Lumbini pillar inscription

Coordinates: 27°28′11″N 83°16′32″E / 27.469650°N 83.275595°E / 27.469650; 83.275595
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Lumbini pillar inscription
Excavation of the pillar, and discovery of the inscription at the bottom of the pillar.
MaterialPolished sandstone
SizeHeight: Width:
Period/culture3rd century BCE
Discovered27°28′11″N 83°16′32″E / 27.469650°N 83.275595°E / 27.469650; 83.275595
PlaceLumbini, Nepal.
Present locationLumbini, Nepal.
Lumbini pillar is located in South Asia
Lumbini pillar
Lumbini
pillar
Lumbini pillar is located in Nepal
Lumbini pillar
Lumbini
pillar
Lumbini pillar is located in Lumbini Province
Lumbini pillar
Lumbini
pillar

The Lumbini pillar inscription, also called the Paderia inscription, is an inscription in the ancient

Khadga Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana under the authority of Nepalese government and assisted by Alois Anton Führer.[1] Another famous inscription discovered nearby in a similar context is the Nigali-Sagar inscription. The Lumbini inscription is generally categorized among the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka, although it is in the past tense and in the ordinary third person (not the royal third person), suggesting that it is not a pronouncement of Ashoka himself, but a rather later commemoration of his visit in the area.[2]

Discovery of the pillar

Ancient historical records of the Buddhist monuments of the region, made by the ancient Chinese monk-pilgrim

Gautama Buddha, said to be in Lumbini, and his ancient city of Kapilavastu. The Lumbini pillar itself, set up where the Buddha was born, was mentioned by Xuanzang, who said that it was surmounted by the sculpture of a horse and that it had been broken in half, but he never mentioned the presence of an inscription, which, according to Vincent A. Smith, may already have been hidden by the time he visited in the 7th century.[1] The description by Xuanzang adds that the pillar was split in two and fallen on the ground at the time he saw it.[3]

View of the ruins and the Lumbini pillar from the West in 1901

The pillar was supported underground by a brick base, which according to

Vincent A. Smith had to be of a comparatively more recent date. He suggested that the fallen pillar had been re-erected at the time of the Buddhist Pala dynasty, in the 11th or 12th century.[3]

The existence of the stone pillar itself was already known before the discovery: it had already been reported to Vincent A. Smith by a local landowner named Duncan Ricketts, around twelve years before (circa 1884). Rubbings of the Medieval inscriptions on top of the pillar had been sent by Ricketts, but they were thought of no great consequence.

Nigali-Sagar pillar.[4]

Discovery of the inscription (1896)

In December 1896,

Nigali-Sagar pillar, discovered and investigated by him the previous year, in March 1895.[5][1]

Lumbini pillar ruins, cross-section of the site as of 1901.[6]

According to some accounts, Führer found the Lumbini pillar on December 1, and then asked the help of local commander, General

Brahmi inscription, which therefore had remained underground, hidden from view.[9][1]

The Brahmi inscription on the pillar gives evidence that Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya Empire, visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha. The inscription was translated by Paranavitana:[10][note 1]

Rummindei pillar, inscription of Ashoka
Translation
(English)		 Transliteration
(original Brahmi script)		 Inscription
(Prakrit in the Brahmi script)

When King Devanampriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the

Rummindei Edict, one of the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.[14]

𑀤𑁂𑀯𑀸𑀦𑀁𑀧𑀺𑀬𑁂𑀦 𑀧𑀺𑀬𑀤𑀲𑀺𑀦 𑀮𑀸𑀚𑀺𑀦 𑀯𑀻𑀲𑀢𑀺𑀯𑀲𑀸𑀪𑀺𑀲𑀺𑀢𑁂𑀦
Devānaṃpiyena Piyadasina lājina vīsati-vasābhisitena
𑀅𑀢𑀦 𑀆𑀕𑀸𑀘 𑀫𑀳𑀻𑀬𑀺𑀢𑁂 𑀳𑀺𑀤

𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀺
𑀢𑀺
atana āgāca mahīyite hida Budhe jāte Sakyamuni ti
𑀲𑀺𑀮𑀸 𑀯𑀺𑀕𑀥𑀪𑀺 𑀘𑀸 𑀓𑀸𑀳𑀸𑀧𑀺𑀢 𑀲𑀺𑀮𑀸𑀣𑀪𑁂 𑀘 𑀉𑀲𑀧𑀸𑀧𑀺𑀢𑁂
silā vigaḍabhī cā kālāpita silā-thabhe ca usapāpite
𑀳𑀺𑀤
𑀪𑀕𑀯𑀁
𑀚𑀸𑀢 𑀢𑀺 𑀮𑀼𑀁𑀫𑀺𑀦𑀺𑀕𑀸𑀫𑁂 𑀉𑀩𑀮𑀺𑀓𑁂 𑀓𑀝𑁂
hida Bhagavaṃ jāte ti Luṃmini-gāme ubalike kaṭe
𑀅𑀞𑀪𑀸𑀕𑀺𑀬𑁂 𑀘
aṭha-bhāgiye ca

— Adapted from transliteration by E. Hultzsch,[15]
Lumbini Rummindei pillar at time of discovery in 1896, with location of the inscription, which was hidden about 1 meter under ground level.[16][17]

Aftermath

The pillar today, in the same location where it was found, with the inscription now at eye level following extensive earthworks. The top is a protection against the elements.
Alois Anton Führer own report on the discovery, entitled Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birthplace, 1897

Following the discovery of the pillar, Führer relied on the accounts of ancient Chinese pilgrims to search for

Shakyas, and was in the process of faking pre-Mauryan inscriptions on bricks, when he was caught in the act by Vincent Arthur Smith.[18][19]

Soon after, Alois Anton Führer was exposed as "a forger and dealer in fake antiquities", and had to resign from his position in 1898.[5] Führer's early archaeological successes had apparently encouraged him to inflate his later discoveries to the point of creating forgeries.[20] Vincent Arthur Smith further revealed in 1901 the blunt truth about Führer's Nepalese discoveries, saying of Führer's description of the archaeological remains at Nigali Sagar that "every word of it is false", and characterizing several of Führer's epigraphic discoveries in the area, including the inscriptions at the alleged Shakya stupas at Sagarwa, as "impudent forgeries".[3][21] However Smith never challenged the authenticity of the Lumbini pillar inscription and the Nigali Sagar inscription.[22]

Führer had written in 1897 a monograph on his discoveries in Nigali Sagar and Lumbini, Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai[23] which was withdrawn from circulation.[24]

Forged Brahmi inscriptions by Führer

In 1912, the German Indologist

Lucknow Provincial Museum (of which Führer had been curator) several forged inscriptions in Brahmi on artifacts belonging to Führer's 1889–1891 excavations at Mathura and the Ramnagar site of Ahichchhatra, forgeries which he attributed to Führer himself.[25][26] Some of the forged inscriptions were direct copies of inscriptions on other objects, previously published in Epigraphia Indica.[25][27] In particular Lüders was able to show that supposed Jain inscriptions were fakes compiled from earlier real inscriptions found in Mathura.[28] Of the Mathura inscriptions discovered by Führer, Lüders summarized in 1912 that "As all statements about epigraphical finds that admit of verification have proved to be false, it is very likely that no inscriptions at all have turned up".[28]

Issues of authenticity

Although generally accepted as genuine, this inscription does raise a few issues in terms of authenticity:

These issues were popularized in 2008 by British writer Charles Allen in The Buddha and Dr. Führer: an archaeological scandal.[37][5]

Lumbini was made a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997.[38][39]

Gallery

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ashoka pillar (Lumbini).
  • The pillar of Ashoka.
    The pillar of Ashoka.
  • The Ashoka inscription on the pillar today.
    The Ashoka inscription on the pillar today.
  • Rubbing of the inscription.
    Rubbing of the inscription.
  • The words Bu-dhe (𑀩𑀼𑀥𑁂, the Buddha) and Sa-kya-mu-nī ( 𑀲𑀓𑁆𑀬𑀫𑀼𑀦𑀻, "Sage of the Shakyas") in Brahmi script.
    The words
    Shakyas") in Brahmi script
    .
  • Luṃmini Gāme (𑀮𑀼𑀁𑀫𑀺𑀦𑀺𑀕𑀸𑀫𑁂, "City of Lumbini") inscription in the Rummindei Edict of Ashoka.
    Luṃmini Gāme (𑀮𑀼𑀁𑀫𑀺𑀦𑀺𑀕𑀸𑀫𑁂, "City of Lumbini") inscription in the Rummindei Edict of Ashoka.
  • Lumbini pillar Medieval inscription of king Ripumalla, 13-14th century CE.
    Lumbini pillar Medieval inscription of king
    Ripumalla
    , 13-14th century CE.
  • Drawing of the pillar capital originally discovered next to the Lumbini pillar.[3]
    Drawing of the pillar capital originally discovered next to the Lumbini pillar.[3]
  • View of the ruins and the Lumbini pillar from the South
    View of the ruins and the Lumbini pillar from the South
  • Various "Devanampiya Piyadasi" inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka.
    Various "Devanampiya Piyadasi" inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka.

