Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v1.c9.s50: No. 59. Myson Pillar Inscription dated 978 Śaka
Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v1.c9.s50
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No. 59. Myson Pillar Inscription dated 978 Śaka
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The inscription was edited by M. Finot (B. E. F., Vol. IV, p. 943, No. XV). It is engraved on the two faces of a pillar each containing 22 lines of writing. The language is Cham. The inscription records the donations of the Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati to the temple of Śrīśānabhadreśvara in the year 978 (=1056 A. D.).
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TRANSLATION.
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(a) . . . . . A number of temples; after which they were as beautiful as before. The Khmers, who were conquered by the Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati when he took the town of Śambhupura, and whose sanctuaries were all destroyed by him, were given by him to the various temples of Śrīśānabhadreśvara. He made gifts to the temples, monasteries, śālās (houses of charity) and to all the temples viz., temple of Śrīśānabhadreśvara (and others . . . . . ). Being . . . . . lākalpa (?) he celebrated the installation of Lingas. All the kings who have reigned in the kingdom of Campā came here. The kings knew that gifts made to these gods are a mode of purification and that the gods to whom these gifts are made, being present in their symbols (*cihna*), know the kings of Campā, . . . . . who have installed these *lingas* in these temples. Being Senāpati (general) . . . . . he installed these *lingas*. As the Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati, who . . . . . lākalpa (?) was firmly devoted to Dharma and Śiva, he installed these *lingas* at the same time as the kings who reigned in the kingdom of Campā had (formerly ?) installed them. The Yuvarāja embellished and enriched Śrīśānabhadreśvara; he increased the riches and the lands of the god; he acted with energy and resolution; the thought of the god Īśvaradevatā, otherwise known as Yogīśvara, was always present in his mind. By the force of effort and concentration of mind, he at last saw Īśvaradevatā by a mental perception which went as far as Śrīśānabhadreśvara. Then, without much effort on his part, Īśvaradevatā became entirely visible (*pratyakṣa*) to him. Then, as he was a man of the world, devoted to Śrīśānabhadreśvara . . . . . knowing that the man enjoys prosperity in this world and in the other.
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After that the Yuvarāja performed all kinds of good works and charitable acts. Then, knowing that the body and its pleasures are vain and transient, that it perishes and disappears, and that Śrīśānabhadreśvara is the supreme god in this world, the Yuvarāja erected this statue at the limit of the possessions (?) of Śrīśānabhadreśvara. Now in the Śaka year 978 the Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati had erected this image of Linga and had given it the name of yu . . . . . ralingeśvara. For the pious devotion towards the god Śiva and rendering prosperous the god Śrīśānabhadreśvara according to the vow of Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati . . . . .
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And the Yuvarāja Mahāsenāpati has given a diadem, a vessel, a white umbrella, ornaments, a bracelet inlaid with precious stones, Brahmanical sacred thread, according to the needs of the god, and in pursuance of the order . . . . . the men of the temple . . . . . dancers, musicians, assistants, and all . . . . . god Śrīśanabhadreśvara, and all . . . . . with the holy image of Liṅga . . . . . and he has given the domain of Svon Tralaun to different temples, . . . . . again repairing the lands of Svon Tralaun . . . . . he has established . . . . . various kinds of trees and . . . . . god Śrīśanabhadreśvara as far as Siṃhapura, and he has . . . . . the god Śrīśanabhadreśvara who lives . . . . .