1.5. Suan Pakkad Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand

[Full title: Thai Studies (5): Suan Pakkad (Phak Kard) Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand]

The inscription of Suan Phak Kard Palace now found in Bangkok is reported to have stood orginally in the Prasad Sanka Kon, at present in Cambodia. It is said to have been sold later to Princess Chumpot, the owner of the Suan Phak Kard [Pakkad] Palace, Bangkok. Coedes published it under the title Inscription of Prasad Sanke Kon in his Inscription sum du Cambodge but the text of it and that of the inscription under study show some variations here and there. An inscription at Prasad Tap Sien in Prachinburi has also a similar text. This has enabled comparison between the two texts resulting in the possibility of the filling up of the lacunae and determination of the correctness or otherwise of a reading. Variations in the text of the other inscription are shown in the footnotes. The inscription records the setting up of the Sivalinga and the two idols , one of Siva and the other of Devi, as the text of the other inscription would reveal (the text of the present inscription having broken just at the point this fact was being mentioned) by the three brothers: Samaraviravarmman, a secret agent of king Suryavarman, Dharanindraparakrama and Viravarmman together with Nipendravallabha, their sister's son, at a hill called Mrt gifted to them by the king. From the mention of the year 924 Saka Era 1003 A.D. and the palaeography of the inscription it appears that Suryavarman referred to in it must have been Suryyavarman II, the builder of Angkor Wat.

Suan Phak Kard Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand sivo jayatyunmanayaikadhama tadekavadyah sikhayeva vahnih | mana (nah ?) sthitonaikabhavommimmali 'kallolacancadvidhuvimvatulyah|| 1|| yajjajvalitijvalanaksamambhobhasvannabhasvanmrgavannabhassa | jyotistaduccaissasisekharasya lingibhavadbhativibhutikrdyah || 12|| asidavakrakramamandalarddhijyotismadadyastamasavipaksah -- | srisuryyavarmmabhuvanambuja srisuryyascaturddanavamanavendra ' ॥3|| tri (tri ) netranetratrayasadmabhajomityeva ' bhasvadvisuhavyavaha | tejasvi tejo jayi viksya teja-stri (stri ) netracinta hrdayasya yasya | 4 || vidyavadatavadinendubimbe ' rasamrtairyyasyasatamkrtestih | ki (ki )rtya (rtyam )sapatnyamapididrutayamsucevalaksmyavihitadyabhut " ॥15|| kaleharirvvarsativaryyasakhya '' tathagata ''vanaganamca jisnuh | itiva sasvadbahuvrstyatita anagatam varsati yogyadanam|| 16|| vidyanvavayapramukhairvvisesairudyatsmayerapyakrtasmayoktih| tatsaccarassrisamaradinama saviravamrmmantimuvaha virah || 17|| suvarnataracitakandakhanda doloragasya bahubhogayogya | nrpaprasadatkila yena labdha vinitabhusakrtamandanena || 8|| tasyagrajassridharanindrapurvam parakramantam ca vibharti nama | sriviravarmmapyanujastayoyyom yodhagrani (ni ) vairimrge mrgendrah || 19|| tesantraya nam (na ) bhagini (ni ) suto yo nrpendramukhyo vinayanavadyah | srimannrpendradisavallabhantamnamarthayuktasamavama '' (pa?) vaggmi|| 10|| testhapadmamasurajai pra pratipaividhanat "| dvaradrindhai (n ) dharani '". .......//11// 91 Prasad Tap Sien Inscription has the following extra readings: 1. nekabhavormimali 2. bhasvannabhasvanmrgavannabhassu 3. vibhutikrdvah 4.5. jyotismadadyastamasam vipaksa 6. catuddanavamanavendrah 7. bhityeva 8. havyavahah 9. vidyavadata vadanendubimbe

