Friendship is better than enmity: where is Panauti's golden inscription?

– Tuyukaji Tamrakar

Jayasthiti Malla was one of the most powerful and influential kings of Nepal. Through social, religious, cultural, judicial and economic reforms he brought peace and order to the kingdom, and he holds an important place in Nepal's history. One does not have to be a king's son to do good work: Jayasthiti Malla was not descended from any Malla king of Nepal. When King Harisimhadeva of Simraungadh could not withstand the attack of Shamsuddin, the Nawab of Bengal, he fled and took refuge at the royal court of Nepal. Rajalla Devi was the daughter of his son Jagatsimha and Nayaka Devi, daughter of King Rudra Malla. She was raised by her grandmother Devala Devi, who brought a fine young man, Jayasthiti Malla, from abroad, from the direction of India, and married him to Rajalla Devi. As son-in-law of the royal household, Jayasthiti Malla gained the chance to take an active part in government.

By 1372 AD Jayasthiti Malla had become the chief feudatory (mahasamanta) of Kathmandu. At the court there were then two factions, led by Jayata Gulami, who supported Jayasthiti Malla, and by Jayasimharama. After the death in 1366 of the grandmother Devala Devi, who had given Jayasthiti Malla backing and support at court, he learned in 1372 of a planned revolt led by Jayasimharama, and had him arrested and imprisoned. Even so, the courtiers who supported Jayasimharama fought Jayasthiti Malla at Thimi, and 51 rebels were killed. After winning that battle, Jayasthiti Malla began to be addressed as viceroy, the ruler next to the king. Jayasimharama was released that Shrawan on condition that he support Jayasthiti Malla. But how could the minds of courtiers used to dominating power, amassing wealth by fair means and foul, bullying people and meddling in royal affairs ever be at rest? Only two years later, in 1374, Jayasimharama gathered courtiers from Pharping and elsewhere and began another revolt in Patan. Jayasthiti Malla suppressed that revolt too, and Jayasimharama and the other courtiers were arrested. After that, Jayasthiti Malla and Jayasimharama reconciled through an agreement that divided power and office between them, and Jayasimharama was appointed feudatory of the Kantipur and Banepa areas. Having brought peace everywhere by subduing everyone, Jayasthiti Malla removed even King Arjuna Malla from the throne in 1380 and sent him to Banepa. When the king returned to Bhaktapur only 22 days later, he was captured and imprisoned, and he died in captivity in 1381. By Nepal Sambat 502 (1382 AD), Jayasthiti Malla had himself become the powerful king of Nepal.

For about a hundred years in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Ramavardhana family held sway in the government of Nepal. Notable among them were Mahatha Anekarama, Mahatha Jayasimharama, Mahatha Jyotirama, Shaktisimharama and Madana Ramavaladeva. This article concerns Jayasimharama Vardhana. After the 1374 agreement between Jayasthiti Malla and Jayasimharama on sharing power and position, work on peace, progress and reform moved quickly in Nepal. In 1350 a large Muslim army led by Shamsuddin, the Nawab of Bengal, had looted Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Bode and other places, setting fire to houses, monasteries and temples and destroying them. It had wrecked the Pashupati temple and broken its idol. After the agreement, Jayasimharama encouraged and helped Jayasthiti Malla to grow stronger and more powerful so that these ruins could be restored and many reforms carried out. For example, after Arjuna Malla's death it was Jayasimharama who consecrated Jayasthiti Malla as king, and who installed and restored the present Shiva linga at Pashupati.

Jayasimharama's residence was the Layaku Durbar of Panauti. Panauti had been a sacred place of pilgrimage since ancient times, a holy and peaceful place. In the later part of his life, Jayasimharama began to reflect on what life really is, what duty is, what wealth is worth, what charity and merit are and how they are gained. What had he not done, in the past, to earn gold and silver? By fair means and foul, he now had a treasury full of gold. What use would that gold be to him after his death? Thoughts like these kept rising in his mind. In politics he had plotted, done injustice, used violence and even killed to gain power and office. Now that his body was growing weak, to whom could he confess those sins and crimes, and how could he atone? Thinking this way, he resolved to give away his gold, to build a temple and install an image of Narayana, and to cover the linga of Indreshwar Mahadev with a golden sheath. He set about fulfilling these wishes for charity, merit and religion step by step, and, as he wished, had a golden inscription made on sheets of gold briefly describing the meritorious and religious works he had done. The inscription, written in Sanskrit with some Newari, reads in translation as follows:

