Image title: Inscribed stone slab (1)

This photograph depicts a Shilapatra or “inscribed stone slab”.—Ornamented with a garlanded Chaitya (a sacred Buddhist monument), sun and moon, this shilapatra is dated A.D. 1896. Written in Sanskrit and Newari, it records in minute detail the various rites to be performed annually for certain deceased persons and describes the agricultural lands given to fund them. Four of the donors are shown in reverential pose below the inscription.

Gallery information:

The Patan Museum is located on the Durbar square of Patan (Lalitpur/Lalitapura, Kathmandu, Nepal) which is associated Keshav Narayan Chowk (Keshavnarayan)—a form of Lord Vishnu. Being listed as a World Heritage Site, the whole of Durbar square is filled with exquisite temples, sculptures and other ancient structures, of which the ancient history history can be traced to the Malla Kings of Lalitpur. It is an important site for both Buddhism and Hinduism.