. krtestih 11. vihitadarabhut 12. varyyasamkhya 13. gatagatam 14. 77 15. samavapa 17 ............. ........pramimevidhanat| dvaraddhiranyai (n ) dharani 18. .......... 16. rajesalidga 17. sambhosca devyah ./11/1 18. dharanidhare smin 19. mrtsamjnake bhudhararajadatte Translation Siva who shares the same body with Uma, who is one with her as fire is with flame, who is absorbed in meditation (lit. stationed in mind) and who wears a garland of many worlds and is like the orb of the moon sparkling on the big waves. (1) That brilliant light of Siva that shines intensely in 21 the fire, the earth, the water, the sun, the wind, the moon and the sky turning itself into the form of the Linga, shines. He is the generator of glories for you. (2) There was a king named Suryavarman, the sun for the beauty of the lotuses of the world, the ruler in the year (Saka) 924, the dispeller of darkness, the foremost among the luminaries which are the glory of the planets that do not have retrograde movement.( 3) Noticing whose lustre excelling that of the sun, the sun, the moon and the fire resorted to the abode of the three eyes of Siva out of fear as it were; the heart of that one is meditating on Siva.(4) Even though the co-wife Kirti, fame, had gone away to the quarters , Laksmi, the fortune, with sadness, CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, Madness,Dastit were, showed SA

93 Suan Phak Kard Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand consideration to the pure Vidya, knowledge, in his moon-like face, to whom (the pura Vidya) the learned have made an offering of nectar-like Rasa, flavour. (5) Indra showers rain in due time and Arjuna sends forth a volley of countless arrows that go out and come back. With this idea as it were (to excel both) who showers continuously the choicest gifts that do not come back to him, even before timeexceed many showers. (6) that There was a noble secret agent of the king of the name of Samaraviravarman who was brave and who, by virtue of the excellence of learning and lineage, was not arrogant in his speech in spite of the fact that they tend to produce arrogance.(7) Who adorned with the ornament of humility received through the royal favour a serpent-faced palanquin, fit for use for a long time, that had its supporting parts studded with starlets of gold.(8) His elder brother has the name Dharanindraparakrama. They have a younger brother in Viravarmmman, a lion to the deer-like foes, and the foremost among warriors.(9) The sister's son of these three, the foremost among kings, the eloquent speaker and blemishless because of discipline, had the significant name Nipendravallabha.(10) They (all of them) set up according to prescribed rites the Linga of Siva who is unborn and the two idols of Siva and Devi with two holes on the doors on this hill called Mrt gifted by the king of kings. (11) Critical Appreciation (a) Linguistic Two of the bigger Sanskrit inscriptions in Sanskrit of Thailand, the Suan Phak Kard Palace Sanskrit inscription and the Prasad Panom Rung Sanskrit Inscription to be dealt with next, have enough material for a critic to take note of their linguistic peculiarities. Of these some are general and some specific. Of the general ones one is the doubling of the consonants under certain conditionss Paninishas the rule that the consoed by $3 Foundation USA Consonants coming after

r and h preceded by a vowel are to be doubled optionally: aco rahabhyam dve (8.4.46). The doubling in the inscriptions is invariable, not necessarily in the same word but even between two words the option not being exercised even as an exception. It is because of this that we have forms like bhavormmi (verse 1) rasamrtair yyasya, harir vvarsati, varyy asamkhyam (verse 6), pramukhair vvisesaih (verse 7), suvarnna (verse 8), viravarmma (verse 9). The other is that b is written as v vimvatulyah (verse 1) for bimbatulyah; vanaganam (verse 6) for banaganam, vibhartti (verse 9) for bibharti. The other is the splitting of the proper names into two, if not possible of adjustment in the metre, with the device of adding the words purva and anta to the first and the second part respectively, such and such name as begins with this and ends with this. The composer of the inscription under review resorts to this at more than one place: tatsaccaras srisamaradipurvam sa viravarmmantam uvaha virahll (verse 7) "His good spy had the name beginning with samara and ending with viravarmma, viz. samaraviravarmma." tasyagrajas sridharanindrapurvam parakramantam ca vibhartti namal (verse 9) "His elder brother carries the name which has dharanindra as the first part and parakrama as the second, viz., dharanindraparakrama. Obviously it was difficult for the poet to adjust this long name in the Upajati metre. Similarly, he speaks of another king as carrying the name which begins with nrpendra and ends with vallabha, viz., nrpendravallabha: srimannrpendradi sa vallabhantam namarthayuktam samavapa vaggmi 11 (verse 10) Of the specific peculiarities is the use of unmanaya which is the Instrumental singular of Unmana, the word used in the sense of Uma, as would appear from the context. Dhaman means the place, here body. Unmanayaikadhama would, therefore, mean who shares the same body with CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collea Uma Unmanayisz an highly a

