Myazedi inscription explained

Myazedi inscription
Material:Stone
Writing:Mon-Burmese
Created:AD 1113
Location:Bagan, Myanmar

Myazedi inscription (Burmese: မြစေတီ ကျောက်စာ in Burmese pronounced as /mja̰ zèdì tɕaʊʔ sà/; also Yazakumar Inscription or the Gubyaukgyi Inscription), inscribed in 1113, is the oldest surviving stone inscription of the Burmese language. "Myazedi" means "emerald stupa" ("zedi" being akin to the Pali "cetiya" and Thai "chedi"), and the name of the inscription comes from a pagoda located nearby. The inscriptions were made in four languages: Burmese, Pyu, Mon, and Pali,[1] which all tell the story of Prince Yazakumar and King Kyansittha. The primary importance of the Myazedi inscription is that the inscriptions allowed for the deciphering of the written Pyu language.

There are two main inscriptions in Burma today. One exists on the platform of the Myazedi Pagoda, in the village of Myinkaba (south of Bagan), in Mandalay Division. The other was discovered by German Pali scholar Dr. Emanuel Forchhammer in 1886–1887 and is currently in display at the Bagan Archaeological Museum. The Myazedi inscription is recognised as Memory of the World Register by UNESCO.

Translation and Analysis

The inscription has 39 lines in Burmese language, 41 lines in Pali, 33 lines in Mon Language and 26 lines in Pyu language. It can be generally divided into three categories, donation, wish and curse. The nearest translation is as follows:

Analysis

Typical Bagan handwriting was either rectangular or circular in shape, but in this inscription, the handwriting resembles Tamarind seeds. Being the beginning of Myanmar Literature, some words were not written systematically, that is, the consonants and vowels were separated (e.g., was written as on a line, and was written on the next line).

There were only words for the first person. "I" and "my". Instead of "he", Yazakumar referred to himself as "The son of the beloved wife" and "it" was "this" . Some words had archaic meanings (e.g.,, which has modern meaning of "abandon", meant "Lovely,or beloved" and, meaning "relax" or "mix thoroughly",meant "donate").[2]

Yazakumar referred to his father as Śrī Tribhuvanāditya Dhammarāja, meaning "The king who can enlighten all three worlds like the sun", his mother as Trilokavaṭansakā devi (The queen who could lead all three worlds) and the Pagan Empire as Arimaddanāpura Empire (Meaning: The place where they can successfully outnumber enemies), respectively.

The purpose of the donation category is to let people appreciate their deeds. The wishing category is part of the tradition of Buddhism. The main intention of writing curse to preserve the donations and to prevent donated structures from being damaged.[3]

From this inscription, the reign periods of Kyansittha, Anawrahta, Saw Lu,and Alaungsithu can be calculated, old Pyu Language can be learnt, and Yazakumar's respect and love for his father can be observed.[4]

In Pali

In Pali language, the inscription reads:

  1. Śrī. Buddhādikam vatthuvaram namitvā pāññam katam yam jinasā
  2. sanasmim anārikam Rājakumāra nāmadheyyena vakkhā
  3. mi sunātha metam. Nibbanā lokanāthassa aṭhavī
  4. sādike gate sahasse pana vassānam chasate vā pare ta
  5. -thā. Arimaddananāmasmim pure āsi mahabbalo rājā
  6. Tibhuvanādicco udicca diccavamsajo. Tassā te
  7. kā piyā devi sā Tilokavaṭamsikā hi
  8. tesi kusalā sabbekiccesu pana rājino. Ta
  9. ssā seko suto Rājakumaro nāma nāmat-
  10. -o amacco rājakiccesu byavato satimā
  11. vidu. Adā gāmattayam tassā deviyā soma
  12. hipati pasanno sabbadā dāsa pribhogena buññjitum.
  13. Aniccatā vasam tassā gatāya pana deviyā rā-
  14. -jā Rājakumārassa adā gāmattayam puna. Aṭhavīsa
  15. -ti vassāni rajjam dhammena kātriya māranantika rogassa-
  16. vassam patte narādipe. Saranto dhammarājassa mahantam gu-
  17. ṇa saññcayam kāretvā satthuno bimbam sabbasovaṇṇa-
  18. yam subham. Gahetvā tam mahatena sakkārena sumānaso
  19. upasaṅkamma rājanam āha cintitamattano. Bhavamkatvā
  20. nidam satthubimbam sovaṇṇyam subham akāsim vo va-
  21. -ram puññam sāmi tumhe nūmodatha. Gāmattayam pivo
  22. sāmi pubbe dinnantu me again imasseva munidassa demi ta
  23. ññcā nūmodatha. Evam vutte mahipālo roge
  24. nāturamānaso sadhu, sadhūti vatvāna tuṭhahattho
  25. pamodito. Dayā payo mahātheyo theyo muggali
  26. puttako sumedhatta sumedhoti laddhanāmo ca paṇṭito
  27. brahmapālo tathā brhamadevo sampanna silavā so no
  28. bahussuto samghasena vho varapaṇṭito. Etesam pa-
  29. na bikkhūnam sammukhā so sumānaso jalam pātesi katavana sa-
  30. kkhintu vasudhātalam. Tato so tan mahāmacco bibam so va-
  31. -ṇṇayam subham patiṭhāpiya kāresi guham kaññcanathūpikam.
  32. Katvāna maṅgalam Buddhapatimāya guhāyaca akāsevam paṇī
  33. dhānam nibbinno bhavasaṅkate. Karonetana mayā etam yam pu-
  34. -ññam tam samācitam hotu sabbaññuta ññaṇa pative dhā-
  35. -yā paccayo. Yattakā ta maya dāsā gamattayaniva-
  36. -sino dinnā guhāya sovaṇṇapatimāya mahesi
  37. no. Putto me va paputto va añño va panañña
  38. tako yo koci pāpa samkappo naro assaddha
  39. mānāso. Kareyyupadduvam tesam dāsānam si naramamo
  40. Metteya dipadindassa dassanam nāthigacchatū
  41. ti.[5]

References

Link to pictures

Myazedi Inscription at AncientBagan.com https://web.archive.org/web/20110707141220/http://www.ancientbagan.com/pic/stone1-large.jpg

Myazedi Inscription A at Zenodo https://zenodo.org/record/579873

Myazedi Inscription B at Zenodo https://zenodo.org/record/580158

Notes and References

  1. Book: Coedès, George. George Coedès. Walter F. Vella. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. 1968. University of Hawaii Press. 978-0-8248-0368-1.
  2. Blagden, C. (1914) The Myazedi Inscriptions. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, pp. 1063-1069. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25189254
  3. Book: 2018 . Burmese Literature . Myanmar . Ministry of Education of the government of Myanmar . 1.
  4. Burmese Encyclopedia,Volume 9
  5. Ministry of Burmese Culture- Myanmar Inscriptions, Volume 1, p.6-7

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