiya.
- (5) haṁmas⟨i⟩riya We suspect the engraver started writing a <si>, but stopped after the first short horizontal stroke.
- (7) °atānaṁ °atanaṁ JPhV . It is perhaps not necessary to emend °atano, as proposed by Vogel in his n. 6, because °atānaṁ can be a gen. pl. form and confusion of number is not unusual. The parallel passage in EIAD 5, l. 7, which mentions the same mother Hammasirī, here has °atane.
- (7) bhaṁkhaṁ Emend khaṁbhaṁ, as proposed by Vogel in his n. 7.
- (8) d⟨i⟩va dāva JPhV . The first akṣara is clearly <da>. Vogel emends to diva.
(1) Success! Homage to the Bhagavant, worshipped by the king(s)
of the gods, the Perfect Buddha who is ensconced in the
excellent relic [or: element (i.e., nirvāṇadhātu)]!
(2-8) At the
Great Shrine, the Great Queen Chaṭṭhisirī — child of
Hammasirī, uterine sister of Great King Vāsiṭṭhīputta
Siri-Cāntamūla the Ikṣvāku, favored by Mahāsena who has
Virūpākṣa as his lord, sacrificer of the Agnihotra, the Agniṣṭoma, the Vājapeya and the Aśvamedha, giver of tens of millions of (pieces
of) gold, hundreds of thousands of cows and hundreds of
thousands of plows (of land), whose will is unimpeded in all
matters; wife of Great King Māṭharīputta Siri-Vīrapurisadatta
— having dedicated (the merit) to her mother Hammasiriṇṇikā
and for achieving the fortune of nirvāṇa for herself,
established this pillar.
(8) In the 6th year of Great King
Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, in the 6th fortnight of the rainy
season, on the 10th day.
- bookmark Srinivasan & Sankaranarayanan 1979: no. 15
- bookmark Tsukamoto 1996: no. Naga 15
- bookmark Raghunath 2001: 87-8 (no. 9)
Commentary