Nalanda Stone Inscription of Yaśovarmadeva – A Rejoinder

Summary

This rejoinder responds to criticism of an earlier note on the Nalanda stone inscription of Yaśovarmadeva. Dr. Mazumdar had argued that the script and title in the inscription prove that the king’s name was Yaśodharman, not Yaśovarman. The author clarifies that the script is consistent with an early date and that names ending in –dharman were common, but the term yaśas does not yield a plausible royal name. He notes that Fleet and other scholars referred to the ruler as Yaśovarman and that the presence of the word śāstā in the record need not imply that the donor claimed the Buddha’s image as his personal property. The article dismisses the suggestion that the inscription’s verse promotes an unorthodox doctrine and reiterates that the image was dedicated to the Buddhist community. In closing the author hypothesises that Bālāditya, mentioned in the prasasti, may have been a vassal of Yaśovarman and that the conflict with Mihirakula occurred when Yaśovarman campaigned against him.