Om, the ancient Om and the new Om. Salutations to Shri Gopinarayana (Vamshigopala). May all be well. This Panauti is beautiful and famed throughout the Nepal Mandala, where the Lord God, the illustrious Indreshwar Shiva, dwells. In this Panauti lived King Jayasimha, famed across the land, who consecrated the illustrious Lord Shiva Pashupatinath; who performed the flower-consecration of King Jayarjuna; who performed the lotus-consecration of King Sthitiraja Malla (Jayasthiti Malla); who made the image of Tulanarayana, installed it with due rites at Indreshwar, set up a stone balance-pillar before it, and at a solar eclipse weighed out gold equal to his own body and gave it away. Again he made a chariot with a golden horse, a golden elephant and a fine golden wish-fulfilling tree, and gave them as great gifts to learned Brahmins. The learned and steadfast King Jayasimharama had the Mahabharata, scripture of merit in eighteen books, well written out, and went to heaven having heard the story of its Forest Book.

In Nepal Sambat 521, on Monday the fourteenth of the bright half of Kartik, under the Ashvini constellation and the Vyatipata yoga, King Jayasimharama, who had kept well the seven limbs of the kingdom (the king, ministers, allies, treasury, territory, forts and army) along with kin and people, and who did good to the world, went to the abode of Shri Vishnu. Alas, alas, alas! O King Jayasimharama, you were a very wish-fulfilling tree, bearing sweet fruit and the flowers and fruit of good fame, fulfilling every kind of hope of Brahmins, of every kind of supplicant, of the learned, and of the six schools of philosophy (those of Gautama, Kanada, Kapila, Patanjali, Vyasa and Jaimini; likewise the yogis, jangamas, sevadas, sannyasis and dervishes, the sixth school being of the Brahma who has neither form nor guise; and the Buddhist school as well). But the pity is that, by the stroke of fate, the pitiless Yama has now cut that wish-fulfilling tree down.

Then a golden image in the likeness of King Jayasimharama, and golden images of Gopinarayana (Vamshi-Gopala), the four-faced god and Shiva, were made, and the Supreme Lord was again installed in this excellent and lovely city of Aramapura, Panauti. May this glory endure as long as the moon and sun, gods of the nation's banner, remain in the sky. Samvat 521, Kartik, the fourteenth day, Ashvini constellation, Vyatipata yoga, Sunday: the day on which the great minister (prime minister) Jayasimharama, great Mahatha and courtier, went well to the abode of Shri Vishnu. In this land of Panauti, golden images of Shri Gopinarayana Maharaja Gopala Krishna together with Shri Parameshvari (Radha) were given, the likeness (a statue true to life) of Jayasimharama, great Mahatha and courtier, was merged with the divine image and consecrated, and a golden roof for this temple was completed and installed. A double four-faced golden sheath was made for Shri Shri Indreshwar Sadashiva Maharaja. Every year, on this day of the year's binding, let Shri Shri Pashupati, Shri Changu Narayana and Shri Vishnutirtha (Budhanilkantha) be bathed with the five nectars. Gold was given twice over, divided half and half between the Brahmins of Lindi and the Buddhist monks of Limchhi. May it be auspicious.

More than 60 years have passed since the golden inscription, written on sheets of gold and describing the gifts made by Jayasimharama Vardhana, the generous king of Panauti, the city of the wish-fulfilling tree that grants whatever is asked, and the image of Narayana, the stone balance-pillar and the four-faced golden sheath on the Indreshwar Mahadev linga that he installed, went missing. It is more than 60 years since we heard that Yogi Naraharinath took it away. Where is that inscription now? Did the yogi bring it back and hand it over in Panauti, is it still with him, or has it been handed to some government body? It is time the authorities or those concerned issued a notice so that everyone knows. The inscription rightly belongs to Panauti, but as an archaeological and ancient object it is the heritage of the whole country. It would be no exaggeration to call it world heritage. The authorities and the municipality now need to take a special interest in tracing this object and making its whereabouts known.