Metadata

Support
Āyaka frieze; h. 33 ×  w. 120 ×  d. 19 cm. Inscription engraved below a frieze representing a throne and Dharmacakra revered by princely figures and flanked on either sides by mithunas.
Text
Middle Indo-Aryan, Southern Brāhmī script. h. 100 ×  w. 3 cm .
Date
Undated. Attributable to the period 250-350 CE on palaeographic grounds.
Origin
Nagarjunakonda.
Provenance
Discovered between 1927 and 1928 at Site-6, near the Mahācaitya, in the course of excavations. Inscription identified at Nagarjunakonda Museum (acc. no. 592) in February 2016.
Visual Documentation
Photo(s):
  • Rosen Stone 1994, ill. 33.
  • photos AL 2017
    • RTI: RTI JM 2017
    Editors
    Arlo Griffiths and Vincent Tournier, with contributions by Stefan Baums and Ingo Strauch.
    Publication history
    First edited and described by Vogel 1929–30a: 25 (J) . Re-edited here from published documentation and after autopsy of the stone.

    Edition

    (1) sidhaṁ nāmo bhagavato ◊ °agapogalasa budhasa ◊ chadakapavaticana padumavāniya gharaniya sagaya ◊ saputakāna ◊ hagasirisa ◊ sigasa ◊ nāgutarasa ca sabhaja[yā] … (2) saputikāna ca ◊ deyadhaṁma paṭo ◊ °unisā ca ◊ mahācetiye ◊ patiṭhāvito –

    (1) sidhaṁ nāmo bhagavato ◊ °agapogalasa budhasa ◊ chadakapavaticana padumavāniya gharaniya sagaya ◊ saputakāna ◊ hagasirisa ◊ sigasa ◊ nāgutarasa ca sabhaja[yā] …
    (2) saputikāna ca ◊ deyadhaṁma paṭo ◊ °unisā ca ◊ mahācetiye ◊ patiṭhāvito – 
    <ab xmlns="http://www.tei-c.org/ns/1.0">
					          <lb n="1"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4273">sidhaṁ</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4274">nāmo</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4275">bhagavato</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4277">°agapogalasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4278">budhasa</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4280">chadakapavaticana</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4281">padumavāniya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4282">gharaniya</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4283">sagaya</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4285">saputakāna</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4287">hagasirisa</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4289">sigasa</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4291">nāgutarasa</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4292">ca</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4293">sabhaja<unclear>yā</unclear>
					          </w>
					          <gap reason="lost" extent="unknown"/>
					          <lb n="2"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4295">saputikāna</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4296">ca</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4298">deyadhaṁma</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4299">paṭo</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4301">°unisā</w>
					          <w xml:id="tok4302">ca</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4304">mahācetiye</w>
					          <space type="horizontal" quantity="1" unit="character"/>
					          <w xml:id="tok4306">patiṭhāvito</w>
					          <pc>–</pc>
				        </ab>

    Apparatus

    • (1) nāmo namo JPhV . Emend accordingly.
    • (1) chadakapavaticana chadakapavatic[e]na JPhV .
    • (1) saputakāna saputakānaṁ JPhV .
    • (1) sigasa sagasa JPhV .
    • (1) nāgutarasa ca sabhaja[yā] nagatarasa ca sabhaja[sa] JPhV .
    • (1) sabhaja[yā] sabhajasa JPhV .
    • (2) saputikāna saputikāna[ṁ] JPhV .
    • (2) deyadhaṁma deyadham[o] JPhV .
    • (2) °unisā unisa JPhV .

    Translation

    Success! Homage to the Bhagavant, the highest man, the Buddha. A slab and a coping stone were established as pious gift at the Great Shrine by Sagā, distinguished wife of (?) Padumavāniya of the Chadakapavaticas, together with her sons, (i.e.) Hagasiri, Siga and Nāgutara, together with their wifes (...), and together with their daughters.

    Commentary

    • Vogel notes: “The transcript and translation of inscriptions J and K should be regarded as provisional” Vogel 1929–30a .

    Secondary bibliography