Image title: Terai auspicious lamp

Sculpture of an auspicious lamp from the Kushan [Kushana] period (~1250 BCE). Specifications: terracotta, 4cm x 4.5cm.

The text in Devanagari reads:

शुभ दीपदान

Transliteration (IAST):

śubha dīpadāna.

Plain text (initially IAST, brackets indicate Hunterian):

shubha/subha [shubh/subh] dipadana [dipdan]

Composition of various word(s): dīpa-dāna (dipa-dana, dip-dan)

Gallery information:

Terai is a region in southern Nepal where in the sixth century B.C. at Lumbini grove the Buddha spent twenty-nine years of his life. Many excavations resulted in the discovery of various Buddhist sites and have yielded plenty of archeological discoveries such as Buddhist art, potteries and coins. The items found here are exhibited in the National Museum of Nepal (Rashtriya Museum).