The Copper Plates of Helagupta: A New Edition and Study

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 pla...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Salomon, Richard 1948- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Brill [2020]
In: Indo-Iranian journal
Year: 2020, Volume: 63, Issue: 1, Pages: 3-69
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Gandhari Prakrit / Inscription / Buddhism / Ancestor cult (motif) / History 0-100
IxTheo Classification:BL Buddhism
KBM Asia
TC Pre-Christian history ; Ancient Near East
Further subjects:B brahma merit
B Helagupta
B Inscriptions
B Gandhari Prakrit
B Kharoṣṭhī
B śrāddha
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary: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.
ISSN:1572-8536
Contains:Enthalten in: Indo-Iranian journal
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1163/15728536-06301006