KATHMANDU: A 1400-year-old inscription has been found in front of the Bhimsen Temple at Patan Durbar Square in Mangalbazar.
The inscription was found while digging a ditch. Archaeologist Prakash Darnal and calligrapher Shyam Sundar Rajbanshi have confirmed that the inscription is dated 536 A.D. This means that the year Vikram will be 671.
According to him, there is a Shravaka deer at the top of the inscription and a Dharmachakra symbol in the middle. This indicates that the inscription is related to Buddhism.
In the inscription, it is written as 536 Jeth Mase Shukla Paksha. The dynasty informed that the name of the then ruler Anshu Varma was clearly understood in the Lichhavi script and Sanskrit language inscriptions.
"Our initial investigation has shown that Anshu Varma kept this inscription to give information about the Buddhist monastery built by Lichhavi king Vrishdev in Mangalbazar," Rajbanshi told reporters.
Licchavi king Vrishdev was a follower of Buddhism. He has a history of constructing Buddhist temples in different places of Kathmandu Valley. He is the grandfather of King Mandev, that is, he is also the father of grandfather.
What we see now as Patan Durbar Square, was not always like that. In the Licchavi period, there was a Buddhist monastery built by Vrishadeva. It is said that after many years, King Siddhinar Singh Malla moved the monastery to its present condition to expand his palace there and built Keshav Narayan Chowk on the site of the Lichchhavi monastery.
At the main entrance of the Patan Durbar, water is still poured on the Buddha statue throughout the month of July. This indicates that there was a monastery in that place earlier, 'said Rajbanshi.
The inscription mentions the monastery built by King Vrishdev, which is said to be very important historically. ‘Inscriptions do not say much, they say little. But it confirms the events of history. This inscription is very important to confirm that Vrishadeva built a Buddhist monastery here, 'he said.
The inscription is about six feet high, but only a quarter of it is engraved with letters. The rest may have been buried underground, said Rajbanshi.
The dynasty also lamented the neglect of such an important inscription. ‘Hemraj Shakya, a script specialist, was alive at that time. Satya Mohan Joshi and Hariram Joshi are still alive. It is as if they were secretly covered. Otherwise, they would not have ignored such an old inscription and would not have allowed it to be covered again, 'he said.
Scrubbing is being done on the cemented part so that the engraved letters can be understood. "Only after reading all the details can we say what else is written," he said. Earlier, an inscription of 536 AD was found in Baluwa village of Gokarna. It is written in the year 536 as the second Poush.
In that inscription, Anshu Varma mentions the royal palace he established. Therefore, he had written in it as 'Svakaritak Rajvihar', 'Rajbanshi said,' It mentions the monastery built by King Vrishdev, hence it is called 'Vrishdevakaritak Raj Vihar'.
This stone has been taken out of the pit and kept in the Patan Museum.
Photo: Setopati
