Inscription of Mahanavika Budhagupta

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Time Period
C. 6th Century CE

Location Found
Wellesley, Malay Peninsula

Dimension
H: 64, W: 11 cm, L: 33.5

Material
Stone

Number Assigned
Accession No. MP.1
Indian Museum, Kolkata, West Bengal

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Inscription of Mahānāvika Buddhagupta, discovered in 1834 CE in Penang by Captain James Low, is a landmark record of India’s maritime and Buddhist outreach across Southeast Asia. Dating to the 5th–6th century CE, this stele bears a Saṃskṛta inscription in Old Javanese script a rare fusion of Indian language and Southeast Asian epigraphy. Detailing Buddhagupta’s voyage from Raktamṛttika (Murshidabad) via Tāmralipti to the Malay Peninsula, it underscores India’s role in shaping transoceanic cultural, religious, and intellectual networks.

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