Wat Sema Mueang Inscription

Name other

์N.S. 9

Script

Post-Pallava

Date

1318 B.E.

Language

Sanskrit

Face/Line

2 faces ; contains 33 lines of writing, face 1 contains 29 lines and face 2, 4 lines

Material

sandstone

Form

Bai Sema

Size

50 cm. width ; 104 cm. height ; 9 cm. thick

Found at

Wat Sema Mueang, Wiang Sak Locality, Mueang District, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Exhibited

Bangkok National Museum, Na Phra That Road, Phra Borom Maha Ratchawang Subdistrict, Phra Nakhon District, Bangkok

Description

On the front, the first lines of the inscription sing the praises of the greatness of the king of the Srivijaya kingdom. The following part mentions his royal command to a senior monk named Jayanta to construct 3 stone sanctuaries to offer as the abodes of the Lord Buddha, Bodhisatva Padmapāni and Bodhisatva Vajrapāṇi. When the senior monk passed away, a monk named Adhimukti, who was his disciple, built the last two sanctuaries nearby. On the reverse, the inscription says that the previously mentioned king of Śrivijaya kingdom was king “Śrī Mahā Rājā” of Śailendra of Java. He surpassed all kings and was revered as a second Lord Viṣṇu.

Reference

Edited by : The Inscriptions in Thailand Database Project Staffs (2553 B.E.), SAC, from :
1) Georges Coedes, “22nd Plate, Wat Sema Mueang Inscription, Mueang Nakhon Si Thammarat,” in Recueil des inscriptions du Siam : deuxieme partie : inscriptions de Dvaravati, de Crivijaya et de Lavo ([Phra Nakhon] : The Fine Arts Department, FAD, 2504), 21-26 (in Thai).
2) Georges Coedes … (and others), “Wat Sema Mueang Inscription,” in The Inscriptions in Thailand volume 1 : Pallava and Post-Pallava Script, 12th-14th Buddhist century (Bangkok : The National Library of Thailand, NLT, 2529), 187-222 (in Thai).

Illustrations

Rubbing inscription picture from : Department of Oriental Languages, Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, 2545 (Record Number : CD; INS-TH-21, File Name; Ns_0901_c and Ns_0902_c)