Appendix
190
inscriptions As we have demonstrated in the introduction, inscribed and dated art objects play a crucial role in deciphering the origin and development of the artistic components of Nepalese works. However, it is true that such objects are rare. Even less common is any reference to the artist responsible for the work. In fact, none of the inscriptions that we have listed here include the name of the artist. This is, indeed, surprising, but we should be aware of the fact that the main purpose of furnishing an object with an inscription was to record the pious activities of donors as well as special occasions when important rituals were performed. It was believed that the donation of such religious objects and the performance of rituals would bestow prosperity and happiness upon the donor and his family not only in this mundane world but also in another world, after death. Occasionally, inscriptions are used to identify the deceased ancestors with important divinities (cat. 15, 42). This is in harmony with the traditional Newar belief that ancestors are supernatural beings. The inscriptions of the ancient period of Nepalese history are written in the Gupta Brahmi Sanskrit script. The short text carved on the pedestal of the Devavatara Buddha in this catalog (cat. 58) serves as an example. On works from the medieval period, however, all the inscriptions are written in a script derived from the Gupta Brahmi script, designated either as Newari or Devanagari. In terms of language, they are either in Newari or in
both Newari and Sanskrit. The latter is sometimes so corrupt that it becomes difficult to distinguish whether the language is Sanskrit or old Newari. From 879 ce onward people in the valley regularly used the lunar calendar of Nepal, which supplanted the calendars of the Shaka era and the Manadeva era. In medieval inscriptions, the Nepal era is designated as “Nepala samvat,” but most of the time (as in the inscriptions here) it is simply called “samvat,” an abbreviation for “samvatsara,” which literally means a period of gestation (but is used already in Vedic literature for “an annual year”). Newars of the Kathmandu Valley annually celebrate the first day of the new year according to Nepala samvat in the month of Kartika (October – November) as hmapuja, or body worship. This day was actually an ideal autumnal day of conception celebrated as a communal birthday — a custom still prevalent in the Himalayan region, which includes Tibet, where the Tibetan new year (Lo-gsar) with the same underlying idea is celebrated at a different time of the year.
cat. 11 Siddhi Lakshmi page 54
text 1 mātastvaṃ madapatyeṣu 2 kṛpādṛṣṭiṃ sadā kuru / 3 vijñaptiriti me devi 4 śrīgaṃgādharaśarmmaṇaḥ 5 saṃvat 814 translation O mother, always cast compassionate eye on my children. O great goddess, this is my earnest request to you. Year 814 (1694 ce)
cat. 13 Upper Section of a Torana page 57
text 1 śvastiḥ śrī śrī śrī nālakomārisake ocutolayāḥ bhājudhana pramuṣaṃ hmaṃ 31 paṃca desavānaṃ thva tulanaṃ pritina duṃtā saṃ 930 phāguna vadī 14 subha translation May it be auspicious. In order to please the goddess Kumari of Nala (town), Bhajudhana of (the locality called) Ocutola and thirty-one residents of the town including the five dignitaries commissioned the torana in the year of 930 (1810 ce), on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the Phālguna month.