Ban Tat Thong Inscription

Script

Old Khmer

Date

15th Buddhist century

Language

Sanskrit, Khmer

Face/Line

2 faces ; contains 47 lines of writing, face 1 contains 20 lines and face 2, 27 lines (face 2 don't have a transliteration)

Material

red sandstone

Form

Bai Sema

Size

44.5 cm. width ; 55 cm. height ; 6 cm. thick

Found at

Tat Thong Village, Tat Thong Locality, Mueang District, Yasothon Province

Exhibited

Wat Amphawan Nuea, Ban Tat Thong, Tat Thong Locality, Mueang District, Yasothon Province

Description

The inscription begins with humble words to praise Lord Śiva and mentions King Rudraloka as a king of high caliber who ruled the kingdom based on good moral practices. He gave a great deal of things to the prince who was now in a wedding ceremony with his daughter. Its content towards the end tells us that the prince was a royal member from Bhavapura city and Brahmans held a ceremony to pay respect to the phallic image every day.

Reference

Edited by : The Inscriptions in Thailand Database Project Staffs (2554 B.E.), SAC, from :
1) Cha-em Kaeokhlai, “Ban Tat Thong Inscription,” in The Inscriptions in Thailand volume 3 : Khom Script, 15th-16th Buddhist century (Bangkok : The National Library of Thailand, NLT, 2529), 84-89 (in Thai).
2) Cha-em Kaeokhlai and Nanthana Tantiwet, “Ban Tat Thong Inscription,” Silpakorn 45, 2 (March-April 2545) : 66-75 (in Thai).
3) George Cœdès, “Stèle de Ban Tat Tong (K. 697),” in Inscriptions du Cambodge vol. VII (Hanoi : Imprimerie d’Extrême-Orient, 1964), 94-98.

Illustrations

Rubbing inscription picture from : Department of Oriental Languages, Faculty of Archaeology, Silpakorn University, 2545 (Record Number : CD; INS-TH-01, File Name; YS_002p1)