Mystery inscription on very old Indian Chambu Lota: Help needed

[Atlantia]

Hello everyone,

I've had the attached Chambu Lota for many years and not got anywhere with the two inscriptions.
These were pilgrim flasks for collecting water from the sacred Ganges river. This one could be extremely old, even 18th century.
If anyone could shed any light on the two additional inscriptions, I'd be very grateful.
Many thanks in advance.

 

[keochan]

I am not at all an expert with linguistics, but I'll state my crude observations:

1. This looks like Devanagari script.
2. The second and third images make me feel it's the same text content written in both.
3. I'll write the glyphs that I see:

प (रा/स) घ् (श/शा) प राहा प र लुहार

The only word that I can make sense out of, is 'लुहार' which means blacksmith/metal worker.

Sorry if I mentioned anything wrong or if that wasn't helpful. Thanks.

 

[Gop]

I am not at all an expert with linguistics, but I'll state my crude observations:

1. This looks like Devanagari script.
2. The second and third images make me feel it's the same text content written in both.
3. I'll write the glyphs that I see:

प (रा/स) घ् (श/शा) प राहा प र लुहार

The only word that I can make sense out of, is 'लुहार' which means blacksmith/metal worker.

Sorry if I mentioned anything wrong or if that wasn't helpful. Thanks.

If the last unit is लुहार (metal worker), obviously this craftsman must have signed his name together, probably, with the name of the town where he exercised his profession.

 

[Den falska sköldpaddan]

How about, for the outer inscription only, padīāgh śāp rā hārū rā luhārū? Just speculating wildely. (Nothing is legible to me in the inner thing.)

 

[Atlantia]

keochan:​

Thank you for your help. It would certainly make sense that the insciption could relation to the metalworker.

Gop:​

I was thinking along similar lines, thank you.

Den falska sköldpaddan:​

Thank you for your help, what would that mean in English?

 

[Den falska sköldpaddan]

For the outer inscription: I am out on a limb here, and speculating very wildly, but if it reads padīāgh śāp rā hārū rā luhārū, then it could mean something like Metalworker of the dispeller of the padīā/padīa-sin-curse or Metalworker of and dispeller of the padīā/padīa-sin-curse. I am not claiming that this makes good sense, but it does make some sense, and this could perhaps be the beginning of a solution. (I can't make out anything in the inner inscription, so I'll leave that out of consideration.)

luhārū/luhār, "metalworker", hārū/hār, "remover, removal, removing", śāp, "curse", agh, "sin", padīā/padīa, no idea. rā is the Rajasthani masculine genitive postposition, corresponding to Hindi kā.

The inscription is obviously in the Nagari script, and there can not be an infinite number of possibilities. I think the last word is luhārū. The last sign (occuring twice) looks more ornate than an ordinary r, so I guess it's rū. If the last word is luhārū, then there is another occurence of the sequence hārū , and there is clearly a wordplay. The sequence I read as rā occurs twice. śāp looks rather certain. padīāgh could be a compound with agh as its second member, and padīā or padīa (whatever that is) as its first member.

 

[desi4life]

For the outer inscription: I am out on a limb here, and speculating very wildly, but if it reads padīāgh śāp rā hārū rā luhārū, then it could mean something like Metalworker of the dispeller of the padīā/padīa-sin-curse or Metalworker of and dispeller of the padīā/padīa-sin-curse. I am not claiming that this makes good sense, but it does make some sense, and this could perhaps be the beginning of a solution. (I can't make out anything in the inner inscription, so I'll leave that out of consideration.)

luhārū/luhār, "metalworker", hārū/hār, "remover, removal, removing", śāp, "curse", agh, "sin", padīā/padīa, no idea. rā is the Rajasthani masculine genitive postposition, corresponding to Hindi kā.

The inscription is obviously in the Nagari script, and there can not be an infinite number of possibilities. I think the last word is luhārū. The last sign (occuring twice) looks more ornate than an ordinary r, so I guess it's rū. If the last word is luhārū, then there is another occurence of the sequence hārū , and there is clearly a wordplay. The sequence I read as rā occurs twice. śāp looks rather certain. padīāgh could be a compound with agh as its second member, and padīā or padīa (whatever that is) as its first member.

I don’t see the shirorekhaa that’s characteristic of the Nagari script in this inscription. So I think it’s either a modified form of the Nagari script or a version of a closely related script such as Gujarati or Kaithi.

 

[Den falska sköldpaddan]

Agreed.

 

[Atlantia]

Desi4life & Den falska skoldpaddan,
I have found one sold at auction where there is mention of an inscription in Nagari on the rim. So that is an interesting potential confirmation that this could be Nagari or a development of it?

I'm extremely grateful for your and everyones kind help with this.


As a bit of additonal information, these are ritual water vessels, usually associated with Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, the abode of Lord Shiva and a major pilgrimage centre.
This chambu is of classic shape and has a flattened spherical body, high foot, and short flaring neck. The bands of engraved decoration show depitions of deities, the bull Nandi and phallic linga shrines sacred to Shiva.
The bottom band shows the sacred Ganges river containing the primordial tortoise, fish, a snake and an empty boat with four oars.
The band above depicting sites passed along the pilgrimage route.

What is unusal about this one is the size. It is about twice the size of those usually seen.

If the added inscriptions do relate to the dispelling or removal of some specific curse or missfortune, then it would provide a real isight into the use of these items and why they were bought.
Could it be that the buyer requested it's addition?
It's one thing to go on a religious pilgrimage and buy a lota to filll with water, but to have a specific reason beyond religious observance, especially one specifically mentioned, is pretty exciting from a historical point of view.

What does padīā mean?

Again, my humble thanks to all invoived.

 

[Gop]

Desi4life & Den falska skoldpaddan,
I have found one sold at auction where there is mention of an inscription in Nagari on the rim. So that is an interesting potential confirmation that this could be Nagari or a development of it?

I'm extremely grateful for your and everyones kind help with this.


As a bit of additonal information, these are ritual water vessels, usually associated with Varanasi, on the banks of the Ganges, the abode of Lord Shiva and a major pilgrimage centre.
This chambu is of classic shape and has a flattened spherical body, high foot, and short flaring neck. The bands of engraved decoration show depitions of deities, the bull Nandi and phallic linga shrines sacred to Shiva.
The bottom band shows the sacred Ganges river containing the primordial tortoise, fish, a snake and an empty boat with four oars.
The band above depicting sites passed along the pilgrimage route.

What is unusal about this one is the size. It is about twice the size of those usually seen.

If the added inscriptions do relate to the dispelling or removal of some specific curse or missfortune, then it would provide a real isight into the use of these items and why they were bought.
Could it be that the buyer requested it's addition?
It's one thing to go on a religious pilgrimage and buy a lota to filll with water, but to have a specific reason beyond religious observance, especially one specifically mentioned, is pretty exciting from a historical point of view.

What does padīā mean?

Again, my humble thanks to all invoived.

View attachment 57148

The inscription on this vessel is clearly devanagari and circular: jaya rāma jaya rāma jaya rāma...जय राम जय राम जय राम...

 

[Atlantia]

Thank you Gop, this inscription on the body, seems to have been a satandard form for these vessels as I have another with the same.

 

[Den falska sköldpaddan]

Just to be clear, the last picture is from the same vessel, is it not?

 

[Atlantia]

Just to be clear, the last picture is from the same vessel, is it not?

Hi Den falska skoldpaddan,

Yes, the same vessel, I just wanted to show the body a bit more clearly with the explanation of their use and history.

Thank you.