Suan Pakkad (Phak Kard) Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand 95 unfamiliar word for Uma not to be met with in Indian Sanskrit Literature. Tadekavad means who is one with her. It is merely an elaboration, prapanca of unmanayaikadhama i.e., who shares the same body with Uma and is one with her. Manasthitah as it is, does not mean anything. It could have been manahsthtitah stationed in the mind or meditating. (1) Jajvaliti means shines profusely, brilliantly. It is the Intensive form of √jval. Mrgavat means moon, the dark spot in it is taken for mrga (= deer), that is why she is called mrganka. Vibhuti means glory. Vibhutikrt is, therefore, generator of glories. Lingibhavad. The light of Siva is spoken of as taking the form of the Linga (2). Avakrakramamandala means the group of planets; mandalas; that do not have retrograde movmement; the planets in Astronomy are divided into two, the ones that have retrograde movement such as Rahu, Ketu etc. and others that do not have retrograde movement. In the latter category fall the sun, and the moon. Avakrakramamandala may, therefore, in effect mean the suryamandala and the candramandala. The king is here spoken of as the foremost, adyah, among the luminaries, jyotismat, that are the glory, rddhi, of the avakrakramamandala, i.e, the suryamandala and candramandala. Caturddonava gives the year of the king, catuh four, do(s) two, nava nine, 924. Since the Saka year was followed by these Khmer kings, it means 924 Saka Era or 1003 A.D. Manavendrah means king. Carurddo , navamanavendrah means the king in 924 Saka Era. (3) The poet here creates a metaphor. He speaks metaphorically of the three eyes of Siva as the abode, sadma, to which resort , bhajah, the Sun etc. out of fear as it were. Tejasvin means the sun.(4) The construction, anvaya, in the first and the second lines could be: satam rasamrtaih krtestih yasya vadanamvuje avadata vidya; Coedes takes the reading krtestih here. He interprets it as vidya which is satisfied by the nectar of the juice of the desire of good men. It is not clear as to how he connects istih with vidya. seems to be quite confused here. It is a simple construction He

here: satam rasamrtaih krtestih. Krtestih means krta istir yajanam yasyah, to whom the sacrifice is offered by the learned, satam, or to whom the learned have made an offering of rasamrtaih, nectar-like Rasa. The poet here seems to take all the three, Vidya: knowledge, Kirti: Fame and Laksmi: Fortune as the co-wives. Even though one of these, Kirti, goes away to the quarters, the two still remain together. Out of jealously among the wives, Laksmi normally would not like to show consideration to the other co-wife, Vidya, but she has to do so grudgingly, because she sits up in the moon-like face of the king himself. (5) The Lexicons record three meanings of jisnu: Indra, Visnu and Arjuna. Of these the one who is the most associated with the volley of arrows including the missiles, the astrani that go forth and come back, is Arjuna. Jisnu may, therefore, mean Arjuna. Vanagana is banagana. n is quite often represented by n, e.g., in this Inscription itself tesan trayanam. So is b by v. In anagatam the poet has the pun. In contrast to Indra, sending forth showers in time, kale, the king showers forth gifts even before time anagatam. In contrast to Arjuna sending forth arrows that go out and come back the king showers gifts that do not come back, anagatam, and remain for ever with the supplicants. Both these things show that the king is superior to the other two. Agrya means excellent srestha. (6) Udyatsmayaih means which occasion arrogance, udyat should be udyat, the regular present participle from Vi 'to go' with ud or it could be from Vya with ud. Akrta means anuccarita not uttered. Akrtasmayoktih means one who did not utter arrogant words. Bahu appears to stand for bahukala meaning for a long time. The sense of many kinds of verses does not go well with a palanquin. Vinita stands for vinaya, humility. Coede's interpretation of the expression vinitabhusakrtamandanena who has removed, vinita = apanita, ornaments lacks appeal. Mandana probably means here stuti, praise, which the ornament of humility has offered. (8) Nrpendravallabha is spoken of in the inscription as nrpendramukhya, the foremost among kings. He appears to have CC-0. Prof. Satya Vrat Shastri Collection, New Delf

