Metadata

Support
Āyaka pillar; h. 300 ×  w. 59 ×  d. 44 cm.
Text
Middle Indo-Aryan, Southern Brāhmī script. h. 86 ×  w. 66 cm. The hand here is distinct from previous entries. Note squareness of akṣaras, and new shape of <kha>.
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, but no information is available concerning its original position in relation to the Mahācaitya. Identified at Nagarjunakonda Museum (acc. no. 288) in February 2016.
Visual Documentation
Photo(s):
  • photos AL 2017
    • Photo(s) of estampage(s):
  • estampage Leiden N11
  • Raghunath
    • Editors
    Stefan Baums, Arlo Griffiths, Ingo Strauch and Vincent Tournier.
    Publication history
    First described by Vogel 1929–30a: 14 (X) , but without edition of the text. This was first integrally published by Raghunath 2001: 89-90 (no. 9A) , but with numerous involuntary errors. We re-edit the text here from the Leiden estampage, and after autopsy of the stone.

    Edition

    (1) sidhaṁ mahārājasa virūpakhapatimahāsenaparigahitasa °agihota°agiṭhomavāja(2)peyāsamedhayājisa hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasatasahasapadāyisa savathesu (3) °apatihatasaṁkapasa vāsiṭhīputasa °ikhākusa siricātamūlasa sodarā bhagini raṁño māḍhariputasa (4) sirivirapurisadatasa pituchā mahā⟨senāpatisa⟩ mahātalavarasa vāsiṭhīputasa pūkiyānaṁ ka[ṁ]dasirisa bhariyā samaṇa(5)bamhaṇakavaṇavaṇijakadinānugahavelāmikadānapaṭibhāgavochinadhārapadāyini savasādhuvacha[lā] (6) mahādātapatini mahātalavari khiṁdasāgaraṁṇakamātā cāṁtisiri °apano °ubhayaku[l]asa °atichita -m- anā(7)gatavaṭamānake parināmetūna °ubhayalokahitasukhanivāṇathanāya °atano ca nivāṇasaṁpatisaṁpādake (8) bhagavato saṁmasaṁbudhasa ṭhātuvaraparigahitasa mahācetiyamhi °imaṁ khaṁbhaṁ savalokahitasukhāva(9)hathanāya patiṭhapitaṁ ti raṁño sirivirapurisadātasa saṁva 6 vāpa 6 diva 10

    (1) sidhaṁ mahārājasa virūpakhapatimahāsenaparigahitasa °agihota°agiṭhomavāja-
    (2)peyāsamedhayājisa hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasatasahasapadāyisa savathesu
    (3) °apatihatasaṁkapasa vāsiṭhīputasa °ikhākusa siricātamūlasa sodarā bhagini raṁño māḍhariputasa
    (4) sirivirapurisadatasa pituchā mahā⟨senāpatisa⟩ mahātalavarasa vāsiṭhīputasa pūkiyānaṁ ka[ṁ]dasirisa bhariyā samaṇa-
    (5)bamhaṇakavaṇavaṇijakadinānugahavelāmikadānapaṭibhāgavochinadhārapadāyini savasādhuvacha[lā]
    (6) mahādātapatini mahātalavari khiṁdasāgaraṁṇakamātā cāṁtisiri °apano °ubhayaku[l]asa °atichita -m- anā-
    (7)gatavaṭamānake parināmetūna °ubhayalokahitasukhanivāṇathanāya °atano ca nivāṇasaṁpatisaṁpādake
    (8) bhagavato saṁmasaṁbudhasa ṭhātuvaraparigahitasa mahācetiyamhi °imaṁ khaṁbhaṁ savalokahitasukhāva-
    (9)hathanāya patiṭhapitaṁ ti raṁño sirivirapurisadātasa saṁva 6 vāpa 6 diva 10 
    <ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
					          <lb n="1"/>
               <w xml:id="tok580">sidhaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok581">mahārājasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok582">virūpakhapatimahāsenaparigahitasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok583">°agihota°agiṭhomavāja<lb n="2" break="no"/>peyāsamedhayājisa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok584">hiraṁṇakoṭigosatasahasahalasatasahasapadāyisa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok585">savathesu</w>
					          <lb n="3"/>
               <w xml:id="tok586">°apatihatasaṁkapasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok587">vāsiṭhīputasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok588">°ikhākusa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok589">siricātamūlasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok590">sodarā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok5385">bhagini</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok591">raṁño</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok592">māḍhariputasa</w>
					          <lb n="4"/>
               <w xml:id="tok593">sirivirapurisadatasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok594">pituchā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok595">mahā<supplied reason="omitted">senāpatisa</supplied>
               </w>
					          <w xml:id="tok595bis">mahātalavarasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok596">vāsiṭhīputasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok597">pūkiyānaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok598">ka<unclear>ṁ</unclear>dasirisa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok599">bhariyā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok600">samaṇa<lb n="5" break="no"/>bamhaṇakavaṇavaṇijakadinānugahavelāmikadānapaṭibhāgavochinadhārapadāyini</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok601">savasādhuvacha<unclear>lā</unclear>
               </w>
					          <lb n="6"/>
				        	  <w xml:id="tok602">mahādātapatini</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok603">mahātalavari</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok604">khiṁdasāgaraṁṇakamātā</w>
					          
