Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c14.s10: 12. Nālandā Inscription of Vipulaśrīmitra

Indian Epigraphy: A Guide to the Study of Inscriptions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and the Other Indo-Aryan Languages c14.s10

Language: English

12. Nālandā Inscription of Vipulaśrīmitra

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FIGURE 22. Nālandā inscription of Vipulaśrīmitra. From EI 21, plate facing p. 98; copyright, Archaeological Survey of India.

| Meters | *Śārdūlavikrīḍita* (vv. 1, 2, 8, 10, 12); *mandākrāntā* (3); *śikhariṇī* (4); *mālinī* (5); *vasantatilakā* (6, 11); *indravajrā* (7); *upajāti* (9); *anuṣṭubh* (13) |
| Type and format | Donative stone *praśasti* |
| Purpose | Records the foundation of a monastery and various other pious donations by the Buddhist monk Vipulaśrīmit

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8. \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad yaś ca // [\*6]

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coyaṇḍake yaś ca pitāmahasya vīhārikāyāṃ navakarmma citram / harṣābhidhāne ca pure jinasya dīpaṅkarasya pratimāṃ vyadhatta // [\*7] aṣṭau yaś ca mahābhayāni jaga-
9. \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad tāṃ nirmūlam unmūlitum tāriṇyā bhavanaṃ vyadhatta sukṛtī śālahradālaṃkṛtim / śrīmatsomapure caturṣu layaneṣv antarvahiḥkhaṇḍayor yaś cādhatta navīnakarmma jagatām
10. \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad netraikaviśrāmabhūḥ // [\*8] adatta hemābharaṇaṃ vicitram buddhāya bodhau janatāṃ vidhātum / ityādipuṇyakriyayā sa kālaṃ vaśīva dīrghaṃ nayati sma tatra // [\*9] kṛtvā te-
11. \qquad\qquad na vihārikā kṛtavatālaṃkārabhūtā bhuvo mitrebhyo 'dbhutavaijayantajayinī datteyam unmīlati / yasyāṃ vismṛtavān nivāsarasikaḥ śāstā trilokīpatiḥ
12. śuddhāvāsanivāsam arthijanatāduḥsañcaraprāntaram // [\*10] hartuṃ hareḥ padam ivājani tatra tatra kīrttir yayā vas[u]matī kṛtabhūṣaṇā bhūḥ / tāvac ciraṃ jayati ne-
13. \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad trasudhā sravantī yāvat samṛdhyati na maṃjuravapratijñā // [\*11] tattatkīrttividhau sudhānidhir ivāmbodhau samunmīlitaṃ puṇyaṃ yad bhuvanāntarālatulanāpātraṃ pavitraṃ ma-
14. \qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad\qquad ma / astu prastutavastuvat karatale paśyanti viśvaṃ jinā yatrāsīmapade sthitās trijagatāṃ tatprāptaye tac ciraṃ // [\*12] tarkkaśilpaprasaṅge yau dhāvato jagatāṃ hṛdi / kanaka-
15. \qquad\qquad śrīr vaśiṣṭho vā praśastivyaktikārakau // [\*13]

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Line 2: *prāṇi-*: The division of the word at the end of the line is indicated by two short vertical lines, one above the other. Similarly at the ends of lines 4, 5, 10, and 14; but word breaks are not indicated in lines 6, 8, 12, and 13. Line 9: *bhavanaṃ . . . śālahradālaṃkṛtim*: *bhavana-* is evidently treated here as masculine, which is permissible by Pāṇini 2.4.31 (*ardharcādigaṇa*, no. 203).

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Translation

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1. Oṃ! Homage to the Buddha. May that Glorious Lord, (who is) the Wheel of the Dharma, provide for your well-being: hearing his name so many times, the body of Saṃsara (*bhava*) grows weak and he swoons lifelessly. There at the Buddha’s foot let the Lady Tārā, Savior of the world, besprinkle him with drops of the elixir of Śrīghana’s (Buddha’s) teaching,

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2. and thus render him free of future births (*apunarbhavam*). [verse 1] There was in the excellent Somapura an ascetic who was known as Karuṇāśrīmitra on account of his compassion, his wealth of virtues, and his bestowal of happiness and benefit upon (all) creatures.

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3. When the armies of Bengal came and set fire to his residence, even as it burned he clung to the lotus-feet of the Buddha, and (so) went to heaven. [v. 2] He who was known for his unbroken vows [Karuṇāśrīmitra] had a disciple called Maitrīśrī, known on high, like the Sun, by the name Mitra [i.e., Maitrīśrīmitra]. He was unshakable; his glory was fittingly bright;

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4. he was engaged in good deeds; he was a wise man among the wise; and he energetically undertook his own rising for the sake of (all) being(s). [v. 3] And his [Karuṇāśrīmitra’s] disciple’s disciple was Aśokaśrīmitra, an ascetic of unblemished character;