Suan Phak Kard (Pakkad) Palace Sanskrit Inscription from Thailand 97 been a feudatory chieftain under king Suryyavarman. The poet was inspired by him. His name is said by the poet to be arthayukta, significant, he being really nrpendravallabha beloved of the king. He thus could evidently not have been a sovereign king but only a feudatory king owing allegiance to the supreme monarch.(10) Vidhanat means according to the procedure laid down for the installation of the idols. Bhudhararaja means the king of the kings, rajaraja, in all probability Suryvavarman. (11) (b) Literary Even though the text of the Inscription is not long; it has only eleven couplets; it has sufficient poetic flashes in it to enable it to be classed among good poetic compositions. It has some of the rather charming Upamas, Similes, Rupakas, Metaphors and Utpreksas, Poetic fancies, among the Arthalankaras, figures of speech of sense and Slesa, Pun, Yamaka Paranomasia and Anuprasa, Alliteration among the Sabdalankaras, the figures of speech of sound. In one instance (verse 7) among the Arthalankaras it has Visesokti too where learning and lineage which can occasion pride are said to be not doing so. The inscription opens up with a beautiful simile. Siva's and Parvati's being one with each other is compared to that of fire with flame. King Suryyavarmman is metaphorically spoken of as the sun for the beauty of the worlds which are said to be lotuses. The poet describes Viravarmman as the lion for the foes who are metaphorically spoken of as deer. The most beautiful Metaphor in the inscription is the one where the three eyes of Siva are spoken of as the abode, sadma, to which deities resort out of fear as it were when they notice the king's lustre excelling that of the sun. In the Siva Linga the poet fancies the light of Siva that has come to assume that form. So does he fancy the feeling of jealousy in Laksmi after imparting to three 'ladies' - Vidya (Learning), Kisti \(Fame); and Laksmi (fortune) the status of coDigitized by S 3 Foundation USA

wife-hood. The fact of the king's fame having spread far and wide he expresses by saying that one of these co-wives has gone away to the quarters. Inspite of it the two co-wives have to co-exist . Since one of these, Vidya, lives in the lotus-like face of the king, Laksmi, though grudgingly, suceva, has to show some consideration to her! The poet fancies the continuous showering of the choicest gifts that do not come back, remaining permanently with the supplicants as due to the feeling of excelling Indra who showers rain in due time only and to Arjuna who showers arrows that come back to him. Of the Sabdalankaras, the figures of speech of word, the Slesa is found in anagatam, an adverb, one meaning of which is before time and the other that which does not come back. Yamaka is met with in the instances: 1. trinetra netra traya 2. hrdayasya yasya The instances of Anuprasa, Alliteration are: 1. jayatyunmanayaikadhama 2. kallolacancadvidhuvimvatulyah 3. yajjajvaliti jvalanaksamambhah 4. bhasvannabhasvanmrgavannabhassu 5. srisuryavarmma bhuvanambujasrisuryyah 6. avakrakramamandalarddhi 7. tejasvitejojayi viksya tejah 8. suvarnataracitakandakhanda 9. namarthayuktam samavapa vaggmi The varieties of Anuprasa that are found in the above are: srutyanuprasa in verses 1 and 7; vrttyanuprasa in verses 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 and 9;r in verses 6 and 8. The metres used are Indravajra in verses 2, 3 and 11 and Upajati in the rest. The expression is fairly fluent and generally correct. Though short, the Inscription can provide a real treat to connoisseurs.