References

  1. ^ Several alternative translations have been published.[11][12][13]
  1. ^
    JSTOR 25207888
    .
  2. ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  3. ^ a b c d Mukherji, P. C.; Smith, Vincent Arthur (1901). A report on a tour of exploration of the antiquities in the Tarai, Nepal the region of Kapilavastu;. Calcutta, Office of the superintendent of government printing, India. p. 6.
  4. ^
    JSTOR 25207888
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  6. ^ Mukherji, P. C.; Smith, Vincent Arthur (1901). A report on a tour of exploration of the antiquities in the Tarai, Nepal the region of Kapilavastu;. Calcutta, Office of the superintendent of government printing, India. p. Plate XIII.
  7. ^ a b Falk, Harry (January 1998). The discovery of Lumbinī. p. 13.
  8. ^ Barth, A. (1897). "Decouvertes recentes du Dr. Führer au Nepale". Le Journal des Savants. Académie des inscriptions et belles–lettres: 72.
  9. ISBN 978-92-3-001208-3
    .
  10. ^ Paranavitana, S. (Apr. - Jun., 1962). Rupandehi Pillar Inscription of Asoka, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 82 (2), 163-167
  11. ^ Weise, Kai; et al. (2013), The Sacred Garden of Lumbini – Perceptions of Buddha's Birthplace (PDF), Paris: UNESCO, pp. 47–48, archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-30
  12. ^ Hultzsch, E. /1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
  13. ^ Tsukamoto, Keisho (2006). Reconsidering the Rummindei Pillar Edict of Asoka: In Connection with 'a piece of natural rock' from Mayadevi Temple[permanent dead link], Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 54 (3), 1113-1120
  14. ^ Hultzsch, E. (1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
  15. ^ Hultzsch, E. (1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch (in Sanskrit). p. 164.
  16. ^ Asoka pillar at Rummindei [Lumbini] in the Nepal Tarai, west view of ruins. British Library Online
  17. ^ "Dr. Fuhrer went from Nigliva to Rummindei where another Priyadasin lat has been discovered... and an inscription about 3 feet below surface, had been opened by the Nepalese" in Calcutta, Maha Bodhi Society (1921). The Maha-Bodhi. p. 226.
  18. ISBN 978-955-24-0197-8
    .
  19. ^ "Fuhrer's attempt to associate the names of eighteen Sakyas, including Mahanaman, with the structures, on the false claim of writings in pre-Asokan characters, was fortunately foiled in time by V.A. Smith, who paid a surprise visit when the excavation was in progress. The forgery was exposed to the public." in Srivastava, K.M. (1979). "Kapilavastu and Its Precise Location". East and West. 29 (1/4): 65–66..
  20. S2CID 162507322
    .
  21. S2CID 147046097
    .
  22. ^ Smith, vincent A. (1914). The Early History Of India Ed. 3rd. p. 169.
  23. ^ Führer, Alois Anton (1897). Monograph on Buddha Sakyamuni's birth-place in the Nepalese tarai. Allahabad : Govt. Press, N.W.P. and Oudh.
  24. ISBN 978-0-486-41132-3
    .
  25. ^
    ISBN 978-0-14-341574-9
    .
  26. S2CID 163426828
    .
  27. S2CID 163426828
    .
  28. ^
    S2CID 162507322
    .
  29. ^
    ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  30. ^
    ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  31. ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  32. doi:10.1163/9789004315518_016
    .
  33. JSTOR 25210223
    .
  34. ^ Rhys Davids, Thomas William (1915). Encyclopaedia Of Religion And Ethics Vol.8. p. 196.
  35. ISBN 978-0-691-17632-1
    .
  36. ^ Dutt, Nalinaksha; Bajpai, Krishna D. (1956). Development of Buddhism in Uttar Pradesh. Publication Bureau, Government of Uttar Pradesh. p. 330.
  37. ISBN 9781905791934
    .
  38. ^ UNESCO World Heritage Centre - World Heritage Committee Inscribes 46 New Sites on World Heritage List
  39. ^ "Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha". UNESCO. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
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