					          <w xml:id="tok605">cāṁtisiri</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok606">°apano</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok607">°ubhayaku<unclear>l</unclear>asa</w>
					          <w xml:id="cmp6">
                  <w xml:id="tok608">°atichita</w>
                  <w xml:id="tok609" type="hiatus-breaker">m</w>
                  <w xml:id="tok610">anā<lb n="7" break="no"/>gatavaṭamānake</w>
               </w>
					          <w xml:id="tok611">parināmetūna</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok612">°ubhayalokahitasukhanivāṇathanāya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok613">°atano</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok614">ca</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok615">nivāṇasaṁpatisaṁpādake</w>
					          <lb n="8"/>
               <w xml:id="tok616">bhagavato</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok617">saṁmasaṁbudhasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok618">ṭhātuvaraparigahitasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok619">mahācetiyamhi</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok620">°imaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok621">khaṁbhaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok622">savalokahitasukhāva<lb n="9" break="no"/>hathanāya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok624">patiṭhapitaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok625">ti</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok626">raṁño</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok627">sirivirapurisadātasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok628">saṁva</w>
					          <num xml:id="tok629" value="6">6</num>
					          <w xml:id="tok630">vāpa</w>
					          <num xml:id="tok631" value="6">6</num>
					          <w xml:id="tok632">diva</w>
					          <num xml:id="tok633" value="10">10</num>
				        </ab>

    Apparatus

    • (6) mahādātapatini Emend mahādānapatini.
    • (6) khiṁda- Emend khaṁda-.
    • (8) ṭhātuvara- Emend dhātuvara-.
    • (9) -dātasa Emend -datasa.

    Translation

    (1-9) Success! Cāntisirī — 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; paternal aunt of King Māṭharīputta Siri-Vīrapurisadatta; wife of the Great General, the Great Talavara Vāsiṭṭhīputta Kandasiri of the Pūkīyas; giver of an unequalled and uninterrupted stream of velāmika gifts as a favor to ascetics, brahmans, beggars, mendicants and the wretched; affectionate to all good people; great donor; Great-Talavara-wife, mother of Khandasāgaraṇṇaka — having dedicated (the merit) to the past, future and present members of her family on both sides, established this pillar at the Great Shrine of the Bhagavant, the Perfect Buddha who is ensconced in the excellent relic [or: element (i.e., nirvāṇadhātu)], for the sake of well-being and happiness in both worlds and nirvāṇa, for achieving the fortune of nirvāṇa for herself and for the sake of bringing about well-being and happiness of all people.
    (9) In the 6th year of King Siri-Vīrapurisadatta, in the 6th fortnight of the rainy season, on the 10th day.

    Secondary bibliography