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5. the virtues, so it seemed, seeking but not finding a resting place, (finally) learned of him and embraced him. In his heart, which was (thus) a storehouse of virtues, dwells the Mother of the Buddhas in eight thousand (verses). [v. 4]

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6. After him there appeared Vipulaśrīmitra of vast (*vipula*) and immaculate glory, a source of joy to good people. Like the moon in the bright fortnight, his fortunes increased steadily as he wiped away all sins (/eliminated all darkness) with his divine talents (/digits made of nectar). [v. 5]

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7. In the casket which he piously provided, the Mother of the Jinas turns unceasingly in the great temple of the illustrious Khasarpaṇa; and he donated four images for the alms-houses on the occasion of a festival. [v. 6]

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8. He also endowed excellent repairs in the monastery of Pitāmaha (Buddha) at Coyaṇḍaka, and an image of the Jina Dīpaṅkara in the town called Harṣa. [v. 7] And in order to tear out by the roots the eight great terrors of the world,

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9. this doer of good deeds endowed a temple of Tāriṇī (Tārā) ornamented with a courtyard and a tank; and at Somapura he who was the sole cynosure for the eyes of the world endowed renovations of the inner and outer sections of the four dwelling areas. [v. 8]

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10. In order to turn the populace toward enlightenment, he gave to the Buddha a wondrous gold ornament. Like an ascetic, he passed a long time there [at Somapura] in these and other such pious acts. [v. 9]

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11. This monastery which this accomplished man built and dedicated to the Mitras blazes forth as an ornament of the world, outshining the marvelous Vaijayanta [Indra’s palace]. In it, the Teacher, Lord of the Three Worlds [i.e., the Buddha], who cherishes (a proper) residence, forgot

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12. his dwelling in the Śuddhāvāsa heaven, the long road to which is hard for his supplicants to traverse. [v. 10] (His) glory was born in these various places, as if to steal away the rank of Hari; and the Earth with all its riches is decorated by it.

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13. It (will) continue to spread victoriously, a salve to the eyes, until the vow of Mañjurava shall be fulfilled. [v. 11]

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The pure merit which accrued to me [i.e., Vipulaśrīmitra] from these various acts of glory, like a flood of nectar from the ocean, can be measured [only] by comparison with the distances between the worlds;
14. may it be for the attainment by the three worlds of that infinite place where the Jinas sit and behold the universe as if it were in the palm of their hands (*prastutavastuvat*). [v. 12] Kanakaśrī and Vaśiṣṭha, who distinguish themselves (*dhāvato*, lit. ‘run’) in the hearts of men in matters of logic and the arts, are [respectively] the composer and presenter [i.e., engraver] of (this) eulogy. [v. 13]

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Line 1: “Saṃsāra (*bhava*)”: *bhava* alternatively (or simultaneously) might be taken as referring to Śiva; cf. the polemic reference to Hari (Viṣṇu) in v. 11. Note also the *virodhābhāsa* (rhetorical contradiction) in *bhavo . . . apunarbhavaṃ*. Line 2: “known as Karuṇāśrīmitra . . .”: The three ablative phrases in *pāda* b of v. 2 provide etymological explanations for the three parts of his name, *karuṇā* ‘compassion’, *śrī* ‘wealth/glory’, and *mitra* ‘friend’, respectively. Line 3–4 [v. 3]: “like the Sun . . . unshakable . . . ,” etc.: [*a*]*dhṛṣyaḥ*, like all the adjectives in this verse, is doubly applicable to Maitrīśrīmitra and to the sun. For example, *sukṛtaghaṭito* with reference to the Sun means “created by a skillful act,” referring to the myth of Viśvakarma’s fashioning the Sun on his lathe; *buddhimān buddhimatsu* may be rendered as “he who is awake among those who are awake(ned),” and so on. Line 5: “In his heart . . . dwells the Mother of the Buddhas in eight thousand (verses)”: That is to say, he had memorized the *Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā*, known as “Mother of the Buddhas.” Line 6: “Like the moon in the bright fortnight”: all the epithets in the verse apply punningly to both Vipulaśrīmitra and to the waxing moon. Line 7: “the Mother of the Jinas turns unceasingly”: the reference is evidently to a ritual turning or procession of the *Prajñāpāramitā* manuscript (contra Majumdar, 100 n. 3). Line 9: “he who was the sole cynosure for the eyes of the world”: Majumdar takes the epithet *jagatāṃ netraikaviśrāmabhūḥ* (ll. 9–10) as referring to the renovation: “—(a work) in which alone the eyes of the world found repose.” But this is grammatically impossible, as the epithet must refer to the subject, namely, the donor Vipulaśrīmitra. Line 11: “dedicated to the Mitras”: This presumably refers to a declaration by Vipulaśrīmitra of his intention to share the merit of his foundation with the other members of the Mitra lineage. Line 13: “the vow of Mañjurava”: I.e., Mañjurava’s (Mañjuśrī) vow to remain a Bodhisattva until all beings are enlightened. Line 14: “that infinite place”: I.e., *Sukhāvatī* (Majumdar, 101 n. 5).