Inscription in 14 languages by Pratap Malla

Nepal bhasa tibetan inscription at swayambhu

Stone inscriptions in the Kathmandu Valley (

Nepal Bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

:नेपाःमन्दःया ल्वंह पौत) refer to ancient stone slabs, pillars and pedestals with text carved on them. They are the most important sources for the history of

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. A vast majority of the inscriptions found in Nepal are from the

Kathmandu Valley The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: 𑐣𑐾𑐥𑐵𑑅 𑐐𑐵𑑅, नेपाः गाः), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...

where they are an ubiquitous element at heritage sites. They consist of royal edicts and dedicatory notes on

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

temples,

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

s, statues, water spouts and other architectural structures. Stone inscriptions are locally referred as Lōhan Pau (

Nepal bhasa Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially in Nepal as Nepal Bhas ...

:). The early inscriptions are from the Licchavi period, and date from the fifth to the ninth centuries. They number more than 170, and are carved in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

language and

Gupta script The Gupta script (sometimes referred to as Gupta Brahmi script or Late Brahmi script)Sharma, Ram. '' 'Brahmi Script' ''. Delhi: BR Publishing Corp, 2002 was used for writing Sanskrit and is associated with the Gupta Empire of the Indian subcon ...

. Inscriptions from the 14th century onwards, which are the most numerous, are in

Newar language Newar (; , ) is a Sino-Tibetan languages, Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the Newar people, the indigenous inhabitants of Nepal Mandala, which consists of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The language is known officially ...

(Nepal Bhasa) and Nepal script. The earliest dated inscription in Nepal Bhasa is dated

Nepal Era Nepal Sambat (, ''nepāla samvat'', meaning "Nepal Era") is the lunisolar calendar used by the Newar people of Nepal. It was the official calendar of Nepal since its inception on 20 October 879 till the end of the Malla dynasty in 1769. During ...

293 (1173 AD).

Oldest inscription

The oldest dated inscription in Kathmandu dates from the year 107 of the

Saka era The Shaka era (IAST: Śaka, Śāka) is a historical Hindu calendar era (year numbering), the epoch (its year zero) of which corresponds to Julian year 78. The era has been widely used in different regions of the Indian subcontinent as well a ...

which corresponds to 184/185 AD. This date was accepted by all historians except Dinesh Chandra Regmi who assigned it to the Gupta era (started on A.D. 320). Paleo-graphically he says it to be close to Samudra Gupta's Allahabad inscription (A.D. 360). The inscription is carved in Gupta characters, also known as Brahmi script, on the pedestal of a statue of King Jayavarman. It was unearthed at a building site in Maligaon in 1992. The language is Sanskrit. Prior to this discovery, the distinction of the oldest dated stone inscription in the valley was held by an inscription carved on a pillar installed next to the

Changu Narayan Changu Narayan is an ancient Hindu and Buddhist temple, located on a hilltop of Changu (also called Dolagiri) in Changunarayan Municipality of Bhaktapur District, Nepal. The temple is considered to be built in the 4th century AD and is one of ...

Temple in

Bhaktapur Bhaktapur (Nepali language, Nepali and Sanskrit: भक्तपुर, ; "City of Devotees"), known locally as Khwopa (Nepal Bhasa: , ) and historically called Bhadgaon, is a city in the east corner of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal located abou ...

which is dedicated to a Hindu deity

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

. It was inscribed in the year 383 which corresponds to 464 AD. It is written in the Sanskrit language and Gupta characters.

Multilingual inscriptions

Among the thousands of Nepal language inscriptions scattered across

Nepal Mandala Nepal Mandala () is the ancient geographic division of Nepal into different regions. It was characterized by three major divisions: “ Purwanchal” (Eastern Region), “ Madhyamanchal” (Central Region), and “ Pashchimanchal” (Western Re ...

, or the Kathmandu Valley and its neighborhood, there are a few inscribed in other languages too. King

Pratap Malla Pratap Malla (1624–1674 A.D.) was a Malla dynasty (Nepal), Malla king and the eighth Kingdom of Kantipur, King of Kantipur from 1641 until his death in 1674. He attempted to unify Kathmandu Valley by conquering Lalitpur and Bhaktapur, but fai ...

's polyglot inscription dated

774 (1654 AD) at

Kathmandu Durbar Square Kathmandu Durbar Square (Nepal Bhasa: येँ लायकु/𑐥𑐾𑑄 𑐮𑐵𑐫𑐎𑐹, Nepali: हनुमानढोका दरबार; ''Basantapur Durbar Kshetra'') is a historically and culturally significant site in Kathma ...

is an example of his linguistic interest. The massive stone with spouts to dispense water to travelers is carved in 15 languages including

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Three inscriptions written in Nepali (Khas Kura, Gorkhali) have been found in the Kathmandu Valley, all of them from the period in which Pratap Malla featured prominently in the politics of Kantipur. There is one at Makhan dated 1641 AD. Although it acknowledges Jaya Laxmi Malla, Pratap Malla's father, its date is very close to the formal commencement of Pratap Malla's ascension to the throne. Another at Guheswari bears the name Pratap Malla. Another famed stone inscription of Pratap Malla installed at

Rani Pokhari Rani Pokhari (; lit. queen's pond), originally known as Nhu Pukhu (; lit. new pond), is a historic artificial pond located in the heart of Kathmandu, Nepal. The square-shaped tank dates from the 17th century, and was built on the eastern side ...

pond contains writings in three languages: Sanskrit, Nepali and Nepal Bhasa. It is dated

790 (1670 AD) and describes the construction of Rani Pokhari and its religious significance. A large stone inscription containing texts in Nepal Bhasa and

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

is installed at the Swayambhu stupa complex. It records the renovation of the stupa during the years 1751-1758. The epitaph on the tombstone of a Capuchin

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

named Francesco della Penna, who died and was buried in Patan in 1745, contains texts in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and Nepal Bhasa.

Gallery

File:Nepal Bhasa stone inscription at Swayambhu.jpg,

Inscription at Swayambhu, Kathmandu.

File:Dhalasikwa inscription of nepal era 1021.jpg,

Inscription of Nepal Era 1021 (1901) at Dhalasikwa, Kathmandu.

File:Nepal bhasa inscription dated nepal sambat 902.jpg,

Nepal Bhasa inscription dated Nepal Sambat 902 (1782) at Swayambhu.

File:Asan inscription nepal sambat 1044.jpg,

Inscription in Nepal Bhasa at Asan dated Nepal Sambat 1044 (1924).

File:Inscription in Nepal script.jpg,

Inscription in Nepal script at Swayambhu, Kathmandu.

File:Inscription in Nepal script dated Nepal era 821.jpg,

Inscription in Nepal Bhasa and Nepal script dated Nepal era 821 (1701).

File:Balambu stone inscription.jpg,

Inscription at Balambu

File:Kamalachhi inscription.jpg,

Inscription dated 25 March 2014 at Kamalachhi

References

{{Reflist History of Kathmandu Epigraphy Newar language Nepali language Sanskrit inscriptions Inscriptions Nepalese inscriptions