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Abstract
The article presents a new edition, translation, and interpretation of the inscription, which was previously published by H. Falk in 2014, of the otherwise unknown Buddhist patron Helagupta (helaüta). The inscription, datable to the latter half of the first century CE, is recorded on five copper plates and is the second longest one known in Kharoṣṭhī script/Gāndhārī language. This edition proposes several new readings and interpretations as well as discussing its cultural implications for issues such as the performance of ancestral rituals by Buddhists, and Buddhological ramifications such as the concept of “brahma merit” (Gāndhārī bramo puṇyo) and the contemporary understanding of variant forms of titles of the Buddha.
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Albery, Henry. 2017. Betwixt Two Empires. The Institutions, Individuals and Practices of North and Northwest Indic Buddhism 1st Century BCE–3rd Century CE. PhD dissertation, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (Munich).
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Allon, Mark. 2007a. “A Gāndhārī Version of the Simile of the Turtle and the Hole in the Yoke.” Journal of the Pali Text Society 29: 229–262.
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Allon, Mark. 2007b. “Introduction: The Senior Manuscripts.” In Andrew Glass, Four Gāndhārī Saṃyuktāgama Sūtras: Senior Kharoṣṭhī Fragment 5 (Gandhāran Buddhist Texts 4; Seattle: University of Washington Press), pp. 3–25.
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Falk, Harry. 2009. “The Pious Donation of Wells in Gandhara.” In Gerd J.R. Mevissen and Arundhati Banerji, eds., Prajñādhara: Essays on Asian Art, History, Epigraphy and Culture in Honour of Gouriswar Bhattacharya (New Delhi: Kaveri Books), pp. 23–36.
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Falk, Harry. 2010. “Signature Phrases, Azes Dates, Nakṣatras and Some New Reliquary Inscriptions from Gandhara.” Sōka daigaku kokusai bukkyōgaku kōtō kenkyūjo nenpō 創価大学国際仏教学高等研究所年報 / Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 13: 13–33.
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Falk, Harry. 2014. “The First-Century Copper-plates of Helagupta from Gandhāra hailing Maitreya.” Sōka daigaku kokusai bukkyōgaku kōtō kenkyūjo nenpō 創価大学国際仏教学高等研究所年報 / Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 17: 3–26.
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Falk, Harry and Chris Bennett. 2009. “Macedonian Intercalary Months and the Era of Azes.” Acta Orientalia 70: 197–216.
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Falk, Harry and Seishi Karashima. 2013. “A first-century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra—parivarta 5 (Texts from the Split Collection 2).” Sōka daigaku kokusai bukkyōgaku kōtō kenkyūjo nenpō 創価大学国際仏教学高等研究所年報 / Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 16: 97–169.
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Fussman, Gérard. 1982. “Documents épigraphiques kouchans (III). L’ inscription kharoṣṭhī de Senavarma, roi d’ Oḍi: une nouvelle lecture.” Bulletin de l’ École française d’ Extrême-Orient 71: 1–46.
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Fussman, Gérard. 1994. “Upāya-kauśalya: L’ implantation du bouddhisme au Gandhāra.” In Fumimasa Fukui and Gérard Fussman, eds., Bouddhisme et cultures locales: Quelques cas de réciproques adaptations (Études thématiques 2; Paris: École française d’ Extrême-Orient), pp. 17–51.
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Glass, Andrew. 2000. “A Preliminary Study of Kharoṣṭhī Manuscript Paleography.” MA thesis, University of Washington.
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Harrison, Paul, Timothy Lenz, and Richard Salomon. 2018. “Fragments of a Gāndhārī Manuscript of the Pratyutpannabuddhasaṃmukhāvasthitasamādhisūtra (Studies in Gāndhārī Manuscripts 1).” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 41: 117–143.
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Hinüber, Oskar von. 2003. Beiträge zur Erklärung der Senavarma-Inschrift. Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur (Mainz), Abhandlungen der Geistes- und sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse, 2003.1.
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Search for other papers by Richard Salomon in
Current site
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Abstract
The article presents a new edition, translation, and interpretation of the inscription, which was previously published by H. Falk in 2014, of the otherwise unknown Buddhist patron Helagupta (helaüta). The inscription, datable to the latter half of the first century CE, is recorded on five copper plates and is the second longest one known in Kharoṣṭhī script/Gāndhārī language. This edition proposes several new readings and interpretations as well as discussing its cultural implications for issues such as the performance of ancestral rituals by Buddhists, and Buddhological ramifications such as the concept of “brahma merit” (Gāndhārī bramo puṇyo) and the contemporary understanding of variant forms of titles of the Buddha.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 1028 | 168 | 24 |
| Full Text Views | 74 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 128 | 9 | 0 |
